October 2021 – Page 2 – NeRDs Moonbase

UFOs and UAP: History, sightings and mysteries

October 29, 2021 NeRD

UFOs are coming out of the shadows. Discussion of unidentified flying objects — or, as they have recently been rebranded, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) — was long relegated to society’s fringes. The topic was toxic, and many people avoided serious engagement with it out of fear of being branded a crackpot. But that has begun to change in the past few years. Prominent scientists now openly push for serious study of UFOs, and the U.S. Navy recently drew up new guidelines that encourage pilots to report curious or confusing sky sights.…

NASA Armstrong’s Visual Communications Manager Steven Lighthill

October 29, 2021 NeRD

Steve Lighthill began to study art at the age of 16, taking courses in painting, sculpture, and jewelry during high school in northern California.

Space Station Science Highlights: Week of October 25, 2021

October 29, 2021 NeRD

Crew members aboard the International Space Station conducted scientific investigations during the week of Oct. 25 that included assessing how muscle tissue adapts to spaceflight, observing liquid shear flow, and studying more efficient removal of heat.

NASA, National Geographic Partner to Show Inside Artemis Moon Mission

October 29, 2021 NeRD

NASA has selected National Geographic to help tell the story of Artemis II, the first Artemis flight that will carry astronauts around the Moon and back to Earth aboard the agency’s Orion spacecraft.

The Roots of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot Run Deep

October 29, 2021 NeRD

NASA’s Juno mission has obtained measurements that finally say just how deep the Great Red Spot goes. The post The Roots of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot Run Deep appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

SpaceX Crew-3 Rollout

October 29, 2021 NeRD

In this 90-second exposure, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is rolled to the launch pad on Oct. 27, 2021.

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, October 29 – November 6

October 29, 2021 NeRD

The moonless evenings this week offer three bright planets and deep-sky riches as deep as you can go. Meanwhile, the waning crescent Moon meets Mercury and Spica low in bright dawn. The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, October 29 – November 6 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Gamma Ray Ghouls!

October 28, 2021 NeRD

Take a tour of some of the most terrifying and mind-blowing destinations in our galaxy … and beyond.

Sun fires off major solar flare from Earth-facing sunspot

October 28, 2021 NeRD

A major solar flare erupted from the sun on Thursday (Oct. 28) in the strongest storm yet of our star’s current weather cycle. The sun fired off an X1-class solar flare, its most powerful kind of flare, that peaked at 11:35 a.m. EDT (1535 GMT), according to an alert from the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), which tracks space weather events. The flare caused a temporary, but strong, radio blackout across the sunlit side of Earth centered on South America, the group wrote in an statement. NASA officials called…

Estée Lauder teams up with International Space Station to tackle Earth’s plastic problem

October 28, 2021 NeRD

Research in space could help humanity to tackle our big plastic problem here on Earth. The global beauty brand Estée Lauder has partnered with the International Space Station to combat Earth’s plastic issues with the ISS National Lab Sustainability Challenge: Beyond Plastics. The challenge, funded and supported in part by Estée Lauder, was announced today (Oct. 28) by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, Inc. (CASIS). “We’re very excited about this opportunity to partner with Estée Lauder and contribute in some meaningful way to tackling some of…