• A Day in Astronomy: The Launch of Salyut 1

    On this day in 1971, the Soviet Union launched Salyut 1, mankind’s first space station. The station was visited only once by a Soyuz 11 crew for 24 days, who had to cut their mission short do to technical problems, including an electrical fire. The crew died of asphyxia on the trip back to Earth.…

  • Podcast: More on the James Webb Space Telescope

    I wanted to highlight another astronomy interview from Alan Alda’s Clear+Vivid podcast, in this case involving a mother and daughter team. Astronomers Natalie and Natasha Batalha discuss “Looking for Life on Alien Worlds” using the new James Webb Space Telescope. The two guests discuss upcoming efforts to better understand the 5,000+ planets that have already…

  • Space Quote: Not a Hopeful Message

    “There is a real possibility that humans will not exist as a species thousands of years from now, and thus a ‘message in a bottle’ about the very basic details would at least serve as a small reminder that we existed.” –Statement by Kristen Fahy, a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientist and co-author on a…

  • Similar Sentiments About Our Place in the Universe

    I was reading the 1937 science fiction classic Star Maker by British writer Olaf Stapledon when I came across this statement: I perceived that I was on a little round grain or rock and metal, filmed with water and with air, whirling in sunlight and darkness. And on the skin of that little grain all the…

  • Where is This? April 15, 2022 Quiz

  • Pic of the Week: Europa in All its Glory

    This week’s photo of Jupiter’s moon Europa was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in June 1997 (and released by NASA on October 14, 2021). Here is the story about these two images (the left one in natural color and the right one enhanced) from the Hubble site: This photograph of the Jovian moon Europa was…

  • Largest Comet to Date Approaching the Sun

    A monster comet that takes 3 million years to circle the Sun is being closely analyzed by astronomers. The comet, C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein), will come closest to the Sun in 2031, but even then it will be about 1 billion miles away. At the most distant point in its orbit, the comet is about half…

  • A Day in Astronomy: The First Human in Outer Space

    On this day in 1961, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to go into outer space. He was launched into orbit aboard the Soviet Vostok 1 spacecraft. He orbited the Earth for 108 minutes before landing in Kazakstan. He did not come down in the capsule, but instead landed separately using a parachute. Yuri Gagarin…

  • In Case You Missed It: Farming on Mars

    Back in a November 2020 article, Science News discussed the difficulties of farming on Mars, noting it was not as easy as Matt Damon’s character made it seem in the film The Martian. In fact, toxins discovered in the Martian soil has proven that growing potatoes with a bit of man-made manure is not possible.…

  • Space Quote: Space Cowboys or Space Tourists?

    “We are not space tourists.” – Statement by Michael López-Alegría who traveled as a private citizen (and former NASA astronaut) to the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday as part of SpaceX’s AX-1 mission. Why does this remind me of the statement “I am not a crook”? Mr. López-Alegría leads the mission carrying three wealthy…