Type: Astronomy Fact of the Day

October 2, 2021 The brightest star we see at night is called Sirius. You can find this bright star rising in the southeast around 3 am this month. The bright Star Sirius rising in the southeast around 3 am. Image created using Stellarium

October 1, 2021 Today in 1958, NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) officially became NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). On that day William H. Dana reported to work as an engineer at the High-Speed Flight Station as the first NASA employee. For a timeline of NASA’s history, visit here. The original logo of the… Continue reading →

September 30, 2021 At 9 pm you will find Jupiter and Saturn in the south. You can confirm that you have found these planets with the twinkle test. Generally, stars appear to twinkle, planets do not. The bright star to the northwest of Jupiter and Saturn is Altair and the bright star to their southeast… Continue reading →

September 29, 2021 Today in 2001, NASA launched Kodiak Star carrying four satellites into Earth orbit. This was the first launch from the Kodiak Launch Complex on Kodiak Island in Alaska, now named the Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska (PSCA). This facility is one of the best locations in the world for polar launch operations.… Continue reading →

September 28, 2021 Last quarter moon occurs today at 8:57 pm. You can find the Moon rising in the northeast at 11:30 pm. The line that separates day and night on the Moon is called the terminator. Along the terminator is where you will find the best details of lunar features. View of a last… Continue reading →

September 27, 2021 Today in 1956, Air Force test pilot Captain Milburn Apt flew the Bell Aircraft Company’s rocket-powered X-2 at Mach 3.2. This event marked the first human flight to exceed the speed of sound by more than a factor of three. Unfortunately, Apt lost control of the X-2 due to inertial coupling when… Continue reading →

September 26, 2021 Today in St. Louis, Missouri, we have equal hours of day and night as the Sun rises at 6:51 and it sets at 18:51. This day is called equilux, which occurs a few days after the autumnal and a few days before the vernal equinox. The reason we experience more daytime on… Continue reading →

September 25, 2021 Today in 1974, researchers F. Sherwood Rowland and Mario Molina published their findings that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were damaging the ozone layer. At the time, CFCs were commonly used in aerosol sprays and as coolants with many applications. Today, CFCs are outlawed by 197 countries around the world and scientists agree the ozone… Continue reading →

September 24, 2021 The bright variable star Algol can be found in the northeast after 8:30 pm. Algol is the second brightest star in Perseus which appears as an upside-down Y-shape. If you watch Algol for several nights, you might notice the star dim from 2.1 to 3.4 magnitude. What you are seeing is two… Continue reading →

September 23, 2021 Today in 1999, the Mars Climate Orbiter began a planned orbital insertion maneuver around Mars. The orbiter went out of radio contact when the spacecraft passed behind Mars and communication was never reestablished. It is believed the spacecraft encountered the planet at a lower than anticipated altitude and was either destroyed in… Continue reading →