• Pic of the Week: Third Launch of the Starship

    This week’s pic is from this morning’s launch of the SpaceX Starship from the facility in Boca Chica, Texas. The flight went well until the point of reentry, when SpaceX lost contact and the rocket was lost. The plan had been for both a successful launch and return of the Starship. The Starship’s rocket booster…

  • Movie: Jodorowsky’s Dune

    Now that Dune: Part Two is in theaters, it may be worth your time to revisit an earlier attempt to create a Dune movie by Chilean-French filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky. The 2014 film, Jodorowsky’s Dune, discusses the filmmaker’s elaborate plans in the 1970s to create a 12-20 hour film covering the life of Paul Atreides.…

  • Space Stories: Oxygen Issues on Europa, the Puzzling Expansion Rate of the Universe, and Mini Moon-Bound Rovers

    Here are some recent stories of interest. —The Columbian: “Europa Might Have Less Oxygen Than Expected“ New research suggests there’s less oxygen on the icy surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa than thought — and that could affect what, if any, life might be lurking in the moon’s underground ocean. Even with little or no oxygen, microbes…

  • An Interesting Message for Europa

    In past NASA missions to the outer planets of our solar system, we attached messages for any distant civilization that might be out there. Both the Pioneer and Voyager missions contained such messages. So what about NASA’s Europa Clipper mission to Jupiter’s moon set to launch in October? It too will have some messages, but…

  • Where is This? March 10, 2024 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 “Where is This? The Answer Sheet” page.

  • Space Quote: No Invading Aliens to Report

    “AARO found no evidence that any USG investigation, academic-sponsored research, or official review panel has confirmed that any sighting of a UAP represented extraterrestrial technology.“ -Conclusion of the Pentagon’s All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) February 2024 report, Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), covering claims of UAP…

  • In Case You Missed It/Video: The Stakes Are High with Our Return to the Moon

    With the recent glitches related to the two commercial Moon missions, an earlier NASA video on the Artemis program became all too relevant. In the video, “Farther and Faster: NASA’s Journey to the Moon with Artemis,” we hear that the stakes are high as we attempt to return to the Moon, and how we could…

  • Pic of the Week: Spiral galaxy NGC 1300

    This week’s image is from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). It shows a face-on view of spiral galaxy NGC 1300, which is 69 million light-years away. Here is more about the image from NASA: Webb’s image of NGC 1300 shows a face-on barred spiral galaxy anchored by its central region, which is circular and…

  • Space Stories: Biomolecules on Mars, a “Dead” Galaxy, and the Most Distant Galaxies

    Here are some recent stories of interest. —Tohoku University: “Biomolecules from Formaldehyde on Ancient Mars“ Organic materials discovered on Mars may have originated from atmospheric formaldehyde, according to new research, marking a step forward in our understanding of the possibility of past life on the Red Planet. Scientists from Tohoku University have investigated whether the early…

  • Movies: Dune and Denis Villeneuve’s Classy Gesture

    It was a classy move by the Canadian filmmaker who gave us of this year’s most anticipated movie, Dune: Part Two. A dying man in northern Quebec had one last wish before he died – he wanted to see the second installment of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune. Once the request appeared on social media, the film team…