2010

"We will open the book.

Its pages are blank.

We are going to put words on them ourselves.

The book is called Opportunity

and its first chapter is New Year's Day."


Edith Lovejoy Pierce

So I went to Wikipedia to see what folks were saying about 2010. Firstly, the United Nations has decreed 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity. Also mentioned, as well as debated on NPR recently, is whether to call the year "Twenty Ten" or "Two Thousand Ten." Wikipedia then gives a schedule of fixed and expected events, some of which I will share here:

January:

4 - The Burj Dubai in Dubai, United Arab Emirates will be completed. It is already the tallest man-made structure ever built. (like they need another expensive building)
15 - Annular eclipse occurs in Indian Ocean. It can be seen in Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Maldives, (and lots of other places). It is the longest annular eclipse in the 21st Century. (I won't be seeing this)

29 - Mars opposition with Earth will occur. (...whatever that means)

February:
4 - Planned date of the first flight of the SpaceX Falcon 9 commercial heavy lift launch vehicle.
7 - STS-130, the Space Shuttle Endeavor will deploy the Tranquility module and the Cupola.
12-28 - 2010 Winter Olympics scheduled in Vancouver and Whistler Canada. (Yay! I love the Olympics!!!)

March:
12-21 - 2010 Winter Paralympics scheduled in Vancouver and Whistler Canada. (Yay!)
18 - STS-131, the Space Shuttle Atlantis willuse the MPLM Raffaello to deliver science racks to the ISS labs.

April:
(Nada. Zip. Nothing thus far. Looks like a good time to schedule the annual Blooming Idiots Party)

May:
May 1-October 30 - 2010 World Expo in Shanghai
14 - STS-132, Space Shuttle Atlantis will carry lots of sciency stuff to the ISS

June:
6 - Conjunction between Jupiter and Uranus, Jupiter 28' south. First conjunction of triple conjunction Jupiter/Uranus. (Oooooooo-kay...)
June 11-July 11 - 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. (Yay! I love the World Cup!!!)
26 - Partial lunar eclipse, visible after sunset in Asia and Australia and before sunrise in the Americas.
25-27 - the 36th G8 Summit is to be held in Huntsville, Ontario, Canada.

July
11 - Total solar eclipse (visible in South Pacific, especially Easter Island, and southern South America. (I've always wanted to visit the Easter Islands)
29 - STS-134, Space Shuttle Endeavour will deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and more stuff to the ISS. (An Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer!!! It'll sit right next to the Flux Capacitor!)

August
14-26 - The inaugural 2010 Summer Youth Olympic Games will be held in Singapore. (Yay!)

September
16 - STS-133, Space Shuttle Discovery will deliver the ELC4 and critical spare components to the ISS. Currently, this marks the scheduled end of the Space Shuttle program.
22 - Conjunction between Jupiter and Uranus, Jupiter 53' south. Second conjunction of triple conjunction Jupiter/Uranus. (.......the second one....of three, apparently)

October
10 - The Netherlands Antilles is scheduled to be dissolved and the islands split up into a new constitutional status. (so much for that new globe we bought...)

November
November - The first Peruvian nanosatellite will be launched from Russia.
Nov 29-Dec 10 - 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Mexico.

December
21 - Total Lunar Eclipse (way cool)

I've not yet made my list of Things To Do In 2010 but am mulling a multitude of things over. What I can tell you is that I'm excited about this decade and all the possibilities, the opportunities out there. Watch This Space for Special Announcements....when I get my act together!

Happy Two Thousand Ten!