Look up at the sky Thursday evening into Friday morning for a chance to glimpse the moon turn a red-coppery color —sometimes called a “Blood Moon” — during a total lunar eclipse. The celestial show occurs “when the sun, Earth, and moon align so that the moon passes into Earth’s shadow,” according to NASA. “It […]
NASA
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Will Returning to the Moon Prepare Us for Mars?
“If we can put a man on the moon, why can’t we put a man on the moon?” goes the old joke. Fact is, we probably can put someone on the moon but without the threat of Russia getting there first (as was the case in the 1960s), the motivation just isn’t there anymore. Today, […]
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Cosmic Viewing: Rare Comet is Making an Appearance
After being treated to an encore of the Northern Lights in recent weeks, skywatchers in Humboldt County have the chance to view another celestial phenomena in the comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS. In what NASA describes as a “once-in-80,000-years sight,” the comet will be visible low in the horizon to the west after sunset, with the best likelihood […]
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The Little Drone that Could
Ingenuity, “Ginny” to its friends, will never fly again. The little Mars-based helicopter-drone landed badly on its 72nd flight on Jan. 18, 2024, damaging all four of its carbon fiber wingtips and ruling out future flights. But in the three years since being released from the underbelly of its “mothership” the Mars rover Perseverance, it […]
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Super Blue Moon Set to Rise
The second full moon set to rise in the sky Aug. 30 will not be just a “blue moon” — as the two-in-one calendar month lunar phenomena that occurs every two to three years is known. No, it’s going to be a “super blue moon.” According to NASA, so-called blue moons — and the accompanying […]
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‘Blood Moon’ Lunar Eclipse Starts Just After Midnight
Election Day is being ushered in by a lunar eclipse that will turn the moon a red-coppery color —sometimes called a “Blood Moon” — during totality, which is the stage when it passes into the Earth’s shadow. That red hue, according to NASA, is “because the only sunlight reaching the moon passes through Earth’s atmosphere.” […]
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NASA’s Origami Telescope (Part 2)
This is a continuation from last week, looking at arguably the most complex instrument ever created by humans: the James Webb Space Telescope. It’s scheduled for launch on Dec. 22, before being positioned in its operational orbit (L2) a million miles from Earth. During its month-long voyage to L2, it will unfold, origami-style, into its […]
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NASA’s Origami Telescope (Part 1)
The scheduled Dec. 22 launch of the James Webb Space Telescope from French Guiana will be the culmination of a quarter-century of designing, building and testing the most complicated thing ever built by humans. Webb, 25 years in the making, will succeed Hubble as NASA’s flagship project. Before reading more, I encourage you to check […]
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Catching a Glimpse of the ‘Super Flower Blood Moon’ Lunar Eclipse
While the forecast calls for patchy fog in many areas of Humboldt County, it might be worth an early morning wake up call Wednesday to try to catch a glimpse of the “Super Flower Blood Moon” during a full lunar eclipse. Totality will occur between 4:11 a.m. and 4:25 a.m. on the West Coast. The […]
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Up in the Sky: Moon Drifts Through the Winter Circle
Look up in the sky tonight to watch the moon finish sashaying its way across the so-called Winter Circle — a ringed array of six stars — as it heads toward becoming full by Feb. 27. According to NASA, the circle of stars — also called an asterism — includes Aldebaran, Capella, Pollux (and Castor), […]
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Planetary Trifecta: Triple Conjunction of Saturn, Mercury and Jupiter
Jupiter and Saturn put on quite the Solstice show last month by coming together to form the “Christmas Star” but now Mercury is coming into view, setting the celestial scene for a triple conjunction. The planetary trifecta will be visible at dusk starting tonight through Monday, with NASA saying, “the planet Mercury will appear to […]
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December’s ‘Cold Full Moon’ of 2020
The last full moon of 2020 — known by a host of descriptive names — will officially debut in the sky on Tuesday. But, according to NASA, the moon will play a starring role for not just one night but three, appearing to be full Monday evening through to Thursday morning. Called the Cold Moon, […]