Day: December 4, 2024

Why we can’t just name a quasi-moon ‘Moony McMoonface’

NeRD

During the summer of 2022, just after the James Webb Space Telescope started sending us a steady stream of deep-space postcards, astronomer Stephen Finkelstein and his team found a mysterious red splotch in one of those data deliveries. They’d spotted one of the earliest galaxies humans have ever laid eyes on — a realm that represented a distant pocket of the universe our species once couldn’t dream of seeing. And, importantly, they found it on Finkelstein’s daughter’s birthday, a serendipity that blessed this blob with a name: Maisie’s Galaxy. But…

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Lagniappe for December 2024

NeRD

4 Min Read Lagniappe for December 2024 Explore the December 2024 issue, highlighting the Clean Energy Project, Powering Space Dreams, and more! Credits: NASA/Stennis Explore Lagniappe for December 2024 featuring: NASA Stennis Secures Grant for Clean Energy Project Powering Space Dreams NASA Builds Bridges at Bayou Classic Gator Speaks Gator Speaks NASA/Stennis Do you have time for a quick story? Recently, your ol‘ friend Gator had the chance to help his family move. This move was not the same as going to the Moon or Mars like NASA’s planned Artemis…

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NASA Attorney Enjoys Serving Others and Contributing to the Team Mission

NeRD

3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Jeff Renshaw is the lead attorney for procurement law in the Office of the General Counsel for NASA’s Stennis Space Center and the NASA Shared Services Center. NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA attorney Jeff Renshaw’s work has primarily revolved around two things: serving others and solving problems. The New Orleans native retired as an U.S. Air Force judge advocate following more than two decades of service. Renshaw now has worked for more than eight years as an attorney advisor at NASA’s…

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See the moon and Venus take a sunset stroll through the night sky tonight

NeRD

Wednesday evening will be another one of those special occasions when the two brightest objects in the night sky will get together and likely will attract a lot of attention, even from those who normally do not spend much time gazing up at the sky. If you face south-southwest about 45 minutes after sunset during mid-twilight you’ll see a beautiful crescent moon. And floating about 3 degrees above it will be the dazzling Evening Star: the planet Venus. Remember that your clenched fist is roughly equal to 10 degrees when…

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White Sands Test Facility Encourages Locals to Leave Their Footprint on the Space Industry

NeRD

At the edge of Las Cruces, New Mexico, surrounded by miles of sunbaked earth, NASA’s White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) is quietly shaping the future. There is no flash, no fanfare — the self-contained facility operates as it has since 1962, humbly and in relative obscurity. Yet as New Mexico’s space industry skyrockets amid intensifying commercial spaceflight efforts across the state, WSTF feels a new urgency to connect with the community. With the facility’s latest Test and Evaluation Support Team (TEST3) contract now in its third year, Program Manager Michelle…

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Watch Europe’s Vega-C rocket launch today on 1st flight since 2022 (video)

NeRD

Watch live! Vega-C rocket to launch Sentinel-1C satellite in return to flight – YouTube Watch On For the first time since the launch vehicle’s catastrophic mission failure in 2022, Europe’s Vega-C rocket is poised to return to flight today. The European Space Agency (ESA) is scheduled to launch the Copernicus Sentinel-1C satellite today, lifting off from Kourou, French Guiana, during an instantaneous launch window Dec. 4, at 4:20 p.m. EST (2120 GMT, 22:20 CET — local time). This will be the third mission for ESA’s medium-lift rocket, and its first…

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