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A Day in Astronomy: Launch of Sputnik
On this day in 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, humanity’s first artificial satellite, setting of a space race that continues to this day. The U.S. National Archives has a copy of minutes from an October 9 meeting between President Eisenhower and his advisors to discuss Sputnik I. The text accompanying the minutes demonstrates…
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The New Space Force Anthem
You may not have heard the news, but the U.S. Space Force now has its own anthem, similar to other military services. Here are the lyrics to the new song called “Semper Supra” (Latin for “Always Above”) first unveiled at the 2022 Air & Space Forces Association Air, Space and Cyber Conference in National Harbor,…
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Where is This? October 2, 2022 Quiz
Take a look at the image above. Can you determine where this image originated? Take a guess and then check your answer by going to the menu and selecting the “Where is This? The Answer Sheet” page.
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A Day in Astronomy: New Space Agencies
October 1 is a significant date for two of the world’s largest space agencies. On this day in 1958, NASA had its first day of operations after being created a few months earlier by President Eisenhower in the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958. Here is more about the creation of the Agency as…
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Hubble: SpaceX to the Rescue
The Washington Post reports that NASA and SpaceX are looking into the idea of extending the life of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, which has already been in service more than 30 years. The space telescope’s orbit has been deteriorating since 2009, when it was last visited for repairs. The current orbit should be okay…
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A Day in Astronomy: Launch of the Orbiting Solar Observatory 7
On this day in 1971, NASA launched the Orbiting Solar Observatory 7 satellite to study the Sun. It successfully completed its mission and remained in orbit through July 9, 1974. According to a December 31, 1972 report by Ball Brothers Research Corporation, the goal of the Orbiting Solar Observatory program was to make observations and measurements contributing…
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Pic of the Week: The Rings of Neptune
This week’s image is from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). It clearly shows the rings of Neptune as well as a number of its moons (the image below is a broader shot labeling those moons). It is an impressive shot by the JWST within our solar system, similar to the space telescope’s recent image…
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NASA News: An Eye on Hurricane Ian
It may have been a bad week for NASA regarding the delayed launch of the Artemis I mission from Florida, but it has been a good week for NASA as it illustrates the benefits of monitoring Hurricane Ian as it crosses the Caribbean and heads towards Florida. Two NASA instruments on the International Space Station…
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In Case You Missed It: Moons of Exomoons
Hearing about the moonlet targeted by the DART spacecraft reminded me of a recent video discussing whether exomoons could have their own moons. It was a piece by Cool World Labs titled “Can Moons Have Moons?” It gets into the “Hill Sphere,” which is an astronomical body’s region in which it dominates the attraction of…
