A Russian Soyuz rocket stands poised atop its launchpad at Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan ahead of the Sept. 2 launch of a new three-man crew to the International Space Station. The rocket will launch Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov, Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen and Kazakh astronaut Aidyn Aimbetov into orbit on a Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft.Credit: RSC Energia […]
An image from the Web comic “Brassens in Space,” by French cartoonist Boulet. In the comic, the artist takes the songwriter Georges Brassens on a tour of the solar system, to show him the wonder and awe made possible by science.Credit: Boulet/bouletcorp.com Does science kill the poetry of nature, or does it write new volumes […]
Saturn’s moon Dione crosses the face of the ringed planet in an image obtained on May 21, 2015.Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute An icy moon of Saturn hangs against the face of its giant parent planet in a breathtaking new image captured by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. The photo, which Cassini took on May 21, shows the […]
The NASA Graphics Standards Manual, which in 1976 defined the use of now-retired NASA “worm” logo, is getting a limited reissue through Kickstarter.Credit: Hamish Smyth A 40-year-old book that gave rise to one of NASA’s most iconic logos is being relaunched as a limited edition reprint on Kickstarter. The NASA Graphics Standards Manual , first […]
Sunday, Sept. 27, evening. There will be a triple treat for observers in eastern North America as sun, Earth, and moon align: a total lunar eclipse, the…Read More » moon at its closest, and a full moon, all in one evening. At 8:12 p.m. EDT, the lunar eclipse will begin with the first faint lunar […]
Earth’s thin atmosphere stands out against the blackness of space in this photo taken on Aug. 31, 2015 by astronaut Scott Kelly on board the International Space Station. To source
Human spaceflight and operations image of the week: Thumbs up for the crew being launched to the International Space Station on Wednesday To source
An amazing new video takes viewers along for the ride during a NASA spacecraft’s epic July flyby of Pluto. The Pluto flyby video gives a probe’s-eye view of the historic July 14 encounter, during which the New Horizons spacecraft zoomed within just 7,800 miles (12,550 kilometers) of the dwarf planet’s frigid surface. The short video […]
The first “supermoon” lunar eclipse in more than three decades will grace Earth’s skies this month, as will a partial solar eclipse that most of the world will miss. The supermoon total lunar eclipse, which occurs on Sept. 27, features a full moon that looks significantly larger and brighter than usual. It will be the […]
Nineteen different subscale versions of a light-blocking “starshade” were tested recently in the Nevada desert.Credit: Northrop Grumman Corporation The next step in the exoplanet revolution may be an in-space “starshade” that lets alien worlds step out of a blinding glare. Researchers are testing designs for a starshade , which would fly in formation with a […]
Eye-popping Venus, low-riding Mercury and stealthy Saturn will all make appearances among the bright objects in September’s night sky, and this day-by-day description shows how to find them. This month, Mercury might be glimpsed very low near the west-southwest horizon while Saturn gets lower each evening in the southwest at dusk. Meanwhile Mars, Jupiter and […]
LISA Pathfinder, ESA’s demonstrator for spaceborne observations of gravitational waves, is ready to leave for Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. To source
Europe’s ninth and tenth Galileo satellites have been attached to the dispenser that will hold them during their flight up into space, then release them into their planned orbits. To source