Regular readers of this blog know that I have a particular love of the night sky. Each night before bed, I take my dog Zoe for a walk under the heavens to get my daily/nightly quota of starlight.
For me, this is as equally important as the recommended necessity of daytime sunlight.
This blog has posted on a range of fun (and often unexpected) ways that bicycles and our solar system are connected.
For example:
- Full Moon Bike Rides
- The innovative ‘Starry Night’ Bike Path in Poland
- Bike Rides on Astronomy Day 2018
Stargazing World Record
This week was a very special week for those who love the cosmos.
On Wednesday 23rd May, Australia attempted to break the current Guinness World Record attempt for the most people stargazing at the one time.
And it as successful!
Final figures are still yet to be released, but so far it is confirmed that from over 250 registered locations, around 40,000 people joined in the 2018 attempt, which trumps the old record of 7,960 from 37 sites set in 2015.
There were many ‘stargazing parties’ across Australia and you needed to have been registered to have been ‘counted’ in the attempt. Brisbane had a massive contingency on the night in the heart of town – and it was great to see so many locals out to support it.
So, in celebration of this amazing feat – here’s a quick look at one way that bicycles are used in space.
Cycling onboard the International Space Station
Astronauts’ bodies have to withstand a zero-gravity environment. While in space, they often lose between 1 to 2 percent of their bone mass each month, so they have to exercise regularly to keep tone and mass.
On the International Space Station, astronauts are advised to exercise between 90 to 120 minutes every 24 hours (more than on Earth) to maintain fitness in zero-gravity. In order to achieve this, cycling is one of the most popular exercise choices for astronauts.
The astronauts use a purpose space-built stationary bicycle to use. The video below features Astronaut Doug Wheelock explaining the features and equipment used for cycling while on board the International Space Station. (Forward the video to 4’30” if you want to skip the explanation and go straight to the cycle harness demo. NG).
And a few other random ways bicycles and space come together…
