A large asteroid will pass Earth at more than 11 times the moon’s distance on November 29, 2020, and will approach more closely in later flybys. Charts here for telescope users. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/asteroid-2000-wo107-nov-2020-flyby-then-closer…
Tag: mountains
In Internet Dead Zones, Rural Schools Struggle With Distanced Learning
An anonymous reader shares a report: The past seven months have been a big strain on families like Mandi Boren’s. The Borens are cattle ranchers on a remote slice of land near Idaho’s Owyhee Mountains. They have four kids — ranging from a first grader to a sophomore in high school. When the lockdown first hit, Boren first thought it might…
Photos of fiery Mars, nearly at its best in 2 years
Photos from the EarthSky community of the bright planet Mars, now nearly at its best. Earth will pass between Mars and the sun – bringing the planet to a once-in-two-years opposition – on October 13, 2020. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/photos-mars-at-its-best-sep-oct-2020…
The moon, Jupiter and Saturn September 23 to 26
On September 23, 24, 25 and 26, 2020, the moon can guide your eye to the solar system’s 2 biggest gas giant planets, Jupiter and Saturn. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/moon-jupiter-saturn-september-23-26…
How scientists around the world track the solar cycle
Every morning, astronomer Steve Padilla takes a short walk from his home to the base of a tower that soars 150 feet above the ground. Tucked in the San Gabriel Mountains, about an hour’s drive north from Los Angeles, the Mount Wilson Observatory has long been a home for space science—it’s Padilla’s home too, one of the perks to his work…
95 new cool brown dwarfs in the sun’s neighborhood
A group of citizen scientists working with a NASA citizen science project called Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 has discovered 95 new brown dwarfs in the sun’s nearby neighborhood. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/brown-dwarfs-cosmic-neighborhood-backyard-worlds-citizen-scientists…
Amazing photos in Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter celebration
NASA has posted a sampling of some of the most awe-inspiring photos of Mars, to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the launch of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. They are proof that Mars is a very photogenic world. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/mars-photos-mars-reconnaissance-orbiter-15th-anniversary…
Images show Martian night sky pulsing with ultraviolet light
Vast areas of Mars’ nightside atmosphere glow and pulsate with ultraviolet light, according to images from NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/mars-night-sky-ultraviolet-light-images…
Looks like Venus has dozens of active volcanoes
“This study significantly changes the view of Venus from a mostly inactive planet to one whose interior is still churning and can feed many active volcanoes,” one scientist said. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/venus-3d-model-evidence-active-volcanoes…
5 years after New Horizons flyby, 10 cool things about Pluto
Here are 10 of the coolest, weirdest and most unexpected findings about the Pluto system scientists have learned thanks to the New Horizons spacecraft’s flyby of the distant world in 2015. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/new-horizons-flyby-10-cool-things-about-pluto…