In 1977 on this date, Wernher von Braun died. As the director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and the chief architect of the Saturn V launch vehicle, von Braun’s work was fundamental to the entire US space program until his retirement in 1972. His official biography can be found at NASA’s page here.
Astronomy Fact of the Day: June 14, 2021
Variable stars are stars that fluctuate in visual magnitude over time. Some exhibit variance cycles that last days while some can take hundreds of days. Tonight, an interesting variable star to find is called R Coronae Borealis. This variable star seems to fade randomly due to carbon soot that builds up near the star. You… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: June 13, 2021
On this date in 1993, Donald Kent ‘Deke’ Slayton died. One of the original ‘Mercury 7’ astronauts, he was slated to fly the third Mercury mission; however, he was grounded due to a medical issue. He became NASA’s Astronaut Commander, as-signing crews for the Apollo lunar landings. He would ultimately fly to space on the… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: June 12, 2021
Looking to the west tonight at 8:50 pm, you will find the Moon and Venus about 6° apart. The Moon will be exhibiting a waxing crescent phase with about 6% of the lunar disk Illuminated. You are seeing the Moon only 2.3 days into its current lunar cycle.
Astronomy Fact of the Day: June 11, 2021
In 1986 on this date, Chesley Bonestell died. Bonestell was a renowned American architectural artist who achieved greater fame as the illustrator of von Braun’s vision of human space exploration in the 1950’s. His realistic paintings inspired a generation of engineers to make space travel a reality. You may view many of his images by… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: June 10, 2021
Looking west northwest tonight at 8:50 pm, you will find the planets Venus and Mars.
Terracotta Votive Head
This votive, also called a protome, is a three-dimensional terracotta mold. It depicts a female with stylized hair and clearly defined features including a realistic nose, eyes and mouth. Votives in general have mostly been found in sanctuaries and graves and occasionally in homes. They may represent a female devotee and were given as an… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: June 9, 2021
On this date in 1963, the Soviet spacecraft Vostok 5 is rolled out to its launch pad, near Vostok 6. After final testing, both spacecraft are declared ready for launch of the very first mission to rendezvous two spacecraft. Vostok 5 is flown by cosmonaut Valeri Bykovsky, and Vostok 6 by Valentina Tereshkova — who… Continue reading
Now Open: The GROW Greenhouse
Have you ever visited the GROW gallery and wondered, “When will the aquaponics greenhouse ever be open?!” Well, you’re in luck! Thanks to safety improvements made by our exhibits department, the greenhouse is now open for self-guided exploration during the Science Center’s normal operating hours. We were able to creatively reuse material from the recently… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: June 8, 2021
On June 10, 2021, an annular solar eclipse will be seen from parts of Canada, Greenland and Russia. Partial phases of the solar eclipse will be visible from the Great Lakes region and the northeast region of the US. The last time an annular solar eclipse was visible in St. Louis was on May 10,… Continue reading