Space and astronomy news
Astrophotgrapher Sebastien Lebrigand lives along the flight path to the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris and regularly captures planes flying in front of the Moon (see another of his shots here). But this might be the image to end all ‘plane crosses in front of the Moon’ pictures. This plane is seriously taking over …
After launching to orbit atop the Antares rocket on Sept. 18, the first ever Cygnus cargo spacecraft is chasing the ISS and set to dock on Sept 22. Until then you have the opportunity to track it in the night skies. This full scale, high fidelity mockup of the Orbital Sciences/Thales Alenia Cygnus gives a …
Continue reading “How to Spot Commercial Cygnus Craft Chasing ISS for Sept. 22 Coupling”
The International Space Station is one of the most complicated machines ever built and the largest object ever assembled in space. At any time there are up to six astronauts on board, each originating from one of fifteen different nations on Earth. It orbits at an altitude of approximately four-hundred kilometers, and completes an orbit …
Continue reading “How to See the International Space Station”
It’s a wonderful thing for children to look up to their fathers, but some kids have to look a little further than others — especially when dad is in command of the International Space Station! Around 6 p.m. EST on February 14, the ISS passed over southern New England, and for a few brief moments …
Continue reading “One Astronaut’s Kids Get a Valentine’s Day View of Dad’s Office in Orbit”
Linné crater on the Moon is one of the youngest, most well-preserved lunar impact craters. This cone-shaped crater thought to be less than 10 million years old – a mere whippersnapper when it comes to impact craters. Scientists have been studying this crater for years, using it to investigate how cratering occurs in mare basalt. …
This map shows the gravity field of the moon as measured by NASA’s GRAIL mission. Image credit: NASA/ARC/MIT The first science results from NASA’s twin GRAIL lunar orbiters provide incredible detail of the Moon’s interior and the highest resolution gravity field map of any celestial body, including Earth. The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) …
Continue reading “GRAIL First Results Provide Most Precise Lunar Gravity Map Yet”
Here’s the view of Hurricane Sandy from an altitude of 254 statute miles from external cameras on the International Space Station. This video was shot as the ISS flew over the US’s eastern seaboard at 12:52 Eastern time October 29, 2012. Sandy has yet to officially make landfall, but the huge storm is already battering …
Continue reading “Video: Hurricane Sandy Seen by Space Station Astronauts”
En route to its final home in Los Angeles, space shuttle Endeavour is taking a victory tour of sorts through the southern part of the US. Yesterday, the shuttle took off from Kennedy Space Center, mounted atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), and landed in Ellington Field near Johnson Space Center in Houston, flying over …
Continue reading “Shuttle Endeavour Lands for the Final Time at Edwards Air Force Base”
Image caption: Endeavour atop the 747 SCA exits the Mate-Demate Device at the Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility on Sept. 17. Credit: Ken Kremer Everyone is hoping that the third time will be the charm to get the final flight of NASA’s three decade long shuttle program underway. See my gallery of shuttle Endeavour …
Continue reading “Endeavour Poised for Final Takeoff on Sept. 19”
Image caption: Endeavour mated to Boeing 747 in the Mate-Demate device at the Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility on Sept. 14 for Final Ferry Flight to California on Sep. 17. Credit: Ken Kremer Space Shuttle Endeavour was joined to the 747 Jumbo carrier jet that will carry her majestically on Sept 17 on her …
Continue reading “Shuttle Endeavour mated to Jumbo Jet for Final Flight”