• Should We Return to Uranus?

    In an earlier posting, I highlighted some scientific papers calling for a return to Neptune rather than Uranus, in part because of Neptune’s moon Triton. But what is the argument for a mission to Uranus? Below I highlight one of the papers submitted to the Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey 2023-2032 arguing the merits…

  • Is the U.S. Falling Behind in the Space Race?

    As much as we talk about cooperation in space, it is always nice to be the first nation to pass a milestone, be it the first man on the Moon or the first probe of Pluto. The U.S. has plenty of great stories about space travel, as do the Russians, and now the Chinese are…

  • Unity on the International Space Station

    As we await peace or war between Russia and Ukraine, US astronaut Leroy Chiao shared his thoughts about his cooperation with Russians at the International Space Station (ISS). He served as the copilot of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to the ISS as well as the commander during Expedition 10.  In his CNN editorial, he emphasizes…

  • Another Exoplanet Discovered Nearby

    Earlier this month, astronomers utilizing the European Space Observatory’s (ESO) Very Large Telescope identified what appears to be a third exoplanet orbiting Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our solar system at about 4.2 light years away. The ESO press release shared the following details: The newly discovered planet, named Proxima d, orbits Proxima Centauri…

  • Where Should NASA Travel To In The Years to Come?

    In a recent posting, the non-profit Planetary Society is recommending NASA consider a return to Neptune and its moon Triton, noting that such a mission was part of the plan in the last Decadal Survey in 2010 along with trips to Mars and Europa (both of which are underway). NASA was aiming for Uranus or…

  • SpaceX Junkets?

    I guess once was not enough. Billionaire Jared Isaacman wants to spend even more money sending private citizens into space aboard SpaceX spacecraft. He funded his first private flight last September, called Inspiration 4, and now wants to do three more of these flights. The first one raised funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital,…

  • Pic of the Week: The Flame Nebula

    This week’s image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows the Flame Nebula in the constellation Orion, as explained by NASA: The Flame Nebula, also called NGC 2024, is a large star-forming region in the constellation Orion that lies about 1,400 light-years from Earth. It’s a portion of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, which includes such…

  • Television: Space Force, the TV Show

    It did not take long for the newly-created U.S. Space Force to be the butt of jokes, but its mission is critical, as has already been noted in earlier postings on this site. Even so, a little bit of humor goes a long way, and the Netflix series Space Force has plenty of humor to…

  • James Webb Space Telescope Selfie

    NASA has shared the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which includes the selfie of the 18-part mirror shown above. The space telescope is still aligning these mirror segments before prime time, so we will probably see more selfies and related shots for the time being, such as the images below (one…

  • Podcast: Joe Rogan and Brian Cox

    While Joe Rogan has been in some hot water recently, I think we can agree that many of his broadcasts were less controversial and simply fun. He is a good host with plenty of though-provoking questions. I do not want to get into politics, but rather focus on science. And in that case, his two-and-a-half…