Orion spacecraft is scheduled to land in the Pacific Ocean off California this week. It should gradually slow from its fast initial speed of 25,000 mph before its parachutes open and it glides toward water. NASA is developing Artemis II – an improved, crew-capable version of Orion currently under development at Kennedy Space Center in…
As any stargazer knows, planets can appear quite close together in the night sky and seem to float across it more like stars do – their glow makes them easy to spot against its dark backdrop. Venus can be seen best early this month; however, as evening twilight settles it becomes harder and harder to…
Most people believe Venus to be our nearest planet; after all, its brightness makes it easy for it to be noticed against our skies, especially as a glowing crescent Moon in the evening twilight or just before sunrise appears close by. However, Mercury actually comes closer. But that is only part of the picture; engineers…
Orion spacecraft that completed 2022’s Artemis I mission has now returned to Ohio where it will undergo additional tests at the Neil Armstrong Test Facility. These tests will enable engineers to stress-test Orion before its first crewed flight is scheduled for 2025 on Artemis II, among other aspects. In particular, test flights will assess its…
If you have been keeping an eye on the night sky recently, you may have seen Jupiter rise earlier and earlier each evening and become brighter than all of its stars. This is because Jupiter has reached its closest approach to Earth – known as its perigee – for 2023. People tend to misperceive Venus…
People often confuse Venus for Mercury when asked which planet is closest. Mercury actually stands closer on average. Ranking can differ depending on how close or far each planet orbits the sun; due to their elliptical paths, their distance changes over time; for instance Venus rises within an hour before dawn each March before slowly…
On March 7 and 8, morning twilight will bring with it a thin crescent moon floating near bright Venus and dim Mars as morning twilight arrives – binoculars may help you spot these two planets low in the east about one hour before sunrise. Mercury is our closest planet — on average — as its…
