What Does Felix Baumgartner’s Jump Mean for the Science World?
Felix Baumgartner's record-breaking freefall jump wasn't just a daring feat. Backed by NASA-linked experts, the data collected is shaping aerospace safety and space travel, paving the way for future innovations in high-altitude and space missions.
Monthly Stargazing Calendar for November 2012
The month of November will be quite eventful when it comes to astronomical events, especially the second half of the month when we will be able to observe two eclipses, a meteor shower and a planetary conjunction. First of all, on November 13 there will be a total solar eclipse.
Monthly Stargazing Calendar for September 2012
By the end of the month on September 29, Uranus will be at opposition. The gas giant will be at its closest approach to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. This makes it the best time to view Uranus. Due to its distance, it will only appear as a tiny blue-green dot in all but the most powerful telescopes.
RIP. Neil Armstrong
Yesterday, August 25, we lost a true hero. Neil Armstrong died at the age of 82 due to complications from blocked coronary arteries. He was an inspiration to many and has taught us to dream big about the future of humanity in space. He will be forever remembered. RIP.
Curiosity Has Landed!
Early this morning at 5:32 UTC, NASA's Curiosity rover has successfully landed on Mars, only one minute later than scheduled. The spectacular landing went without a hitch. "The Seven Minutes of Terror has turned into the Seven Minutes of Triumph," said NASA Associate Administrator for Science John Grunsfeld.
Monthly Stargazing Calendar for August 2012
This month will be very eventful when it comes to astronomy and space exploration. First off on August 6 the Curiosity Rover, also known as Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), is scheduled to land on the red planet at 5:31 AM UTC.
Monthly Stargazing Calendar for May 2012
On May 5, 6 we witnessed the Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower. It is a a light shower, usually producing about 10 meteors per hour at the peak. The full moon ruined the show this year, washing out all but the brightest meteors with its glare.
Antennae Galaxies – Astronomy Picture of the Week
This beautiful image of two colliding galaxies has been released by NASA's great observatories. The Antennae galaxies are located about 62 million light-years from Earth. They take their name from the long antenna-like "arms," which were produced by tidal forces generated in the collision.
Dark Matter Map in Galaxy Cluster Abell 1689 – Astronomy Picture of the Week
This image represents the inner region of galaxy cluster Abell 1689 and the distribution of dark matter around it. Abell 1689 is an immense cluster of galaxies located 2.2 billion light-years away. Dark matter cannot be photographed, but its presence can be inferred by observing the light from background galaxies…
Monthly Stargazing Calendar for December 2011
On December 10 we will witness a total lunar eclipse. The best viewing location will be in the Asia-Pacific region, but the eclipse will still be visible throughout most of Europe, eastern Africa, Asia, Australia, the Pacific Ocean, and North America. Unfortunately the eclipse will not be visible in South America.
Panoramic View of the Orion Nebula – Astronomy Picture of the Week
This image, taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, represents the sharpest view ever taken of the Orion Nebula. More than 3,000 stars of various sizes appear in this image. The bright central region is the home of the four largest stars in the nebula.
Monthly Stargazing Calendar for October 2011
This month we were expecting to see a close approach of the comet Elenin. Unfortunately, the comet has recently lost in brightness and it seems that it is breaking up. Even these news haven't stopped all that doomsday nonsense in the blogosphere about this comet crashing into the Earth…