Harvest Moon Supermoon lunar eclipse delights skywatchers worldwide (photos)

Harvest Moon Supermoon lunar eclipse delights skywatchers | Rocket Lab to launch 5 'Internet of Things' satellites today | Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS nears the sun this month Created for znamenski.spacecom@blogger.com |  Web Version September 18, 2024 CONNECT WITH SPACE.COM       Something amazing every day. SIGN UP ⋅   WEBSITE   The Launchpad Harvest Moon Supermoon lunar eclipse delights skywatchers (Space.com / Josh Dinner) Last night the Harvest Moon Supermoon lunar eclipse put on a spectacular show for people worldwide with at least some portion of the lunar eclipse visible to over 50% of the world's population. We'll have to wait until March 13-14, 2025 for the next lunar eclipse which will be a dramatic total lunar eclipse. But until then, let's sit back, relax and enjoy the celestial show that our lunar neighbor put on for us last night. Both the lunar eclipse and full moon resulted in some simply stunning photographs. Full Story: Space (9/18)  Rocket Lab to launch 5 'Internet of Things' satellites today (Rocket Lab) Rocket Lab plans to launch five satellites for a French technology company today (Sept. 18), and you can watch live. The Rocket Lab launch, using the company's Electron rocket, is scheduled to occur from New Zealand at 7 p.m. EDT (2300 GMT or 11 a.m. local time in New Zealand on Thursday, Sept. 19). Rocket Lab will livestream a webcast 30 minutes before liftoff, which you can watch on Space.com as well. The launch window is instantaneous. Full Story: Space (9/18)  Skywatching Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS nears the sun this month (Michael Mattiazzo) The saga of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (pronounced Choo-cheen-SHAHN -ATLAS), is now coming down the home stretch. When the Purple Mountain Observatory (Tsuchinshan) near Nanjing, China photographed a faint object in mid-January 2023, it was initially thought to be an asteroid. From Aug. 12 until just a few days ago, the comet had been lost to most ground-based observers due to its proximity to the sun. But on Sept. 11, Australian comet observer Terry Lovejoy was able to photograph Tsuchinshan-ATLAS from Wellington Point, Queensland, Australia, while still deeply immersed in bright morning twilight. Full Story: Space (9/17)  Spaceflight SpaceX Crew-9 astronaut launch delayed to Sept. 25 (NASA) The next space station astronaut mission will delay one day to Sept. 25, "to complete prelaunch preparations and ensure separation between operations", NASA officials wrote in a Sept. 12 statement. Officials did not elaborate on which operations are affected, but the prelaunch preparation is complex: Crew-9 will be the first human launch from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, which normally has infrastructure available for satellite missions. Humans require a launch tower with walkable access to the spacecraft, among many other changes. Full Story: Space (9/18)  Science & Astronomy Did a star escape death from its dead dwarf companion? (Space.com / Robert Lea (created with Canva)) New research has shed doubt upon the nature of a distant "dead star" that exists in a binary system with an active stellar companion. Scientists behind the research think this stellar corpse is actually a monster-sized white dwarf. The discovery raises the question of how the binary's "living" star has managed to survive in close proximity to such a stellar corpse without being dragged towards it and violently consumed. The study is detailed on the pre-print website Arxiv.org and has been submitted to the Open Journal of Astrophysics. Full Story: Space (9/17)  SpaceX FAA to fine SpaceX $630,000 for alleged launch violations (SpaceX) The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) plans to fine SpaceX more than $630,000 for allegedly failing to comply with regulations on two launches last year. "Safety drives everything we do at the FAA, including a legal responsibility for the safety oversight of companies with commercial space transportation licenses," FAA Chief Counsel Marc Nichols said in an emailed statement today (Sept. 17). "Failure of a company to comply with the safety requirements will result in consequences," he added. Full Story: Space (9/17)  Technology Space missions are getting more complex - lessons from Amazon and FedEx can inform satellite and spacecraft management in orbit (ESA/ID&Sense/ONiRiXEL) Most space mission systems historically have used one spacecraft designed to complete an entire mission independently. Whether it was a weather satellite or a human-crewed module like Apollo, nearly every spacecraft was deployed and performed its one-off mission completely on its own. But today, space industry organizations are exploring missions with many satellites working together. For example, SpaceX's Starlink constellations include thousands of satellites. And new spacecraft could soon have the capabilities to link up or engage with other satellites in orbit for repairs or refueling. Full Story: Space (9/17)    Sign Up  |    Update Profile  |    Unsubscribe Privacy Policy  |    Cookies Policy  |    Terms and Conditions CONTACT US: FEEDBACK  |    ADVERTISE Future US LLC © Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY, 10036

NASA astronaut photographs SpaceX's private Polaris Dawn capsule reentry from ISS (photo)

NASA astronaut photographs SpaceX's Polaris Dawn reentry | The Harvest Moon Supermoon lunar eclipse is tonight! | Auroras galore! Geomagnetic storm sparks aurora across US Created for znamenski.spacecom@blogger.com |  Web Version September 17, 2024 CONNECT WITH SPACE.COM       Something amazing every day. SIGN UP ⋅   WEBSITE   The Launchpad NASA astronaut photographs SpaceX's Polaris Dawn reentry (NASA / Don Pettit) An epic picture of Polaris Dawn's nighttime reentry has been beamed to Earth from space. NASA astronaut Don Pettit caught the conclusion of Polaris Dawn, a private space mission that included the first-ever commercial spacewalk, during its SpaceX Dragon spacecraft's return to Earth before dawn on Sunday (Sept. 15). "In addition to the multi-colored entry trail over Florida, the basic cone shape of the Dragon capsule can be seen," Pettit wrote on X, formerly Twitter, Sunday afternoon about his picture taken from the International Space Station (ISS). Full Story: Space (9/16)  The Harvest Moon Supermoon lunar eclipse is tonight! (Starry Night Software) September's full moon will put on quite the show on the evening of Sept. 17. Not only are we treated to a slightly larger-than-average "supermoon" but also a partial lunar eclipse. Full Story: Space (9/17)  Skywatching Auroras galore! Geomagnetic storm sparks aurora across US (Hasan Akbas/Anadolu via Getty Images) Rolling in about 6 hours later than predicted, a huge plume of plasma and magnetic field from the sun, known as a coronal mass ejection (CME) slammed into Earth, triggering a severe geomagnetic storm. The CME hit around 7:41 p.m. EDT (2341 GMT) on Sept. 16, triggering a dazzling northern lights display visible as far south as the Texas Panhandle. Full Story: Space (9/17)  Spaceflight China prepares for 1st launch of new Long March 8A rocket (CCTV) China completed a launch site rehearsal for a new, improved rocket this month. Teams at the new Hainan commercial space launch site conducted tests with the first Long March 8A rocket including integration with the launch pad and fueling. The new launcher is now set to fly for the first time around December. Full Story: Space (9/16)  Science & Astronomy JWST witnesses a black hole 'killing' its galaxy (photo) (Francesco D'Eugenio) Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers have observed a supermassive black hole in the early universe that is killing its galaxy by starving it to death. Remarkably, this "galactic death by starvation" seems to have proceeded very quickly thanks to the creation of 2 million miles per hour winds of gas. Full Story: Space (9/16)  Search for Life Scientists spot ancient 'smiley face' on Mars (ESA/TGO/CaSSIS) Astronomers recently spotted a surprising "smiley face" beaming up from the surface of Mars as they surveyed the alien landscape as part of a new study. The emoticon-like structure, which is only visible under certain conditions, is the remnant of an ancient lake that dried up billions of years ago - and could be harboring signs of former life on the Red Planet. Full Story: Space (9/17)  Star Wars 'Star Trek: Lore War' will bring back Data's evil brother (IDW) In a reality-warping cosmic event two years in the making, IDW Publishing is celebrating all the creative foundational work after relaunching its award-winning "Star Trek" comics with the Eisner-nominated "Star Trek #400" to present an epic new crossover project next year, "Star Trek: Lore War." Hailing from top-tier creators Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, Christopher Cantwell, and illustrator Davide Tinto, this intertwined sci-fi tale arriving in March of 2025 will carry over into the prime "Star Trek" ongoing series, "Star Trek: Defiant," and several special one-shot tie-in issues to be announced later. Full Story: Space (9/16)    Sign Up  |    Update Profile  |    Unsubscribe Privacy Policy  |    Cookies Policy  |    Terms and Conditions CONTACT US: FEEDBACK  |    ADVERTISE Future US LLC © Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY, 10036