Saturn’s beautiful rings disappear for brief periods every 29.5 years due to the planet’s axial tilt. Saturn’s inner rings are rapidly dissolving at an alarmingly rapid rate, so much so that an Olympic-sized pool rains down on its upper atmosphere every 30 minutes. Astronomers have noted this trend since the 1980s; unfortunately it’s causing the…
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s accomplishment was witnessed by more than 530 million people worldwide and left an indelible mark on our hearts, inspiring further space exploration, strengthening American pride and showing that anything is possible. At 4:17 PM, Armstrong radioed Mission Control in Houston with the news: “Tranquility Base here; Eagle has just landed.”…
34 years ago, a Saturn V rocket launched from Cape Kennedy with Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins aboard. Millions of viewers across the world watched live as Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins successfully reached and landed on the moon. President Kennedy had spent weeks carefully considering America’s space options after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made headlines by…
An exciting new website provides diehard space fans with an incredible way to relive the moon landing as it happened. A wealth of audio recordings has long been accessible online; air-to-ground communications between controllers have also been preserved. But thousands of hours of supplementary conversations between controllers have remained unseen for decades – until now….
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin embarked upon their lunar mission from Columbia in their lunar module Eagle, heading for their intended landing spot within the Sea of Tranquillity. Unfortunately, an alarm signaled their imminent departure. Console readouts were showing an error code –1202–which neither astronaut had encountered during simulator training. The…
Astronomers are eagerly awaiting tonight, when Jupiter makes its closest approach to Earth in 59 years – an event known as planetary opposition. This asteroid may be smaller than many that have gained headlines, yet it comes much closer to Earth than those which remain thousands of miles away. Earth Earth is the sole planet…
Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, will come closer to Earth than ever in 59 years this Monday, making itself visible in the night sky as an enormous, bright spot. Astronomers can use any telescope to view its many moons and Great Red Spot (an oval twice wider than Earth) through telescopes. It…
