On April 8, 2024, North America will experience the world’s longest land-based total solar eclipse in over a decade. The path of totality will cross parts of four states in Mexico, 15 U.S. states, and five Canadian provinces, allowing around 40 million people to witness the celestial spectacle. You can watch the total solar eclipse live here on Space.com. And keep up with all the actions with our total solar eclipse 2024 live updates blog. But how much do you know about it? From exactly how long the moon’s central…
Read MoreThe next chapter of lunar exploration could forever change the moon — and our relationship to it (op-ed)
Aparna Venkatesan is an astronomer and dark-sky advocate in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at University of San Francisco. John Barentine is an astronomer, historian, author, science communicator, and founder of Dark Sky Consulting, LLC. For as long as there have been humans, the moon has been a calendar, ancestor, ritual, inspiration, and origin story for humanity. Its monthly and subtler generational cycles have been — and are still — painstakingly recorded and celebrated by cultures around the world since prehistoric times. These recurring sequences include the “major lunar…
Read MoreThis Week In Space podcast: Episode 101 — Nukes in Space
On Episode 101 of This Week In Space, Tariq and Space.com’s Brett Tingley discuss the recent reports and delve into the history of the militarization of space by Russia, China, and the United States. Russia is building a secret nuclear-powered space weapon, but what does that mean for the rest of us? Tariq and Brett delve into the history of nuclear weapons and reactors in space, as well as the existing international treaties governing weapons of mass destruction in orbit. They also cover the week’s top headlines, including SpaceX’s upcoming…
Read MoreNASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 Return to Earth to Air Live on NASA Platforms
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 poses for a photo before their mission to the International Space Station. From left to right: Mission Specialist Konstantin Borisov, Pilot Andreas Mogensen, Commander Jasmin Moghbeli, and Mission Specialist Satoshi Furukawa. Credits: SpaceX NASA will provide live coverage of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-7 return to Earth from the International Space Station, beginning with a change-of-command ceremony at 11:55 a.m. EDT on Sunday, March 10. NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin…
Read MoreLuxembourg Leaders Focus on Lunar Exploration at Visit to NASA Ames
Using the Lunar Lab and Regolith Testbeds at NASA’s Ames Research Center, a team created this simulated lunar environment to study lighting conditions experienced at the unexplored poles of the Moon. NASA/Uland Wong The challenges of working on the surface of the Moon are at the center of a facility at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. The Lunar Lab and Regolith Testbeds help scientists and engineers – from NASA and industry alike – study how well science instruments, robots, and people might be able to safely work,…
Read More‘Star Wars’ salutes Women’s History Month with Ahsoka Tano, Mon Mothma and more
March is the calendar page where we honor and salute Women’s History Month each year and nowhere do the female stars shine brightest than Marvel Comics’ batch of celebratory “Star Wars” variant covers spawned from a galaxy far, far away. Scattered across the full spectrum of iconic “Star Wars” characters, from deadly assassins to leaders of the Rebellion and famed Jedi Knights to key political figures, Marvel is rolling out the red carpet for seven of the franchise’s legendary heroic women for a respectful spotlight event all month long. The…
Read MoreNASA to Host Boeing Crew Flight Test Preview, News Conferences
Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT) astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams in T-38 pre-flight activities at Ellington Field. Photo Date: August 16, 2022. Location: Ellington Field, Hangar 276/Flight Line. Credits: NASA/Robert Markowitz NASA will preview the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission to the International Space Station by hosting media tours Thursday, March 21, and with news conferences Friday, March 22, at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. NASA and Boeing officials will discuss flight test readiness, objectives, and priorities at 10 a.m. EDT March 22, and mission…
Read More‘3 Body Problem:’ Watch final trailer for Netflix’s alien invasion saga (video)
As spring descends upon the Northern Hemisphere later this month, an arrival of another kind will manifest itself. Netflix’s ambitious sci-fi saga “3 Body Problem” drops on March 21, and we’ve got a mystery-fueled final trailer to share that might have you watching the skies. “3 Body Problem” — from “Game of Thrones” creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, along with “True Blood’s” Alexander Woo — is a lavish, eight-episode adaptation of the first book in the “Remembrance of Earth’s Past” novel trilogy by bestselling author Cixin Liu. Ahead of…
Read MoreSave 33% on ISO-certified solar glasses ahead of April 8 total solar eclipse
The upcoming solar eclipse is in exactly one month, so now’s the time to make sure you own a safe viewing kit for the event. Amazon is offering 33% off a two-pack of Soluna’s solar viewing glasses, which will arrive with time to spare. Grab a third off Soluna solar viewing glasses when you get them from Amazon. The solar viewing glasses meet ISO 12312-2:2015 standards for direct sun observation. The manufacturer, Soluna, is also an American Astronomical Society (AAS) approved supplier of safe solar viewers, so you can rely…
Read MoreMartian Barchan Dunes
This image shows two types of sand dunes on Mars. The small dots are called barchan dunes, and from their shape we can tell that they are upwind. The downwind dunes are long and linear. These two types of dune each show the wind direction in different ways: the barchans have a steep slope and crescent-shaped “horns” that point downwind, while the linear dunes are stretched out along the primary wind direction. Linear dunes, however, typically indicate a wind regime with at least two different prevailing winds, which stretch out…
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