This Week In Space podcast: Episode 96 - It's Space TV! | NASA's PACE satellite will study Earth's tiniest mysteries | Night sky, February 2024: What you can see this month
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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. History Channel producer Jeff 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?
Today, NASA is scheduled to launch a major, multi-million dollar satellite to a reserved spot in Earth's orbit. Sitting above even the International Space Station, the spacecraft called PACE (which stands for Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, Ocean Ecosystem) has a very big goal: to monitor our planet's health on an epic scale, starting from deep within its vast blue seas to far across its candy white clouds.
Find out what's up in your night sky during February 2024 and how to see it in this Space.com stargazing guide. On Tuesday, Feb. 6, the pretty crescent moon will share the southeastern predawn sky with the bright planet Venus and far fainter Mars. Skywatchers viewing the scene before about 6 a.m. local time can spot the 16%-illuminated crescent moon shining about two fist diameters to the right (or 18 degrees to the celestial WSW) of Venus, with the stars of Sagittarius sprinkled between them. Take a photo!
NASA's PACE spacecraft, which will help scientists gauge the health of oceans around the world, is set to launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Tuesday (Feb. 6) at 1:33 a.m. EST (0633 GMT). You can watch the liftoff live here at Space.com, courtesy of NASA, or directly via the space agency. Coverage will begin at 12:45 a.m. EST (0545 GMT).
(NASA, ESA, and R. Foley (University of California – Santa Cruz); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America))
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has zoomed in on one side of a cosmic tug-of-war that will rage between two galaxies for tens of millions of years. Frustratingly, this is one competition in which a clear winner may never emerge, as the two galaxies could well be drawn together to merge into one at the end of this gravitational contest.
SpaceX wants to launch its giant Starship vehicle often over the coming months, as a new photo makes abundantly clear. SpaceX's "megabay" at its Starbase site in South Texas, the center of Starship manufacturing and launch activities, is jam-packed with towering stainless-steel cylinders - Super Heavy vehicles, the first stage of SpaceX's Starship megarocket - which rise nearly to the roof.
The technology that enabled SLIM's precision moon landing could assist future touchdowns by allowing spacecraft to land in relatively small areas amid rocky or uneven terrain.
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.
