October 10, 2022 Looking east around 11 pm you will see an orangish red star called Aldebaran. This star is part of the constellation Taurus the Bull and is about 65 light years away. North of this star will be a brighter orange/red object which is Mars. You can tell the difference between stars and… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: October 9, 2022
October 9, 2022 Full moon occurs today at 3:55 pm CDT. Full moons occur roughly 29.5 days apart. This cycle of the Moon is called a synodic month which is still the basis for our calendar month. Because there are 12.4 lunar cycles in a calendar year, it is possible to have more than 12… Continue reading
Night Sky Update: October 7 – October 15, 2022
This is the Saint Louis Science Center’s NIGHT SKY UPDATE for the week of Friday, October 7, 2022. 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: October 8, 2022
October 8, 2022 Tonight you will find the Moon near the bright planet Jupiter. The Moon was the only moon we knew about until Galileo pointed a telescope at Jupiter observing the moons Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. The sky as it will appear tonight at 10 pm. The Moon and Jupiter can be found… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: October 7, 2022
October 7, 2022 On this date in 1958, NASA officially set up Project Mercury. The goals of this project were to: (1) place a manned spacecraft in orbital flight around the earth; (2) investigate man’s performance capabilities and his ability to function in the environment of space; and (3) recover both man and spacecraft safely.… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: October 6, 2022
October 6, 2022 Sometimes the Moon appears orange as it rises. This is due to atmospheric scattering of light. When the moon is low, we are looking through more atmosphere and as such we lose more colors of the rainbow due to scattering. The orange color of the Moon is due to atmospheric scattering. Image… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: October 5, 2022
October 5, 2022 On this date in 1967, statues commemorating the tenth anniversary of the launch of Sputnik are revealed in Moscow. Additionally, a new film devoted to the Soviet space program was shown. This is the first time the design and configuration of the Vostok booster and spacecraft – which were used in previous… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: October 4, 2022
October 4, 2022 Tonight at 9:30 pm, it is possible to find the Moon and Saturn high in the southern sky. The Moon exhibits a waxing gibbous phase. Both the Moon and Saturn can be found in the constellation Capricornus. Additionally, Jupiter can be found to the southeast in the constellation Pisces. The sky as… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: October 3, 2022
October 3, 2022 On this date in 1970, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was founded. NOAA brought together The U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (1807), the Weather Bureau (1870), and the Commission of Fish and Fisheries (1871) under the roof of one agency. NOAA is responsible for monitoring weather and the environment on… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: October 2, 2022
October 2, 2022 The International Space Station (ISS) travels at 4.76 miles per second. This allows it to orbit the Earth once every 90 minutes. Astronauts and cosmonauts aboard ISS see 16 sunsets a day. This photo of a sunset over the Indian Ocean was taken by astronauts aboard the ISS. This photo shows the… Continue reading