July 31, 2021 Looking to the southeast around 5 am you will see three stars in a row together. These stars form the belt of Orion the Hunter! Fans of Orion can rejoice, he is back in the sky. Image Credit: Stellarium
Night Sky Update: July 30 – August 7, 2021
This is the Saint Louis Science Center’s NIGHT SKY UPDATE for the week of Friday, July 30, 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: July 30, 2021
July 30, 2021 By 10:00pm, one of the gems of the Fall sky will be visible in the northeast. Messier 31, or the Andromeda Galaxy, will be high enough to see. Best viewed in the Fall, Messier 31 is the nearest major galaxy to our own Milky Way Galaxy. The “W” shape of Cassiopeia’s stars… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: July 29, 2021
On this date in 1901, Florence Lowe “Pancho” Barnes was born. An American barnstormer, air racer and Hollywood stunt flier, she pioneered new air routes into Mexico. In the 1930s, she opened a desert flying dude ranch which later became a legendary watering hole for Edwards AFB test pilots.
Artifact of the Week: Megalodon Tooth
The scientific name “megalodon” means “big tooth,” which perfectly describes this extinct species of shark. Not only was megalodon the biggest shark in the world, but it was one of the largest fish to ever exist! Its massive teeth are almost three times larger than the teeth of a modern great white shark. Megalodons swam… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: July 28, 2021
Looking south tonight at 9 pm, you will see an arrangement of stars that resembles a fish hook. This is the Zodiacal constellation Scorpius.
Astronomy Fact of the Day: July 27, 2021
In 1934 on this date, Wernher Von Braun received his doctoral degree in Germany. His published doctoral thesis, “About Combustion Tests,” was completed in very little time. His actual thesis was later revealed to be a classified Army document. This dissertation, entitled “Construction, Theoretical, and Experimental Solution to the Problem of the Liquid Propellant Rocket”,… Continue reading
YES Gets Ready to Put Entrepreneurship into Action at the 2021 National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge
Support science for our future. Make a gift to the Youth Exploring Science Program today to help power connections to STEAM through efforts like these. Once again, teens from the Science Center’s Youth Exploring Science (YES) Program are headed to compete in the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship’s (NFTE) National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge. The National Youth… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: July 26, 2021
Tonight by 11:00pm, you will find the Moon, Jupiter and Saturn in the southeast. The Moon will be exhibiting a waning gibbous phase, with about 88% of the lunar disk illuminated.
Astronomy Fact of the Day: July 25, 2021
On this date in 1973, the Soviet Union launched Mars 5, a probe intended to enter Martian orbit and comprehensively photograph the surface. Due to computer chip failures, the orbiter operated only a few days and returned atmospheric data and images of just a small portion of the southern Martian hemisphere.