An artist’s rendition of NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft during its upcoming encounter with Jupiter. Credit: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute
New Horizons has been back in the news again over the last week in advance of its February rendezvous with Jupiter. As noted in their press release:
The fastest spacecraft ever launched, […]

(6 March 2002) — Astronaut John M. Grunsfeld, payload commander, waves at a crewmate inside Space Shuttle Columbia’s crew cabin during a brief break in work on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in the cargo bay of the shuttle during the STS-109 mission’s third space walk.
Courtesy of the New York Times I just learned that […]

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. – The fiery launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis makes a perfect picture against the blue Florida sky as Atlantis heads for a rendezvous with the International Space Station on mission STS-115. After launch attempts were scrubbed Aug. 27 and 29 and Sept. 3 and 8 due to weather and technical concerns, […]

Huge clouds roll over Launch Pad 39B where Space Shuttle Atlantis still sits after the scrub of its launch on mission STS-115. Atlantis was originally scheduled to launch at 12:29 p.m. EDT on September 6th, but a 24-hour scrub was called by mission managers due to a concern with fuel cell 1. Towering above […]

The crawler-transporter underneath Space Shuttle Atlantis and mobile launcher platform begins rolling away from Launch Pad 39B, taking the shuttle back to the Vehicle Assembly Building. The rollback is a safety precaution as the area waits for the arrival of Tropical Storm Ernesto. The storm is forecast to be bringing 58-mph to 70-mph winds in […]

We’re now beginning to see widespread reaction to the International Astronomical Union’s newly-adopted planetary guidelines, from scientists, astronomers, and the general public. Some argue that the end result makes sense both logically and scientifically, given that Pluto’s characteristics tend to distance it from our more prominent planetary neighbors. Others staunchly oppose the verdict, incensed by […]

The vote is in, and Pluto is out.

The IAU members gathered at the 2006 General Assembly agreed that a “planet” is defined as a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) […]