Special Topic: Close Asteroidal Encounters
In the Week 2 “Special Topics” presentation I discussed the history and recognition of near-Earth asteroids and described some of the early observed encounters by these objects. What could perhaps be considered the most remarkable of these asteroids was a 10th-magnitude fast-moving object discovered on October 28, 1937, by Karl Reinmuth at Heidelberg Observatory in …
Meet the Astronauts for the Crew-1 Mission
When SpaceX launches the Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft atop it from historic Launch Complex 39A, the Commercial Crew Program (CCP) will finally have reached fruition. Aboard Resilience will be three NASA astronauts and one JAXA astronaut, all heading to the International Space Station for a six-month stay at the orbiting …
This Week in History: November 15-21
NOVEMBER 15, 1927: Arnold Schwassmann and Arno Wachmann at Hamburg Observatory in Bergedorf, Germany, discover a very unusual comet, 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1, that travels entirely between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn and that undergoes repeated outbursts at irregular intervals. It is this week’s “Comet of the Week.” NOVEMBER 15, 2016: Polish astronomers Filip Berski and …
Comet of the Week: 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 1927j
Perihelion: 1925 May 7.84, q = 5.475 AU One of the most unusual and remarkable comets that we know about was discovered just a little less than a century ago, when on November 15, 1927, the duo of Arnold Schwassmann and Arno Wachmann at Hamburg Observatory in Bergedorf, Germany, found it on photographs as it was …
Special Topic: Comets and Meteor Showers
I first began to show an interest in astronomy when I was 6 years old, although my interests shifted between astronomy and various other scientific fields over the next few years. My father was an early riser, and one morning when I was 8 he was engaged in his normal morning routine when he noticed that …
Crew Dragon and Falcon 9: The newest way to get to the ISS
It has been a long road from concept to flight for the Commercial Crew Program (CCP) culminating in the successful launch of the Demo 2 flight which launched May 30, 2020. SpaceX now begins fulfilling its contract with NASA taking astronauts to the International Space Station and returning them home safely with the launch of …
From cell phones to spacecraft – touchscreens are taking over UI
As SpaceX prepares to launch NASA’s Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station, the Crew Dragon spacecraft has already distinguished itself from prior generations of space capsules. Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley set off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on May 30, 2020, and reached the ISS with no complications while testing out new features …
What the ISS has taught us about living in space
November 2 marked 20 years since the first residents arrived on the International Space Station (ISS). The orbiting habitat has been continuously occupied ever since. Twenty straight years of life in space makes the ISS the ideal “natural laboratory” to understand how societies function beyond Earth. The ISS is a collaboration between 25 space agencies …
This Week in History: November 8-14
NOVEMBER 10, 2018: Astronomers Scott Sheppard, David Tholen, and Chad Trujillo discover the distant object 2018 VG18 – nicknamed “Farout” – located at a present heliocentric distance of 124 AU, at that time the most distantly observed object in the solar system. 2018 VG18 and other distant objects in the solar system are the subject …
Comet of the Week: “Tycho Brahe’s Comet” C/1577 V1
Perihelion: 1577 October 27.45, q = 0.178 AU In all of astronomical history, one of the names that stand out is that of the 16th Century Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe. Of noble birth, he showed an interest in astronomy at a young age, although his family tried to steer him into a career in statesmanship; however, …