• Space Stories: New Lunar Lander on Display, Caltech Approves a Radio Telescope, and Missing Galactic Dark Matter

    Here are some recent space-related stories. —Satnews: “Pittsburgh’s Moonshot: Astrobotic Unveils Griffin-1 Lander Ahead of Historic NASA ‘Moon Base II’ Mission“ Emerging as a powerful symbol of regional industrial pride and the rapid privatization of deep-space logistics, Astrobotic Technology has officially unveiled its massive Griffin-1 lunar lander. The vehicle, which has been formally designated by NASA…

  • A Day in Astronomy: Dogs in Space

    On this day in 1960, the Soviet Union sent two dogs into space on a sub-orbital flight – Otvazhnaya and Malyok. Both returned from the trip safely. Between 1951 and 1966, it is estimated that the Soviets sent 48 dogs into space on both sub-orbital and orbital flights, while China sent only two dogs into…

  • More UFO Data Released by Uncle Sam

    If you are monitoring the release of UFO information (or Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, if you prefer), then you are lucky because another batch of information was released by the federal government two days ago. It included the photo you see above, which has the following description: This image is an artistic interpretation of a 2022…

  • Podcast: You Can Provide Comments on Proposed Grant Rules Impacting NASA

    As noted in a prior posting, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is politicizing the grant process for science, including space-related grants. A recent episode of the Planetary Society’s Planetary Radio podcast covered this proposed change and suggested ways that all of us can push back on these changes. For specific guidance on what…

  • Movie: Disclosure Day is Here

    Here are some comments on Disclosure Day, which is premiering in theaters today. Rotten Tomato gives it an 81 percent on the Tomatometer. You can also see the final trailer on the website, which includes commentary from Stephen Spielberg. James Berardinelli from Reelviews: Ultimately, Disclosure Day won’t go down among Spielberg’s greatest or best-remembered films, although ufologists…

  • Pic of the Week: Dwarf Irregular Galaxy ESO 490-017

    This week’s image is from the Hubble Space Telescope. It shows the dwarf irregular galaxy ESO 490-017 as a mist of stars in the upper center of the image (hence the term “irregular”). The galaxy is about 23 million light-years away and only 12,000 light years across, compared to the 100,000 light-year diameter of the…

  • Space Quote: Some Question Lack of Female Astronaut on Artemis III Crew

    “The office gets what it needs when it needs it, and we’ll certainly have all these other people that you mentioned, you know, female military test pilots or just other female astronauts, that’ll be picking up on the follow-on Artemis missions.” -Statement by Artemis III mission commander Randy Bresnik, as quoted by CBS News. He…

  • Artemis III Has a Crew

    Earlier today NASA announced its new four-member crew for the next set of Artemis tests. The two week long Artemis III mission will test spacecraft in low Earth orbit in preparation for Artemis IV, which will entail an actual crewed mission to the surface of the Moon. The new crew are three NASA astronauts and…

  • Space Stories: Nancy Roman Ahead of Schedule, ISS Leak Still a Problem, and US Grant Process Worries Space Scientists

    Here are some recent space-related stories. —Techspot: “NASA’s Roman Space Telescope is Launching August 30, Eight Months Ahead of Schedule“ NASA is planning to launch its Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope on August 30, a full eight months ahead of schedule and even earlier than the space agency’s previous target of September. Engineers at NASA’s Goddard…

  • The Next Space Race May Blind Astronomers and the Rest of Us

    While most of the attention regarding the space race with China revolves around the Moon at the moment, another space race is brewing that will become a big problem for astronomers if the race is successful. This second race is one to place data centers into orbit. Over the years, astronomers have been expressing concerns…