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Where is This? September 7, 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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RIP: Astronomer Frank Drake
We lost a grand mind last Friday with the death of astronomer Frank Drake at the age of 92 (1930 – 2022). In addition to giving us the famous Drake Equation pertaining to the potential existence of extraterrestrial intelligence in our galaxy, he spent his life looking for signs that we are not alone and…
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Podcast: Astronomy in a Nutshell
In a recent Clear+Vivid podcast episode, Alan Alda interviewed Philipp Dettmer, who is the CEO of the online science channel Kurzgesagt (German for “in a nutshell”). Mr. Dettmer discussed his difficulties with school as a child, his eventual love of learning, and his desire to help others to learn. I recommend you listen to his…
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A Fitting Tribute to Nichelle Nichols
United Launch Alliance has announced that it will be sending the remains of Nichelle Nichols, also known as Star Trek’s Lt. Uhura, into space on a Vulcan Centaur rocket later this year in conjunction with the Celestis memorial program. About 150 memorial capsules in all with be part of what is named the “Enterprise Flight”…
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Artemis I: Failure is Not an Option
This is the mission status from 11:22 am today: The launch director waived off today’s Artemis I launch attempt at approximately 11:17 a.m. EDT. Teams encountered a liquid hydrogen leak while loading the propellant into the core stage of the Space Launch System rocket. Multiple troubleshooting efforts to address the area of the leak by…
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The JWST’s First Image of an Exoplanet
It was only a matter of time, but even so it was pretty quick. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has taken a direct image of an exoplanet. HIP 65426 b, a gas giant that lies 355 light-years away, is from 15 to 20 million years old and about 6 to 12 times the mass…
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Pic of the Week: A Variety of Galaxies
With all the excitement about the James Webb Space Telescope, let’s not forget about the ongoing great work being performed by the Hubble Space Telescope. This recently released Hubble image shows multiple galaxies as well as multiple types of galaxies. Here is a full description from the European Space Agency: This luminescent image features multiple galaxies,…
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Podcast/Book Review: The Mission: A True Story
A recent episode of the Astronomy Cast podcast recommended a number of books to read this summer, including David W. Brown’s book The Mission: A True Story. It highlights all the efforts to make the soon-to-be-launched Europa Clipper mission a reality. Below is the book blurb by Harper Collins: In the spirit of Tom Wolfe…
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Podcast: Scientists Discuss the JWST
It is worth checking out the BBC’s Sky at Night podcast if you want to follow the stars or just listen to astronomers discussing the night sky. Two recent episodes in particular, both related to the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), should be on your podcast list. How James Webb Space Telescope Observes the Universe…
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Space Quote: Why the Moon?
“But why, some say the Moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask, why climb the highest mountain? Why – 35 years ago – why fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas? We choose to go to the Moon, we choose to go to the Moon in this decade and…
