Type: Astronomy Fact of the Day

Tonight at 9 pm, look east to find the zodiac constellation Leo the Lion. Easily identified by its sickle-shaped head, Leo is an indicator that spring will soon be upon us.

In 1952 on this date, Collier’s magazine published papers from the First Symposium on Space Flight, under the title “Man Will Conquer Space Soon.”. This was an important step in the popularization of the idea of manned space flight.

Just like observational astronomy, anyone with an interest can get started in radio astronomy. A great place to begin is at the Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers (SARA). Radio astronomy opens up a new way to explore the universe and the world around you.

On this date in 1971, Apollo 14 safely returned from the Moon. The Command Module Kitty Hawk splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, about 7 kilometers from the recovery ship USS New Orleans.

Today Mercury reaches a point in its orbit called inferior conjunction. This is when Mercury passes between Earth and the Sun. A few weeks after Inferior conjunction, Mercury will slowly become visible before sunrise as it heads towards greatest elongation.

In 1958 on this day, the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) was created. Later called DARPA, it was authorized to direct or perform advanced research and development projects. Check out some of their current initiatives at their homepage here.

Planets emit radio waves that are produced when charged particles from the sun interact with the planet’s magnetic field. The sounds you hear are produced by a computer converting the radio waves to sound a speaker can play. This astronomy fact was sent in by Science Center visitor Tom Urbain.

On this date in 1971, Apollo 14, carrying astronauts Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell and Stuart Roosa, landed on the Moon. Alan Shepard, secretly carrying the head of a modified six-iron golf club, affixed it to the handle of a backup lunar scoop; he famously hit two golf balls on the moon. You can see NASA’s… Continue reading →

A ‘last quarter’ moon occurs today. This offers us a great chance to do some daytime observations of the Moon. Look for the Moon in the west in the morning hours.

In 1966 on this date, the unmanned Soviet probe Luna 9 became the first man-made object to make a soft landing on the Moon. While the entire spacecraft descended to the surface, a landing capsule was ejected just before impact (16 feet, or 5 meters, above) for the soft landing, and sent back photographs of… Continue reading →