Tag Archives: moon

The ever-shifting phases of Earth’s moon present a wealth of targets for amateur astronomers to explore, ranging from magnificent craters and lunar seas to strange visual phenomena created as sunlight plays across the ancient surface, forming familiar shapes where none should be. So, grab your telescope and join us on a short, guided “road trip” of August’s moon, in which …

Topline The full sturgeon moon — the second full of summer in the Northern Hemisphere — will turn full on Saturday, Aug. 9. It will be best seen during dusk that evening, but also be a spectacular sight the previous evening on Friday, Aug. 8. It takes its name from the sturgeon fish found in the Great Lakes in North …

The moon is becoming more lit up each night as we progress through the lunar cycle. The lunar cycle is a series of eight unique phases of the moon’s visibility. The whole cycle takes about 29.5 days, according to NASA, and these different phases happen as the Sun lights up different parts of the moon whilst it orbits Earth.  So, …

How can artificial intelligence (AI) be used to locate lunar pits and skylights, which are surface depressions and openings, respectively, that serve as entrances to lava caves and lava tubes? This is what a recent study published in Icarus hopes to address as an international team of researchers investigated using machine learning algorithms to more efficiently identify pits and skylights …

Does the 2024 YR4 asteroid threaten the earth? In late 2024, it was first spotted blinking on Nasa’s radar as a potentially catastrophic Earth impactor set for December 22, 2032. This asteroid has since been ruled out as a direct threat to our planet – a huge sigh of relief for us Earthlings. If the asteroid-Moon smashup happens, what’s next? …

Moon enthusiasts, tonight is your night. After days of only slivers of light, there’s finally something to see on the moon’s surface. See what’s happening tonight, July 28. What is today’s moon phase? As of Monday, July 28, the moon phase is Waxing Crescent. There’s still not much to see tonight, with only 9% of the surface visible to us …

Illustration showing a view of Earth from the moon. (Getty Images/NASA) Earth has dodged a celestial bullet, but the moon might not be so lucky, and that has scientists keeping their telescopes and minds trained on a massive asteroid called “2024 YR4.” That’s not its official name, but more on that later. When it was first discovered, this asteroid had …

A groundbreaking study published in Joule on July 16, 2025, by scientists from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, reveals a surprising new technology that could dramatically change humanity’s future on the Moon. The team has successfully developed a solar-powered system capable of extracting water from lunar soil while simultaneously converting CO₂ into oxygen and fuel-related chemicals. This breakthrough …

Sign up for the Starts With a Bang newsletter Travel the universe with Dr. Ethan Siegel as he answers the biggest questions of all. The Moon is Earth’s brightest, largest night sky object. Animation showing the umbral phase of the November 19, 2021 partial lunar eclipse. At 9:03 AM UT, maximum eclipse was reached, where only 0.9% of the Moon …

When a multimillion-dollar extraterrestrial vehicle gets stuck in soft sand or gravel — as did the Mars rover Spirit in 2009 — Earth-based engineers take over like a virtual tow truck, issuing a series of commands that move its wheels or reverse its course in a delicate, time-consuming effort to free it and continue its exploratory mission. While Spirit remained …