Monday, November 17, 2025
Tonight into early tomorrow morning, the annual Leonid Meteor Shower will peak. The Leonids are produced by dust grains left behind by comet Tempel-Tuttle. While typically an average shower producing only 15 meteors per hour at its peak, the Leonids have a cyclonic peak every 33 years where hundreds of meteors per hour can be seen.
Tuesday, November 18, 2025
On this date in 1923, astronaut Alan Shepard was born. Shepard would become the first United States astronaut in space aboard his Mercury Freedom 7 capsule in 1961. Shepard’s suborbital flight would only last 15 minutes and reach an altitude of 115 miles, but this major step marked the beginning of the United States’ crewed space program.
Wednesday, November 19, 2025
On this date in 1956, American astronaut Eileen Collins was born. Collins served as the first woman shuttle pilot on STS-63 (Feb 3-11, 1995) which included a rendezvous with the Russian Space Station Mir, and also STS-84 (May 15-24, 1997). On her third space shuttle flight, STS-93 (Jul 22-27, 1999), which deployed the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, she became the first woman space shuttle commander.
Thursday, November 20, 2025
On this date in 1998, the first module of the International Space Station was launched. The Zarya Module, also known as the Functional Cargo Block, would orbit alone for 16 days until the space shuttle Endeavour would arrive to install the Unity module.
Friday, November 21, 2025
Tonight, the planet Uranus will reach opposition. Opposition occurs when an object appears opposite the Sun in the sky when viewed from Earth. During opposition, Uranus is visible all night long and will be at its brightest in the sky. While it can technically be visible from a dark location during opposition, binoculars or a telescope are recommended to view Uranus.
Saturday, November 22, 2025
On this date in 1942, Guion “Guy” Bluford, Jr. was born. Bluford would be come the first African American astronaut in space when he traveled to orbit aboard the space shuttle Challenger in 1983. Bluford retired from NASA a veteran of four space flights and spent nearly 700 hours in space.
Sunday, November 23, 2025
On this date in 1948, the first US patent for a lens to provide zoom effects for television cameras was issued to F.G. Back. His Zoomar lens was adjustable for closeups or long-distance shots without requiring the camera to be moved toward or away from the object televised. Similar zoom lenses have a wide variety of applications, including extensive use in planetariums.
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