November 10, 2021 Tonight the Moon will exhibit a waxing crescent phase with roughly 44% of the lunar disk illuminated. Those with telescopes can track down the landing site of Apollo 16 which landed in the Descartes Highlands just north of Descartes Crater. A waxing crescent moon will be visible on November 16, 2021. You… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: November 9, 2021
November 9, 2021 Today in 1934, Carl Sagan was born. Sagan was an American astronomy and science communicator who helped to popularize space science through the 13-pat television series “Cosmos: A Personal Voyage.” Learn more about Carl Sagan and his contributions to astronomy here. Carl Sagan unveils the iconic Pale Blue Dot image at a… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: November 7, 2021
November 7, 2021 Today in 1631, Pierre Gassendi made the first observation of Mercury transiting the Sun. He observed the transit by projecting the Sun’s image on a screen of paper. He recorded this in Mercurius in sole visus (1632; Mercury in the Face of the Sun) as support for the new astronomy of Johannes… Continue reading
Night Sky Update: November 5 – November 13, 2021
This is the Saint Louis Science Center’s NIGHT SKY UPDATE for the week of Friday, November 5, 2021. Information updated weekly or as needed. Times given as local St. Louis time which is Central Daylight Time (CDT) until November 7, 2021. This date is when Daylight Saving Time ends, and we revert back to Central… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: November 6, 2021
November 6, 2021 Tomorrow, Daylight Saving Time ends. Don’t forget to set you clocks one hour back. This also means we are now 6 hours behind Universal Time (UT) using Central Standard Time (CST). Sunset seen from Joshua Tree California. Image credit: Jessie Eastland
Astronomy Fact of the Day: November 5, 2021
November 5, 2021 Today in 1906, Marie Curie gave her inaugural lecture as the first woman lecturer at the Sorbonne. She explained the theory of ions in gases and her treatise on radioactivity. Madame Curie would become a Nobel prize winner and authority on radioactivity. Marie Curie and her daughter Irène in the laboratory after… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: November 4, 2021
November 4, 2021 New moon occurs today starting lunation 1223. Additionally, Uranus reaches opposition tomorrow at midnight. If you have binoculars, you can find the planet in the constellation Aries. Location of the planet Uranus in the constellation Aries. Also labeled for reference are the Pleiades star cluster and the star Menkar in the constellation… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: November 2, 2021
November 2, 2021 Looking south tonight at 7 pm, you will find the planets Jupiter and Saturn. Those with a telescope, have a chance to see the Great Red Spot transiting across the visible face of Jupiter. The Great Red Spot will already be transiting once it becomes dark and will continue to be visible… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: November 1, 2021
November 1, 2021 Today in 1884, Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) was adopted universally at a meeting of the International Meridian Conference in Washington, DC, USA. From then the International Date Line was drawn up and 24 time zones created. Standard time zones of the world. Credit: United States Central Intelligence Agency
Astronomy Fact of the Day: November 3, 2021
November 3, 2021 Today in 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 2 with the first live animal sent into space – a Siberian husky dog, Laika. Biological data, the first data of its kind, was transmitted back to Earth and showed scientists how Laika was adapting to space. The craft was not planned for recovery,… Continue reading