May 14, 2022 As of April 2022, just over 300 Martian meteorites have been discovered and classified which account for less than 0.5% of all confirmed meteorites. Scientists use the mineralogical, elemental, and isotopic makeup of the meteorite to determine whether the rock originated on Mars or somewhere else in the solar system. Most strikingly,… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: May 13, 2022
May 13, 2022 On this date in 1957, Claudie Haigneré, the first French woman to go to space, was born. She visited the Mir space station as part of the Russian-French Cassiopée mission. Additionally in 1999 Haigneré commanded a Soyuz capsule during reentry. While in space she conducted experiments in physiology, developmental biology, and fluid… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: May 12, 2022
May 12, 2022 Tonight at 10 pm, the bright red star Antares is rising just above the southeastern horizon. Antares is often depicted as the heart of Scorpius the Scorpion. The name Antares comes from the Latin for “Rival of Mars”, likely in reference to the star’s red hue. This star has been viewed as… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: May 11, 2022
May 11, 2022 On this date in 1949, Cape Canaveral was officially selected as a future site for US rocket launches and long-range flights. As a result, negotiations with the British government began for installation of a string of tracking stations in the Bahamas Islands. Atlas V on launch pad 41 at Cape Canaveral. This… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: May 10, 2022
May 10, 2022 Tonight at 10 pm, the waxing gibbous moon is visible to the South in the constellation of Leo the Lion. The distinctive Copernicus crater will be visible with binoculars near the terminator, or the line between day and night on the Moon. The central peak of Copernicus is approximately three-quarters of a… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: May 9, 2022
May 9, 2022 On this date in 1965, the unmanned Soviet lunar probe, Luna 5, was launched. This spacecraft was intended to become the first to soft-land on the moon. However, after technical difficulties, it crashed into the moon near Copernicus crater and became the second Soviet probe to hit the Moon. A map of… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: May 8, 2022
May 8, 2022 In May 1774, panic rose throughout the Netherlands when it was suggested that an upcoming conjunction of several planets and the Moon would cause Earth to be thrown from its orbit into the Sun. To counteract this fear, Dutch woolworker Eise Eisinga began construction on a large orrery, or model of the… Continue reading
Night Sky Update: May 6 – May 14, 2022
This is the Saint Louis Science Center’s NIGHT SKY UPDATE for the week of Friday, May 6, 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: May 7, 2022
May 7, 2022 There are eight planets in our solar system and over 5000 other planets discovered so far orbiting other stars. Many of these planets are gas giants similar to Neptune; however, nearly 200 of them are terrestrial. Learn more about the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission, which is working to detect these… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: May 6, 2022
May 6, 2022 The Eta Aquariids meteor shower peaked just after midnight this morning with approximately one meteor per minute, although good rates are possible for a week centered on May 6. As the name suggests, the radiant of this shower is found in the constellation of Aquarius. The source material for this meteor shower… Continue reading