Sailing on the Light of the Sun With Lou Friedman

The co-founder and Executive Director Emeritus of the Planetary Society returns for a conversation about the allure of sailing through space. Digital editor Jason Davis reviews three exciting space sail projects, and LightSail Program Manager Bruce Betts provides a LightSail 2 update before giving us his regular What’s Up report. There are two space trivia contests to close out before we offer a new opportunity to win the weekly prize package.

Related Links:

• A good time for solar sailing: LightSail 2 finds itself among friends
• “Starsailing: Solar Sails and Interstellar Travel” by Lou Friedman
• The Planetary Society’s LightSail Program
• Planetary Radio: Interstellar Dreams Turn Real
• Near Earth Asteroid Scout Solar Sail
• Chop Shop Planetary Society Store

This week's prizes are the brand new Chop Shop-designed Planetary Radio t-shirt, a 200-point iTelescope.net astronomy account, and a Great American Eclipse commemorative shot glass.

This week's question:

How long is the longest dimension of the Cassini spacecraft, not counting the booms—the main spacecraft’s structure before deployment?

To submit your answer:

Complete the contest entry form at http://planetary.org/radiocontest or write to us at [email protected] no later than Wednesday, September 13th at 8am Pacific Time. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.

Last week's question:

To within a minute, what is the longest possible time of totality for a solar eclipse seen from Earth?

Answer:

The longest possible time of totality (in the current era) for a solar eclipse seen from Earth is about 7.5 minutes.

Question from the week before:

What is the funny word used when three celestial bodies are lined up, as in an eclipse? It’s not “stooges.”

Answer:

Syzygy is the funny word that describes the alignment of three or more celestial bodies.