Archives for the 'moon' Category
South Pole-Aitken Basin
Published on 5 Feb 2008 at 3:23 pm.
9 Comments.
Filed under moon.
The Caloris Basin on Mercury that I wrote about a few days ago is pretty spectacular. It is huge. But, Hellas Planitia, which I wrote about yesterday, is bigger. But, bigger still is the South Pole-Aitken Basin on our own Moon. This monstrous impact basin is 2500 kilometers across, and up […]
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Big tides
Published on 24 Nov 2007 at 5:53 pm.
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Filed under Earth, moon.
Today is Full Moon. This Full Moon also falls on the same day that the Moon reaches perigee (the closest point in its elliptical orbit to the Earth). That means high tides. I’ve blogged about tides twice before: here and here. You can read those postings to find more about […]
Earth-Set
Published on 14 Nov 2007 at 10:17 pm.
1 Comment.
Filed under moon, space exploration.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has released some really nice images collected by their Kaguya (SELENE) spacecraft that has been orbiting the Moon for about the past month. These images were taken in high definition, so they are among the best such pictures ever taken. There is also a movie of the event.
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The term […]
Crowded Moon?
Published on 24 Oct 2007 at 12:03 am.
3 Comments.
Filed under moon, space exploration.
Today China’s Chang’e spacecraft was launched on its way to the Moon. When Chang’e arrives it will be joining Japan’s Kaguya (SELENE) which is already in orbit around the Moon. In addition to cameras, Kaguya sports a battery of spectrometers and radar instruments. The Kaguya spacecraft has also deployed two sub-satellites […]
The International Lunar Decade
Published on 15 Sep 2007 at 4:56 pm.
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Filed under moon, space exploration.
In 1976, the Soviet Union launched Luna 24 to the Moon. That concluded about a decade and a half of extensive lunar missions by both the Soviets and the United States of America. Then, apparently space agencies lost interest in sending spacecraft to the Moon. It wasn’t until 1990 that another spacecraft […]
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Lunar Eclipse, August 28
Published on 26 Aug 2007 at 1:09 am.
11 Comments.
Filed under astronomy, moon, observing.
The annual email urban legend about Mars has been making its way around the internet again. And, of course, as I said a few weeks ago, it is still wrong. But, there is going to be something interesting going on Monday night, and that is that the Moon is about to be full. […]
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A Blue(ish) Moon
Published on 31 May 2007 at 12:02 pm.
9 Comments.
Filed under astronomy, moon, sky lore, skywatching.
Some people will regard tonight’s Full Moon as a Blue Moon. Others will think of the Full Moon of June 30 as the next Blue Moon. And, some won’t regard either as a Blue Moon. So, just what is going on? And, for that matter, just what is a blue moon?
According to […]
