Tag Archives: Moon

Astronomy News

Images from China’s Chang’e 4 mission

New Images from China’s Chang’e 4 as Eighth Lunar Day Ends

By: |

China’s Chang’e 4 mission is continuing its science and exploration work on the farside of the Moon, having completed its eighth lunar day of activities on Wednesday.

Chang'e 4

This composite image showing the shadow of the Yutu-2 rover, roving tracks, and the distant Chang’e 4 lander was taken during lunar day 7.
CNSA / CLEP

China’s Chang’e 4 lunar lander and Yutu 2 (Jade Rabbit 2) rover powered down at 9:00 and 9:50 Universal Time (UT), respectively, on August 7th, just under 24 hours ahead of local sunset, according to an update (Chinese) from the China Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP).

The Yutu 2 rover has now covered a total of 271 meters (890 feet) since its deployment and continues to make its way west of the landing site in Von Kármán Crater. Chang’e 4 landed in the 180-km-diameter (112-mile) crater, which lies within the immense South Pole-Aitken impact basin, following local lunar sunrise on January 3rd. NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has been tracking Chang’e 4’s progress as it passes overhead.

Despite passing its design lifetime of three lunar days, or three Earth months, Yutu 2 is apparently continuing to drive well. The rover has even increased its drive distance in recent lunar days, driving 33.13 meters during lunar day 8, the farthest since the 43 meters it covered in lunar day 3. The rover has adapted to and overcome earlier issues that arose when reflections from the craft triggered obstacle alerts.

Yutu 2 Drive Map

This map of Yutu 2’s drive was produced by space exploration historian and cartographer Phil Stooke. The route for lunar days 6, 7 and 8 are early estimates.
Phil Stooke

Science Returns

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Astronomy News

Conjunction: Moon, Jupiter, Antares

Space Weather News for Aug. 8, 2019
http://spaceweather.com
https://www.spaceweatheralerts.com

BRIGHT MOON + JUPITER CONJUNCTION: When the sun goes down tonight, step outside and look south. The waxing gibbous Moon is approaching Jupiter for a beautiful conjunction alongside the red giant star Antares. Closest approach is Friday, August 9th. Visit Spaceweather.com for full sky maps and observing tips.

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Above: Jupiter and the Moon are having a close encounter in the constellation Scorpius. Visit our Realtime Photo Gallery for images from around the world.

Astronomy News

Apollo 11 moon landing models

On July 20, 2019, MonSFFA will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.

If you’ve got a few bucks to spend, you can buy these models from the Astronomy Magazine science shop. The model of the capsule is very expensive, the others very affordable.

SHOP NOW
Apollo 11 Capsule Model
Shop Now »		 Apollo CSM with LM
Shop Now »

Apollo Lunar Module
Shop Now »		 Apollo Lunar Rover
Shop Now »

Astronomy News

Mining the Moon

Moon1
A rendering of a possible lunar habitat, featuring elements printed in 3D with lunar soil.European Space Agency/Foster + Partners
moon2
Artist’s impression of what lunar in-situ resource utilization might look like.

Before we colonize the Moon, we must learn to mine there

By Paul K. Byrne, North Carolina State University  |  Published: Tuesday, March 05, 2019
If you were transported to the Moon this very instant, you would surely and rapidly die. That’s because there’s no atmosphere, the surface temperature varies from a roasting 130 degrees Celsius (266 F) to a bone-chilling minus 170 C (minus 274 F). If the lack of air or horrific heat or cold don’t kill you then micrometeorite bombardment or solar radiation will. By all accounts, the Moon is not a hospitable place to be.

Yet if human beings are to explore the Moon and, potentially, live there one day, we’ll need to learn how to deal with these challenging environmental conditions. We’ll need habitats, air, food and energy, as well as fuel to power rockets back to Earth and possibly other destinations. That means we’ll need resources to meet these requirements. We can either bring them with us from Earth – an expensive proposition – or we’ll need to take advantage of resources on the Moon itself. And that’s where the idea of “in-situ resource utilization,” or ISRU, comes in.

Underpinning efforts to use lunar materials is the desire to establish either temporary or even permanent human settlements on the Moon – and there are numerous benefits to doing so. For example, lunar bases or colonies could provide invaluable training and preparation for missions to farther flung destinations, including Mars. Developing and utilizing lunar resources will likely lead to a vast number of innovative and exotic technologies that could be useful on Earth, as has been the case with the International Space Station.

As a planetary geologist, I’m fascinated by how other worlds came to be, and what lessons we can learn about the formation and evolution of our own planet. And because one day I hope to actually visit the Moon in person, I’m particularly interested in how we can use the resources there to make human exploration of the solar system as economical as possible.

READ MORE in ASTRONOMY Magazine on line

Astronomy News

A METEOROID SLAMS INTO THE MOON

Space Weather News for Jan. 22, 2019
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https://www.spaceweatheralerts.com

A METEOROID SLAMS INTO THE MOON: On Jan. 21st, a meteoroid slammed into the Moon. We know this because many amateur astronomers witnessed the explosion. The fireball was visible against the shadowy backdrop of a total lunar eclipse.  Visit today’s edition of Spaceweather.com for images, video, and the full story.

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Above: The fireball! Amateur astronomer Petr Horálek took this picture from Boa Vista, one of the islands of Cape Verde.


Astronomy News

A lunar eclipse January 20/21

Total Lunar Eclipse

Be sure to mark the night of  Jan 20/21 on your calendars. This total lunar eclipse will be visible across all of Canada.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking the eclipse will be on the 21st–while technically true, it actually starts on the night of the 20th. The tricky bit is that the moon is full at about a quarter past midnight, which is why calendars show the full moon as being on the 21st.

It will begin at 9:37 pm EST, peaking at mid-totality at 12:13 EST on the 21st. The Moon will be out of the penumbra at 2:48 am. There will be 62 minutes of totality. Even better, if you possess a pair of binoculars, you will see M44, the Beehive Cluster of stars just 6 degrees to the west of the moon.

 

I’ve read that most Canadians will not see another total lunar eclipse until 2022, and I don’t know if that includes us or not, so don’t miss it!

If we are clouded over, you can watch a live stream here:

LIVE stream of the total lunar eclipse in January 2019 from several locations. Watch the Moon gradually turn red with live commentary by astrophysicist Graham Jones.