<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><font face="HelveticaNeue" size="4" class="">Good morning all,</font><div class=""><font face="HelveticaNeue" size="4" class=""><br class=""></font></div><div class=""><font face="HelveticaNeue" size="4" class=""> For those of you who may not have been following the launches to the ISS, there was a launch yesterday from Russia in a Soyuz Rocket…since the shuttle stopped flying, the only way for astronauts to go to the ISS is on this Russian rocket, which has been used for over 40 years…it is much different than the shuttle as 3 astronauts are crammed into a tiny ship that takes them to the ISS...It has been the mainstay of the Russian space program, has been remarkably dependable and safe…but yesterday the launch failed 2 minutes into flight, the astronauts had to do an emergency return to earth, which thankfully, went very well….a true testament to the Russian Space Program and all the many people involved…we are very, very fortunate…now, all Russian rockets are on hold as well as trips to the ISS. Currently there are 3 astronauts on the ISS who will remain until the cause and solution of the failure can be identified</font>…<font size="4" face="HelveticaNeue" class="">if you have time you can go to these links to see some videos of the launch and return, I hope you can share it with the kids...</font><font color="#0433ff" class=""> </font><font face="HelveticaNeue" size="4" class=""><font color="#371a94" class=""><a href="http://click.emails.purch.com/?qs=90e44c65353d49fa2bde117040b7a427fe6d686a8d3a041f140f18078307319dabb4ac9911c575b4a1e49c0724797b1a7d2cee8c561d7335731336c5edc1a45f" class="">Soyuz Rocket Launch Failure Forces Emergency Landing for US-Russian Space Station Crew</a> ; <a href="http://click.emails.purch.com/?qs=08b7f4538dd69e2d198e96da053e37658fcfe69c347faebe486e216fef8d4628b97315bd095d8404ca0c93e87c2e0fee94de537611c5a592def805d5a3da670f" class="">Astronaut and Cosmonaut Survive 'Ballistic' Fall to Earth After Failed Soyuz Launch</a> </font></font></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="70%" align="left" class="devicewidth" style="border-collapse: collapse; table-layout: auto; margin: auto; color: rgb(32, 32, 32); font-size: 14px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td style="margin: auto; padding: 0px;" class=""><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="100%" class="mobile-td-size" style="border-collapse: collapse; table-layout: auto; margin: auto;"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td align="left" valign="middle" class="hed-top" style="margin: auto; padding: 0px;"><font face="HelveticaNeue" size="4" class=""><a href="http://click.emails.purch.com/?qs=90e44c65353d49fae3957221dea48761677405254f8cc881d20667a64f7e74bc673470dfb57369a16589a1bf106acde668d917f296fc64a5768739e56def6898" style="color: rgb(4, 51, 255);" class="">Soyuz Launch Replays and Updates: Crew Safe After Launch Abort and Emergency Landing</a><br class=""><br class=""></font><div class=""><blockquote type="cite" class="" style="font-size: 14px;"><div class=""><div class=""><font size="4" color="#000000" class="">wishing you all a wonderful day…. we have to always remember to do our best, enjoy everything we do, live in the</font></div><div class=""><font size="4" color="#000000" class="">present, be appreciative of the good in our lives, make each day special, smile & have fun! Gabe</font></div></div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite" class="" style="font-size: 14px;"><div class=""></div></blockquote></div><font face="HelveticaNeue" size="4" class=""><br class=""><br class=""><br class=""><br class="">Go to this link for amazing pictures from this launch…the pictures are amazing but I promise you, seeing it in person is thousands of times more spectacular</font><font face="HelveticaNeue" size="4" color="#0433ff" class="">….<br class=""></font><strong style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; color: rgb(0, 151, 242); font-weight: bold;" class=""><a href="http://click.emails.purch.com/?qs=aba3d2a4c047084552955985cf9ab755ff77e79cfe4b265cb59bb6dbba205457e51366104e2a994641c0c0428d31cde77d234f343e3a4a5ad763a55473fe400c" style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; color: rgb(0, 151, 242); font-weight: bold;" class="">'Definitely Not Aliens': These Photos of SpaceX's Night Rocket Launch and Landing Are Amazing!</a><br class=""><br class=""><br class=""></strong><font face="HelveticaNeue" size="4" color="#0433ff" class=""><br class=""></font><strong style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px;" class=""><a href="http://click.emails.purch.com/?qs=90e44c65353d49fa2bde117040b7a427fe6d686a8d3a041f140f18078307319dabb4ac9911c575b4a1e49c0724797b1a7d2cee8c561d7335731336c5edc1a45f" class="">Soyuz Rocket Launch Failure Forces Emergency Landing for US-Russian Space Station Crew</a></strong><font face="HelveticaNeue" size="4" color="#0433ff" class=""><br class=""></font></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><div class=""><font color="#0433ff" class=""><br class=""></font></div><div class=""><font color="#0433ff" class=""><br class=""></font></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="magnify-wrapper iZoom img-zoom-in" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; position: relative;"><div id="1539355594397" tabindex="4" class="img-zoom-container" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; position: relative; outline: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><font face="inherit" class=""><span style="font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; transition: opacity 0.3s; -webkit-transition: opacity 0.3s; cursor: zoom-in;" class=""><img class="lazy z-loaded loaded pure-img" big-src="https://img.purch.com/h/1400/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5zcGFjZS5jb20vaW1hZ2VzL2kvMDAwLzA3OS85NDcvb3JpZ2luYWwvc295dXotbGF1bmNoLW1zMTAuanBnPzE1MzkyNTA2MTk=" data-src="https://img.purch.com/w/640/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5zcGFjZS5jb20vaW1hZ2VzL2kvMDAwLzA3OS85NDcvaTAyL3NveXV6LWxhdW5jaC1tczEwLmpwZz8xNTM5MjUwNjE5" alt="A Soyuz capsule carrying two astronauts lifted off at 4:39 a.m. EDT on Oct. 11, 2018, before a failure later in the launch sequence." style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; max-width: 100%; display: block; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 0.3s; -webkit-transition: opacity 0.3s; cursor: zoom-in;" apple-inline="yes" id="69BBC1F2-D698-4D0C-BF44-6BB4280BEE3B" height="356" width="640" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" src="cid:2886BB4C-02CA-4471-9D87-F36E69BFA12A"></span></font><div id="1539355594397-4" class="img-zoom-sub" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; margin: auto; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; height: 0px; width: 0px; position: fixed; left: 0px; right: 0px; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; -webkit-transition: height 0.2s ease-in-out, width 0.2s ease-in-out; transition: height 0.2s ease-in-out, width 0.2s ease-in-out; cursor: zoom-out;"><img class="img-zoom" style="margin: auto; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; position: absolute; z-index: 10003; max-width: 98%; min-width: 30%; max-height: 98%; left: 0px; right: 0px; top: 0px; bottom: 0px;" apple-inline="yes" id="520FDD53-8A49-444F-86A3-36EB5355E227" height="772" width="1385" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" src="cid:6939502B-8E09-4555-AC87-326A426F52AF"></div></div></div><figcaption class="fig-cap" id="nointelliTXT" style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px; border: 1px solid rgb(211, 211, 211); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="fig-desc" style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">A Soyuz capsule carrying two astronauts lifted off at 4:39 a.m. EDT on Oct. 11, 2018, before a failure later in the launch sequence.</div><div class="fig-desc" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class=""></div><div class="fig-desc" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://click.emails.purch.com/?qs=08b7f4538dd69e2d198e96da053e37658fcfe69c347faebe486e216fef8d4628b97315bd095d8404ca0c93e87c2e0fee94de537611c5a592def805d5a3da670f" style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; color: rgb(0, 151, 242); font-weight: bold;" class=""><strong class="">Astronaut and Cosmonaut Survive 'Ballistic' Fall to Earth After Failed Soyuz Launch</strong></a></div><div class="fig-desc" style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="magnify-wrapper iZoom img-zoom-in" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; position: relative; color: rgb(91, 91, 91);"><div id="1539356921212" tabindex="3" class="img-zoom-container" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; position: relative; outline: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><img class="lazy z-loaded loaded pure-img" big-src="https://img.purch.com/h/1400/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5saXZlc2NpZW5jZS5jb20vaW1hZ2VzL2kvMDAwLzEwMi8wOTUvb3JpZ2luYWwvc295dXotcm9ja2V0LWxhdW5jaC1OTy1SRVVTRS5qcGc/MTUzOTI1NjU5Ng==" data-src="https://img.purch.com/w/640/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5saXZlc2NpZW5jZS5jb20vaW1hZ2VzL2kvMDAwLzEwMi8wOTUvaTAyL3NveXV6LXJvY2tldC1sYXVuY2gtTk8tUkVVU0UuanBnPzE1MzkyNTY1OTY=" alt="Russia's Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft carrying Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin and NASA astronaut Nick Hague, blasts off from the launch pad at the Baikonur cosmodrome on Oct. 11, 2018. Minutes later, it had to make an emergency landing." style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; max-width: 100%; display: block; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 0.3s; -webkit-transition: opacity 0.3s; cursor: zoom-in;" apple-inline="yes" id="015B1080-C785-42C6-9D96-D1E04D9316C0" height="426" width="640" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" src="cid:671B7DE7-4D80-42C8-A07A-4D1ABD7B97E6"><div id="1539356921212-3" class="img-zoom-sub" style="margin: auto; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; height: 0px; width: 0px; position: fixed; left: 0px; right: 0px; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; transition: height 0.2s ease-in-out, width 0.2s ease-in-out; -webkit-transition: height 0.2s ease-in-out, width 0.2s ease-in-out; cursor: zoom-out;"><img class="img-zoom" style="margin: auto; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; position: absolute; z-index: 10003; max-width: 98%; min-width: 30%; max-height: 98%; left: 0px; right: 0px; top: 0px; bottom: 0px;" apple-inline="yes" id="47C15B6B-0BAA-4B10-8F90-9569EF69CC76" height="924" width="1385" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" src="cid:134ED161-3EF3-4936-AD0E-60C0E21C48BE"></div></div></div><figcaption class="fig-cap" id="nointelliTXT" style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px; border: 1px solid rgb(211, 211, 211); font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="fig-desc" style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: inherit;">Russia's Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft carrying Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin and NASA astronaut Nick Hague, blasts off from the launch pad at the Baikonur cosmodrome on Oct. 11, 2018. Minutes later, it had to make an emergency landing.</div><cite class="fig-credit" style="margin: 8px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: block;">Credit: Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images</cite></figcaption></div></figcaption><div class=""> </div><div class=""><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;" class=""><font color="#0433ff" class="">NASA Television to Air Launch of Global Ice-Measuring Satellite </font></b>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>
<w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
</w:Compatibility>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment--><font color="#0433ff" class=""><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;mso-fareast-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:
EN-US" class=""><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv" class=""><b class=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; text-decoration: none;" class="">http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv</span></b></a></span><!--EndFragment--> <br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;" class=""></font><table align="center" width="687" cellpadding="1" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(190, 191, 185); vertical-align: baseline; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; width: 708px; font-size: 0.923em; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" class=""><tbody style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" class=""><tr style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" class=""><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px; border: 1px solid rgb(230, 230, 230); vertical-align: middle;" class=""><div class="dnd-drop-wrapper" style="font-size: 14px; margin: 0px 0px 9px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/bannerhorizontal2k.jpg" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 116, 189); text-decoration: none;" class=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/styles/full_width/public/thumbnails/image/bannerhorizontal2k.jpg" width="687px" height="auto" alt="Illustration of NASA’s Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2), a mission to measure the height of Earth's ice." title="" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" class=""></a></div><div class="dnd-legend-wrapper" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="caption" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font face="HelveticaNeue" style="font-size: 14px;" class="">Illustration of NASA’s Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (<span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="ICESat-2" data-wsc-lang="en_US" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">ICESat-2</span>), a mission to measure the changing height of Earth's ice.</font></div><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" class=""><i style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" class=""><div class="credits" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><font face="HelveticaNeue" style="font-size: 14px;" class="">Credits: NASA</font></div><div class="credits" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p style="margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;" class="">NASA’s Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/icesat2" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 116, 189); text-decoration: none;" class="">ICESat-2</a>), a mission to measure the changing height of Earth's ice, is scheduled to launch Monday, Sept. 15, with a 40-minute window opening at 8:46 a.m. EDT (5:46 a.m. PDT). The spacecraft will lift off from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on the final launch of a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket. Coverage of prelaunch and launch activities begins Thursday, Sept. 13, on NASA Television and the agency’s <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/live" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 116, 189); text-decoration: none;" class="">website</a>. ICESat-2 will carry a single instrument, the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS), which will send 10,000 laser pulses a second to Earth’s surface and measure the height of ice sheets, glaciers, sea ice and vegetation by calculating the time it takes the pulses to return to the spacecraft. The precise and complete coverage afforded by ICESat-2 will enable researchers to track changes in land and sea ice with unparalleled detail, which will inform our understanding of what drives these changes.</p></div></i></b><div class="link" style="font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="#" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 116, 189); font-size: 10px;" class=""></a></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><a href="http://click.emails.purch.com/?qs=08b7f4538dd69e2d9f29b517613158568156db63f251e043ab1085093e67e830112020de49ec1a2d2c1f4ccc3f8cc0c53eda72cb19981806e72bf86913fbc298" style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; color: rgb(0, 151, 242); font-weight: bold;" class=""><strong class="">Mysterious Signals at the Center of Our Galaxy May Be an Optical Illusion</strong></a></div><div class=""><div class="magnify-wrapper iZoom img-zoom-in" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; position: relative; color: rgb(91, 91, 91);"><div id="1539357482814" tabindex="3" class="img-zoom-container" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; position: relative; outline: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><img class="pure-img z-loaded" big-src="https://img.purch.com/h/1400/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5saXZlc2NpZW5jZS5jb20vaW1hZ2VzL2kvMDAwLzEwMi8wOTYvb3JpZ2luYWwvc2h1dHRlcnN0b2NrXzY4NzM2NTg3Mi5qcGc=" alt="Mysterious Signals at the Center of Our Galaxy May Be an Optical Illusion" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; max-width: 100%; display: block; cursor: zoom-in;" apple-inline="yes" id="FC1241B5-8763-4479-AB03-D82F37B98436" height="452" width="660" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" src="cid:C0257470-F3B3-4C90-BDA0-3AADCFBF4079"><div id="1539357482814-3" class="img-zoom-sub" style="margin: auto; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; height: 0px; width: 0px; position: fixed; left: 0px; right: 0px; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; transition: height 0.2s ease-in-out, width 0.2s ease-in-out; -webkit-transition: height 0.2s ease-in-out, width 0.2s ease-in-out; cursor: zoom-out;"><img class="img-zoom" style="margin: auto; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; position: absolute; z-index: 10003; max-width: 98%; min-width: 30%; max-height: 98%; left: 0px; right: 0px; top: 0px; bottom: 0px;" apple-inline="yes" id="8EFA991E-D5E2-44B2-822C-163D169A840D" height="950" width="1385" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" src="cid:F92E1E27-8E01-4A97-919F-69337B17E2A6"></div></div></div><figcaption class="fig-cap" id="nointelliTXT" style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px; border: 1px solid rgb(211, 211, 211); font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="fig-desc" style="font-size: inherit; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: inherit;"></div><cite class="fig-credit" style="font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; margin: 8px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: block;">Credit: Shutterstock</cite><cite class="fig-credit" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 8px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: block;"><p style="font-size: 16px; margin: 16px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(91, 91, 91);" class=""></p><p style="margin: 16px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(91, 91, 91);" class=""><font size="4" class=""><span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;" class="">The universe might be tricking us with its optical illusions. </span><span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;" class="">Last spring, researchers discovered high abundances of three elements in a group of red giants (dying stars in the last stage of their evolution) less than 3 light-years away from the black hole at the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way. The high levels of these elements —</span><span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;" class=""> </span><a href="https://www.livescience.com/29071-scandium.html" style="font-family: HelveticaNeue; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 153, 204); text-decoration: none;" class="">scandium</a><span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;" class="">,</span><span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;" class=""> </span><a href="https://www.livescience.com/29155-vanadium.html" style="font-family: HelveticaNeue; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 153, 204); text-decoration: none;" class="">vanadium</a><span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;" class=""> </span><span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;" class="">and</span><span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;" class=""> </span><a href="https://www.livescience.com/34564-yttrium.html" style="font-family: HelveticaNeue; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 153, 204); text-decoration: none;" class="">yttrium</a><span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;" class=""> </span><span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;" class="">— puzzled astronomers, who tried to explain the phenomenon with various theories. One theory suggested that the abnormally high levels of the elements resulted from the descent of old stars into the black hole, while another posited that the elements were debris from the collision of neutron stars, according to a</span><span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;" class=""> </span><a href="https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/researchers-solve-mystery-at-the-centre-of-the-milky-way" style="font-family: HelveticaNeue; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 153, 204); text-decoration: none;" class="">statement</a><span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;" class="">. </span><span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;" class="">The latest of such explanations was recently proposed by an international group of astronomers and atomic physicists. They argue that those elements didn't actually exist at the high concentrations observed. Rather, the elements were probably an illusion all along, the researchers reported in a new study published yesterday (Oct. 10) in the</span><span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;" class=""> </span><a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aadb97" style="font-family: HelveticaNeue; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 153, 204); text-decoration: none;" class="">Astrophysical Journal</a><span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;" class="">.</span><span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;" class="">Scientists originally detected these elements by recording "spectral lines" with a spectrometer. With this method, scientists look at the amount of light an object absorbs or emits. Because different elements will emit or absorb light in a slightly different way (called their spectral lines), scientists can use the information to figure out what an object is made of. Scandium will interact with light differently than, say, vanadium would, for example. [</span><a href="https://www.space.com/16204-milky-way-galaxy-guide-infographic.html" style="font-family: HelveticaNeue; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 153, 204); text-decoration: none;" class="">Our Milky Way Galaxy: A Traveler's Guide (Infographic)</a><span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;" class="">] </span><span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;" class="">The scientists who conducted the new research found similar lines of scandium in red giants in our own solar neighborhood. However, the authors found that if the red giant were below a certain temperature, those spectral lines increased in strength. But this didn't mean that there was more scandium, vanadium or yttrium in the star, they said. </span><span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;" class="">As for why temperature would affect the measurements, the researchers suggested that electrons that make up the atoms of these elements behave differently at lower temperatures than at higher ones, according to the statement. So, the lower temperatures of red giants — which are much, much lower than that of our sun — could have given off this illusion of spectral lines, according to the statement. </span><span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;" class="">The researchers suggest that the high abundance of these elements is not a unique phenomenon in these red giant stars near the black hole, but that it's an illusion in the measurements. The formation of these strong lines currently "escapes accurate theoretical modeling," they wrote in the study. </span><span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;" class="">They concluded that those spectral lines shouldn't be used as a measurement of these elements, "until we better understand how these lines are formed," they wrote in the study. The researchers are doing just that, continuing to measure spectral lines from various stars in the Milky Way to better understand their makeup.</span></font></p><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><table class="wrap" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="100%" align="center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; border-collapse: collapse; width: 660px; max-width: 660px; margin: auto;"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td class=""><div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;" class=""><strong class=""><font style="font-size: 22px;" color="#0433ff" class=""><a href="https://click.b.watchusfly.com/?qs=dcf53a0b645237a5f987172fd222c99811e4f6e84c72296f190ceb854a54cb951afad25f885a3d69dbbf0beb8198c27561f3186ef4d645cf" style="font-size: 22px;" class="">Tour the International Space Station!</a> </font></strong><br class=""></div><div style="line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;" class=""><font face="HelveticaNeue" size="4" class="">I hope you will find a few minutes to share this with your students….it gives a great perspective of the ISS...</font></div><div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;" class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class=""><table class="wrap" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="100%" align="center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; border-collapse: collapse; width: 660px; max-width: 660px; margin: auto;"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td width="30" class=""></td></tr><tr class=""><td class=""></td><td align="center" class=""><a href="https://click.b.watchusfly.com/?qs=dcf53a0b645237a5f987172fd222c99811e4f6e84c72296f190ceb854a54cb951afad25f885a3d69dbbf0beb8198c27561f3186ef4d645cf" class=""><img alt="Watch U.S. Fly" src="http://image.info.boeing-message.com/lib/fe9613727467077f72/m/1/5db9b98b-d4b8-477b-bf8c-45f150a5ecaf.png " width="600" style="outline: none; text-decoration: none; border: none; max-width: 100% !important;" class=""></a></td><td class=""></td></tr><tr class=""><td class=""></td><td height="30" class=""></td><td class=""></td></tr><tr class=""><td class=""></td><td class=""><div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;" class=""><font size="4" class="">The International Space Station floats 220 miles above Earth - wondrous, distant, and unreachable for everyone except astronauts. The privilege of seeing the space station up close has previously only been extended to astronauts -- few of which are allowed on the orbital laboratory at one time.<br class=""><br class=""><i class="">Now, you can join this select group and see the space station in a whole new way.</i></font></div></td><td class=""></td></tr><tr class=""><td class=""></td><td height="30" class=""></td><td class=""></td></tr><tr class=""><td class=""></td><td align="center" class=""><a href="https://click.b.watchusfly.com/?qs=dcf53a0b645237a5f987172fd222c99811e4f6e84c72296f190ceb854a54cb951afad25f885a3d69dbbf0beb8198c27561f3186ef4d645cf" class=""><img alt="Take a Tour of the International Space Station" src="http://image.info.boeing-message.com/lib/fe9613727467077f72/m/2/f367d016-44cd-4110-b328-64213968297f.jpg" width="600" style="outline: none; text-decoration: none; border: none; max-width: 100% !important;" class=""></a></td><td class=""></td></tr><tr class=""><td class=""></td><td height="30" class=""></td><td class=""></td></tr><tr class=""><td class=""></td><td class=""><div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(91, 103, 112); line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;" class=""><font size="4" class="">This 3D rendering of the International Space Station allows you to tour one of mankind's greatest achievements <i class="">from your couch.</i> You can finally see what the world's only space-based laboratory is actually like.<br class=""><br class=""><strong class=""><a href="https://click.b.watchusfly.com/?qs=dcf53a0b645237a5f987172fd222c99811e4f6e84c72296f190ceb854a54cb951afad25f885a3d69dbbf0beb8198c27561f3186ef4d645cf" class="">Tour the International Space Station!</a></strong></font><br class=""></div><div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(91, 103, 112); line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;" class=""><font size="4" class=""><br class=""></font></div><div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(91, 103, 112); line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;" class=""><font size="4" class=""><br class=""></font></div><div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(91, 103, 112); line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;" class=""><font size="4" class=""><br class=""></font></div><div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(91, 103, 112); line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;" class=""><font size="4" class=""><br class=""></font></div><div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(91, 103, 112); line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;" class=""><font size="4" class=""><br class=""></font></div><div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(91, 103, 112); line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;" class=""><font size="4" class=""><br class=""></font></div><div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(91, 103, 112); line-height: 24px; margin: 0px;" class=""><br class=""></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class=""><br class=""></div></div></cite><div class="article-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="font-size: 16px; font-family: inherit;" class=""><br class=""></div></div></figcaption></div></body></html>