This is the Saint Louis Science Center’s NIGHT SKY UPDATE for the week of Friday, August 13, 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
August 13, 2021 In 1960 on this date, the U.S. Geological Survey announced the completion of the first known photogeological survey of the lunar surface. You can read about and download a digital version of the latest the Unified Geologic Map of the Moon here. View of the Moon on August 17, 2021, and the… Continue reading
August 12, 2021 Tonight the Moon will exhibit a waxing crescent phase with about 23% of the lunar disk illuminated. With binoculars, you will see four large dark patches close together. These are large basaltic plains that formed because of ancient volcanic eruptions. The lava that erupted to the lunar surface forming the maria, settled… Continue reading
August 11, 2021 On this date in 1962, the Soviet Union launched Vostok 3, with Cosmonaut Andriyan Nikolayev aboard, into Earth orbit. The next day, Vostok 4 was launched with Cosmonaut Pavel Popovich aboard. Although they had no maneuvering capability and therefore could not rendezvous or dock, the spacecraft did briefly see each other at… Continue reading
August 10, 2021 The peak of the annual Perseid Meteor Shower occurs tomorrow night on August 11/12. The Perseids are typically active from July 17 to August 26. You can start looking for meteors as early as 10 pm by looking northeast but, your best views will be from midnight to 4 am. During this… Continue reading
This is the Saint Louis Science Center’s NIGHT SKY UPDATE for the week of Friday, August 6, 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
August 9, 2021 In 1973 on this date, the Soviet Union launched its Mars 7 probe. Instead of a soft landing on Mars, the probe missed the planet by 1,300 kilometers. A history of the Soviet space program may be found here. If Mars 7 was successful, I would have landed near Ritchey Crater south… Continue reading
August 8, 2021 Today marks new moon for August starting lunation 1220. Our Moon was the only Moon known until the invention of the telescope. In 1610, Galileo pointed a telescope at Jupiter discovering four new moons. Today we call them Io, Europa, Ganymede and Calisto. Those with binoculars can find Jupiter and these four… Continue reading
August 7, 2021 In 1947 on this date, Charles “Chuck” Yeager flew the manned rocket plane X-1 on one of many flights leading up to his breaking of the sound barrier in October of that year. Yeager named the X-1 “Glamorous Glennis” in a tribute to his wife. Chuck Yeager in front of Bell X-1… Continue reading
August 6, 2021 Jupiter rises today at 8:45 pm. Start looking for this giant world in the southeast by 10pm. The Juno Mission has been orbiting Jupiter since July 4, 2016. Image Data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS. Image Processing: Kevin M. Gill, © CC BY
