This is Saturn’s yearly opposition. The ringed planet is now opposite the sun in our sky, rising at sunset, highest up for the night around midnight and setting at sunrise. It’s at its brightest and and best for 2019. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/saturn-closest-and-brightest…
Tag: moving
Word of the week: Opposition
Saturn’s opposition is this week. Jupiter’s opposition was about a month ago. What is opposition? It marks the middle of the best time of year to see a planet … but why? Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/what-is-opposition-astronomy…
Today in 2003: Opportunity blasts off to Mars
NASA’s Opportunity rover spent some 15 years exploring Mars. It surpassed all expectations for its endurance and longevity, to become one of the most successful planetary missions. Then it went silent. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/this-date-in-science-nasa-rover-opportunity-blasts-off-to-mars…
Toyota Testing Improved Solar Roof For Electric Cars That Can Charge While Driving
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Toyota is testing a new and improved version of the solar power cells it previously launched on the Japan-exclusive Prius PHV, in a pilot along with partners Sharp and Japanese national research organization NEDO. This demo car’s prototype cells can convert solar energy at 34% and up, which is much better than the…
LightSail 2 Sends Back 1st Signals From Its Solar-Surfing Test Flight
The space advocacy organization The Planetary Society recently confirmed that its LightSail 2 spacecraft has sent its first signals home from space. From a report: The roughly 11-lb. (5 kilograms) cubesat is designed to prove that solar sailing is a feasible way of keeping satellites moving. Fuel is a costly and heavy commodity, and if LightSail 2 can prove that the…
The journey through loss and grief | Jason B. Rosenthal
In her brutally honest, ironically funny and widely read meditation on death, “You May Want to Marry My Husband,” the late author and filmmaker Amy Krouse Rosenthal gave her husband Jason very public permission to move on and find happiness. A year after her death, Jason offers candid insights on the often excruciating process of moving through and with loss…