• A Day in Astronomy: Birth of Wernher von Braun

    On this day in 1912, German-American aerospace engineer Wernher von Braun was born in Wyrzysk, which was part of Germany at the time and later became a Polish city. His full name was Wernher Magnus Maximilian, Freiherr von Braun. Mr. Braun is best remembered for his part in the construction of Nazi Germany’s V-2 rockets as…

  • New Crew Heads to the International Space Station

    Earlier today, a Russian Soyuz rocket launched into space to bring three new crew members to the International Space Station (ISS). The passengers on today’s delayed flight are cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Marina Vasilevskaya as well as NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson. They are expected to board the ISS on Monday. Astronaut Dyson, who plans to…

  • Space Quote: Space Jobs are in Demand, and Demanding

    “You’re doing this cool thing…You’re also going to be like really worked to death.” -Comment by Griffin Rahn, who is earning his aerospace master’s degree at Georgia Tech, in a Fortune article titled “NASA is Struggling to Compete with Bezos, Musk and Their 6-figure Salaries for Starting Aerospace Engineers at Blue Origin and SpaceX.” The…

  • Pic of the Week: Tightly Bound Herbig-Haro 46/47

    This week’s image, released last year, is from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). It shows two forming stars in what is called Herbig-Haro 46/47. Here is a full explanation of what you are seeing from NASA: NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured a tightly bound pair of actively forming stars, known as Herbig-Haro…

  • Television: 3 Body Problem Premiering on Netflix

    We live in a time where we have plenty of science fiction options on television and at the theaters. Be it the Apple TV+ remake of Issac Asimov’s Foundation, the current showing of Frank Herbert’s Dune: Part Two at theaters, or the ongoing television series spinning more Star Wars and Star Trek tales. And now,…

  • Space Stories: Starliner Preparing for Flight, New Volcano on Mars, and Questions About Dark Matter

    Here are some recent stories of interest. —Space.com: “New NASA Astronauts ‘Thrilled’ to See 1st Boeing Starliner Crew Launch in May“ A new spacecraft will at last launch its first crew in May, and a fresh group of NASA astronauts say they’re excited to support it. NASA’s newest astronaut group graduated from basic training on March…

  • RIP: Thomas Stafford, Apollo 10 Astronaut

    As we plan our return to the Moon, we cannot forget the Apollo astronauts who showed us the way last century. One of those astronauts, Thomas Stafford, died today at the age of 93. Among his many achievements, including his Apollo 10 mission that prepared the way for the first Moon landing by Apollo 11,…

  • Make Your 2024 Solar Eclipse Plans Now

    If you are planning to get a good seat for the total solar eclipse on April 8, you may want to consult the NASA Solar Eclipses map (shown above) to figure our where you want to be. Hint for 2024 – California is not the place to be. The 2024 solar eclipse map (shown below)…

  • Two Japanese Commercial Missions, Only One Reaching Space

    Earlier this week, Japanese cargo was launched towards space by two commercial companies. Unfortunately, only of the rockets made it into space. On March 13, US company Rocket Lab launched a payload for Japan’s Synspective, an Earth-imaging company, from its launch site in New Zealand. The launch was successful and the StriX-3 satellite was placed…

  • Last Chance to Get Your Name on the Moon

    You have until midnight today to submit your name to NASA and be part of the Agency’s first robotic Moon rover, called Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER). Go to this link and provide your name and PIN code to ensure your name goes to the Moon (and you also get your boarding pass as…