To date it has been a superb winter for viewing the queen of the planets, Venus. February marks the pinnacle of the evening visibility of Venus as it stands like a sequined showgirl nearly halfway up in the western sky at sunset. Currently shining at its greatest brilliance for this current apparition, this dazzling evening … Read more
On Nov. 14, 2024, the Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) of the Russian Academy of Sciences marked the successful completion of SIRIUS-23, a year-long biomedical isolation experiment simulating the conditions of deep-space travel and lunar surface operations. For 366 days, a crew of six analog astronauts lived and worked in a sealed environment, a meticulously … Read more
In late 1957, the US Navy’s Vanguard rocket was primed to launch the world’s first artificial satellite. But, on the morning of Oct. 4, the Soviet Union struck first and lobbed a small metal ball into orbit that Moscow Radio called Sputnik (“Fellow Traveler”). That “Sputnik Moment” had a profound impact on the nascent Space … Read more
LITTLETON, Colorado — A university-led lunar orbiter designed to pinpoint the location of ice or liquid water trapped in rocks on the moon’s surface is nearly ready for takeoff. The Lunar Trailblazer is slated to launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket no earlier than Feb. 26 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It … Read more
The moon may still be geologically active, judging from the way the lunar far side is wrinkling as the moon contracts. At least, that’s what planetary scientists who have discovered 266 lunar “wrinkle ridges,” say, as all of these ridges appear to have formed during the past 160 million years in the rare volcanic plains … Read more
During the overnight hours of Feb. 5-6, the moon will pass through the famous Pleiades star cluster while one day past its half-lit first quarter phase. This will actually be the third time in the past four months that the moon has interacted with this famous star pattern in what is known as an occultation. … Read more
From an occultation of Mars to conjunctions with Venus and Jupiter, the moon will be involved in a bevy of spectacular events in 2025, and it will appear at its biggest and brightest since 2019. Here are some dates for this year’s moon-gazing diary. If you’re looking for some skywatching gear to make the most … Read more
December 2024 will see a rare “black moon,” a term for the second new moon in a calendar month. The second new moon of December will occur at 5:27 p.m. ET (2227 GMT) on Dec. 30, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory, two days after the waning moon passes by Mercury in the predawn sky. … Read more
For better or for worse, a small part of the Apollo 11 spacecraft will now be Jon Mesick’s to have and to hold for all the days of his life. The strip of golden thermal polyimide tape, which made the trip to the moon with the first astronauts to land there in 1969, is now … Read more
NASA’s first two crewed Artemis moon missions have been pushed back to 2026 and 2027, respectively, and the move could have big ramifications for the agency’s Artemis program and competition with China for leadership in space. Artemis 2, which will send a crew of three Americans and a Canadian astronaut around the moon, was due … Read more