• Podcast: The Search for Planet Nine

    I listened to a recent Cool Worlds Lab podcast where Professor David Kipping interviewed Professor Malena Rice from Yale University’s Department of Astronomy. The episode, titled  Planet Nine, Oumuamua, Misaligned Exoplanets, covered a good range of topics, as the title suggests. Of greatest interest to me was the continued search for a ninth planet in our solar…

  • Study Findings: A Resonant Sextuplet of Sub-Neptunes Transiting the Bright Star HD 110067

    Nature abstract of the study findings: Planets with radii between that of the Earth and Neptune (hereafter referred to as ‘sub-Neptunes’) are found in close-in orbits around more than half of all Sun-like stars. However, their composition, formation and evolution remain poorly understood. The study of multiplanetary systems offers an opportunity to investigate the outcomes of planet…

  • Space Stories: Japan Bolsters it Space Investments, The Next Starship, and Russia’s Declining Space Program

    Here are some recent stories of interest. —Forbes: “Modern Space Race: Japan Pledges $6.6 Billion For Developing Space Sector As U.S. And China Plan Historic Missions“ The Japanese government has said it will establish a $6.6 billion (¥1 trillion) fund to develop the country’s space industry as programs in the U.S., Russia, China and India rush…

  • Europe Takes New Steps Toward Space Travel

    Did you have a chance to attend the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Space Summit 2023 earlier this month in Seville, Spain? Well, neither did I, but from what I hear it appears the Europeans are trying to address some shortfalls in their space program. We already know that Europe is having difficulties timely developing its…

  • A Day in Astronomy: Pioneer 10 Approaches Jupiter

    We may have missed the date of the story in this piece (the anniversary was November 6), but this is an opportunity to share another site that brings astronomical history to life. The American Astronomical Society, which brings together professional astronomers, astronomy educators, and amateur astronomers, has its own blog on astronomical anniversaries that I…

  • RIP: Ken Mattingly, Apollo Astronaut

    Last month we lost another astronaut who almost flew on the Apollo 13 mission and later flew on the Apollo 16 mission. Thomas Kenneth Mattingly II died on late last month at the age of 87 in Arlington, Virginia. In addition to his work on the Apollo missions, he also flew on two space shuttle…

  • Blue Origin is Going to Mars, Hopefully

    Okay, the plan is for Blue Origin to launch NASA satellites towards Mars, so don’t worry about Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk fighting it out on the Martian surface. NASA has tapped Blue Origin to take two satellites worth about $79 into space, which will be the first use of the company’s New Glenn rocket.…

  • Pic of the Week: The Core of Our Galaxy

    With the Thanksgiving holiday almost over, you may be thinking of Christmas lights after seeing the image above. Think larger, such as the size of a galaxy. You are looking at approximately 500,000 stars at the center of the Milky Way galaxy as seen by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and it is pretty…

  • Space Stories: Space Station Gap, Martian Job Losses, and Canadian Astronauts Announced for Upcoming Missions

    Here are some recent stories of interest. —SpaceNews.com: “NASA Acknowledges Possibility of Short-term Post-ISS Gap“ While NASA seeks to maintain an uninterrupted human presence in low Earth orbit, an agency official said a short-term gap between the International Space Station and commercial successors would not be “the end of the world.” NASA’s current approach to its…

  • Space Quote: NASA Funding is Coming, Someday

    “Is it easy to convince people? People want resources spent on things where they see the immediate benefit…And space exploration is something where the benefits, while they are current, a lot of what we’ll see is what’s anticipated in the future.” –Statement by U.S. Senator Jerry Moran, the top Republican appropriator for NASA in the…