On June 13, 1983, Pioneer 10 became the first spacecraft to pass beyond the orbit of Neptune. So, it is the first spacecraft to pass beyond all the solar system planets.
Category Archives: Astronomy
Venera 4 was launched on June 12, 1967
On June 12, 1967, the Soviet Union launched Venera 4, which means “Venus 4” in English, a probe in the Soviet Venera program for the exploration of the planet Venus. It became the first successful probe to perform in-place analysis of the environment of another planet.
Is there a planet made entirely of diamonds?
Earth and the entire Solar system carry a significant abundance of precious stones and metals. The history of human’s lust for these stones is as old as the earth itself. Earth has embedded in its crust some precious rock of billions of worth. Some of these precious stones are diamonds, black opal, ruby, emerald, red …
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Is Faster-Than-Light (FTL) Travel possible? Dr. Harold “Sonny” White and Limitless Space
Is faster-than-light (FTL) travel possible? Ever since astronomers found that Earth and the Solar System are not unique in the cosmos, humanity has dreamed of the day when we might explore nearby stars and settle extrasolar planets. Unfortunately, the laws of physics impose strict limitations on how fast things can travel in our Universe, otherwise …
Einstein’s general theory of relativity was proven on May 29, 1919, during a solar eclipse
On May 29, 1919, Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, which was just four-year-old at the time, was put to its first test during a total solar eclipse. Albert Einstein’s prediction of the bending of light by the gravity of the Sun, one of the components of his general theory of relativity, could be tested by …
Voyager 1 is Generating Random-Looking Telemetry Data
NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft has technical problems, it is generating random-looking telemetry data, and as a result, the spacecraft doesn’t know where it is.
Earth passed through the tail of Halley’s Comet on May 19, 1910
On May 19, 1910, the Earth passed through the tail of Halley’s Comet. Prior to the date, using spectroscopy, astronomers detected cyanogen, a very deadly poison in the comet’s tail. This caused panic. French astronomer Camille Flammarion (26 February 1842 – 3 June 1925) even claimed that life on Earth would end because of this.
Now we can see the Sagittarius A*: here is the first photo of the Supermassive Black Hole at the center of the Milky Way
On May 12, 2022, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), an international collaboration capturing images of black holes, announced the first-ever image of the Sagittarius A*, the Supermassive Black Hole at the center of the Milky Way. After the image of the nearby elliptical galaxy Messier 87’s (M87’s) supermassive black hole, also revealed by the EHT …
Intermediate black holes: where are they?
Super-sized black holes appeared surprisingly early in the Universe and it seems every galaxy has one at its center. But how? And where are the intermediate-sized black holes (intermediate black holes)?
Neptune’s Moon Nereid was discovered on May 1, 1949
On May 1, 1949, Neptune’s Moon Nereid was discovered by the Dutch astronomer and planetary scientist Gerard Kuiper, who is the eponymous namesake of the Kuiper belt. Nereid is also named Neptune II because it is the second moon of Neptune to be discovered. It is also the last satellite of Neptune to be discovered …
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