• Finalists Announced in Astronomy Photographer Contest

    The finalists have been named in the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s annual ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. One of those photographs is provided above. It competed in the Skyscapes category, which is one of nine competition categories. The photo was taken at Cathedral Cove, Waikato, North Island, Aotearoa/New Zealand. Here are a few words…

  • Volunteers Needed for Moon and Mars Simulation

    Do you need to get away from the ordinary for something more stimulating (and possibly away from the constant political news)? How about going into isolation to assist NASA with future Moon and Mars missions? NASA is looking for a few hardy souls to start a new virtual space mission in August 2027 at the…

  • Podcast: The Future of Space Stations

    The latest podcast episode of the Planetary Society’s Planetary radio had an informative discussion about space stations, including why we need them and who should be financing them. The episode, What’s Going on with Commercial Space Stations, is a conversation between Casey Dreier, Chief of Space Policy for The Planetary Society, and Clayton Swope, Deputy…

  • Pic of the Week: Fourth of July Colors

    If you are looking for some images for the upcoming Fourth of July celebrations, then this week’s pic will give you everything you need. The red, white, and blue of these images from the Chandra X-ray Observatory should put you in the right spirit. The images from the top clockwise are Cassiopeia A, the ZwCl…

  • A Martian Rover on the Moon?

    It seems NASA is looking for some shortcuts to get back on the Moon, including repurposing an earlier rover designed for Mars. The rover in question is called the Polar Rover for Observation, Mapping and In-Situ Exploration, or simply PROMISE. It is the test model for the Perseverance and Curiosity rovers currently exploring Mars. One…

  • Happy Asteroid Day!

    NASA is busy tracking the various large asteroids around the solar system, so we are a few paces ahead of the dinosaurs. Go to this link to learn more. For more about Asteroid Day, go to this link.

  • Space Stories: Swift Recovery, Saudi Space Sight-seeing Plans, and Ukrainian Reprisals in Russia

    Here are some recent space-related stories. —Science Alert: “Heads Up: NASA to Launch ‘Daring’ Telescope Rescue Mission This Week“ NASA will soon attempt something it’s never done before: Save a space telescope from falling back to Earth using a servicing robot. It sounds like something right out of a sci-fi film, but NASA is hoping it…

  • Space Quote: That’s All We Need in This Year’s Election

    “In 2003, during a local Belgian election, a candidate received over 4,000 extra votes on a computerized voting machine — more than was physically possible, triggering an investigation…The leading explanation for each of these events is what’s known as a bit flip: an electronic glitch caused by radiation from space. Although uncommon, they can have…

  • Astronomy Question: Craters on Mercury

    Multiple Choice: What writer’s name below is not found among the craters on Mercury named after famous writers? A. Marlowe B. MelvilleC. MiltonD. Molière Take a guess and then check your answer by going to the “Astronomy Question Answer Sheet” page.

  • Video: The Risk of Self-Replicating Space Probes

    Earlier this month Cool Worlds Labs posted a video titled “Why Technological Civilizations Might Be Insanely Rare” that discusses the idea of self-replicating space probes. The video starts with the assumption that self-replicating space probes, which have been discussed over the past 50 years, are something we should be able to achieve in the next…