• In Case You Missed It: The Vatican’s Space Observatory

    Just in case you missed it, I recommend you read NPR’s June 2021 article, “The Vatican’s Space Observatory Wants To See Stars And Faith Align.” You can read about the interplay of astronomy and the Catholic Church. For instance, did you know the idea of the Big Bang originated with a Belgian priest? Or that…

  • Where is This?: The March 4, 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?” page.

  • Pic of the Week: Lunar Transit

    This week’s photo is a “lunar transit” of the International Space Station (ISS) taken on January 18, 2022. The details in the photo are impressive, including Tycho crater. The Mashable article accompanying this image states: The silhouette of the space station is so clear, observers can make out a faint grid pattern on its solar…

  • Viewing the Dark-side of an Exoplanet

    It was not so long ago that we were questioning the very existence of exoplanets, and now we are measuring their dark-sides. MIT News has a story about a recent paper discussing the findings of astronomers observing an exoplanet approximately 850 light years from Earth. About twice the size of Jupiter and tidally-locked with its…

  • Another Russian Casualty: Mars

    Yesterday, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced that another space program has been impacted by the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: Regarding the ExoMars programme continuation, the sanctions and the wider context make a launch in 2022 very unlikely. ESA’s Director General will analyse all the options and prepare a formal decision on the way forward…

  • Ukraine and Starlink

    Three cheers for SpaceX’s assistance to Ukraine during this difficult time. After Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov made a plea to SpaceX for assistance with its Internet, Mr. Must approved the shipment of Starlink terminals to Ukraine to allow the country to use the company’s satellites for its communications. Vice Prime Minister Fedorov had…

  • Russia Interrupts Space Missions

    Be prepared. With the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and the related U.S. and European sanctions, we can expect some delays and cancellations in upcoming space missions. The latest news story is Russia’s pull out of the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, leading to the delayed launch of two European Space Agency (ESA)…

  • Remnants of Another Galaxy Found in the Milky Way

    The European Space Agency (ESA) reported scientists found the remnants of another galaxy that collides with our galaxy 8-10 billion years ago. This would be the sixth such grouping or galaxy to be found within the Milky Way. We commonly hear about merging planets in the early stages of our solar system, but that is…

  • Space Quote: Sanctions and the ISS

    “If you block cooperation with us, who will save the ISS from uncontrolled deorbiting and falling on US or European territory?” –Dmitry Olegovich Rogozin, Director General of Roscosmos, commenting on US sanctions against Russia’s aerospace industry resulting from that country’s invasion of Ukraine this week. The ISS is expected to stay aloft until 2031, assuming…

  • Pic of the Week: Giant Star on the Edge of Destruction

    This week’s image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows an erupting star, as explained by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Hubble site: The giant star…is waging a tug-of-war between gravity and radiation to avoid self-destruction. The star, called AG Carinae, is surrounded by an expanding shell of gas and dust — a nebula — that is…