There are events that happen once in a blue moon—but events that happen once in a black moon occur just as often. This weekend, the world will experience a black moon. The moon itself won’t actually turn black. The term “black moon” refers to either two new moons in the same month or four new moons in a single season. …
Read More »
Look up at the next full Moon and consider how far away it is. It looks pretty big and nearby, doesn’t it? Now consider this: you could fit every planet in the Solar System between Earth and the Moon. Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, Amy Simon (NASA-GSFC) That even includes Jupiter and Saturn. The Moon is so far from Earth that …
Read More »Yes, the U.S. Should Put a Nuclear Reactor on the Moon RealClearEnergy China, Russia, and U.S. Race to Develop Lunar Nuclear Reactors IEEE Spectrum Opinion | Nuclear-powered rockets will win the new space race The Washington Post Advocates Beg DOT Sec. Duffy to Give Up Space and Fix Transit On Earth Streetsblog USA NASA moon reactor directive, X-37B mission and Cargo Dragon launch | …
Read More »
There’s a Black Moon on the rise, but if that phrase conjures a similar Creedence Clearwater Revival lyric in your head, relax: This one isn’t bound to take your life. A so-called Black Moon isn’t an astronomical term, but it is a mysterious nickname that, confusingly, could refer to a couple different lunar scenarios. The buzz right now centers on …
Read More »
Topline Skywatchers will be treated to a rare spectacle on Saturday, Aug. 23, as six planets line up in a pre-dawn parade. Also called a planetary alignment, the display will feature Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, Uranus and Neptune. Four of these planets — Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury — will be visible to the naked eye, with Mercury currently relatively …
Read More »
ATLANTA — The moon goes by many names. August saw the full sturgeon moon while in March sky-gazers may have witnessed the blood moon, which occurs when the satellite appears to turn red during a lunar eclipse. You may have also heard of a blue moon, the second full moon to happen in one month. And then there is the …
Read More »
The moon is almost completely dark tonight, thanks to where we are in 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 …
Read More »
A space sensation will occur this weekend but down on Earth, no one will be able to view it. A “black moon” is set to rise Saturday, which Hunter Miller, an astronomy educator at the Adler Planetarium, said is most akin to its opposite — a “blue moon.” “This is just something that kind of happens by chance every couple …
Read More »
A team of astronomers has found what appears to be a previously undiscovered moon orbiting Uranus. If confirmed, this finding would mean the gigantic blue-green ice planet would have 29 moons. The discovery was made using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), extending the instrument’s list of achievements and raising expectations that other new discoveries might be made within the …
Read More »
The dark skies surrounding this weekend’s new moon phase present an excellent opportunity to spot a trio of star clusters and stellar alignments embedded in the glowing band of the Milky Way. Star clusters are collections of gravitationally bound stellar bodies that formed from the same cloud of interstellar material. They can range in size from dozens, to thousands of …
Read More »