Universe Today (Page 421)

How Long is a Day on the Moon? The Moon has been around since the earliest days of the Solar System. To human beings, there has never been a time when we couldn’t look up in the night sky and either see the Moon hanging there, or know that it would be back the very next night (i.e. a New Moon). And thanks to the development of modern astronomy and space exploration, our understanding of the Moon has grown immensely. For instance, we know that the Moon formed early in Earth’s history, and that it may have played an important role in the development ofRead More →

Messier 50 – the NGC 2323 Open Star Cluster Welcome back to Messier Monday! We continue our tribute to our dear friend, Tammy Plotner, by looking at the open star cluster of Messier 50. Enjoy! In the 18th century, while searching the night sky for comets, French astronomer Charles Messier kept noting the presence of fixed, diffuse objects in the night sky. In time, he would come to compile a list of approximately 100 of these objects, with the purpose of making sure that astronomers did not mistake them for comets. However, this list – known as the Messier Catalog – would go on toRead More →

VP Pence Vows Return to the Moon, Boots on Mars during KSC Visit Vice President Mike Pence (holding Orion model) receives up close tour of NASA’s Orion EM-1 deep space crew capsule (at right) being manufactured for 1st integrated flight with NASA’s SLS megarocket in 2019; with briefing from KSC Director/astronaut Robert D. Cabana during his July 6, tour of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center – along with acting NASA Administrator Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr., Senator Marco Rubio and Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at KSC. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – Vice President Mike Pence,Read More →

Gaia Finds Six Stars Zipping out of the Milky Way In 2013, the European Space Agency launched the Gaia spacecraft. As the successor to the Hipparcos mission, this space observatory has spent the past three and a half years gathering data on the cosmos. Before it retires sometime next year (though the mission could be extended), this information will be used to construct the largest and most precise 3D astronomical map ever created. In the course of surveying the cosmos, Gaia has also revealed some very interesting things along the way. For example, after examining the Gaia catalog with a specially-designed artificial neural network, aRead More →

The Corvus Constellation Welcome to another edition of Constellation Friday! Today, in honor of the late and great Tammy Plotner, we take a look at the “Raven” – the Corvus constellation. Enjoy! In the 2nd century CE, Greek-Egyptian astronomer Claudius Ptolemaeus (aka. Ptolemy) compiled a list of all the then-known 48 constellations. This treatise, known as the Almagest, would be used by medieval European and Islamic scholars for over a thousand years to come, effectively becoming astrological and astronomical canon until the early Modern Age. One of these constellation was the Corvus constellation, a southern constellation whose name in Latin means “Raven”. Bordered by theRead More →

Titan’s Lakes are Nice and Calm. The Perfect Spot for a Landing Ever since the Cassini orbiter and the Huygens lander provided us with the first detailed glimpse of Saturn’s moon Titan, scientists have been eager to mount new missions to this mysterious moon. Between its hydrocarbon lakes, its surface dunes, its incredibly dense atmosphere, and the possibility of it having an interior ocean, there is no shortage of things that are worthy of research. The only question is, what form would this mission take (i.e. aerial drone, submarine, balloon, lander) and where should it set down? According to a new study led by theRead More →

New Horizons Team Already Finding Surprises on Next Flyby Target While the New Horizons spacecraft was heading to Pluto, scientists from the mission used Hubble and other telescopes to try and find out more about the environment their spacecraft would be flying through. No one wanted New Horizons to run into unexpected dust or debris. And now, as New Horizons prepares to fly past its next target, the Kuiper Belt Object known as 2014 MU69, mission scientists are using every tool at their disposal to examine this object and the surrounding region. The flyby will take place on January 1, 2019. They’ve already uncovered someRead More →

SpaceX Falcon 9 Dazzles Delivering ‘Epic’ Intelsat DTH TV Comsat to Orbit for America’s SpaceX Falcon 9 blasts off with Intelsat 35e – 4th next gen ‘Epic’ comsat for Intelsat – on July 5, 2017 at 7:37 p.m. EDT from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – The third time proved to be the charm as SpaceX kept up a torrid 2017 launch pace and successfully ignited another Falcon 9 rocket late Wednesday, July 5, from the Florida Space Coast and delivered a powerful and heavy weight commercial TV to orbit that will serveRead More →

Did you Know There are X-rays Coming from Pluto? That’s Strange, What’s Causing it? Once held to be the outermost planet of the Solar System, Pluto‘s designation was changed by the International Astronomical Union in 2006, owing to the discovery of many new Kuiper Belt Objects that were comparable in size. In spite of this, Pluto remains a source of fascination and a focal point of much scientific interest. And even after the historic flyby conducted by the New Horizons probe in July of 2015, many mysteries remain. What’s more, ongoing analysis of the NH data has revealed new mysteries. For instance, a recent studyRead More →

I Wonder if it has Room Service? Here’s the Space Hotel that Won a Recent NASA Competition Looking to the future of space exploration, there really is no question that it will involve a growing human presence in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). This will include not only successors to the International Space Station, but most likely commercial habitats and facilities. These will not only allow for ventures like space tourism, but will also facilitate missions that take us back to the Moon, to Mars, and even beyond. With this purpose in mind, an interdisciplinary team of MIT graduate students designed a space habitat known asRead More →

How Does Mercury Compare to Earth? Mercury was appropriately named after the Roman messenger of the Gods. This is owed to the fact that its apparent motion in the night sky was faster than that of any of the other planets. As astronomers learned more about this “messenger planet”, they came to understand that its motion was due to its close orbit to the Sun, which causes it to complete a single orbit every 88 days. Mercury’s proximity to the Sun is merely one of its defining characteristics. Compared to the other planets of the Solar System, it experiences severe temperature variations, going from veryRead More →

Messier 49 – the NGC 4472 Elliptical Galaxy Welcome back to Messier Monday! In our ongoing tribute to the great Tammy Plotner, we take a look at Orion’s Nebula’s “little brother”, the De Marian’s Nebula! During the 18th century, famed French astronomer Charles Messier noted the presence of several “nebulous objects” in the night sky. Having originally mistaken them for comets, he began compiling a list of them so that others would not make the same mistake he did. In time, this list (known as the Messier Catalog) would come to include 100 of the most fabulous objects in the night sky. One of theseRead More →

How Far Does Light Travel in a Year? The Universe is an extremely big place. As astronomers looked farther into space over the centuries, and deeper into the past, they came to understand just how small and insignificant our planet and our species seem by comparison. At the same time, ongoing investigations into electromagnetism and distant stars led scientists to deduce what the the speed of light is – and that it is the fastest speed obtainable. As such, astronomers have taken to using the the distance light travels within a single year (aka. a light year) to measure distances on the interstellar and intergalacticRead More →

SpaceX Targeting 3rd launch in 10 Days with ‘Epic’ Intelsat Comsat on July 3 – Watch Live Never used SpaceX Falcon 9 is seen rising to launch position and now stands erect and poised for Intelsat 35e liftoff on July 3, 2017 at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – Spectacular 4th of July fireworks are coming tonight, July 3, to the Florida Space Coast courtesy of SpaceX and Intelsat with the planned near dusk launch of the commercial Epic 35e next-generation high throughput satellite to geostationary orbit for copious customers in the Americas,Read More →

SpaceX Ramps Up; Reused SpaceX BulgariaSat-1 Booster Arrives in Port as Next Falcon 9 Test Fires for July 2 Intelsat Launch – Gallery What a magnificent space sight to behold ! Cruise Ships and Recycled Rockets float side by side in Port Canaveral after recycled SpaceX Falcon 9 1st stage from BulgariaSat-1 launch from KSC on 23 June floats into port atop droneship on 29 June 2017. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com PORT CANAVERAL/KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – The launch cadence at Elon Musk’s SpaceX is truly ramping up with Falcon 9 boosters rapidly coming and going in all directions from ground to space as the firmRead More →

Is Time To Go Back to Uranus and Neptune? Revisiting Ice Giants of the Solar System I look forward to all the future missions that NASA is going to be sending out in the Solar System. Here, check this out. You can use NASA’s website to show you all the future missions. Here’s everything planned for the future, here’s everything going to Mars. Now, let’s look and see what missions are planned for the outer planets of the Solar System, especially Uranus and Neptune. Oh, that’s so sad… there’s nothing. Uranus, seen by Voyager 2. Image credit: NASA/JPL It’s been decades since humanity had anRead More →

Watch Live 24-Hour Webcast for International Asteroid Day Every day, Earth is hit by 60 to 300 metric tons of space dust and smaller meteors. But sometimes, larger and more dangerous space rocks plummet to Earth, such as on June 30, 1908 when an estimated 40 meter-wide meteoroid exploded over the Tunguska, Siberia region in Russia, devastating 2000 sq. kilometers (770 square miles) of forest. As the 2013 Chelyabinsk meteor event attests, the likelihood of a similar event happening again is not an “if” but a “when.” To raise public awareness about asteroid impact hazards and to urge political leaders to work together to beRead More →

Carnival of Space #515 This week’s Carnival of Space is hosted by Brad Rogers at The Evolving Planet blog. Click here to read Carnival of Space #515. And if you’re interested in looking back, here’s an archive to all the past Carnivals of Space. If you’ve got a space-related blog, you should really join the carnival. Just email an entry to carnivalofspace@gmail.com, and the next host will link to it. It will help get awareness out there about your writing, help you meet others in the space community – and community is what blogging is all about. And if you really want to help out,Read More →

Amazing New Views of Betelgeuse Courtesy of ALMA This orange blob is the nearby star Betelgeuse, as imaged recently by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). ALMA/ESO/NRAO Just. Wow. An angry monster lurks in the shoulder of the Hunter. We’re talking about the red giant star Betelgeuse, also known as Alpha Orionis in the constellation Orion. Recently, the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) gave us an amazing view of Betelgeuse, one of the very few stars that is large enough to be resolved as anything more than a point of light. Located 650 light years distant, Betelgeuse is destined to live fast, and die young. TheRead More →

SpaceX Accomplishes Double Headed American Space Spectacular – 2 Launches and 2 Landings in 2 Days from 2 Coasts: Gallery Liftoff of SpaceX Falcon 9 on June 25 at 1:25 p.m. PDT (4:25 p.m. EDT) carrying ten Iridium Next mobile voice and data relay communications satellites to low Earth orbit on the Iridium-2 mission from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Credit: SpaceX KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – With Sunday’s successful Falcon 9 blastoff for Iridium Communications joining rocketry’s history books, Elon Musk’s SpaceX accomplished a double headed American space spectacular this weekend with 2 launches and 2 booster landings in 2 days from 2Read More →