Victrola Phonograph Record – “A Perfect Day” by Carrie-Jacobs Bond, 1914 Do you know who the first female music publisher was? Her name was Carrie Jacobs-Bond, a singer, songwriter, and pianist who formed her own publishing company in 1896 after the male-dominated music industry refused to publish her compositions. She became hugely popular worldwide, and… Continue reading
March 10, 2023 On this date in 2006, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) arrived at Mars, successfully completing its orbit insertion. The MRO continues to send back data on the planet’s atmosphere, surface, and subsurface. The focus of this mission is to better understand the history of water on the Red Planet. Scientists have recently… Continue reading
March 9, 2023 For the next two weeks, northern hemisphere viewers have a chance to see the zodiacal light in the west after evening twilight. The zodiacal light is a wedge-shaped diffuse light that points up from the horizon. This light display is caused by sunlight reflecting off dust in the solar system. Recent studies… Continue reading
March 8, 2023 On this date in 1935, Robert Goddard (the ‘Father of American Spaceflight’) flew one of his A-series rockets. It flew for 12 seconds, reaching an altitude of about 1,000 feet; it tilted to a horizontal powered flight at a speed of over 700mph, and landed 11,000 feet from the launch tower. A… Continue reading
Wonder Woman Lunchbox ca. 2000 Today is International Woman’s Day and we are honoring Wonder Woman, an icon and inspiration for more than 75 years. Although not flesh and blood, she has had a lasting and positive impact on our culture, the women’s movement, and science fiction. She empowers women to be both strong and… Continue reading
March 7, 2023 A full moon rises tonight in the East at approximately 6:15 pm. It can be found high overhead to the South in the constellation of Virgo the Maiden. The full moon as it will look tonight. Image credit: NASA SVS
March 6, 2023 On this date 1937, Soviet Cosmonaut Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova was born. At only 26 years old, Tereshkova became the first woman to fly in space. Prior to travelling to space, she worked in a textile mill and trained as a parachutist, which aided in her cosmonaut selection. Following her spaceflight, Tereshkova continued… Continue reading
March 5, 2023 On this date in 1931, American aviator Geraldyn (Jerrie) Cobb was born. She was one of a group of women aviators who participated in the privately funded FLATS program. These women underwent all the physical and psychological testing required to become astronauts but were never allowed to fly in space. Jerrie often… Continue reading
This is the Saint Louis Science Center’s NIGHT SKY UPDATE for the week of Friday, March 3, 2023. Information updated weekly or as needed. Times given as local St. Louis time which is Central Standard Time (CST). For definitions of terminology used in the night sky update, click the highlighted text. If relying on times… Continue reading
March 4, 2023 Tonight at 7 pm, it is possible to see a waning gibbous moon in the eastern sky. The Moon moves through all 12 zodiacal constellations as it completes one orbit around Earth. Tonight, the Moon passed from the constellation Cancer the Crab into Leo the Lion. The eastern sky as it will… Continue reading
