God Speed, John Glenn

They blazed a pathway to the moon,

The heroes of the hour.

They made the outer darkness feel

Man's growing mighty power.

They moved through God's enormous home

of stars and worlds and space,

And strived to reach a farther goal where

Shining Planets Wait.

***

God sees us go,

He goes with us,

His thoughts in every mind.

His planets everywhere;

His life, His breath in all mankind.

How could we go away from God?

From him no place is far.

For God who made this world of ours

Made all the worlds that are.

Astronaut's Hymn, sung in my 4th Grade Choir School, Mrs. P directing.

John Glenn Public Domain



Here is a tribute to the Hero of the Hour for All time.  I grew up during the space program, when interest in NASA was at its peak.

Space Dolls, Aliens and Killer Meteorites?  Maybe not!

 

Space toy and dolls are as popular as ever, but so is interest in “real space collectibles” like meteorites and the various telescopes and other implements used to study the heavens.

 

My family belongs to our local Astronomy Club and takes part in Astronomy Day every year.  The Planetarium where our club meets has displayed a moon rock in the past, but also comic books and other types of models and space memorabilia.

 

Below is a summary of the recent news story about a man supposedly killed by a meteorite, as well as some background information about space objects and space dolls and collectibles.

 

Recently, international media was abuzz with a story about a man in India allegedly killed by a meteorite shooting its way to earth.  Supposedly, history was made, since this unfortunate person would have been the first in modern history to have been killed by a meteorite. 

Eclipse of the Moon, Dino Milani

 

On Saturday February 6, 2016, something fell from the sky and crashed into the campus of an engineering college located in Vellore, India.  A water tank exploded when the object fell, and a bus driver standing close the point of impact, Mr. V. Kamaraj, was killed.  He was going to drink water.  Three others were injured.  A government official announced that Mr. Kamaraj was killed by a falling meteorite. Yet, The New York Times reported no meteor showers occurred in the area.

 

NASA announced the victim was not killed by a meteorite.  Besides the folks at NASA, other scientists, including one investigating the site of the crash in India have voiced skepticism.  The rock discovered at the scene has not been analyzed yet, but it was too small to kill someone.

 

Spock Action Figure, Public Domain

 

Buck Rogers, Vintage Alien Figures, Tsagaris Collection

At this point, it looks like the falling object was space junk that entered the earth’s atmosphere. Still, one person’s space junk can be another person’s collectible.  Remember Jack Nicholson’s astronaut character in “Terms of Endearment?”  His house was filled with space collectibles and NASA memorabilia. 

 

Still, the myth of the meteorite fall is alive and well in popular culture, yet a meteorite did land in Russia in a major metropolitan area in Chelyabinsk region in 2013.  Some 100 people were injured, and there was a lot of property damage, but no deaths. That meteor weighted 10 metric tons and was several yards in diameter.

 

There are unconfirmed reports of perhaps five or six people killed in China over 1000 years ago, and another about someone killed in India 200 years ago. There is also a historical claim of someone in Ancient Egypt being killed by a meteorite. There are many other unsubstantiated international reports of animal deaths, and property damage, by meteorite falls.

 

 

In 1954, a rare confirmed report notes that a woman in Alabama was badly bruised by an actual meteorite that crashed through her roof into her bedroom. That meteorite weighed 9 pounds.

 

So what are meteorites?  According to New England Meteoritical Services, they are pieces of “other bodies’ in the solar system that fall to earth when “a meteor or ‘shooting star’ flashes through our atmosphere” at speeds of 32,000 to 150,000 miles per hour.  Most are created when asteroids collide. A few fall from the moon, and the rest from other planets, comets, and a very rare few from Mars.  For example, around 60,000 meteorites have been found on Earth; only 124 have been confirmed to be Martian. The oldest are chondrites, stone meteorites formed 4.56 billion years ago.  The other very rare type of stone meteorite is called an achondrite.  Because of their rarity and primitive origins, meteorites are sought after by collectors and scientists. 

 

Star Trek by Mego, Public Domain. Also in author's collection

Collectible meteorites and space objects appear at rock, gem, and mineral shows, though they may be very small.  I even purchased a piece of the planet Venus, or so I was told, that looks like the head of a very tiny pin. It is encased in its own special protective box.

 

Besides meteorites and other space artifacts, many collectors like to collect astronaut dolls, figures, and toys.  Aliens and space vehicles also have their devotees.

 

We only have to look at reruns of “That 70s Show” or past and current episodes of “Big Bang Theory” to see examples of “Star Wars” and “Star Trek” action figures and collectibles.

 

Some “Star Wars” action figures can fetch over $100,000.  Entire books are devoted to them, and even Madame Alexander and Ideal have made dolls of the characters.  Target and Walmart offer 31 inch and 48 inch action figures that often talk and make sound that represent Darth Vader, Storm Troopers, and other “Star Wars” characters.  Each new film has spawned countless figures, dolls, licensed objects, plush figures, beanies, mechanicals dolls, and all sorts of toys.  We have quite a collection of Hallmark Star Wars Christmas ornaments as well, and a large, plus Yoda holding a Halloween Pumpkin.  We also have ornaments to create a Yoda pumpkin at Halloween, and a Yoda mask.

With the untimely death of Carrie Fisher on the eve of the latest movie, interest in Star Wars is stronger than ever. Spooky alien figures inspired by Living Dead Dolls and Svengoolie movies also spark an interest in space and rocket culture.

Even Christmas, with its astronaut ornaments, some by Hallmark, which includes The Eagle has Landed, Star Wars and Star Trek, Sputnik ornaments are hot collectibles.

 

Star Trek has had its share of toys and celebrity dolls from the shows beginning.  “Star Trek” only aired a few years as a prime time show, but it quickly made up for its lack of network longevity in syndication and video popularity.  Mego dolls and figures of the characters are very desirable, and newer figures also sell well.  There are even bisque collectors’ dolls and a Star Trek Ken and Barbie Set.   Hallmark also has provided a series of ornaments, some mechanical, of the characters and their space ships.  “Star Trek; The Next Generation” and “Star Trek Deep Space Nine” have inspired many dolls, action figures, and other projects in various price ranges.  In the early 90s, one of my friends offered an original Star Trek jersey in her shop.  We often visited the model of  The Enterprise displayed at Riverside, Iowa, “future” birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk.

My Spock dolls are especially important to me, since I had the honor of meeting Leonard Nimoy and obtaining his autograph.  I also was able to obtain the autograph of James Doohan, engineer “Scotty.”  These objects are nice to display with dolls of the era.

Paper Dolls Public Domain

 

The G.I. Joe astronaut hand his space capsule are classics by Hasbro.  Major Matt Mason and his various accessories are unusual and fun to own.   Barbie has appeared as an astronaut at least 3 times, as have Snoopy of The Peanuts Gang and Disney’s Goofy and Mickey Mouse.  Lot of other astronaut sets and toys, some with Martians and other aliens have been made and are still sold by dollar stories. 

 

Warner Bros. Martian has been created as a doll. Roswell Aliens are popular Halloween props in all media.  ET appears as a plush doll, and as a talking doll and mini action figure.  The extra terrestrial from “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” were popular in the 30s along with the “Gremlins” characters. I have a blow up alien doll dressed in a blue, calico dress my mom made.  Another doll wears a dress with an alien embroidered on the front, done by doll dress designer extraordinaire, Roberta Evans.

 

The Alien Queen from “Alien” made during the late 70s is a rare collectible, but smaller figures from the 90s do well, too.  I missed out on the large figure, but found a smaller one complete with molded high heels!  My mother, as was her want, knitted her a red outfit.  She also dressed one of my green Roswell Alien dolls.

 

The Martian Spy Girl and Mork have appeared in doll form, and let’s not forget that even Superman was from another planet.  Lots of my Superman dolls came from Metropolis, IL, home of Superman, and of a museum devoted to him.  Wonderwoman also comes from another planet.  Mattel brought us Spectra, a Barbie type figure that was jointed with metallic paint on her arms and legs, and Guardians of the Galaxy.  They also created Masters of the Universe and Galoob gave us The Golden Girl Figures. This is just a sampling of what is available; don’t forget tiny little plastic spacemen and their ships that still appear on dollar store shelves. 

 

Dr. Who figures and toys are extremely popular, and if you look, you can find the knitted figures from the film “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.  My favorite Dr. Who characters are those by Robert Tonner and the smaller figures of The Clockwork Men. 

Star Wars Public Domain

RIP Princess Leia

 

I have aliens and space men created during the 1930s, and we also have a Flash Gordon rocket and a Buddy –L model of the space shuttle.  More alien toys became popular after Orson Welles broadcast “The War of the Worlds.”  “Battle Star Galactica”, “Toy Story”, “Red Dwarf” and “Small Soldiers” also provided us with dolls and toys.

 

Dr. Who Public Domain.  Check Pinterest for  Boards on The Doctor

We don’t have the space to go into dolls and figures that represent The Zodiac,

This just in, as I’m typing, “Yanni” is doing a special from Cairo, Egypt on PBS that is also being broadcast to The International Space Station.  Major Scott Kelley is addressing the crowd!  How’s that for doll serendipity?!

Public Domain

 

So, next time you look up at the stars, or read about astronomy, remember that dolls and collectibles appeal to scientists, and to other creatures of the heavens, too!

 

 



Public Domain



 

 

 

Remarkable Creatures:  The Fossil Shop by Ellen Tsagaris, a Shadowbox. The Jar on the topmost

shelf with the black lid contains meteorites.  The description is on the white poster on the wall up and to its right.

 References*

 

“All about meteorites.” Armagh Planetarium. Retrieved from http://

            armaghplanet.com/html/meteorites.html.

 

Biswas, Soutik. “Did a meteorite kill a man in India?” Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-35538484.

 

Hauser, Christine. “That wasn’t a meteorite that killed a man in India, NASA says.”

            Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/10/world/asia/that-wasnt-

            a-meteorite-that-killed-a-man-in-india-sasa-says.html?_r=0.

 

Majumdar, Roshni, et al. CNN.  Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/10/asia/india-metorite-ma n-kille/index.html.

 

Malhotra, Aditi. “Meteorite milled man at Indian college, says Chief Minster.”

            The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://blogs/wsj.com/indiarealtime/

            2016 /02/08/meteorite-kiled-man-at-indian-college-says-chief-minister/tab/p . . .

 

Mars Meteorites. NASA. Retrieved from http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/snc/index.html.

 

 

*Remember, also, to follow up with the links within the article and to consult guides to vintage toys, action figures, toy soldiers, Hallmark ornaments, and Star Wars collectibles.