Tuesday, January 01, 2013

An artist's concept of the FALCON HEAVY rocket launching from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Happy New Year, Everyone! Unlike 2012, this year won't be very action-packed in terms of what's happening in space exploration—with NASA's only deep-space robotic missions set for flight being LADEE (Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer), which launches to the Moon this August...and the MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) orbiter that lifts off for Mars in late November. Also, SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket is set to make its maiden flight from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California sometime this year (a specific launch date hasn't been set yet). And in a final milestone for NASA's retired space shuttle program, the orbiter Atlantis officially goes on public display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida this July.

Still dressed in armor, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) kicks back on his couch in IRON MAN 3.

In terms of movies, this May will see the third installments in The Hangover and Iron Man franchises being released in theaters, as well as the return of Star Wars prequels Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith (both in 3-D) to the big screen this fall. Oh, and this December will see the second (and originally the final) film in The Hobbit series, The Desolation of Smaug, coming to cinemas as well. Unlike An Unexpected Journey, I have absolutely NO intention whatsoever of seeing The Desolation of Smaug in the High Frame Rate (or 48 frames per second) format. Peter Jackson did a pretty good job on the 3-D, though. And lastly, Michael Bay should begin filming 2014's Transformers 4 sometime this year. Obvously... Carry on!

Emma Stone and Sean Penn star in GANGSTER SQUAD.

January 2013
-BCS National Championship Game in Miami Gardens, Florida: Notre Dame vs. Alabama (Jan 7)
-Gangster Squad (Jan 11)
-Zero Dark Thirty (Jan 11)
-70th Annual Golden Globe Awards (Jan 13)
-Broken City (Jan 18)
-U.S. presidential inauguration ceremony for Barack Obama (Jan 21)
-Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (Jan 25)
-Movie 43 (Jan 25)

The logo for Super Bowl XLVII.

February 2013
-Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans, Louisiana (Feb 3)
-Top Gun 3D (Feb 8)
-55th Annual Grammy Awards (Feb 10)
-A Good Day to Die Hard (Feb 14)
-Escape from Planet Earth (Feb 14)
-2013 NBA All-Star Game in Houston, Texas (Feb 17)
-55th annual Daytona 500 in Florida (Feb 24)
-85th Academy Awards (Feb 24)
- First flight of Orbital Sciences' Cygnus spacecraft atop an Antares rocket (TBD)

Mila Kunis, James Franco, Michelle Williams and Rachel Weisz star in OZ: THE GREAT AND POWERFUL.

March 2013
-SpaceX's Dragon ship launches cargo to the International Space Station (Mar 1)
-Jack the Giant Slayer (Mar 1)
-Oz: The Great and Powerful (Mar 8)
-2013 NCAA March Madness basketball tournament begins with Opening Round Game (Mar 19)
-Conclusion of the March Madness tournament prior to the 2013 Final Four games in Atlanta (Mar 24)
-G.I. Joe: Retaliation (Mar 29)

An art concept of the CYGNUS spacecraft approaching the International Space Station.

April 2013
-Jurassic Park 3D (Apr 5)
-Orbital Sciences' Cygnus freighter launches to the International Space Station (Apr 5)
-2013 NCAA Final Four basketball tournament in Atlanta, Georgia (Apr 6)
-NCAA Final Four Championship Game in Atlanta, Georgia (Apr 8)
-Oblivion (Apr 12)
-Launch of Europe's fourth Automated Transfer Vehicle, Albert Einstein, to the International Space Station (Apr 18)
-A partial lunar eclipse will be visible over Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia (Apr 25)
-NFL Draft (Apr 25-27)
-Pain & Gain (Apr 26)

A photo I took of an annular solar eclipse that occurred above Southern California, on May 20, 2012.

May 2013
-Iron Man 3 (May 3)
-The Great Gatsby (May 10)
-Annular solar eclipse over Northern Australia and South Pacific (May 10)
-Star Trek into Darkness (May 17)
-Fast and Furious 6 (May 24)
-The Hangover Part III (May 24)
-Start of the 2013 French Open tennis tournament (May 26)
-97th Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (May 26)
-After Earth (May 31)

Superman (Henry Cavill) is placed into custody by U.S. soldiers in MAN OF STEEL.

June 2013
-Conclusion of the 2013 French Open (Jun 9)
-Man of Steel (Jun 14)
-This is the End (Jun 14)
-World War Z (Jun 21)
-Kick Ass 2 (Jun 28)
-White House Down (Jun 28)
-Start of the 2013 Tour de France (Jun 29)

Artwork for Guillermo del Toro's sci-fi action film, PACIFIC RIM.

July 2013
-Croatia set to join the European Union (Jul 1)
-The Lone Ranger (Jul 3)
-Pacific Rim (Jul 12)
-Launch of Japan's fourth H-2 Transfer Vehicle to the International Space Station (Jul 15)
-2013 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Queens, New York City (Jul 16)
-R.I.P.D. (Jul 19)
-Conclusion of the Tour de France (Jul 21)
-The Wolverine (Jul 26)
-Retired space shuttle Atlantis goes on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida (TBD)

An art concept depicting NASA's LADEE spacecraft orbiting the Moon.

August 2013
-300: Rise of an Empire (Aug 2)
-RED 2 (Aug 2)
-Elysium (Aug 9)
-Launch of NASA's LADEE spacecraft to the Moon (Aug 12)
-2 Guns (Aug 16)
-Start of the 2013 World Rowing Championships in South Korea (Aug 25)

Jango Fett returns to the big screen in STAR WARS – EPISODE II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES 3D.

September 2013
-Conclusion of the World Rowing Championships (Sep 1)
-Riddick (Sep 6)
-I, Frankenstein (Sep 13)
-The Little Mermaid 3D (Sep 13)
-Rush (Sep 20)
-Star Wars – Episode II: Attack of the Clones 3D (Sep 20)
-SpaceX's Dragon ship launches cargo to the International Space Station (Sep 30)

Darth Sidious is ready to duel once more in STAR WARS – EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH 3D.

October 2013
-Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (Oct 4)
-Star Wars – Episode III: Revenge of the Sith 3D (Oct 4)
-NASA's Jupiter-bound Juno spacecraft to make first gravity assist flyby of Earth (Oct 9)
-A penumbral lunar eclipse over the Americas, Europe, Africa and most of Asia (Oct 18)
-Paranormal Activity 5 (Oct 25)

An artist's concept depicting NASA's MAVEN spacecraft studying Mars' atmosphere.

November 2013
-Ender's Game (Nov 1)
-Total solar eclipse over the Atlantic Ocean (Nov 3)
-Thor: The Dark World (Nov 8)
-Launch of NASA's MAVEN orbiter to Mars (Nov 18)
-The Hunger Game: Catching Fire (Nov 22)
-India to launch its first Mars probe, Mangalyaan (TBD)

Paul Rudd, Will Ferrell, David Koechner and Steve Carell reunite in ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND CONTINUES.

December 2013
-The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Dec 13)
-Anchorman: The Legend Continues (Dec 20)
-47 Ronin (Dec 25)
-Jack Ryan (Dec 25)
-Comet C/2012 S1 to make close flyby of Earth (Dec 26)

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