International Space Station Expeditions 27 and 28 astronaut Ron Garan presents a video about his return from space, including a compilation of time-lapse photography of “our fragile oasis”, the Earth. The images were captured by Garan and Expedition 28 and 29 astronaut Mike Fossum while aboard the space station.
Continue reading “Coming back down to our fragile oasis (returning back from the International Space Station – video)”World Water Day 2019: what’s space got to do with it?
March 22, 2019, is World Water Day. Water is a basic human right. According to the United Nations, water scarcity affects more than 40% of people (40% !) around the world, and this is projected to increase with the rise of global temperatures. Providing clean water and sanitation for all is a huge challenge.
Continue reading “World Water Day 2019: what’s space got to do with it?”Opportunity Rover’s Parting Shot Was a Beautiful Mars Panorama
Before going silent due to a huge dust storm on June 10, 2018, NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity documented an amazing 360-degree panorama from multiple images taken at what would become its final resting spot in Perseverance Valley. The Mars rover collected these images over the course of 29 days.
Continue reading “Opportunity Rover’s Parting Shot Was a Beautiful Mars Panorama”25 Amazing Astronomy Facts
As early as prehistoric times, humankind was fascinated by the night sky and all of its beauty. For centuries, philosophers and scholars would attribute magical properties to the bright stars and the Milky Way. In more recent times, we understand better what these mysterious objects are, and we can observe far more than our ancestors – planets, clusters, galaxies, and nebulae.
Continue reading “25 Amazing Astronomy Facts”Amazing photo of the Moon from the ISS
A beautiful photo of the Moon from the ISS: NASA astronaut Nick Hague took this amazing photo of the Earth and moon from the International Space Station (ISS) and published it on his Twitter account, saying “good night from space station”.
Continue reading “Amazing photo of the Moon from the ISS”The speed of New Horizons spacecraft: how fast is it?
Google product developer Clay Bavor created a gif putting the Boeing 747 and SR-71 aircraft speeds into perspective compared to NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft. So you can have an idea of the speed of the New Horizons spacecraft, which performed a flyby study of the Pluto system in 2015. Spoiler: it’s fast!
Continue reading “The speed of New Horizons spacecraft: how fast is it?”Meteor which blasted over the Bering Sea was recorded by a satellite
On December 18, 2018, at around noon local time, a meteor about 10 meters (30 feet) long and weighing more than 1,500 tons, plunged into Earth’s atmosphere. It exploded over the Bering Sea and released energy equivalent to 173 kilotons of TNT – at least ten times more powerful than “Little Boy”, the atomic bomb dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Japanese weather satellite Himawari 8 has recorded the fireball of the meteor before it exploded.
Continue reading “Meteor which blasted over the Bering Sea was recorded by a satellite”Top 10 Largest Non-Planets in the Solar System
The Solar System is a vast and fascinating place that is home to a diverse range of celestial bodies, ranging from small asteroids to giant planets. However, there are also a number of objects that fall somewhere in between – they are not planets, but they are also not small enough to be considered asteroids or comets.
In this article, we will explore the top 10 largest non-planets in the Solar System. From massive moons to dwarf planets, these objects are fascinating in their own right and play an important role in our understanding of the cosmos. Let’s take a closer look at these intriguing objects and learn more about what makes them so unique.
Continue reading “Top 10 Largest Non-Planets in the Solar System”Blue whale facts: How big is the blue whale?
The blue whale (scientific name: Balaenoptera musculus) is a marine mammal belonging to the baleen whales (Mysticeti). Up to 31 meters (102 feet) in length and 190 tonnes (210 short tons) in weight, it is the largest extant animal and also is the heaviest known to have existed. But it’s hard to conceptualize how big these wonderful animals really are. To put things into perspective, the Facts in Motion channel prepared a video titled “Blue Whales Are Way Bigger Than You Think”. The video also explains the evolutionary reasons behind how and why blue whales get that large.
Continue reading “Blue whale facts: How big is the blue whale?”What happens to old spacecraft?
Since the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite, Sputnik 1, on October 4, 1957, we launched thousands of spacecraft into Earth orbit and beyond. A fraction of them are still functioning, but what happened to the vast majority of them? “The Curious Droid” published another informative video titled “What happens to old spacecraft?”
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