Astronomy Fact of the Day: October 23, 2021

October 23, 2021 Today in 2007, Space Shuttle Discovery launched on the twenty-third Shuttle mission to the International Space Station and delivered the Harmony module. Harmony, also known as Node 2, is the utility of the ISS. It connects the laboratory modules of the United States, Europe, and Japan as well as providing sleeping cabins… Continue reading

Astronomy Fact of the Day: October 22, 2021

October 22, 2021 Tonight at 8 pm, you can find the planets Jupiter and Saturn in the south. You can confirm you have these planets with the twinkle test. Stars twinkle planets usually do not. Jupiter and Saturn can be found in the south at 8 pm. rising in the east is a waning gibbous… Continue reading

Astronomy Fact of the Day: October 21, 2021

October 21, 2021 Today, the annual Orionid Meteor Shower reaches it’s peak. A meteor shower is a celestial event where meteors, or shooting stars, can be observed caused by streams of cosmic debris entering the Earth’s atmosphere. While usually a respectable meteor shower, the nearly full moon will make observing many meteors from the Orionids… Continue reading

Astronomy Fact of the Day: October 20, 2021

October 20, 2021 October’s full moon occurs today marking the 10th of 12 full moons in 2021. The Moon will be in Pisces tonight. Like the Sun and planets, the Moon will always appear in a zodiac constellation. Full moon occurs today at 14:56 UT. October’s full moon is often called the Full Hunter’s Moon.… Continue reading

Astronomy Fact of the Day: October 19, 2021

October 19, 2021 Today in 2008, NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) launched to map the boundary of our solar system. IBEX produced the first all-sky map of the heliosphere. The heliosphere is a giant bubble around the solar system produced by a constant flow of charged particles from the Sun. This is an artist’s concept… Continue reading

Astronomy Fact of the Day: October 18, 2021

October 18, 2021 Tonight the Big Dipper will be seen low in the northwest at 7:30 pm. For many of us, trees and buildings may obstruct our view of this asterism. We will begin to see the Big Dipper again once it starts to climb above the northeast horizon around 3:30 am tomorrow morning. Big… Continue reading

Astronomy Fact of the Day: October 17, 2021

October 17, 2021 Today in 1956, Dr. Mae Carol Jemison, the first African American woman to fly in space, was born. Jemison holds a degree in chemical engineering and a Doctor of Medicine. She also became the first real-life astronaut to appear in an episode of Star Trek. For more information on Dr. Jemison, visit… Continue reading

Astronomy Fact of the Day: October 16, 2021

October 16, 2021 Tonight after sunset, you can find the planet Venus above the western horizon. It is currently found in the constellation Scorpius just north of the bright red supergiant star Antares. The pair will make a fine sight through binoculars about 30 minutes after sunset. Venus, the star Antares and the constellation Scorpius… Continue reading

Night Sky Update: October 15 – October 23, 2021

This is the Saint Louis Science Center’s NIGHT SKY UPDATE for the week of Friday, October 15, 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: October 15, 2021

October 15, 2021 Today in 1997, NASA’s Cassini-Huygens mission began a seven-year journey to the ringed planet Saturn. For more than a decade, the Cassini spacecraft shared the wonders of Saturn and its icy moons, while the Huygens probe became the first mission to land on a moon in the outer solar system. Credit –… Continue reading