Happy Anniversary/Birthday Hubble Space Telescope

It’s 30 years ago to the day that the Hubble telescope was launched – and to celebrate its birthday, the veteran observatory has produced another astonishing image of the cosmos.

This one is of a star-forming region close to our Milky Way Galaxy, about 163,000 light-years from Earth.

The larger object is the nebula NGC 2014; its companion is called NGC 2020.

But astronomers have nicknamed the scene the “Cosmic Reef” because it resembles an undersea world.

Famously blighted by blurred vision at the outset of its mission in 1990, Hubble was eventually repaired and upgraded.

The remarkable pictures it has taken of planets, stars, and galaxies have transformed our view of the cosmos.

It’s still far from retirement.

The US space agency (Nasa), which runs the observatory in partnership with the European Space Agency (Esa), says operations will be funded for as long as they remain productive.

Last year, its data resulted in almost 1,000 scientific papers being published – so it continues to stand at the forefront of discovery.

Frederick, MD Speaker Series brings Dr. Mae Jemison to our area

Dr. Mae Jemison is visiting the Weinberg Center for the Arts on Thursday, February 20, 2020 at 7:30 pm.

Photo of Dr. Mae Jemison

Blasting into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour is just one of many accomplishments for the dynamic Dr. Mae Jemison, the first woman of color in space. A fierce advocate of a liberal arts education with a natural aptitude toward the sciences, Dr. Jemison addresses a myriad of topics from general motivation to science literacy, to technological and medical innovations, always inserting her sense of humor in each story she tells.

https://weinbergcenter.org/frederick-speaker-series

In Loving Memory, December Passings

Photo of Rene Auberjonois.

Text on the image reads, "In loving memory, Rene Auberjonois"

We’re saddened to share news of the passing of René Auberjoinois. Auberjoinois was a prolific actor with more than 200 credits to his name, but was perhaps best known as Benson’s Clayton Endicott III and Deep Space Nine’s Constable Odo. In 1993 he was a guest at #ShoreLeave15 and again in 1996 at #ShoreLeave18.

René Auberjoinois passed away on December 8 at the age of 79.

Photo of Rene Auberjonois.

Photo of Marina Sirtis and Michael Lamper.

Michael Lamper, musician and husband of Star Trek’s Marina Sirtis, dead at 61

Marina Writes: My beloved husband passed away peacefully in his sleep last night. 

 Lamper was both a guitarist and an Acamarian Gatherer on the episode “The Vengeance Factor”of The Next Generation in the third season.

Star Trek’s D.C. Fontana Dies at 80

By JAMIE LOVETT – December 3, 2019 01:31 pm EST

Born: March 25, 1939, Sussex, NJ

Died: December 2, 2019

Founding Star Trek writer Dorothy Catherine “D.C.” Fontana has died. She was 80 years old and died after a brief illness. Fontana was one of the key writers who worked on Star Trek: The Original Series in the 1960s, helping to bring Gene Roddenberry’s vision to life. She wrote or co-wrote 10 episodes of The Original Series, including “Charlie X,” “Tomorrow is Yesterday,” “The Side of Paradise,” “Friday’s Child,” “Journey to Babel,” “By Any Other Name,” “The Ultimate Computer,” “The Enterprise Incident,” “That Which Survives,” and “The Way to Eden.” She also wrote the episode “Yesteryear” of Star Trek: The Animated Series, worked on five episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation including its pilot, “Encounter at Farpoint,” as well as “The Naked Now,” “Lonely Among Us,” “Too Short a Season,” and “Heart of Glory,” and co-wrote the teleplay for the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “Dax.”

As a woman working in television in the 1960s, especially in science fiction, Fontana was a trailblazer. She both wrote for and produced Star Trek while being credited as “D.C. Fontana,” keeping her gender a secret until her photograph appeared in Stephen Whitfield’s book The Making of Star Trek in 1968.

Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch puppeteer Caroll Spinney has died

Photo of Caroll Spinney

Caroll Edwin Spinney was an American puppeteer, cartoonist, author and speaker most famous for playing Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street from its inception in 1969 until 2018. Wikipedia

Born: December 26, 1933, Waltham, MA

Died: December 8, 2019, Woodstock, CT

Veteran actor Ron Leibman dies aged 82

Photo of Ron Leibman

Manhattan, New York City, U.S. Ronald Leibman (October 11, 1937 – December 6, 2019) was an American actor. He won both the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play in 1993 for his performance as Roy Cohn in Angels in America.

Born: October 11, 1937, New York

Parents: Grace, Marks, Murray Leibman

Film: Norma Rae, Phar Lap

TV show: Kaz, Archer

Ron Leibman – Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Ron_Leibman

December 21, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Please join fellow STAT members to watch STAR WARS: The Rise of Skywalker at the Senator Theater in Baltimore on Saturday, Dec 21, 12 noon – 5 pm.  We are going to have a table promoting STAT and Shore-Leave.     Please wear either a STAT or SL shirt to support this effort.

Show times:   Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker 1:15pm 5:00pm 8:50pm

 Senator Theater:  5904 York Rd, Baltimore, MD 21212       http://thesenatortheatre.com/

Gone Too Soon

Remembering Aron Eisenberg, 1969-2019

The Nog actor passed away today at age 50.

BY STARTREK.COM STAFF / SEPTEMBER 22, 2019 12:45 AM EDT  

STARTREK.COM

StarTrek.com is saddened to report the passing of Aron Eisenberg, the beloved actor who portrayed Nog in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. 

Eisenberg’s wife, Malíssa Longo —  confirmed on Facebook that he passed away today, on September 21, at the age of 50.

Eisenberg, described himself as “actor, filmmaker and proud father” and was a professional photographer who shot landscapes, concerts, corporate photography, portraits and more. Eisenberg’s earliest credits included an episode of the series Straight Up, the TV movie Amityville: The Evil Escapes and the features The Horror Show, Playroom and Beverly Hills Brats, all in the late 1980s.

When he was cast as Nog, the producers told him nothing about the character, nor was he aware of how many episodes he’d be called upon to do. As he told StarTrek.com in a 2012 interview, “I thought every episode I was doing might be my last episode.” Eisenberg ultimately played Nog in more than 40 episodes of DS9. He also portrayed Kar, the young Kazon-Ogla, in the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Initiations.”

Condolences to his family and friends.

Passing of a Club Member

We are saddened by the passing of our friend and long-time STAT club member, Loretta Shaneybrook. Loretta was a constant presence at Shore Leave, working behind the scenes for decades, and also at STAT club meetings as chair of the social committee, organizing holiday parties and the club’s annual picnic. If you ever volunteered at the convention, you likely remember Loretta as the lady on the scooter, bringing snacks and water to the people working at the event. She will be missed. She is survived by her husband, Randy Bruner. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers as he goes through this difficult time.

Loretta Shaneybrook passed away on Wednesday, June 12.

Keith Birdsong Passed Away

We are saddened by the passing of artist Keith Birdsong. Birdsong made a name for himself with his photo-realistic paintings, many of which graced the covers of Star Trek novels. In 1992, he was a guest at Shore Leave 14 and again in 1996 at Shore Leave 18.

Keith Birdsong passed away on June 4, 2019 at the age of 59.