The full Moon has a reputation for trouble. It raises high tides, it makes dogs howl, it wakes you up in the middle of the night with beams of moonlight stealing through drapes. If a moonbeam wakes you up on the night of May 5th, 2012, you might want to get out of bed and…
NASA’s Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft orbiting the Moon officially have begun their science collection phase. During the next 84 days, scientists will obtain a high-resolution map of the lunar gravitational field to learn about the moon’s internal structure and composition in unprecedented detail. The data also will provide a better understanding of…
New images from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft show the Moon’s crust is being stretched, forming minute valleys in a few small areas on the lunar surface. Scientists propose this geologic activity occurred less than 50 million years ago, which is considered recent compared to the moon’s age of more than 4.5 billion years….
Twin NASA spacecraft that achieved orbit around the Moon New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day have new names, thanks to elementary students in Bozeman, Mont. Their winning entry, “Ebb and Flow,” was selected as part of a nationwide school contest that began in October 2011. Using a precision formation-flying technique, the twin GRAIL spacecraft…
The second of NASA’s two Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft has successfully completed its planned main engine burn and is now in lunar orbit. Working together, GRAIL-A and GRAIL-B will study the Moon as never before. Artist concept of GRAIL-B performing its lunar orbit insertion burn. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech “NASA greets the new…
The first of two NASA spacecraft to study the Moon in unprecedented detail has entered lunar orbit. NASA’s Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL)-A spacecraft successfully completed its planned main engine burn at 2 p.m. PST (5 p.m. EST) today. As of 3 p.m. PST (6 p.m. EST), GRAIL-A is in an orbit of 56…
T’was the Night after Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring … …because everyone was outside watching the planets align? It’s true. On Dec. 26th, the night after Christmas, Venus and the slender crescent Moon will gather for a jaw-dropping conjunction in the western sky. The action begins shortly before sunset….
Sky watchers on the Pacific side of Earth should be alert for a total lunar eclipse today. The disk of the full Moon will turn a beautiful shade of copper-red as it passes through Earth’s shadow between 4:45 am and 8:18 am Pacific Standard Time (12:45 to 16:18 UT). For observers in western parts of…
Waking up before sunrise can be tough to do, especially on a weekend. On Saturday, Dec. 10th, you might be glad you did. A total eclipse of the Moon will be visible in the early morning skies of western Northern America. lunar eclipse diagram provided by LunarPhase Pro. All times in UT. The action begins…
A new model for generating a global magnetic field in the ancient moon could help solve a 40-year-old mystery. The Earth’s magnetic field exists because it has a spinning solid core surrounded by hot metallic liquid, which churns around lava-lamp style and generates magnetism. But the Moon is too small and cool to possess such…
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured the sharpest images ever taken from space of the Apollo 12, 14 and 17 landing sites. Images show the twists and turns of the paths made when the astronauts explored the lunar surface. Two LRO images of the Apollo 17 landing site. The top image was released on Sep….
NASA’s Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL), mission to study the Moon is in final launch preparations for a scheduled Sept. 8 launch onboard a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. GRAIL’s twin spacecraft are tasked for a nine-month mission to explore Earth’s nearest neighbor in unprecedented detail. They will…
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The Sun Now (H-Alpha light) |
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Aurora Oval (Northern Hemisphere) |
Aurora Oval (Southern Hemisphere) |
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