In a year that has seen so much devastation, loss and divisiveness, there is a bright light. Tonight. In the sky. The planetary alignment known as the “Christmas Star” will come to full fruition Dec. 21 as Jupiter and Saturn come together, according to NASA, producing a “vibrant” positioning the likes of which have not […]
NASA
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Local Photographers Capture Nightly Appearances of NEOWISE Comet
It’s not every day that a 3-mile wide ball of ice and dust hurling through space comes so close to the Earth that humans can behold it and even snap photos. But NASA scientists say that on clear nights in the Northern Hemisphere, the NEOWISE comet will likely be ready for its “close-up” about an […]
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Up in the Sky: A ‘Super’ Moon with Something to Crow About
There’s a celestial show going on up in the sky through this week as a full moon with a bunch of fancy names makes an appearance. According to NASA, this is a “Supermoon” — a full moon that occurs when the moon is closest to the Earth. As the first one in March and the […]
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Apollo Plus Fifty
“… this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon … No single space project in this period will be … more important for the long-range exploration of space.” — JFK, May 25, 1961 “I’m not that interested in space.” — JFK, Nov. […]
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Hello there, Super Snow Moon
Move over Super Blood Wolf Moon, it’s the Super Snow Moon’s turn to shine. Sure it’s not as snazzy a name and Tuesday’s moon lacks that added je ne sais quoi of a lunar eclipse, but the celestial orb will “look extremely large when it rises and sets,” according to NASA, the result of an […]
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Eclipse of the ‘Super Blood Moon’ is Coming Soon
The sun, moon and Earth will align Sunday in a celestial phenomenon known by the ominous moniker “super blood moon” — the only total lunar eclipse of 2019 — with all of North America set to receive a full view, depending on the weather, according to NASA. “Super” refers to the moon being closest to […]
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Mysterious Light in the Sky and Smoke Trail Likely a Meteor
A mysterious light and what appeared be smoke trailing behind it blazed across the sky around 5:40 p.m. Residents of the North Coast as well as people in Reno, the Bay Area and beyond spotted the bright light followed by a curvy tail of smoke. Several sent us photos and video. Many at first thought […]
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Space Force
In news that could bring a whole new meaning to the term “high AF,” Forbes reported Oct. 8 that cannabis is headed into space. Seriously. Scientists with the bioengineering company Space Tango, which specializes in researching microgravity environments, plans to bring cannabis to NASA’s International Space Station some 250 miles above Earth to study how […]
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TESS the Planet Hunter
Last time, we discussed how NASA’s recently launched Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, will spend the next two years surveying nearly the entire sky to search for planets orbiting nearby stars, up to about 100 light years distant. TESS’s four wide-field cameras will spend a month at a time staring at swaths of the […]
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Celestial Trifecta Wednesday: A Super Blue Blood Moon
In case you haven’t heard, a rare celestial event known as a “super blue blood moon” — try saying that three times fast — will be unfolding overhead Wednesday morning, if the North Coast’s notoriously gray skies don’t get in the way. Despite the somewhat ominous name, a super blue blood moon is basically a […]
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Eclipse 2017: Humboldt Sits on a Partial Path of Totality
While we won’t get the full view, Humboldt County residents will still have some pretty good seats for one of the greatest celestial shows on earth when a total solar eclipse takes place Aug. 21. At the height of the event visible here on the North Coast — where the maximum coverage will hit around […]