[Contest] 2nd Annual Halloween Costume Contest Results

Thank you so much for your entries for our space/science Halloween costume contest! We were really sorry to not be able to take entries from kids this time, but we hope we’ll be able to get the legalities sorted out for next year!

Without further ado, here are our winners!

Best Tribute to the Red Planet

The is Jean Pounder, who said, “Attached is my interpretation of the Mars Science Laboratory with a nod to the Odyssey, the longest functioning Mars orbiter.” We loved the creativity and detail in this one!

Best Hair (or Most Committed to the Costume)

John Nalezny dressed up as “Mohawk Guy,” a.k.a Bobak Ferdowsi, the mission controller for the NASA Mars Curiosity Landing. We were impressed since everyone else could just take their costume off, but not so much with this one.

While we couldn’t post the pics of their cute and clever costumes, we did want to share this Pumpkin that Eric and Brian Schoellner carved, also of “Mohawk Guy.” Anyone else dress up as him for Halloween? (And do you think Bobak ever thought he’d be a Halloween costume?)

Most Nostalgic

Here is last year’s winner, Yuruany Arrieta, as the Space Shuttle. We like the flip-flops, which we are sure is a tribute to Florida, where the shuttle launches. We also enjoyed the wide array of NASA garb hanging behind her. An appropriate back-drop!

Most Ready for Orbit

We can’t have a shuttle without an astronaut! Susan Benson says, “This is my tribute to all of the greatness that is NASA.” Aw, shucks. :-)

We’ll be in touch with all of you about your NASA prize packs!

Thank you again for entering and we hope we’ll see you next year!

[Maggie's blog] Spooky Astronomy, part 3

Another Halloween is upon us again and that means it’s time for some more… [spooky voice] Haunted Astronomical Imagery!

But first I wanted to do a quick plug for our 2nd Annual Halloween Science Costume Contest!. Check out this blog for details on how to enter!

Now, back to our terrifying celestial imagery!

The glowing eye of this Terminator is really another star-forming region called NGC 2467.

Credit: ESO

A celestial Witch’s broom? Or the Pencil Nebula? Either way it is the remains of a huge stellar explosion.

Credit: ESO

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[Maggie's Blog] Spooky Astronomy, part 2

Another Halloween is upon us and that means it’s time for some… [spooky voice] Haunted Astronomical Imagery!

Consider, if you will, the Helix Nebula…

Credit: NASA, NOAO, ESA, the Hubble Helix Nebula Team, M. Meixner (STScI), and T.A. Rector (NRAO)

….which hides a zombie at its core, visible when the nebula is viewed in the infrared.

Credit: NASA, JPL, and K. Su

Or this ghostly shape haunting the Pleiades:
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[Maggie's blog] Spooky Astronomy

Sometimes clouds and dust can take on recognizable shape – like, a horse’s head. But astronomical imagery can be more…well…sinister in appearance. Which makes these perfect for Halloween! Thanks to our friend @NASAUniverseEDU for compiling these.

Credit:A. Fabian (IoA Cambridge) et al., NASA

This screaming skull above is actually a Chandra image of the Perseus Cluster of galaxies in x-rays.

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[Sara's blog] Tricks and Treats!

A year ago, we were moving out of our old offices in Building 2 here at NASA Goddard and decided to look into the rich history of that building. Things didn’t go quite as we expected:

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