silhouette of a person on top of a mountain staring at the galactic center of the Milky Way getty Every Monday I pick the celestial highlights for North America for the coming week (which also apply to the mid-northern latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. Be sure to check View my main feed for more in-depth … Read more
On Earth, you can look up at night and see the moon shining from hundreds of thousands of miles away. But if you went to Venus, that wouldn’t be the case. Not every planet has a moon – so why do some planets have multiple moons while others have none? I am a physics teacher … Read more
Telescopes are evolving and their appeal is increasing. The Vaonis Hestia is a perfect example of this. It was first announced almost a year ago, as the world’s first smartphone telescope. It should make astronomy more accessible than ever – and I tested it extensively for its stargazing strides. The Hestia is a fresh take … Read more
HELSINKI – China is gearing up for future space missions after retrieving nearly two kilos of lunar samples from the far side of the moon. The Chang’e-6 reentry capsule landed back on Earth on June 25, successfully ending a 53-day mission. The capsule was recovered as planned in the grasslands of Siziwang Banner, Inner Mongolia. … Read more
The surface of Titan. Simulations by MIT geologists indicate that the lakes and seas on Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, were formed by wave-induced erosion. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Researchers find that wave activity on Saturn’s largest moon could be strong enough to erode the shorelines of lakes and seas. MIT researchers have used simulations to suggest that … Read more
This article was reviewed according to Science fact checked peer-reviewed publication trusted source proofread OK! The JunoCam instrument aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft captured two volcanic plumes rising above the horizon of Jupiter’s moon Io. The photo was taken on February 3 from a distance of about 3,800 kilometers. Credit: Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS, Image processing by … Read more
The JunoCam instrument aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft captured two volcanic plumes rising above the horizon of Jupiter’s moon Io. The photo was taken on February 3 from a distance of about 3,800 kilometers. Credit: Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS, Image processing by Andrea Luck (CC BY) New findings from NASA’s Juno probe provide a fuller picture of … Read more
China’s Chang’e 6 mission has successfully delivered the very first samples from the far side of the moon to Earth. But what happened to the lander that collected the lunar material? Change 6 launched on May 3. The mission consisted of four spacecraft: an orbiter, a lander, an ascent vehicle, and a return capsule. The … Read more
To understand the origins of this carbon, the Chinese research team said a study of young lunar samples – just 2 billion years old – could help them unravel “the crystalline structure of the native carbon” present on the moon. After analyzing the graphene found in the sample, the researchers concluded that the moon may … Read more
Key learning points: The Chang’e-6 lunar module landed on Tuesday with up to 2 kilograms of moon dust and rocks inside. It is the latest space success for a country that is increasingly attracting US attention Experts say the space race between the US and China raises questions about claims to the moon’s resources. China … Read more