Tagged: Astronomy and Space
Volcanism on the Moon
Some early astronomers thought that the basaltic lavas plains on the moon were actually water. As such, they were falsely labeled using the Latin word for sea – “mare.” Most of the moon’s volcanism...
NEAR Shoemaker
On February 17, 1996, the NEAR Shoemaker (Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous) spacecraft was launched for the purpose of studying asteroids and other Near Earth Objects up close. It was the first of NASA’s Discovery...
Yarkovsky Effect
A century old physics principle, known as the Yarkovsky effect, plays a role in the manner which asteroids move through our solar system. The Yarkovsky effect works via an asteroid’s absorption of solar energy...
Comet/Asteroid Wilson-Harrington
This comet was discovered by Albert G. Wilson and Robert G. Harrington on November 19, 1949. What is of particular interest is this object's apparent state of transition towards inactivity. While originally classified as...
Saturn in Opposition
On December 31, 2003, Saturn will be in “opposition.” This term refers to the planet’s position in our sky in relation to the sun. Simply put, the Earth will pass between Saturn and the...
NASA’s Deep Impact
In addition to the Rosetta spacecraft, NASA is planning an intercept mission named Deep Impact to impact comet Tempel 1 to record and analyze the impact. This impact is expected to reveal significant insights...
Maximilian Hell
Hungarian astronomer Maximilian Hell was born in Selmecz, Hungary in May of 1720. His formal education revolved around philosophy, mathematics and theology. In 1745, he assisted the resident astronomer, Joseph Franz at the Jesuit...
Getting There
Bob Smith has a great posting regarding private space travel at No Force, No Fraud: I still want to go into space. Check it out.
Wedding in a Tin Can
Eric Hanson of The Houston Chronicle on Cosmonaut's wedding will really be out of this world: For the first time ever, a person in space will be married when Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, now...