September 18, 2021 Tonight at 7:30 pm, three planets will be visible to the unaided eye. In the west, you will find Venus. In the southeast, you will find Jupiter and Saturn. By the end of the year, all three planets will be visible in the southwest after sunset. The Moon, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus… Continue reading
Night Sky Update: September 17 – September 25, 2021
This is the Saint Louis Science Center’s NIGHT SKY UPDATE for the week of Friday, September 17, 2021. Information updated weekly or as needed. Times given as local St. Louis time, which is Central Daylight Time (CDT). For definitions of terminology used in the night sky update, click the highlighted text. If relying on times… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: September 17, 2021
September 17, 2021 Today in 1976, NASA publicly unveiled the first Space Shuttle prototype during a ceremony in Palmdale, California. Originally to be named Space Shuttle Constitution, the orbiter took the namesake of the famed Star Trek starship USS Enterprise, after President Ford reportedly received thousands of petition signatures from avid Star Trek fans across… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: September 16, 2021
September 16, 2021 On this date in 1989, Space Shuttle Atlantis began it STS-79 mission docking with the Russian space station Mir. This was the 79th Space Shuttle mission and the 17th flight of Space Shuttle Atlantis. Launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-79 and view of the Russian space station Mir as Atlantis was undocking.… Continue reading
Artifact of the Week: Set of Dental Instruments
Did you know that the world’s first dental school was founded in 1840? However, until after the Civil War, most people sought dental care from their physicians or tried self-care because established dental offices were few and far between. As dental practitioners became more commonplace and professionalized, special dental tool sets like this one were… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: September 15, 2021
September 15, 2021 Today in 1968, the Soviet spacecraft Zond 5 was launched and later became the first spacecraft to orbit the Moon and return to Earth. Zond 5 carried a large biological payload, including two Steppe tortoises. The two tortoises survived their flight around the Moon and were alive upon their return to Earth… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: September 14, 2021
September 14, 2021 Today, Neptune reached opposition. Opposition occurs when an astronomical body is nearest the point directly opposite the Sun. This is when they appear their brightest. Neptune can be found in the east rising as the Sun sets. You will need a telescope or large binoculars to see Neptune. Voyager 2 image of… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: September 13, 2021
September 13, 2021 Today in 1912, Horace Welcome Babcock was born. Babcock was an American astronomer who invented a number of astronomical instruments, including a magnetograph which took measurements of the Sun’s magnetic field. This technique was also used to measure the magnetic fields of other stars and discovered that some stars are magnetically variable.… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: September 12, 2021
September 12, 2021 Tomorrow, Mercury reaches greatest eastern elongation. When Mercury is at greatest elongation, that means it is at its greatest separation from the Sun. Mercury will be low in the west 30 minutes after sunset. The joint ESA/JAXA BepiColumbo mission will study the planet Mercury. Image Credit: ESA/ATG medialab.
Night Sky Update: September 10 – September 18, 2021
This is the Saint Louis Science Center’s NIGHT SKY UPDATE for the week of Friday, September 10, 2021. Information updated weekly or as needed. Times given as local St. Louis time, which is Central Daylight Time (CDT). For definitions of terminology used in the night sky update, click the highlighted text. If relying on times… Continue reading