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Space Exploration This Day in Science, Technology, Astronomy, and Space Exploration History

International Space Station was launched on November 20, 1998

On November 20, 1998, the first element of the International Space Station, the Russian module Zarya (which means “Sunrise” in Russian) was launched into space on top of a Proton rocket. It was the first step towards more than two decades of international cooperation, scientific research, and discovery.

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Moon Landing Space Exploration

NASA Launches the Artemis Moon Rocket [Video]

On November 16, 2022, Wednesday, NASA finally launched its next moon rocket: Artemis I, NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, carrying the uncrewed Orion spacecraft lifted off from Launch Complex 39B in Florida at 1:47 a.m. EST.

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Mars Space Exploration

Mariner 9 became the first spacecraft to maintain an orbit around another planet [Mars] on November 14, 1971

On November 9, 1971, NASA’s Mariner 9 spacecraft entered Mars orbit and became the first spacecraft to maintain an orbit around another planet than Earth. Mariner 9 beat Soviet Union’s Mars 2 by 13 days despite being launched 11 days later than its Soviet counterpart.

In about 11 months, the orbiter mapped 85% of the Martian surface and sent back more than 7,000 pictures, including images of Olympus Mons (the highest mountain in the Solar System), Valles Marineris, and two natural satellites of Mars, Phobos, and Deimos.

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Astronomy Solar System

Super blue blood moon explained [What is it and how Super blue blood moon occurs]

The Super blue blood moon is a rare celestial phenomenon. It is made up of three coinciding events. A supermoon is a full moon when our satellite is at its closest (hence it appears bigger in the sky). A blue moon refers to an “extra” full moon, whereas a year that usually has 12 full moons has 13 instead. The “blue moon” reference is applied to the third full moon in a season with four full moons.

In addition to these two phenomena, during a lunar eclipse, when the moon passes through Earth’s extended shadow, it looks reddish, and that is a “blood moon”. When all those three phenomena occur at the same time, it’s called a Super blue blood moon.

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Animals Life on Earth

How old was the oldest polar bear?

The world’s oldest polar bear was Debby, she lived in the Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg, Canada, and died on November 17, 2008, at the age of 41 or 42.

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Animals Life on Earth

World’s largest living cat: Hercules, the liger

Ligers are the largest cats on Earth. A liger can be more than 900 pounds (about 408 kg) in weight and 12 feet (about 3.65 meters) long, weighing almost 100 times more than house cats and almost twice as much as either Panthera tigris (tiger) or Panthera leo (lion).

The liger, the largest of all known extant felines, is a hybrid cross between a male lion and a female tiger.

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Animals Life on Earth Oceans

15 Largest Great White Sharks Ever Recorded [With Photos!]

What are the largest great white sharks ever recorded? Just how big can these ocean giants really get? This question is one of the most hotly debated topics in marine science, and it’s surrounded by plenty of “big fish” stories and myths. Over the years, numerous claims of massive great whites have emerged, some supported by solid evidence and others more speculative or exaggerated. Despite the fascination and controversy, researchers have recorded a few truly enormous specimens, shedding light on the potential maximum size of this iconic predator.

The great white shark (scientific name: Carcharodon carcharias) is not the world’s biggest shark (that title goes to the whale shark), but they are the largest predatory fish in the world.

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Animals Life on Earth

Elephants can’t jump [here’s why]

Elephants are the largest land animals in the world. Male African bush elephants (Loxodonta africana, the largest of all elephant species) stand 3.2 meters (10.5 feet) tall (at the shoulder) on average and weigh around 6 metric tons. Females stand about 2.6 meters (8.5 feet) on average at the shoulder with a body mass of about 3 metric tons. So, their mass is enormous, and because of this, the elephants can’t jump, despite having powerful legs.

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Solar System Astronomy

Why Pluto is not a planet anymore? [Explained]

Since 2006, Pluto, once the ninth planet in our Solar System is not classified as a planet. Here’s why.

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Animals Life on Earth

Why Are Cassowary Claws So Dangerous?

Cassowaries are one of the largest birds in the world. They have big, three-toed feet with sharp claws which are fearsome, since cassowaries sometimes kick and injure, and even kill humans and other animals with their powerful legs. Cassowary claws are lethal weapons!