Stargazing Calendar for November 2022
November will be slightly less eventful than the last month in terms of stargazing events, but there will still be some highlights such as a total lunar eclipse, the perigee of Mars, the Leonids and a few smaller meteor showers. A new addition to these calendars will also include the best times to observe major asteroids and comets.
Monthly Stargazing Calendar for September 2022
After a long hiatus, we at CosmoBC decided to bring back the monthly stargazing calendar. We hope to help you keep track of the best astronomical events you may wish to observe in the night sky this coming month of September.
How Did SpaceX Convert Two Oil Rigs into Launch Pads?
As space travel evolves, so too will its launch sites. Instead of building stationary launch pads like the ones that NASA and other space agencies have used traditionally, SpaceX is working to convert two floating oil rigs into off-shore launch pads. How is SpaceX turning oil rigs into launch pads?
How Are Spaceflight Inc.’s Sherpa Vehicles Improving Satellite Launch?
Traditionally, satellites were simply strapped to larger rockets designed to push them into higher orbits, but this can be an incredible waste of fuel and resources. However, Spaceflight Inc.’s Sherpa vehicles may help change that. So what are Sherpa vehicles, and how are they supporting satellite launches?
Faster Than Light Travel Is Indeed Possible!
Recently, a research paper was published by Erik Lentz, PhD in Physics at the University of Washington, on achieving superluminal speeds without violating physical laws or needing negative energy. This astounding paper was published in the extremely prestigious journal, Quantum Gravity. This article explains the intriguing physics behind it and if our current technology can help us achieve it. Why is 299,792,458 m/s the speed limit of our universe? We always have been taught that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light but what is the prime reason behind it? Why can’t we break this speed limit and travel at superluminal speed? Well, according to Einstein’s special relativity,…
What Is LightSail and How Does It Work?
Science fiction has provided us with a lot of ideas for technology that have slowly become reality. Just look at the smartphone in your pocket. More than half a century ago, Star Trek gave us the idea of portable communicators and data tablets that could provide you with all the information you could ever need at your fingertips. Today, we’ve got cell phones and tablets that do just that. If you’d shown them to Gene Roddenbery in 1966 when his show premiered, he’d have thought you were from the future. Cell phones aren’t the only technology we’ve plucked from science fiction. Let’s take a closer look at LightSail — what…
What’s on the Menu for Astronauts?
When you think of eating food in space, what foods come to mind? Chances are, it’s that freeze-dried ice cream that you tried once as a kid during a science field trip, right? During the early part of the space race, that would have been a staple, but astronaut food doesn’t look like that anymore. What is on the menu for modern astronauts, and how has it changed since we first started setting out into the cosmos? Early Astronaut Food During the early years of manned space flight, the food that the astronauts were able to take into space with them greatly resembled the tube of toothpaste on your bathroom…
How Do Spacecraft Withstand Re-Entry into Earth’s Atmosphere?
If you’re lucky when you look up in the sky at night, you might see a shooting star. As you’re making your wish, what you’re actually seeing is a small piece of rock or space junk burning up in the atmosphere. The friction of re-entry causes the shooting star to ignite and burn, which is why you see a brief flash of light. This begs the question: How do our spacecraft withstand that level of heat and friction to return our astronauts safely home? Friction = Drag The fireball you see when something re-enters Earth’s atmosphere is caused by friction. As the spacecraft moves through the air molecules that make…
How Does Space Fever Affect an Astronaut’s Health?
We’ve been sending men and women into space since the late 1960s, and we’ve spent the better part of the last 60 years studying the effect that space travel has on the human body. Recently, we’ve discovered a new and potentially dangerous side effect of living and working in microgravity environments: space fever. What is space fever, and how can it affect the health of the astronauts who live and work on the International Space Station? What Is Space Fever? When you’re on Earth, as long as you are not ill, your normal body temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit or 37 degrees Celsius. When you become sick and your body…
Inside the Monster Rocket to Mars: How Did NASA Build and Fund the SLS?
Want to go to Mars? You’ll have to fly there on a monster. Fortunately, this monster is being designed to carry and care for humans, not eat them! A Space Launch System, or SLS, is actually not a new idea, nor is sending humans to Mars. But the potential for it to be a reality, well, that’s pretty new! An SLS is a giant rocket that is capable of hauling an enormous amount of material through space. Operational Specs for a Beast 70-ton initial payload capability 130-ton final payload capability 4 RS-25 engines per rocket 211-foot core stage 730,000-gallon (2.76 million liters) fuel storage NASA’s SLS has all of this,…
