Space

The Moon Rocket Mystery

The Moon Rocket Mystery Today’s title might sound like a Jules Verne novel, but it takes place in the present of the 21st century, not Verne’s future 21st century.  On 24 June 2022, NASA released an odd press briefing. It noted how astronomers discovered a rocket heading toward the moon in late 2021. They calculated […]

The Moon Rocket Mystery Read More »

Uranus Rains Diamonds

Uranus Rains Diamonds   [This article is the third in a series on Uranus. Read Part I: The Tilting of Uranus and Part 2: Uranus Stinks to make sure you’re fully up to date with Uranus.] We have certainly learned over the years that Uranus is a weird place. Uranus tilts and Uranus stinks, but, as we

Uranus Rains Diamonds Read More »

Lunar Lasers

Lunar Lasers   Before 13 September 1959, no human-made object had ever touched an extraterrestrial body. On that date, Luna 2, the Second Soviet Cosmic Rocket, impacted the moon. Since then, numerous other spacecraft and various humans have visited our satellite. All told, nearly 500,000 pounds of Earth stuff adorns the surface of the Moon.

Lunar Lasers Read More »

Heartstrings of the Galaxy

Heartstrings of the Galaxy The South African Radio Astronomy Observatory spent three years pointing the MeerKAT radio telescope at the core of our galaxy.  The result is a disarming, gorgeous mosaic image of the heart of the Milky Way: MeerKAT image of the Galactic centre region – SARAO Most of the stars in the Milky

Heartstrings of the Galaxy Read More »

Lagrange Points

Lagrange Points When I was in high school physics class learning about gravity, I recall wondering if we could determine the size, or at least the mass, of the universe by calculating how much gravitational pull the planet “feels.” If the planet is tugged more in one direction, could we determine where we are in

Lagrange Points Read More »

James Webb Space Telescope

James Webb Space Telescope If you’ve followed the newsletter from the early days, you’re well familiar with the Hubble Telescope and its myriad astronomical contributions. Some of the most resplendent images of the universe have come from the famed telescope. One might argue all of the most gorgeous imagery of the cosmos to date has

James Webb Space Telescope Read More »

Total Eclipse of the Orb

Total Eclipse of the Orb   Much of the world recently received a cosmic treat. Just this morning, a nearly-full lunar eclipse waltzed across the firmaments. Despite covering more than 97% of the moon with shadow, that figure made this event technically a partial eclipse. More than making up for that 3% sliver, however, was

Total Eclipse of the Orb Read More »