The Stellar Survey for February 24 - March 1
The Stellar Survey for February 24 - March 1
First things first: STAR TREK: DISCOVERY IS BAAAAACK! | Who’s counting down to April 4? Me, that’s who.
Second things, second: in honour of Leap Year, here are some interesting facts about Leap Day. | Content note for the math-challenged, like me: there are a lot of numbers in here.
The James Webb Space Telescope has spotted hints of a neutron star left behind by supernova 1987A. | The star is 168,000 light years away, which means that the explosion actually happened when we were still crawling around in caves. How do we absorb scale of this magnitude without our brains exploding? I have no idea.
NASA’s DART mission was instituted to see if we could alter the course of an asteroid by pushing it off-course. | The mission was successful, which means that the mission’s target has now completely changed.
Did the universe have zero entropy when it first began? | A discussion of the question that keeps us all up at night!
Japan’s JAXA moon lander has sent us new photos of the moon. | Electronics were operational despite surface temperatures on the Moon resting at a balmy 212 degrees Farenheit.
For the first time ever, a woman—NASA’s Dana Weigel—will be in charge of the ISS program. Yay! | Yes, you heard that right. The first time. Yes, it’s 2024.
Still more photos from the moon, these ones courtesy of the Odysseus lander. | Lunar night is coming for Odysseus soon, and the lander will go dark during that time.
More discoveries from humanity’s favourite telescope! | The James Webb Space Telescope has discovered that dwarf galaxies reshaped the early universe.
The exoplanet Trappist 1 is destroying its atmosphere: Read on for a neat foray into why the magnetic nature of our atmosphere is so important, and preserves life!
Here to save the day! Behind the scenes with asteroid defense teams. | Again: not a Meryl Streep or Jonah Hill in sight.
Space and science is a constant game of catch-up. The latest development in the game: what if there IS no such thing as dark matter? | The fascinating science behind MOND (Modified Newtonian Dynamics).
Good things come to she who waits. Congratulations and happy flying, Jeanette Epps! | Why astronaut Jeanette Epps waited an extra 6 years for her ISS space mission.
David Copperfield’s archives are now on the Moon. | Just in case the team on the eventual lunar station gets bored, I guess? (I kid: it’s all about preservation of knowledge, which of course is a good thing. Still: the need to preserve elements of humanity elsewhere than on the planet because we are…destroying the planet…seems troubling to me.)
Finally, in not-exactly-space news, but somewhat-sort-of-space news (you can see Everest from space, after all): the last surviving sherpa from the 1953 Hillary expedition says that Mount Everest is too crowded and dirty. | “They should not be dirtying the mountain. It is our biggest god and they should not be dirtying the gods.” Amen.
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