• Sci-Fi Stories: Grogu Goes Down, Spielberg’s Summer of Nonfiction Science Fiction, and Star City Shines

    Here are a few sci-fi stories of interest. —Forbes: “‘Mandalorian And Grogu’ Tumbles Out Of Top 5 After 61% Drop At Box Office“ Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” is struggling at the box office, dropping 61% in its third weekend and falling out of the domestic top five. The Jon Favreau-directed film had a soft…

  • Space Quote: One Less Sentry Watching Mars

    “The MAVEN mission has truly advanced our understanding of the Martian atmosphere and evolution. This dataset has had a tremendous impact on the field…Our science team is exceptionally proud of all of these amazing discoveries.” –Comment by Shannon Curry, MAVEN’s principal investigator and a researcher at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the…

  • Pic of the Week: Saturn at Night

    This week’s image of Saturn comes from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, which orbited the planet for 13 years. Even after seeing so many images of Saturn, the spacecraft continued to surprise us with new and unique views. Here is a little more about the image from NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day: Telescopic views of Saturn…

  • A Day in Astronomy: The First U.S. Spacewalk

    On this day in 1965, U.S astronaut Edward H. White became the first American to conduct a spacewalk during the Gemini 4 mission. His 23 minute mission lasted from his exit from the capsule over the Pacific to his return while over the Gulf of Mexico. He used a maneuvering gun to push himself away…

  • TV/Podcast: Neil deGrasse Tyson on Real Time with Bill Maher

    The most recent episode of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher including an interview with Neil deGrasse Tyson, who was chatting up his new book Take Me To Your Leader: Perspectives on Your First Alien Encounter. Bill Maher has invited Dr. Tyson multiple times to his program, and it is always a fun show. The…

  • Space Stories: A Massachusetts Meteor, The Red Dwarf Diet, and an Extra Ice Giant in Our Solar System

    Here are some recent space-related stories. —WCVB5 News: “Meteor That Rattled Massachusetts Was Bigger Than First Thought, NASA Says“ A meteor that created a sonic boom heard by thousands in Massachusetts and parts of the Northeast Saturday afternoon was larger than previously believed, NASA said Monday. Scientists now say the meteor was 5 feet in diameter,…

  • Summer Reading: Three Books Discussed by the Planetary Society

    Now that we are past Memorial Day, it is time to start thinking about that beach vacation. To help with your reading selections, below I have highlighted episodes from Planetary Radio’s Book Club Edition that discussed three different books. I have included a link to the podcast as well as a quick summary from each…

  • Space Quote: Not All is Lost at Launch Complex 36

    “We have regained some access to Launch Complex 36 and are actively investigating the hotfire anomaly. We will start clearing the pad soon and have a good rebuild plan in place. The booster and GS2s in the integration facility appear healthy from quick looks.” -Statement on Twitter/X by Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp regarding the…

  • It Was Quite a Week for Blue Origin

    It was certainly a mixed week for Blue Origin. The week started with new lunar contracts and ended with a rocket that could not get off the launch pad. Yesterday’s explosion not only destroyed a New Glenn rocket, but also a launch pad. It was reminiscent of the Roscosmos launch pad explosion late last year,…

  • Pic of the Week: The Crystal Ball Nebula

    This week’s image is from the Gemini North telescope located on the summit of Maunakea in Hawaii. NGC 1514, or the Crystal Ball Nebula, is about 1,500 light-years away. It was first discovered in 1790 by German–British astronomer William Herschel, who classified it as a planetary nebula. Here is a little more about the nebula from…