The Sky Tonight Update: Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower

The Eta Aquarids is an above average shower, capable of producing up to 60 meteors per hour at its peak. Most of the activity is seen in the Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, the rate can reach about 30 meteors per hour. It is produced by dust particles left behind by comet Halley, which has been observed since ancient times.

The Sky Tonight Update: Penumbral Lunar Eclipse

A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the Earth’s partial shadow, or penumbra. During this type of eclipse the Moon will darken slightly but not completely. The eclipse will be visible throughout all of Asia and Australia and parts of eastern Europe and eastern Africa. (NASA Map and Eclipse Information)

The Sky Tonight Update: Leonids Meteor Shower

The Leonids is an average shower, producing up to 15 meteors per hour at its peak. This shower is unique in that it has a cyclonic peak about every 33 years where hundreds of meteors per hour can be seen. That last of these occurred in 2001.

The Sky Tonight Update: September Equinox

The September equinox occurs at 19:11 UTC. The Sun will shine directly on the equator and there will be nearly equal amounts of day and night throughout the world. This is also the first day of fall (autumnal equinox) in the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of spring (vernal equinox) in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Science On Why Hurricane Ida Stayed So Strong For So Long

Hurricane Ida remained a hurricane for 16 hours after it made landfall on Sunday, Aug. 29. It remained a major hurricane (Category 3 or above) for six hours of that time. So, how did Idea have such staying power?

The Sky Tonight Update: Perseids Meteor Shower

The Perseids is one of the best meteor showers to observe, producing up to 60 meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by comet Swift-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1862. The Perseids are famous for producing a large number of bright meteors.

A winter solstice Christmas Star will soon be on the horizon.

You might’ve noticed two bright points of light setting along the western horizon just before the sun sets.  Over the past couple of months, they seem to have been getting closer and closer together.  These are not stars, but planets: Jupiter and Saturn. 

OSIRIS-REx: Playing Tag with an Asteroid

Let’s talk about OSIRIS-REx, the spacecraft that landed on an asteroid, collected a sample, and then lifted off to bring it all back home to us on Earth. It’s pretty incredible that we were able to navigate 200 million miles away from Earth to an asteroid in orbit around our sun, land on it, and then lift off again. So, here’s some information about this historic event.

How to Spot Comet NEOWISE Before It’s Gone For 6,800 Years

Now is a great time to catch a comet in your night sky.  It’s called Comet NEOWISE and if you miss it now you won’t be able to see it again for some 6,800 years.  Observers in the Northern Hemisphere are hoping to catch a glimpse of this object before it zips away at the end of July.

How Would a Viral Outbreak Be Handled in Space

As Covid-19 spreads across the globe, it’s interesting to think about how NASA would handle a viral outbreak in space.  In fact, there have been rare occasions that astronauts have fallen ill while on a mission.  The question is, how did NASA handle these situations, what’s changed since then, and how will this affect future missions in space?