July 13, 2022 Full moon occurs today at 1:37 pm; however, the Moon will not rise until approximately 9 pm. The Moon also reaches perigee at 221,994 mi (357,264 km) from Earth, which is the closest full moon of 2022. When perigee and full moon coincide, it is often referred to as a supermoon –… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: July 12, 2022
July 12, 2022 On April 2, 2022, the Mars Perseverance Rover witnessed and captured a solar eclipse. The Martian moon Phobos passed between the planet and the Sun, blocking out part of the solar disc. This eclipse was captured in higher resolution and frame rate than any other Martian solar eclipse previously. The rover Opportunity… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: July 11, 2022
July 11, 2022 On this date in 1979, NASA’s Skylab space station tumbled back to Earth. Skylab was the first U.S. space station and was originally planned to be used with the Space Shuttle. However, the Space Shuttle was delayed and was not able to re-boost Skylab into a higher orbit. This caused the space… Continue reading
Night Sky Update: July 8 – July 16, 2022
This is the Saint Louis Science Center’s NIGHT SKY UPDATE for the week of Friday, July 8, 2022. 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: July 10, 2022
July 10, 2022 Today Mercury reaches its closest point to the Sun, its perihelion. Mercury orbits the Sun once every 88 days and has a more elliptical orbit than the other planets in our Solar System. At its closest approach, Mercury is approximately 28.5 million miles (45.9 million km) from the Sun. However, at its… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: July 9, 2022
July 9, 2022 A waxing gibbous moon rises today at 4:15 pm. By 10 pm, the Moon will be visible high in the south-southwestern sky. With a binocular or telescope, it is possible to see Gassendi Crater in high relief near the terminator. Gassendi Crater hosts a distinct outer rim, several central peaks, and a… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: July 8, 2022
July 8, 2022 On this date in 1992, comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 made its closest approach to Jupiter – 74,364 mi (119,677 km) from the surface. The comet wasn’t discovered until 1993, but calculations show that as it passed by in July of 1992, Jupiter’s tidal forces had pulled the comet apart. The fragments of Shoemaker-Levy… Continue reading
Astronomy Fact of the Day: July 7, 2022
July 7, 2022 Tonight at 10 pm, the Moon can be found in the southwest sky near the bright star Spica. The Moon is currently exhibiting the first quarter phase. Although half of the near side is illuminated, we call it a quarter moon because the Moon is one quarter of the way through the… Continue reading
Greenhouse updates–To Peat or not to Peat
Hello again everyone! For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Chris, and I’m a new part-time facilitator at GROW this summer. Some of you might remember me from last year’s greenhouse blog posts, where I talked about everything from aphids, to fish, to commercial lettuce. Being a YES Teen with the… Continue reading
Bear Fetish
Bear Fetish, Southwest US, date unknown The indigenous peoples of North America have a close relationship to nature and the animals around them. Those animals are sometimes represented by hand carved fetish animals that are imbued with spiritual forces. For example, the bear, represented here, is the guardian of the west, and has protective and… Continue reading