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How NASA Tracked the Most Intense Solar Storm in Decades
May 2024 has already proven to be a particularly stormy month for our Sun. During the first full week of May, a barrage of large solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) launched clouds of charged particles and magnetic fields…
NASA’s Juno Provides High-Definition Views of Europa’s Icy Shell
Imagery from the solar-powered spacecraft shows some intriguing features on the ice-encased Jovian moon. Images from the JunoCam visible-light camera aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft supports the theory that the icy crust at the north and south poles of Jupiter’s moon…
The Next Full Moon is the Flower, Corn, or Corn Planting Moon
The Next Full Moon is the Flower, Corn, or Corn Planting Moon; the Milk Moon; the Hare’s Moon; and Vesak, Buddha Jayanti, or Buddha Purnima. The next full Moon will be on Thursday morning, May 23, 2024, at 9:53 AM…
Binoculars: A Great First Telescope
Do you want to peer deeper into the night sky? Are you feeling the urge to buy a telescope? There are so many options for budding astronomers that choosing one can be overwhelming. A first telescope should be easy to…
NASA’s New Mobile Launcher Stacks Up for Future Artemis Missions
The foundation is set at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for launching crewed missions aboard the agency’s larger and more powerful SLS (Space Launch System) Block 1B rocket in support of Artemis IV and future missions. On May 9,…
NASA Selects Students for Europa Clipper Intern Program
NASA has selected 40 undergraduate students for the first year of its Europa ICONS (Inspiring Clipper: Opportunities for Next-generation Scientists) internship program, supporting the agency’s Europa Clipper mission. Europa ICONS matches students with mentors from the mission’s science team for a…
Orbits and Kepler’s Laws
Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion The story of how we understand planetary motion could not be told if it were not for the work of a German mathematician named Johannes Kepler. Kepler’s three laws describe how planets orbit the Sun.…
NASA Selects Commercial Service Studies to Enable Mars Robotic Science
Nine companies have been selected to conduct early-stage studies of concepts for commercial services to support lower-cost, higher-frequency missions to the Red Planet. NASA has identified nine U.S. companies to perform a total of 12 concept studies of how commercial…
What’s Up: May 2024 Skywatching Tips from NASA
What to look for: Morning Meteors and May Planets See Mars, Saturn, and Mercury in the May morning sky. Antares slips behind the Moon for East Coast U.S. skywatchers. And the eta Aquariid meteors peak May 6th. Transcript What’s Up…
May’s Night Sky Notes: Stargazing for Beginners
Were you inspired by the solar eclipse to become an amateur astronomer? If so, here are some high-level tips on how to get started, from Night Sky Notes!