To able to reach the space, we need rockets. Rocket engines work by action and reaction (“To every action, there is always opposed an equal reaction”Notes 1) and push rockets forward simply by expelling their exhaust in the opposite direction at high speed and can therefore work in the vacuum of space. Space rockets are usually enormous in size, because the bigger the rocket is, the more thrust can produce its engine and can carry more weight into the orbit. Here are the 10 tallest rockets ever launched in the history of space exploration.
Continue reading Watch: Top 10 Tallest Rockets Ever Launched
Tag Archives: Moon
The Moons of the Solar System in Perspective
To put things into a perspective, here are the moons of our solar system (including our moon) and their sizes compared to Earth.
Continue reading The Moons of the Solar System in Perspective
Incredible Images of the Earth and the Moon Captured from Chinese Satellite
On his Twitter account, Andrew Jones, a journalist reporting on China’s space programme and related activities, has published amazing images of the Earth and the Moon captured from China’s Queqiao lunar communications relay satellite, a key component of Chang’e 4 lunar landing mission.
Continue reading Incredible Images of the Earth and the Moon Captured from Chinese Satellite
Moon Illusion: why the Moon looks larger when it’s near the horizon?
If you go out on a clear night when it’s full moon, you may notice how gigantic the Earth’s satellite looks when it’s near the horizon. But, in fact, that moon is the exact same size as every other time as you’ve ever seen it in the sky. You can test this by holding your thumbnail at arm’s length and comparing it to the size of the Moon when it is near the horizon and high in the sky, and you’ll see it doesn’t change size. Photographs of the Moon at different elevations also show that its size remains the same. In fact, it plays a trick on your brain which called the “Moon Illusion”. This illusion has been known since the ancient times, and an explanation of this optical phenomenon is still debated.
Continue reading Moon Illusion: why the Moon looks larger when it’s near the horizon?
How Far Away Is The Moon?
Yesterday, I stumbled upon a YouTube channel named The Science Asylum. In this channel, physicist Nick Lucid covers some popular science subjects. For example, the video below, titled “How Far Away Is The Moon?” explains the distance between the Earth and the moon, and how our brains aren’t good at dealing with the big numbers.
Continue reading How Far Away Is The Moon?
Alan Bean, the fourth person to walk on the Moon has died
Alan Bean, the fourth person to walk on the Moon has died today (May 26, 2018). He was the fourth person to walk on the Moon: in November 1969, he spent 10+ hours on the lunar surface during Apollo 12 mission, the sixth manned flight in the United States Apollo program and the second to land on the Moon.
Continue reading Alan Bean, the fourth person to walk on the Moon has died
Virtual Reality Tour of 6 Real Exoplanets in 4K Ultra-HD, 360°
What would it be like to stand on the surface of another planet? “We The Curious” channel has teamed up with a group of astrophysicists to create a scientifically accurate virtual reality tour of six planets discovered outside our solar system. The fruit of this collaboration is the video below, in 4K Ultra-HD and 360-degree. Narrated and produced by: Ross Exton.
Continue reading Virtual Reality Tour of 6 Real Exoplanets in 4K Ultra-HD, 360°
Virtual Moon Tour in 4K Ultra HD
Using data provided by Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraftNotes 1 since 2009, NASA has published an amazing virtual Moon tour in 4K Ultra HDNotes 2. As the visualization moves around the near side, far sideNotes 3, north and south poles, interesting features, sites, and information gathered on the lunar terrain get highlighted.
Continue reading Virtual Moon Tour in 4K Ultra HD
Watch: Apollo 16 Liftoff (April 16, 1972)
46 years ago today, on April 16, 1972, the huge, 363-feet (110.6 meters) tall Apollo 16 (Spacecraft 113/Lunar Module 11/Saturn VNotes 1 SA-511) space vehicle was launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, at 12:54 p.m. EST. Crewed by Commander John W. Young, Lunar Module Pilot Charles DukeNotes 2, and Command Module Pilot Ken MattinglyNotes 3, it was the tenth manned mission in the United States Apollo space program, the fifth and penultimate to land on the Moon and the first to land in the lunar highlands.
Continue reading Watch: Apollo 16 Liftoff (April 16, 1972)
Rotating Moon from LRO (video)
NASA APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day) published an amazing video showing a rotating Moon. In fact, no one sees the Moon rotate like this. We see only one side of the moon, because the Moon is tidally locked to Earth. But, thanks to modern digital technology combined with many detailed images returned by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), a high-resolution virtual Moon rotation movie has been composed.
Continue reading Rotating Moon from LRO (video)
