Odyssey July 2002: The Surf Report

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Odyssey July 2002 -- Editor: Kris Cerone

Hear All About It!

by Diane Rhodes

There's nothing like enjoying that first cup of coffee-analog to start your morning, while catching up on the news! But if your paper is like most of them, it doesn't cover space related news and activities worth, well, the paper it's printed on. But you don't have to be left hanging. There are some alternatives to paper news, delivered right to your inbox, that will cover the topics you look for.

One of the best sources for space information, Space.com, has just undergone a redesign of their website, but they still offer a news bulletin service, with space related news updates sent to your email inbox. Sign up is easy and not intrusive (at least for the email updates to your current email address), and you can do that here: http://www.space.com/php/email/get_spacenews.php

[They also offer a free email box, which has updates (and targeted sales info!) sent to you at "yourname@space.com".]

You can also sign up for news releases from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, one of the seven NASA space centers. They send frequent updates on missions currently running, new missions being proposed and new discoveries from Hubble, Galileo, Mars Surveyor, Mars Odyssey and others. They put out releases frequently, so if you have extremely limited inbox space you might want to visit their news site, www.jpl.nasa.gov/news instead. Their sign up for emails is here: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news_index.html.

One of my favorites is Universe Today, a sort of "Reader's Digest" of space news, put out by a Canadian space enthusiast, Frazier Cain. He also has a site by the same name which features in-depth interviews and articles on space and technology, screen savers and Hubble space images guaranteed to wake you up in the morning. The email updates arrive every 1-3 days (depending on what's going on), listing a synopsis of space events with links to the sources of the item. You can sign up here: http://www.universetoday.com/html/misc/newsletter.html

Hope this is enough to get you started. Now, fire up that expresso machine and pass the scones!