August 8, 2022 Tonight at 8:30 pm, two of Jupiter’s largest moons, Ganymede and Io, will pass between the planet and the Sun, casting shadows and creating a double transit. The event will begin around 8:30 pm and end at 10 pm; however, Jupiter will not have risen yet. Another double transit of Ganymede and… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: August 7, 2022
August 7, 2022 Tonight at 10 pm the Moon will be visible over the southern horizon in the constellation of Scorpius the Scorpion. It will exhibit a waxing gibbous phase as we move toward full moon, which occurs on August 11th. The sky as it will appear tonight at 10 pm. A waxing gibbous moon… Continue reading
Night Sky Update: August 5 – August 13, 2022
This is the Saint Louis Science Center’s NIGHT SKY UPDATE for the week of Friday, August 5, 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: August 6, 2022
August 6, 2022 On this date in 2014, ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft completed its orbital insertion of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, making it the first spacecraft to rendezvous with a comet. Rosetta launched in 2004, looped around the Sun five times, and completed several gravity assist swingbys at Earth and Mars prior to reaching comet 67P. A Rosetta… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: August 5, 2022
August 5, 2022 On this date in 2011, the NASA spacecraft Juno launched from Cape Canaveral. Juno arrived at Jupiter on July 4, 2016 – just under five years from its launch. The primary mission was to explore beyond the dense clouds of the gas giant to answer questions about the origins of the solar… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: August 4, 2022
August 4, 2022 On this date in 1181, Chinese and Japanese astronomers noticed a bright “new” star appear in the W-shaped constellation of Cassiopeia. The star was approximately the same brightness as the summer star Vega – the fifth brightest star in the sky. This was light from a supernova that was visible for approximately… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: August 3, 2022
August 3, 2022 Tonight at 10 pm a waxing crescent moon appears over the west-southwest horizon in the constellation of Virgo. Additionally, Saturn will be visible to the southeast in the constellation of Capricornus. By 11 pm Jupiter will also have risen just above the eastern horizon and can be found in the constellation of… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: August 2, 2022
August 2, 2022 On this date in 1971, Apollo 15 departed the lunar surface. At 1:11 pm EDT, the ascent stage of the lunar module achieved liftoff and was the first to be televised via the camera attached to the rover. Following the docking of the lunar module and the command module, the ascent stage… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: August 1, 2022
August 1, 2022 On this date in 1980, American engineer James S. McDonnell passed away from a stroke. McDonnell founded the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation in 1939, which supplied fighter aircraft to the U.S. Air Force and Navy. The company was also responsible for building the Mercury and Gemini space capsules. McDonnell was buried in Bellefontaine… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: July 31, 2022
July 31, 2022 Tomorrow morning at 5 am, it is possible to find Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn stretched across the sky from the northeastern to the southwestern horizons respectively. Additionally, the planet Uranus is located approximately 1.4° north of Mars. The sky as it will appear tomorrow morning at 5 am. From the northeast… Continue reading