Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Win a Blu-ray of NOVA’s “Earth From Space”

One of the most stunning compilations of satellite based images from space is a recent documentary from public television’s NOVA series, called “Earth From Space.” The show explores how satellites and spacecraft have revolutionized not only how scientists look at the world, but how they are able to understand and study its intricate systems.

“The real power of satellite observations is that they represent objective truth,” said former astronaut Piers Sellers, who is also an ecologist, and appears in the documentary. “They tell us about what the world actually is doing not what we would like to be doing, not what we might fear it to be doing, but what it’s actually doing. And it’s that that allows us to see change, real change for what it is.”

“Earth From Space” is now available in DVD and Blu-ray, and Universe Today has four copies of the Blu-ray version to give away!

In order to be entered into the giveaway drawing, just put your email address into the box at the bottom of this post (where it says “Enter the Giveaway”) before Tuesday, May 7, 2013. We’ll send you a confirmation email, so you’ll need to click that to be entered into the drawing.

Here’s a preview of the show:

The two-hour program was produced with extensive consultation with NASA scientists, and it takes data from Earth-observing satellites and transforms it into dazzling visual sequences. Each sequence exposes the intricate and surprising web of forces that sustains life on Earth. In the show, you can see how dust blown from the Sahara fertilizes the Amazon; how a vast submarine waterfall off Antarctica helps drive ocean currents around the world; and how the sun’s heating up of the southern Atlantic gives birth to a colossally powerful hurricane.

“Earth From Space” looks not only at the big picture of Earth, but also delves into the microscopic world of water molecules vaporizing over the ocean, and reveals the astonishing beauty and complexity of our dynamic planet.

“EARTH FROM SPACE” is now also available on DVD and Blu-ray for purchase. The DVD is on sale now for $19.99, with the Blu-ray priced at $24.99. The program will also be available for Digital Download. Find out more about purchasing the program here, and You can find out more info about the program itself on the PBS website.

We’re only going to use these email addresses for Universe Today giveaways/contests and announcements. We won’t be using them for any other purpose, and we definitely won’t be selling the addresses to anyone else. Once you’re on the giveaway notification list, you’ll be able to unsubscribe any time you like.

Posted on by Katrina Cain

Giveaway: Pocket Universe App for Your iOS Device

The name says it all – Pocket Universe answers every question you have and never knew you had about the great beyond – astronomically speaking. Pocket Universe also has a feature that speaks to the trivial in me – the need to fill my brain with interesting factoids that I can regale my friends with at parties.

Universe Today and Craic Design are giving away 10 free copies of Pocket Universe to our readers.

If you don’t want to wait for the win; you can purchase this app through the iTunes Store.

This giveaway will run for a week starting today, so get your entries in! How?

In order to be entered into the giveaway drawing, just put your email address into the box at the bottom of this post (where it says “Enter the Giveaway”) before Tuesday, May 7, 2013. We’ll send you a confirmation email, so you’ll need to click that to be entered into the drawing.

Here are some words from John Kennedy, developer of Pocket Universe:011_pocket_universe

Pocket Universe is one of those apps that re-affirms your belief in modern technology. Take it outside on a dark, cloudless night, hold it up at the sky, and you’ll get a real-time 3D rendered view of the heavens – complete with star and planet names, constellation images, as well as bright satellites, comets and more. If you ever wanted to know what it was you were looking at, this is the app for you. To help with new stargazers, there is also information on what you should be looking out for every month, and a list of interesting things visible on that very night. The app will also pop-up reminders when something interesting is happen – a meteor shower perhaps, or a flypast of the International Space Station – so you don’t miss out.

 

 

Posted on by Katrina Cain

Giveaway: Weird Life: Search for Life that is Very, Very Different from our Own by David Toomey

A new book, Weird Life: The Search for Life That is Very, Very Different from Our Own, looks at the bizarre life we know about, as well as the potentially countless undiscovered forms of very weird life that we can’t even begin to imagine. You can read our full review here.

But we have two free copies of this book to giveaway.

This giveaway will run for a week starting today, so get your entries in! How?

In order to be entered into the giveaway drawing, just put your email address into the box at the bottom of this post (where it says “Enter the Giveaway”) before Monday, May 6, 2013. We’ll send you a confirmation email, so you’ll need to click that to be entered into the drawing.

We’re only going to use these email addresses for Universe Today giveaways/contests and announcements. We won’t be using them for any other purpose, and we definitely won’t be selling the addresses to anyone else. Once you’re on the giveaway notification list, you’ll be able to unsubscribe any time you like.

Posted on by Katrina Cain

Giveaway: Luminos App For Your iOS Device

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to stand on the surface of Mars, or stare up at one of Saturn’s rings from the mountains of Titan? The Luminos App by Wobbleworks affords you the opportunity to give your friends a guided tour of the universe from the convenience of your iOS device. You can examine deep space objects, track satellites and fast forward or reverse time to understand the orbit of planets around the sun. If disaster movies don’t scare your pants off, you can view Near Earth Asteroids to see how many near misses the Earth has every year!

Wobbleworks provides an excellent user guide to this app complete with pictures and tutorials on how to create your own Observation Lists, log the date and time that a celestial body was viewed and keep track of satellites. It is really quite interesting to note the pass of the International Space Station.

Wobbleworks and Universe Today are giving away 10 free copies of Luminos!

This Giveaway is Now Closed

This giveaway will run for a week starting today, so get your entries in! How?

In order to be entered into the giveaway drawing, just put your email address into the box at the bottom of this post (where it says “Enter the Giveaway”) before Thursday, May 2, 2013. We’ll send you a confirmation email, so you’ll need to click that to be entered into the drawing.

Words from Brian Albers – Luminos Developer:Luminos 1

Luminos, Astronomy for iOS, combines powerful features like telescope mount control, satellite tracking, and a five thousand year eclipse catalog with fun activities such as landing on remote bodies and tracking orbits in accelerated time. The Luminos data set includes two and a half million stars, tens of thousands of small bodies, up-to-date planet and moon surface features, and more. The design of the app emphasizes highly-tuned performance, with detailed models and an interface designed to maximize your view of the sky.
Luminos includes built-in help and online video tutorials, and keeps a frequent update schedule with new features introduced regularly. More information is at http://wobbleworks.com
Posted on by Katrina Cain

Giveaway: The Rocket Company

A few years back, when we were all a little younger and less jaded – okay – when I was younger and less jaded (!) Universe Today reviewed the book The Rocket Company. This book speaks to the need of bootstraping our way into funding massive space projects privately, using our own gumption, connections and personalities, and doing so without the help of big governmental organizations because, let’s face it, there is less and less of the proverbial pie to go around.

This fictional book is becoming more lifelike as time goes on with companies like Deep Space Industries, Planetary Resources and many, many others, looking to explore the infinite possibilities our Universe has to offer. On April 30th, this title will be available for free on Amazon.

For Amazon.com

For Amazon.co.uk

But for those of you who like the feel and smell of a book in your hands, Patrick Stiennon is giving away 3 free print copies of this book to three lucky Universe Today winners.

This giveaway will run for a week starting today, so get your entries in! How?

In order to be entered into the giveaway drawing, just put your email address into the box at the bottom of this post (where it says “Enter the Giveaway”) before Wednesday, May 1, 2013. We’ll send you a confirmation email, so you’ll need to click that to be entered into the drawing.

We’re only going to use these email addresses for Universe Today giveaways/contests and announcements. We won’t be using them for any other purpose, and we definitely won’t be selling the addresses to anyone else. Once you’re on the giveaway notification list, you’ll be able to unsubscribe any time you like.

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Win a Copy of ‘Moon Hoax’

What if — somehow — historical records were changed to show the Apollo 11 mission never happened? In Moon Hoax, a new and entertaining historical fiction novel, author Paul Gillebaard re-writes history with a tale of high tech subterfuge and deceit played out on the world’s stage. You can read our full review of this book here, or find out more about the book at the author’s website.

This giveaway is now closed. Thanks for your interest!

But how would you like to win a copy of this exciting novel? Universe Today has three copies to give away!


In order to be entered into the giveaway drawing, just put your email address into the box at the bottom of this post (where it says “Enter the Giveaway”) before Monday, April 14, 2013. We’ll send you a confirmation email, so you’ll need to click that to be entered into the drawing.

We’re only going to use these email addresses for Universe Today giveaways/contests and announcements. We won’t be using them for any other purpose, and we definitely won’t be selling the addresses to anyone else. Once you’re on the giveaway notification list, you’ll be able to unsubscribe any time you like.

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Win a Copy of “Your Ticket to the Universe”

Your Ticket to the Universe: A Guide to Exploring the Cosmos (Available April 2)

A beautiful new book, “Your Ticket to the Universe: A Guide to Exploring the Cosmos” highlights some of the most fascinating and important sites in the universe, from those closest to us in our Solar System all the way to the Milky Way galaxy and beyond. All of these celestial landmarks are illustrated with beautiful, vivid photographs that bring them to life. You can read Jason Major’s full review of this book here.

This is an awesome compilation of images and information, and the book was written by by Kimberly K. Arcand and Megan Watzke, media coordinator and press officer and for NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.

Thanks to Smithsonian Books, Universe Today has five copies of this book to giveaway!

In order to be entered into the giveaway drawing, just put your email address into the box at the bottom of this post (where it says “Enter the Giveaway”) before Monday, April 1, 2013. We’ll send you a confirmation email, so you’ll need to click that to be entered into the drawing.

We’re only going to use these email addresses for Universe Today giveaways/contests and announcements. We won’t be using them for any other purpose, and we definitely won’t be selling the addresses to anyone else. Once you’re on the giveaway notification list, you’ll be able to unsubscribe any time you like.

Posted on by Katrina Cain

Phases of the Moon App Giveaway for iOS

Phases of the Moon

Enter to win a free copy of the Phases of the Moon App brought to you by Universe Today.

We’re giving away 10 copies of Phases of the Moon for iPhone/iPad.

Want to know the current phase of the Moon at all times? Perhaps you need to do some stargazing or astrophotography, or you really need to debunk some nonsense theories about full Moon madness… then check out our handy mobile app – available on iPhone or Android.

Here are the features:

  • Beautiful images of the Moon were made by NASA from data collected by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
  • Full internal simulation of the Moon’s position and phase. See the current date, phase name, distance and illumination percentage.
  • Swipe left and right to move forward or backwards in time to see what the Moon will look like in the future or past.
  • Click a button to take you to the next full Moon.
  • You can also access a calendar that shows you the phase of the Moon for any date in the future.
  •  New 2013 features include total lunar eclipses, live Wallpaper and Widgets (for Android), and social sharing

The latest version of the app is running a full model of the Moon’s orbit and phases, displaying a scientifically accurate simulation of the Moon’s exact phase, size, distance and amount of illumination.

interfaceWe’ve just done a major update to the app, extending the support to iPhone, and completely rebuilding the Android edition to be smoother and more stable on the wide range of devices.

You can swipe the Moon back and forth to see how the Moon’s distance and illumination change over time, or jump to the next full Moon, or see the Moon’s phase at any point in the future. The Android version is especially smooth, and kind of hypnotic as you change the phase.

In order to be entered into the giveaway drawing, just put your email address into the box at the bottom of this post (where it says “Enter the Giveaway”) before Saturday, March 23, 2013. We’ll send you a confirmation email, so you’ll need to click that to be entered into the drawing.

Thank you for your interest. This giveaway is now closed.

If you are not lucky enough to win a promo code, you can purchase a copy for $.99 on either Google Play or the iTunes Store, and help support Universe Today.

Posted on by Ray Sanders

Join the Golden Spike Video Contest

If you’ve been following Golden Spike Company, you know that the company is planning to launch commercial Lunar exploration missions by 2020.

Last month, Golden Spike announced their Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to raise funds to help generate public interest in their mission. So far people from around the world have contributed to the Golden Spike Indiegogo campaign.

Today, Golden Spike has announced a video submission contest for their supporters. Keep reading to learn how you can participate!

The video competition is open to anyone who contributes to the Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign at: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/golden-spike-is-sending-nations-and-people-to-the-moon-join-in

To enter, simply submit your video on why you believe Lunar exploration is important. Golden Spike will accept entries for the first round of the competition until Friday, March 15. All appropriate videos will be uploaded to the Golden Spike Youtube Channel where the public can vote for their favorite via the comments section. The prize for the first round of videos is a lunar rover model (at left).

Email your video submission to: [email protected]

Learn more about Golden Spike Company at: www.goldenspikecompany.com

Posted on by Katrina Cain

Distant Suns Astronomy App Giveaway

Comet C/2011 L4 PANSTARRS photographed with a 200mm telephoto lens over Bridgetown, Western Australia on March 10. Credit: Jim Gifford

Have you ever been out on a beautiful, starry night and wondered what it was you were seeing? Maybe you are walking your date home on an amazing, clear night and want to impress the heck out of her by comparing her eyes to the stars in Orion’s Belt; or her movements are as graceful as the swans in Cygnus. The Distant Suns app will help you locate these features in the night sky to back your romantic gestures with pure science.

The people at Distant Suns have been working hard to improve the features in this already cool app. The latest and greatest addition is the ability to track Comet PANSTARRS more easily. One of my favorite features of this app is the overlaying of the local landscape with the current features in the night sky. This really allows you to have a reference point for your stargazing in the future should you find yourself without your cell phone.

For the rest of this week until Sunday only, the Distant Suns App is available for half price. If that is still too rich for your blood, try to win one of 6 free copies that Universe Today and Distant Suns is offering to give away this week. With the days getting longer and the nights getting warmer, this is a really cool way to learn about the features of the night sky without the benefit of a telescope.

This Giveaway is now closed. Thank you for your interest!

In order to be entered into the giveaway drawing, just put your email address into the box at the bottom of this post (where it says “Enter the Giveaway”) before Monday, March 11, 2013. We’ll send you a confirmation email, so you’ll need to click that to be entered into the drawing.

About Distant Suns Astronomy App distantsunslogo
Features include:

  • Augmented Reality Viewing overlays the sky with the local landscape (iOS only)
  • What’s Up? Offers an overview of the evening’s sky
  • GPS and Compass aware
  • News ticker of up-to-date space and astronomy news
  • NASA’s Night Sky Network of local astronomical events
  • Over 300,000 planets, stars, galaxies, nebula and star clusters
  • Interactive tour of the solar system
  • Available for purchase at the App Store
  • Distant Suns Astronomy Apps are also available for Android, Kindle and Nook. For more information, please go to Distant Suns product page.