If you are a planetary scientist, you are having one of your best years... ever! Beyond the drama of the images, the technology that makes them possible is also amazing. How could anyone NOT be excited by the exploration of our solar system? Who needs the distant stars... for now.
Here are seven stargazing sites, all recognized by the International Dark Sky Association for their inky-black nights, that offer stellar views of the heavens above.
On December 6 the New Horizons spacecraft, en route to Pluto and its system of moons since 2006, will come out of hibernation mode. This marks the first step in setting up for the flyby of Pluto and its moons that will occur on July 14, 2015, giving us our first-ever thorough look at what many consider to be the last great frontier of the Solar System.
Cast into space on September 5, 1977, from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. And mounted on a Titan IIIE/Centaur launch vehicle, Voyager-1 is now the farthest human-made object from Earth at 17,922,521,702 km (119.80465777 au).
At some 4.6 billion years old, the Sun is about halfway through its life. In another 5 billion years it will be a normal "adult" star no more. Here's the skinny on the upcoming demise of the star that you owe everything to: light, warmth, energy, and life.
An ambitious campaign by the space fundraising group Uwingu starts today that will allow participants to beam a message to Mars.
In 2006 the IAU "demoted" Pluto to dwarf-planet status, setting off an outcry of public disappointment, first among schoolchildren but later among all classes of astronomy enthusiasts, and even planetary scientists, who disagree with the IAU's logic.
We may actually be of the utmost significance to the universe, because after nearly 14 billion years of cosmic evolution, it is through our brain power that the universe has finally achieved self-awareness.
I was recently asked to recommend a space program for a "greatest achievement" award in the area of aeronautics or astronautics. How could you not go with Voyager? I mean, for the first time in the roughly 2 million-year-old human species, something we have conceived of and created has traveled beyond our solar system.
Each of us seems to think ours is the only worthwhile goal. And of course we also each have our own favorite spacecraft, our own perfect solutions and systems and approaches, and everyone else be damned, because my way is the space highway.
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Just as Holly Hunter is still really funny in Home for the Holidays no matter how many times we've seen it, our Solar System remains full of surprises and worth exploring, so we thought it was a good time to compile a list of our favorite places to visit in our cosmic home.
Comet ISON (C/2012 S1), the much-anticipated visitor from the distant depths of the solar system, continues to brighten and this week should reach naked-eye visibility as seen from a dark sky, away from city lights.
The next few weeks will undoubtedly give us our best shot at ISON. To see it this week, you'll need to venture out in the early morning, around 4 a.m. local time, and look toward the constellation Leo.