Special Topic: Small Planetary Moons
Throughout “Ice and Stone 2020” I have generally used the term “small bodies of the solar system” to refer to comets and asteroids. However, there is another type of “small body” that we encounter throughout the solar system: these are the smaller moons that accompany many of the major planets. The dividing line between what …
Grounded by pandemic, NASA interns keep researching
Students selected for a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) summer program have continued conducting research in 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic grounding their flight plans. NASA, which is responsible for the U.S. government’s civilian space program, selects several dozen college students each year for internships with its Student Airborne Research Program (SARP). Most summers …
UAE’s Mars mission aims to inspire citizens to pursue STEM fields
Dn July 14, a new Mars-bound spacecraft will launch from Japan. While several Mars missions are planned to launch over the next month, what makes this different is who’s launching it: the United Arab Emirates. Though new to space exploration, the UAE has set high goals for the probe, named Hope. The mission aims to …
SpaceX Crew Dragon pinpoints first-ever splashdown in Gulf of Mexico
After two action-packed months in Earth orbit two NASA astronauts splashed down safely in the Gulf of Mexico today, Sunday, Aug. 2, inside their SpaceX Crew Dragon spaceship on the history-making first human spaceflight launch from US soil in nine years and the first-ever commercially built and operated human space mission. Returning from the International …
10 Days in July: Trio of nations launch separate missions to Mars
Across a brief 10-day period covering mid to late July, the United Arab Emirates, China, and the United States each launched their own mission to explore Mars. For the UAE and China, it is their first solo attempt to reach the Red Planet, whereas the U.S. is continuing to build upon a legacy of success …
This Week in History: August 2-8
AUGUST 3, 1963: U.S. Government sensors detect an airburst explosion near the Prince Edward Islands off the southern coast of South Africa. At first it was thought that this was caused by a clandestine nuclear device tested by that nation, but later study revealed that it was caused by an incoming small stony asteroid. Airburst …
Comet of the Week: 67P/Churyomov-Gerasimenko
Perihelion: 2015 August 13.08, q = 1.243 AU There have been a handful of occasions throughout recent history when someone has discovered a comet while looking for, or examining, another one. Such an incident happened in late 1969 in the former Soviet Union, when on September 11 Svetlana Gerasimenko with the Alma Ata Observatory (in …
Special Topic: Life in Martian Meteorites?
The question as to whether or not we are alone in the universe has fascinated humanity throughout most of its history. In addition to driving many of our mythologies and stories, it has also motivated many of us, myself included, to pursue sciences like astronomy in the first place. The unambiguous discovery that life has …
This Week in History: July 26-August 1
JULY 28, 2014: The Pan-STARRS program in Hawaii discovers the centaur designated as 2014 OG392; it has an orbital period of 42.8 years and will pass perihelion in November 2021 at a heliocentric distance of 10.0 AU. An observational analysis published earlier this year indicates sustained cometary activity, however, this report was published too late …
Comet of the Week: NEOWISE C/2020 F3
Perihelion: 2020 July 3.68, q = 0.295 AU For the second time during the course of “Ice and Stone 2020” I have found it appropriate to swap out my originally intended “Comet of the Week” for a comet currently appearing in our skies. For the past three weeks, Comet NEOWISE has been putting on a …
Special Topic: Terrestrial Impact Craters
The “Special Topics” presentation six weeks ago on “Lunar and Planetary Impacts” discussed how the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei noticed craters on the moon the first time he turned his recently-made primitive telescope towards that object. Indeed, almost any kind of optical aid, be this in the form of binoculars or a small telescope, will …
All About Mars
The planet Mars is probably the most studied planet, other than Earth, in our solar system. Like Earth, Mars is a terrestrial planet, as opposed to a gas planet like Jupiter for example. Mars is often referred to as the Red Planet, due to the brownish-red color of its surface caused by iron oxide in …
Gazing upon Mars
Throughout our exclusive Mars 2020 Exploration Mission Guide, we included a number of images of Mars captured by the plethora of orbiters, landers and rovers that the nations of Earth have sent to study the planet. Here we are including a large selection of those images. Many of the images are false-color or otherwise enhanced …
Mars 2020 Mission Overview
The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is NASA’s next mission to Mars as well as being the most complex and scientifically advanced robotic mission sent to the Red Planet. The $2.4 Billion Mars Perseverance rover is a flagship mission dedicated to the search for signs of life beyond Earth, as part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, …
Building for Mars
The planning and construction of a new space mission is a multi-year process by both the space agency itself and a large number of other contractors working on the spacecraft’s hardware and software, to the rocket launching the interplanetary probe toward its target. Here we’ve assembled a gallery of the Mars 2020 rover and helicopter throughout …
Mars Exploration Historical Timeline
1960s MARSNIK 1 Failure USSR • Oct. 10, 1960 • Flyby Did not reach Earth orbit. MARSNIK 2 Failure USSR • Oct. 14, 1960 • Flyby Did not reach Earth orbit. SPUTNIK 22 Failure USSR • Oct. 24, 1962 • Flyby Achieved Earth orbit only. MARS 1 Failure USSR • Nov. 1, 1962 • Flyby …
QuizMe: Mars Exploration
During the past 60 years humanity has been sending mission after mission to Mars in order to learn more about our neighbor. Now it is your turn to test your knowledge about those missions that have failed to turn up any sign of the little green Martians once popular in science fiction. This latest …
Project: Make a paper Mars helicopter
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover, launching in July 2020, will carry the first helicopter to the surface of Mars! This helicopter has to be super lightweight to fly on Mars. It also needs large blades that can rotate really fast so it can generate enough lift to overcome the gravity of the Red Planet and lift …
Go outside and view Comet NEOWISE before it disappears for 6800 years
Recently discovered Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) is now putting on a dazzling display in the early evening for skywatchers in the Northern Hemisphere and it is right at prime time, roughly 45 minutes or so after sunset, and showing off a spectacular tail to boot – as it passes through the inner solar system, weather …
This Week in History: July 19-25
JULY 19, 2009: An unknown object, most likely an asteroid a few hundred meters across, impacts Jupiter, leaving a black “scar” in Jupiter’s atmosphere that persists for the next one to two weeks; the “scar” was first noticed by amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley in New South Wales. The “scar” was reminiscent of those produced by …