• Space Quotes: Russia is Pulling Out of the ISS? Maybe Not

    “Of course, we will fulfill all our obligations to our partners, but the decision about withdrawing from the station after 2024 has been made.” -Statement by Yuri Borisov regarding Russia’s participation in the International Space Station (ISS), as quoted by Reuters. Mr. Borisov was recently appointed director-general of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos. However, like his…

  • Pic of the Week: Blue Ring Around the Crater

    This week’s image may appear to be a mining pit in Arizona, but in fact it is a crater in Mar’s southern hemisphere. The blue dust near the top of the crater’s rim is frozen carbon dioxide. The image was taken from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter using its High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment. Here is…

  • A Red Smudge That’s 35 Billion Light-Years Away

    Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), Scottish astronomers at the University of Edinburgh believe they have spotted a galaxy that is about 35 billion light-years away, showing us the galaxy as it would have appeared 235 million years after the Big Bang. This would make it the most distant galaxy ever captured by astronomers.…

  • Space Stories: Stargazing Apps, Ringless Jupiter, and Detecting Exoplanets

    Here are some recent stories of interest. —Mashable.com: “The Best Astronomy Apps for Stargazing This Summer“ Thanks to these astronomy apps, you can use your phone to see which stars and constellations are above you in real time, day or night. Whether you’re planning on stargazing, are curious about which constellations are in your location,…

  • More JWST Priorities

    Last week I noted some of the mission priorities in the James Webb Space Telescope’s (JWST) first year. Those priorities were listed under “Exoplanets and Disks.” I thought I would highlight a few more, this time from the “Solar System Astronomy” list. Here are five more priorities: Pluto’s Climate System with JWST; The Moons of…

  • Profile: China’s Xuntian Space Telescope

    Next year China plans to launch the Xuntian (Chinese for “survey to heavens”) Survey Space Telescope that will orbit near China’s space station. Like the Hubble Space Telescope, it will be easier to service from this location. Unlike the Hubble, it will have a greater field of view – about 300-350 times greater. This field…

  • Searching for Water on a Planet Near You

    While we get excited about NASA discoveries of water on exoplanets, NASA is also monitoring water levels here on Earth, and it is scary in some areas. The images above from NASA’s Near Earth Observatory show water loss in the Overton Arm of Lake Mead. The lake is currently filled at 27 percent of capacity,…

  • Space Quote: China is Not Seizing the Moon

    “As two scholars who study space security and China’s space program, we believe that neither China nor any other nation is likely to take over the Moon in the near future. It is not only illegal, it is also technologically daunting – the costs of such an endeavor would be extremely high, while the potential…

  • Pic of the Week: Orbital Sunrise

    This week’s image is from the International Space Station (ISS) as it awaits incoming cargo from an uncrewed SpaceX Dragon capsule approaching the station on July 16th. NASA noted that what we are seeing is an orbital sunrise above the Pacific Ocean. NASA also highlighted the various experiments aboard the Dragon that will be added…

  • A Day in Astronomy: First Men on the Moon

    On this day in 1969, two Apollo 11 crew members – commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin – became the first men to walk on the Moon. The two landed in NASA’s Eagle lunar module in the Sea of Tranquility and remained on the Moon’s surface for about 21 hours and 36 minutes collecting samples, placing scientific equipment, and…