On Episode 96 of This Week In Space, Tariq and Rod discuss science on television with History Channel producer Jeff Stepp. Space and science TV has come a long way since the old-time staples like Mr. Wizard and the original Bille Nye, The Science Guy. Stepp joins us to talk about his work on “The UnXplained: With William Shatner” and other science shows — how are they conceived, what is production like, and what is the future of space and science-oriented media? We know Jeff to be a fine writer…
Read MoreMonth: February 2024
Ghostly plasma loops linger on the sun after massive solar explosion (photos)
A series of gigantic yet eerily faint plasma loops temporarily rose above our home star’s surface after a powerful solar flare exploded from the sun on Monday, stunning new photos show. These loops linger like ghostly echoes of the departed solar storm, but scientists still don’t know exactly how the ethereal remnants take shape. On Monday (Jan. 29), a powerful 6.8 magnitude M-class solar flare — the second highest class of solar flares behind X-class flares — erupted from sunspot AR3559 as it began to disappear behind the sun‘s western…
Read MoreWatch Amazon’s new trailer for cosmic comedy ‘The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy’ (video)
Welcome to the Ergulon Galaxy in the year 14,002! Checking in with Prime Video’s outstanding lineup of animated fare is a new full trailer for the streaming platform’s wacky adult sci-fi series, “The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy,” and it’s gonna be pure cosmic chaos when this weird space doctor project premieres on Feb. 23. Created and written by Emmy Award-winning Cirocco Dunlap (“Baymax!,” “Russian Doll”), “The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy” launches animation fans into the manic workplace environment of a bustling outer space medical facility with…
Read MoreThe Iconic Photos from STS-41B: Documenting the First Untethered Spacewalk
4 Min Read The Iconic Photos from STS-41B: Documenting the First Untethered Spacewalk Astronaut Bruce McCandless II, STS-41B mission specialist, reaches his maximum distance from space shuttle Challenger before returning to the spacecraft using the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU). Credits: NASA As astronaut Bruce McCandless II flew the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) out of the space shuttle Challenger’s payload bay for the first time on February 7, 1984, many in the agency were fearful about the use of a self-propelled and untethered backpack in space. (Previous spacewalkers remained connected to…
Read MoreMeet the Creators, Part 3: NASA’s 2024 Total Solar Eclipse Posters
3 min read Meet the Creators, Part 3: NASA’s 2024 Total Solar Eclipse Posters A total solar eclipse is a captivating experience – evoking feelings of awe and wonder that are sometimes best expressed through art. Inspired by the upcoming total solar eclipse of April 8, 2024, artists Tyler Nordgren and Kristen Perrin have designed two posters for NASA that present the magic of the eclipse in unique ways. Tyler Nordgren Download the poster here. NASA/Tyler Nordgren In “The Sun and Moon Align with You” poster for NASA, Nordgren –…
Read MoreCalifornia, Massachusetts Students to Hear from NASA, ESA Astronauts
NASA astronauts and Expedition 70 Flight Engineers Jasmin Moghbeli, left, and Loral O’Hara in the Destiny laboratory celebrate the successful docking of a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station. NASA Students from California and Massachusetts will have separate opportunities next week to hear from NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The two Earth-to-space calls will air live Monday, Feb. 5, and Friday, Feb. 9, on NASA+ and agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media. At 12:15 p.m. EST Feb. 5,…
Read MoreNASA Sets Coverage for Axiom Mission 3 Departure from Space Station
The SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft carrying the four-member Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) crew is pictured approaching the International Space Station 260 miles above China north of the Himalayas. NASA will provide live coverage of the undocking and departure of the Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) private astronaut flight from the International Space Station before the crew returns to Earth. The four-member astronaut crew is scheduled to undock no earlier than 6:05 a.m. EST Saturday, Feb. 3, from the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module in a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to…
Read MoreNASA Invites Public to Share in Excitement of PACE Mission Launch
NASA and SpaceX technicians safely encapsulate NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) spacecraft in SpaceX’s Falcon 9 payload fairings on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024, at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo Credit: NASA Goddard/Denny Henry NASA is hosting virtual activities ahead of the launch of the PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) mission and invites you to share in the fun. The PACE mission will help us better understand how the ocean and atmosphere exchange carbon dioxide, measure key atmospheric variables…
Read MoreSierra Space unveils Dream Chaser space plane ahead of 1st flight to ISS (photos)
SANDUSKY, Ohio — Ohio, the home of the Wright Brothers, is known as the “Birthplace of Aviation.” But the state also has some serious spaceflight bona fides, as we were reminded during an event on Thursday (Feb. 1). On that day, NASA and the Colorado-based company Sierra Space gave reporters an up-close look at Dream Chaser, a private space plane that’s scheduled to fly its first-ever mission to the International Space Station (ISS) later this year. The event took place at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility here in Sandusky. The robotic…
Read MoreUNITE All-Nighter Delights Amateur Astronomers
2 min read UNITE All-Nighter Delights Amateur Astronomers Fadi Saibi and his daughter Sophie, age 14, pose for a photograph with their Unistellar telescope in their backyard in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. Credit: Bay Area News Group/Nhat V. Meye Maybe you read about them in the papers–amateur astronomers in Japan, Russia, France, Finland, and the United States have been pulling all-nighters to spot extraordinary exoplanets, planets orbiting stars other than the Sun. NASA’s UNITE project holds these planetary stakeouts several times every month, and you can join in!…
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