On the evening of February 21, 2024, the bright waxing gibbous moon will shine near Castor and Pollux, the twin stars of Gemini. And it’ll be very close to the faint Beehive star cluster, which you likely won’t see in the moon’s glare, unless you’re an experienced stargazer. Ah, but when the moon moves away! In a dark sky, the Beehive is an easy target with binoculars. They’ll all rise before sunset and travel across the sky’s dome until a little before sunrise.

Our charts are mostly set for the northern half of Earth. To see a precise view – and time – from your location, try Stellarium Online.

February 17-25 mornings: Venus and Mars pair up

Here’s something worth getting up to see! Bright Venus pairs up with much-dimmer Mars from February 17 to 25, 2024. Mars is just now returning to our early morning sky after being behind the sun from Earth. It’ll be rising higher each morning, and it’ll pass brighter Venus, which is descending into the sunrise glare. So it’s a very bright object near a faint one! Fun to see. Mars and Venus will be closest to each other around February 21 and 22.

To enhance your view of Venus and Mars, use binoculars.

EarthSky Minute: Two morning planets

Solar eclipse countdown!

A total solar eclipse will cross North America on April 8, 2024. February 21, 2024, is 47 days until eclipse day. In this episode, Marcy Curran shares some fun facts of solar eclipses.

EarthSky Minute: February moon phases

February 22 and 23 evenings: Moon near Regulus

On the evenings of February 22 and 23, 2024, the waxing gibbous moon will float near the star Regulus, marking the bottom of the backward question mark asterism called the Sickle. Regulus is the brightest star in Leo the Lion. They’ll be visible through dawn.

February 24, all night: Full Snow Moon

The instant of full moon – often called the Snow Moon – will fall at 12:30 UTC (6:30 a.m. CST) on February 24, 2024. But of course every full moon rises into your local sky around sunset … and sets around sunrise. This February full moon will be the smallest – most distant – full moon in 2024 at 252,225 miles (405,917 kilometers) away.

Our charts are mostly set for the northern half of Earth. To see a precise view – and time – from your location, try Stellarium Online.

February 24 and 25 evenings: Moon near Regulus and Leo

On the evening of February 24, 2024, the full moon will pass the hindquarters of Leo the Lion. The waning gibbous moon will be approaching Leo on the evening of February 25. They’ll be visible all night.

Moon at apogee February 25

The moon will reach apogee – its farthest distance from Earth in its elliptical orbit around Earth – at 15 UTC (9 a.m. CST) on February 25, 2024, when it’s 252,470 miles (406,312 kilometers) away.

February 25 and 26 mornings: Moon near Regulus and Leo

On the mornings of February 25 and 26, 2024, the waning gibbous moon will lie near Regulus, the bright star marking the bottom of the backward question mark asterism called the Sickle. Regulus is the brightest star in Leo the Lion. They’ll rise the night before and be opposite the sun in the morning sky.

February 26 – March 11: Zodiacal light

The zodiacal light may be visible after evening twilight for Northern Hemisphere observers for the next two weeks. Southern Hemisphere observers? Look for it before morning twilight begins.

February 28: Mercury moves behind the sun

Mercury will move behind the sun on February 28. This point in its orbit is called superior conjunction. It will return to our evening sky in mid-March.

Our charts are mostly set for the northern half of Earth. To see a precise view – and time – from your location, try Stellarium Online.

February 28 and 29 mornings: Moon near Spica

On the mornings of February 28 and 29, 2024, the waning gibbous moon will hang near the bright star Spica in Virgo the Maiden.

Visible planets in February 2024

Mid-February mornings: Venus and Mars

In the middle of February, Mars will move close to brilliant Venus. They’ll be an interesting contrast in brightness, with Venus shining at magnitude -3.9 and Mars shining at +1.3. So Venus is roughly 100 times brighter than Mars. They will be at their closest on February 21 and 22, 2024. Then Venus will continue to descend closer to the sunrise each day, while Mars climbs out of the morning twilight.

Late February mornings: Venus and Mars

By the end of February, Venus will slowly be approaching the horizon before disappearing from the morning sky in March. And Mars will be climbing higher each day away from brilliant Venus. Mars remains a morning object through all of 2024.

February evenings: Jupiter

Bright Jupiter will draw your attention until around midnight in February 2024. It will be obvious high in the sky at sunset and will be visible until around midnight. It will shine near the pretty Pleiades star cluster in the constellation Taurus the Bull. Jupiter reached perihelion – or closest point to Earth – in early November. And it reached opposition overnight on November 2-3, 2023, when we flew between it and the sun. So, as Jupiter recedes from Earth, it’ll fade a bit in our sky. It will lie in the dim constellation Aries the Ram, and it’ll shine at -2.2 magnitude by month’s end. The 1st quarter moon will float by Jupiter on February 15, 2024.

Where’s Saturn?

Saturn will be in conjunction with the sun on February 28, 2024. It’ll emerge in the morning sky after mid-March.

Thank you to all who submit images to EarthSky Community Photos! View community photos here. We love you all. Submit your photo here.

Looking for a dark sky? Check out EarthSky’s Best Places to Stargaze.

Sky dome maps for visible planets and night sky

The sky dome maps come from master astronomy chart-maker Guy Ottewell. You’ll find charts like these for every month of 2024 in his Astronomical Calendar.

Guy Ottewell explains sky dome maps

Heliocentric solar system visible planets and more

The sun-centered charts come from Guy Ottewell. You’ll find charts like these for every month of 2024 in his Astronomical Calendar.

Guy Ottewell explains heliocentric charts.

Some resources to enjoy

For more videos of great night sky events, visit EarthSky’s YouTube page.

Watch EarthSky’s video about Two Great Solar Eclipses Coming Up

Don’t miss anything. Subscribe to daily emails from EarthSky. It’s free!

Visit EarthSky’s Best Places to Stargaze to find a dark-sky location near you.

Post your own night sky photos at EarthSky Community Photos.

Translate Universal Time (UTC) to your time.

See the indispensable Observer’s Handbook, from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

Visit Stellarium-Web.org for precise views from your location.

Almanac: Bright visible planets (rise and set times for your location).

Visit TheSkyLive for precise views from your location.

Bottom line: Visible planets in February. On February 21, we’re 47 days from eclipse day! See the moon, Castor, Pollux and the faint Beehive before sunset until a little before sunrise.

The post Visible planets and night sky for February first appeared on EarthSky.

Cassiopeia the Queen in late winter and early spring

On late northern winter evenings and throughout spring, Cassiopeia the Queen descends in her throne in the northwest after nightfall. Cassiopeia is one of the easiest constellations to spot because of its distinctive shape. Cassiopeia looks like the letter W or M. Look for the Queen as your sky gets dark in February and March. She’ll be lower in the northwest as spring begins to unfold. For those in the northern U.S. and Canada, Cassiopeia is circumpolar, or above the horizon all night every night.

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The stars of Cassiopeia

Cassiopeia is home to five bright stars that form the W shape. Some describe these stars as outlining the chair – or throne – she sits upon. If you’re viewing Cassiopeia as the letter W, the stars, from left to right, are Segin, Ruchbah, Gamma Cassiopeiae, Schedar and Caph.

How to find Cassiopeia

Cassiopeia is opposite the Big Dipper in the northern sky. That is, the two constellations lie on opposite sides of the pole star, Polaris. So when Cassiopeia is high in the sky, as it is on evenings from about September through February, the Big Dipper is low in the sky. Every March, when the Dipper is ascending in the northeast, getting ready to appear prominently again in the evening sky, Cassiopeia is descending in the northwest.

Neighboring star clusters

If you have a dark sky, look across the border of Cassiopeia into Perseus the Hero for a famous binocular object. It’s the Double Cluster in Perseus. They are open star clusters, each of which consists of young stars still moving together from the primordial cloud of gas and dust that gave birth to them.

In fact, these clusters have a unique set of mismatched names: H and Chi Persei. Their names are from two different alphabets, the Greek and the Roman. Stars have Greek letter names, but most star clusters don’t. Johann Bayer (1572-1625) gave Chi Persei – the cluster on the top – its Greek letter name. Then, it’s said, he ran out of Greek letters. That’s when he used a Roman letter – the letter H – to name the other cluster.

Lore of the Queen

In sky lore and in Greek mythology, Cassiopeia was a beautiful and vain queen of Ethiopia. It’s said that she committed the sin of pride by boasting that both she and her daughter Andromeda were more beautiful than Nereids, or sea nymphs.

Her boast angered Poseidon, god of the sea, who sent a sea monster (Cetus the Whale) to ravage the kingdom. To pacify the monster, Cassiopeia’s daughter, Princess Andromeda, was left tied to a rock by the sea. Cetus was about to devour her when Perseus the Hero happened by on Pegasus the Winged Horse.

Then, Perseus rescued the princess, and all lived happily … and the gods were pleased, so all of these characters were elevated to the heavens as stars.

But – because of her vanity – Cassiopeia suffered an indignity. At some times of the night or year, this constellation has more the shape of the letter M, and you might imagine the Queen reclining on her starry throne. At other times of the year or night – as in the wee hours between midnight and dawn in February and March – Cassiopeia’s Chair dips below the celestial pole. And then this constellation appears to us on Earth more like the letter W.

That’s when the Lady of the Chair – as she is sometimes called – is upside-down and said to hang on for dear life. If Cassiopeia the Queen lets go, she will drop from the sky into the ocean below, where the Nereids must still be waiting.

Bottom line: The constellation Cassiopeia the Queen has the distinct shape of a W or M. You’ll find her descending in her throne on late northern winter evenings and throughout spring nights.

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The post Cassiopeia the Queen reigns in the February sky first appeared on EarthSky.

John Glenn – 1st American in orbit – 62 years ago today

John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth on February 20, 1962, 62 years ago today. In 4 hours and 55 minutes, he circled the globe three times in his space capsule Friendship 7. The feat made Glenn a national hero and a household name.

It was the ’60s, and the space race was on. The U.S. and the Soviet Union competed to achieve important firsts in space.

Glenn was one of the first American astronauts, a member of the group NASA called the Mercury 7. Author Tom Wolfe immortalized them in his masterly 1979 book The Right Stuff. Glenn and his fellow astronauts rode cramped Mercury space capsules into the unknown.

In those days, NASA astronauts gave personal nicknames to their space capsules. Glenn and his family decided on the word Friendship, adding the number 7 to honor his fellow Mercury astronauts. But NASA’s official name for Glenn’s mission was Mercury-Atlas 6: Mercury for the Roman god of speed and Atlas 6 to indicate that this was the sixth mission to launch atop the powerful Atlas rocket.

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“Godspeed, John Glenn”

Atlas rocket and weather problems forced NASA to postpone Glenn’s orbital launch four times. Finally, with the weather cooperating and the Atlas problems resolved, Glenn strapped into Friendship 7 early on the morning of February 20, 1962. Schoolchildren (including me) watched on television as the countdown ended and Glenn blasted into space. As History.com explained:

As mission control performed its final system checks, test conductor Tom O’Malley initiated the launch sequence, adding a personal prayer, ‘May the good Lord ride all the way,’ to which Carpenter, the backup astronaut for the mission, added, ‘Godspeed, John Glenn.’ Carpenter later explained that he had come up with the phrase on the spot, but it did hold significance for most test pilots and astronauts: ‘In those days, speed was magic … and nobody had gone that fast. If you can get that speed, you’re home-free.’

In other words, to attain even a low Earth orbit, the challenge is to reach a fast-enough speed. The mean orbital velocity needed to maintain a stable low Earth orbit is about 17,000 miles per hour (27,000 kilometers per hour, or 7.8 kilometers per second). Glenn reached that speed, a first for any American.

Glenn wasn’t the first American in space. He was third, after the short suborbital flights of Alan Shepard (May 1961) and Virgil “Gus” Grissom (July 1961). And he wasn’t the first earthling to orbit Earth. Again, he came in third, following two Russian cosmonauts: Yuri Gagarin (April 1961) and Gherman Titov (August 1961). Glenn’s orbital flight meant that the U.S. was catching up to the Soviet Union in the space race.

Heat shield danger

John Glenn’s flight wasn’t without its scary moments. As History.com explained:

During his second orbit, Mission Control noticed a sensor was issuing a warning that Friendship 7’s heat shield and landing bag were not secure, putting the mission and Glenn in danger. Officials did not immediately inform Glenn of the potential problem, instead asking him to run a series of small tests on the system to see if that resolved the issue, which eventually clued Glenn in to their concerns. After a series of discussions, it was decided that rather than following standard procedures to discard the retrorocket (an engine designed to slow down the capsule upon reentry), Glenn would keep the rocket in place to help secure the heat shield.

In fact, all was well. Glenn successfully reentered the Earth’s atmosphere and splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean. Ships, helicopters and frogmen successfully recovered him 800 miles (1,300 km) southeast of Bermuda. Later, when engineers inspected the recovered capsule, they found that the heat shield was fine. A faulty sensor had detected a problem that didn’t exist.

John Glenn was inspirational

John Glenn’s flight made him an instant national hero. He rode his fame to a long career in politics that included 25 years in the Senate and a presidential bid in 1984. Glenn returned to space at age 77 aboard the space shuttle Discovery in 1998. His mission’s primary scientific aim was to study the effects of spaceflight on seniors. Glenn passed away at age 95 on December 8, 2016.

The space race is history, but Glenn’s flight 62 years ago continues to inspire. Shortly before his death, Hollywood commemorated his mission and the many people who made it possible in the popular 2016 film Hidden Figures.

Bottom line: John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth on February 20, 1962, 62 years ago today. His space capsule was the Friendship 7.

Read more from NASA: Glenn orbits Earth

Read more from History.com: 7 things you may not know about John Glenn

The post John Glenn 1st American in orbit 62 years ago today first appeared on EarthSky.

Can you see Canopus?

If you stay at latitudes like those in the northern U.S., you’ll never see Canopus. That’s why this star has become a holy grail of sorts for some Northern Hemisphere skywatchers, who take winter vacations at southerly latitudes (like those in the southern U.S.), just to catch a glimpse of it. From latitudes like those in the southern U.S., Canopus – the sky’s 2nd-brightest star – appears as a bright light closer to the horizon than Sirius (the sky’s brightest star). For those southerly observers, Canopus and Sirius arc across the south together on February evenings.

Will you see Canopus? It depends, basically, on how far south you are, and what time of year you’re looking. Canopus never rises above the horizon for locations north of about 37 degrees north latitude. In the United States, that line runs from roughly Richmond, Virginia; westward to Bowling Green, Kentucky; through Trinidad, Colorado and onward to San Jose, California. Here’s a list of global locations at the 37th parallel north. You must be south of that line to see Canopus.

February evenings are ideal

Right now, February evenings are a perfect time to look for Canopus. Then, this star is at its highest in the sky around 9 p.m. your local time (the time on your clock no matter where you are on the globe). From the Northern Hemisphere, Canopus appears in the southern sky almost directly south of Sirius. When Sirius is at its highest point to the south, Canopus is about 36 degrees below it.

For observers in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s an entirely different story. From latitudes south of the equator, both Canopus and Sirius appear higher in the sky. Indeed, they are like twin beacons crossing overhead together.

For sure, the sight of them is enough to make a northern observer envy the southern skies!

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Canopus in science fiction

In Frank Herbert‘s 1965 novel Dune and other novels in his Dune universe, the fictional planet Arrakis is a vast desert world. It is home to sandworms and Bedouin-like humans called the Fremen. It is the third planet from a real star in our night sky. That star is Canopus.

In Herbert’s novel, the desert planet Arrakis is the only source of “spice,” the most important and valuable substance in the Dune universe. This “spice” is what makes star travel possible, in this fictional universe.

It’s possible, according to Wikipedia (which references the famous book Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning by Richard Hinckley Allen), that Herbert was influenced in his choice of this star as the primary for Arrakis by a common etymological derivation of the name Canopus:

… as a Latinization (through Greek Kanobos) from the Coptic Kahi Nub (“Golden Earth”), which refers to how Canopus would have appeared over the southern desert horizon in ancient Egypt, reddened by atmospheric absorption.

And it’s true … from much of the classical world in ancient times, Canopus would have appeared low in the sky, when it was visible at all. And so, yes, its bright light would be reddened due to looking at it through a greater thickness of atmosphere in the direction toward the horizon. Just as, for example, our sun or moon seen low in the sky looks redder than usual. Golden Earth indeed.

By the way, although Arrakis is fictional, Canopus is not only very real but also much hotter and larger than our sun. See the Science section below.

Science of Canopus

According to data obtained by the Hipparcos Space Astrometry Mission, Canopus is about 310 light-years away.

Spectroscopically, it is an F0 type star, making it significantly hotter than our sun (roughly 13,600 degrees Fahrenheit or 7,500 degrees Celsius) at its surface. This is compared to about 10,000 degrees F or 5,500 degrees C for the sun.

Canopus also has a luminosity class rating of II, which makes it a “bright giant” star much larger than the sun. (Some classifications make it a type Ia “supergiant.”)

If the sun and Canopus were side by side, it would take about 71 suns, altogether, to fit across Canopus. Canopus appears significantly less bright than Sirius, but it is much brighter, blazing with the brilliance of 10,000 suns!

Although its exact age is unknown, Canopus’ great mass dictates that this star must be near the end of its lifetime. It is likely a few million to a few tens of millions of years old. Compared to our sedate middle-aged 5-billion-year-old sun, Canopus has lived in the stellar fast lane and is destined to die young.

History and mythology

Canopus is also called Alpha Carinae, the brightest star in the constellation Carina the Keel. This constellation used to be considered part of Argo Navis, the ship of Jason and his famed Argonauts, as seen in our sky. Canopus originally marked a keel or rudder of this ancient celestial ship. Alas, the great Argo Navis constellation no longer exists. Modern imaginations see it as broken into three parts: the Keel (Carina, of which Canopus is part), sails (Vela) and the poop deck (Puppis).

For those far enough south to see it, Canopus was a star of great importance from ancient times to modern times as a primary navigational star. This is, surely, due to its brightness.

The origin of the name Canopus is subject to question. By some accounts it is the name of a ship’s captain from the Trojan War. Another theory is that it is from ancient Egyptian meaning Golden Earth, a possible reference to the star’s appearance as seen through atmospheric haze near the horizon from Egyptian latitudes.

The position of Canopus is RA: 6h 23m 57s, Dec: -52° 41′ 45″

Bottom line: Canopus is the 2nd-brightest star as seen from Earth. To see Canopus, you must either be in the Southern Hemisphere or below the Northern Hemisphere’s 37th parallel north.

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The post Can you see Canopus, the 2nd-brightest star? first appeared on EarthSky.

• Mars can appear bright or faint in our sky. 2024 is mostly a faint year. Around February, Mars becomes visible in the east before dawn. It’s faint and far across the solar system from Earth.
• As the days pass, Mars will be climbing higher in the predawn sky, growing steadily brighter. Earth will be gaining on Mars, in our smaller, faster orbit around the sun.
• Around the September equinox, Mars will start becoming noticeable in our skies! By the year’s end, it’ll shine brightly at -1.2 magnitude. Its next opposition will come in January 2025.

Mars in 2024

Opposition for Mars last fell on December 8, 2022. That’s when our planet Earth last flew between Mars and the sun. It’ll reach opposition again in January 2025. Now, in February 2024, Mars will be ascending in the morning sky. In fact, Mars will be visible in the morning sky all year.
How to see Mars in the sky: In early February 2024, Mars will be low in the eastern morning sky and challenging to spot in the bright twilight. However, it’ll become easier to spot by month’s end. It’ll be shining at magnitude +1.3.
Constellations in February 2024: Mars, it would be crossing in front of the constellation Sagittarius and move in front of the constellation Capricornus the Sea-goat.
Note: Mars reaches opposition about every 26 months, or about every two Earth-years. So Mars alternates between appearing bright and faint in our sky. It was bright in late 2022 and early 2023. But by September 2023, Mars faded dramatically in brightness and disappeared in the sunset glare in October 2023. It passed behind the sun on November 18. It came back into view, in the east before sunrise, at the end of 2023 shining around magnitude +1.4.

Finder charts for February mornings

Sometimes, Mars is faint

Mars was an inconspicuous faint red dot in the sky throughout the early months of 2022. It started becoming brighter in the final months of 2022 and reached opposition on December 8, 2022. It remained bright through early 2023, then started to rapidly fade through the end of the year. Mars reached superior conjunction on November 18, 2023. Now in 2024, it will remain faint until the last few months of the year.

Sometimes, Mars is bright

Mars steadily brightened in the first half of 2022, first as a morning object. But later, during the second half of 2022, Mars shone as a bright red ruby in the evening sky. Ultimately, it reached opposition – when Earth flew between Mars and the sun – on December 8, 2022.

Indeed, Mars’ dramatic swings in brightness (and its red color) are why the early stargazers named Mars for their God of War.

Sometimes the war god rests. And sometimes he grows fierce! In fact, these changes are part of the reason Mars is so fascinating to watch in the night sky.

Want to follow Mars? Bookmark EarthSky’s monthly night sky guide.

Mars isn’t very big

To understand why Mars varies so much in brightness in Earth’s sky, first realize that Mars isn’t a very big world. Indeed, it’s only 4,219 miles (6,790 km) in diameter, making it only slightly more than half Earth’s size (7,922 miles or 12,750 km in diameter).

On the other hand, consider Mars in contrast to Jupiter, the biggest planet in our solar system. Jupiter is 86,881 miles (140,000 km) in diameter. As an illustration, more than 20 planets the size of Mars could be lined up side by side in front of Jupiter. Basically, Jupiter always looks bright, because it’s so big.

Not so for little Mars, however. Rather, its extremes in brightness have to do with its nearness (or lack of nearness) to Earth.

Future Martian oppositions

So, when is the next opposition of Mars? The next time Mars will appear at its brightest for that two-year period in our sky? You guessed it. In January 2025! Check out the chart on this page that lists all oppositions of Mars from 1995 to 2037.

Seeing red

Mars appears as a reddish light in the sky and, therefore, is often called the Red Planet. Other obvious red dots in the sky are reddish-orange Aldebaran and the famous red supergiant Betelgeuse. So, it is fun to compare Mars’ color and intensity of red with that of Aldebaran or Betelgeuse.

And then there is red Antares. Antares is Greek for rival of Ares, meaning rival of Mars. Antares is sometimes said to be the anti-Mars due to its competing red color. For a few months every couple of years Mars is much brighter than Antares. Also, every couple of years Mars passes near Antares, as if taunting the star. Mars moves rapidly through the heavens and Antares is fixed to the starry firmament.

What makes them red?

Surface temperature is what determines the colors of the stars. The hottest stars are blue and the coolest stars are red. In fact, from hottest to coolest, the colors of stars range from blue, white, yellow, orange and red. And while the colors of stars might be hard to detect, some stars – like Aldebaran, Antares and Betelgeuse – are noticeably colorful.

On the other hand, Mars appears red for a different reason. It’s red because of iron oxide in the dust that covers this desert world. Iron oxide gives rust and blood its red color. Rovers on Mars sampled the Martian dust and determined it contains three colors: reds, browns and oranges. So those three colors are what you may see when you gaze upon Mars.

Do you see red when you look at Mars, Aldebaran, Antares and Betelgeuse? Are they the same color? Do you see any other colors of stars?

Bottom line: Mars is back in our morning sky. In fact, it’s be visible in the morning sky for all of 2024 and it’ll reach opposition in January 2025.

Moon and Mars! Fav photos of December 7 occultation

Photos of bright Mars in 2018, from the EarthSky community

Photos of bright Mars in 2020, from the EarthSky community

The post Mars in 2024: Back in the morning sky first appeared on EarthSky.

For decades, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, has led the world in robotic space exploration. When the U.S. has sent rovers to Mars, or probes to the farthest reaches of the solar system, you can be sure that JPL scientists had a hand in building the craft and/ or operating them. Now … a sign of the times? Late yesterday (February 6, 2024), JPL’s director Laurie Leshin announced in a memo that the NASA facility will lay off hundreds of employees this week. The cuts are coming in anticipation of massive funding cuts in the next federal budget, specifically related to the proposed Mars Sample Return mission.

This week, JPL will be letting go of 530 employees – approximately 8% of its workforce – and 40 additional contractors, Leshin said.

Mars Sample Return budget slashed

This is JPL’s second round of layoffs since the start of 2024. The Los Angeles Times reported:

In January, 100 on-site contractors lost their jobs after NASA directed the lab to reduce spending in anticipation of severe budget cuts for the Mars Sample Return mission, an ambitious effort managed by JPL that would bring pieces of the red planet back to Earth for study …

Though Congress has not yet finalized appropriations for next year, NASA has instructed JPL to prepare for a federal budget that could cap Mars Sample Return spending in the 2024 fiscal year at $300 million, 36% of the previous year’s $822-million budget allocation and less than 1/3 of the $949 million the Biden administration has requested for the program.

NASA administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement:

To spend more than that amount, with no final legislation in place, would be unwise and spending money NASA does not have.

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Jet Propulsion Laboratory missions

JPL has many NASA programs underway, including the Europa Clipper mission scheduled for launch in October 2024. But, according to SpacePolicyOnline.com, the $8-11 billion Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission is a core element of the future:

MSR is turning out to be significantly more expensive than expected. The top priority of the two most recent planetary science Decadal Surveys from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the NASA-ESA MSR program would bring back to Earth the samples being collected on Mars right now by the Perseverance rover. The 2022 Decadal Survey estimated the cost at $5.3 billion, but an independent review last fall said it more likely would be $8-11 billion.

A shift in emphasis?

I recall in the late 1970s, not long after the end of the Apollo missions that sent humans to the moon, when astronomers were debating the relative merits of human spaceflight versus robotic planetary exploration. Policymakers formed committees and arguments were heard on both sides. Ultimately it was decided to focus the U.S. space program not on human spaceflight, but on the robotic exploration of the planets. And explore them we have! It has been a glorious time to be a space enthusiast.

Meanwhile, the human space program – the idea of sending humans to the moon or Mars, for example – languished. We didn’t realize back then that it would languish for some 50 years … essentially our whole adult lives!

And now humans are headed back to the moon with NASA’s Artemis program. It’s hard not to wonder where the winds of change will take us next …

Bottom line: NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory – for decades a leader in robotic exploration of the planets in our solar system – will cut 8% of its workforce this week.

The post NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory to cut 8% of workforce this week first appeared on EarthSky.

February is perfect for both Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere observers to view the brightest star in the sky: Sirius. As part of the constellation Canis Major the Greater Dog, Sirius also earns the nickname of the Dog Star. From the Northern Hemisphere, Sirius arcs across in the southern sky. From the Southern Hemisphere, it swings high overhead. It’s always easy to spot as the brightest point of light in its region of sky (unless a planet happens to be near it, which none are in early 2024).

It’s a flashy rainbow star

Although white to blue-white in color, Sirius might be called a rainbow star, as it often flickers with many colors. The flickering colors are especially easy to notice when you spot Sirius low in the sky.

The brightness, twinkling and color changes sometimes prompt people to report Sirius as a UFO!

In fact, these changes are simply what happens when such a bright star as Sirius shines through the blanket of Earth’s atmosphere. The varying density and temperature of Earth’s air affect starlight, especially when we’re seeing the star low in the sky.

The shimmering and color changes happen for other stars, too, but these effects are more noticeable for Sirius because Sirius is so bright.

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Finding Sirius

From the mid-northern latitudes such as most of the U.S., Sirius rises in the southeast, arcs across the southern sky, and sets in the southwest. From the Southern Hemisphere, Sirius arcs high overhead.

As seen from around the world, Sirius rises in mid-evening in December. By mid-April, Sirius is setting in the southwest in mid-evening.

Sirius is always easy to find. It’s the sky’s brightest star! Plus, anyone familiar with the constellation Orion can simply draw a line through Orion’s Belt to find this star. Sirius is roughly eight times as far from the Belt as the Belt is wide.

The mythology of Sirius

Sirius is well known as the Dog Star, because it’s the chief star in the constellation Canis Major the Greater Dog. Have you ever heard anyone speak of the dog days of summer? Sirius is behind the sun as seen from Earth in Northern Hemisphere summer. In late summer, it appears in the east before sunrise, near the sun in our sky. The early stargazers might have imagined the double-whammy of Sirius and the sun caused the hot weather, or dog days.

In ancient Egypt, the name Sirius signified its nature as scorching or sparkling. The star was associated with the Egyptian gods Osiris, Sopdet and other gods. Ancient Egyptians noted that Sirius rose just before the sun each year immediately prior to the annual flooding of the Nile River. Although the floods could bring destruction, they also brought new soil and new life. Osiris was an Egyptian god of life, death, fertility and rebirth of plant life along the Nile. Sopdet – who might have an even closer association with the star Sirius – began as an agricultural deity in Egypt, also closely associated with the Nile. The Egyptian new year celebration was a festival known as the Coming of Sopdet.

More mythology of the Dog Star

In India, Sirius is sometimes known as Svana, the dog of Prince Yudhisthira. The prince and his four brothers, along with Svana, set out on a long and arduous journey to find the kingdom of heaven. However, one by one the brothers all abandoned the search until only Yudhisthira and his dog, Svana, remained. At long last they came to the gates of heaven. The gatekeeper, Indra, welcomed the prince but denied Svana entrance.

Yudhisthira was aghast and told Indra that he could not forsake his good and faithful servant and friend. His brothers, Yudhisthira said, had abandoned the journey to heaven to follow their hearts’ desires. But Svana, who had given his heart freely, chose to follow none but Yudhisthira. The prince said that, without his dog, he would forsake even heaven. This is what Indra had wanted to hear, and then he welcomed both the prince and the dog through the gates of heaven.

The brightest star

Astronomers express the brightness of stars in terms of stellar magnitude. The smaller the number, the brighter the star.

The visual magnitude of Sirius is -1.44, lower – brighter – than any other star. There are brighter stars than Sirius in terms of actual energy and light output, but they are farther away and hence appear dimmer.

Normally, the only objects that outshine Sirius in our heavens are the sun, moon, Venus, Jupiter, Mars and Mercury (and usually Sirius outshines Mercury, too).

Not counting the sun, the second-brightest star in all of Earth’s sky – next-brightest after Sirius – is Canopus. It is visible from latitudes like those of the southern U.S.

The third-brightest and, as it happens, the closest major star to our sun is Alpha Centauri. However, it’s too far south in the sky to see easily from mid-northern latitudes.

The science of Sirius

At 8.6 light-years distance, Sirius is one of the nearest stars to us after the sun. By the way, a light year is nearly 6 trillion miles (9.6 trillion km)!

Sirius is classified by astronomers as an A type star. That means it’s a much hotter star than our sun; its surface temperature is about 17,000 degrees Fahrenheit (9,400 Celsius) in contrast to our sun’s 10,000 degrees F (5,500 C). With slightly more than twice the mass of the sun and just less than twice its diameter, Sirius still puts out 26 times as much energy. It’s a main-sequence star, meaning it produces most of its energy by converting hydrogen into helium through nuclear fusion.

Sirius has a small, faint companion star appropriately called Sirius B or the Pup. That name signifies youth, but in fact the companion to Sirius is a white dwarf, a dead star. Once a mighty star, the Pup today is an Earth-sized ember, too faint to be seen without a telescope.

The position of Sirius is RA: 06h 45m 08.9s, dec: -16° 42′ 58″.

Bottom line: Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky as seen from Earth and is visible from both hemispheres. And it lies just 8.6 light-years away in the constellation Canis Major the Greater Dog.

The post See Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky first appeared on EarthSky.

You can find a Unicorn in the night sky. Monoceros the Unicorn is a constellation that Dutch cartographer Petrus Plancius invented in the 1600s. And, in January and February, the Unicorn is in a good position for viewing in the evening sky. It’s highest up and easiest to see in the late evening hours. And it’s visible nearly all night, with one caveat. That is – if you want to capture the celestial Unicorn – be sure to look in a dark sky. That’s because, true to mythical unicorns, Monoceros is elusive!

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How to find Monoceros

In January and February, the Unicorn comes out at nightfall. First, focus in on the bright stars Betelgeuse, Sirius and Procyon (see charts on this page). They make a triangle, which – in the Northern Hemisphere – has the nickname of the Winter Triangle. But you can see these stars from the Southern Hemisphere, too. In fact, Orion the Hunter and the stars near it are even better placed for viewing from the southern part of Earth’s globe.

Within the triangle of stars made by Betelgeuse, Sirius and Procyon – hidden among the many bright and glittering stars and constellations visible at this time of year – there’s a constellation that’s as elusive in our night sky as its namesake is in countless fairy tales.

This is the constellation Monoceros the Unicorn.

Star clusters in the Unicorn

The winter Milky Way runs through Monoceros. Those with dark skies might try drawing an imaginary line from the star Sirius to Procyon. About a third of the way along this line, you’ll find a hazy object. You can spot this region with optical aid; something will pop out at you. It’s a star cluster called M50. In fact, it’s one of several open star clusters in the region.

You need a telescope to see M50 clearly. But, with an ordinary pair of binoculars, this cluster of stars is wonderful to glimpse and contemplate on a winter night. There are about 100 stars in the little patch we know as M50. Also, the main part of the cluster is about 10 light-years across. The entire cluster is located some 3,000 light-years from us.

Bottom line: Treat yourself to a visit with a mythical beast – Monoceros the Unicorn – in the January and February evening sky.

The post Catch a glimpse of Monoceros the Unicorn in the Milky Way first appeared on EarthSky.

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Peregrine lunar lander crashed back to Earth

The private aerospace company Astrobotic reported on Thursday (January 18, 2024) that its Peregrine lunar lander has crashed back to Earth. The would-be moon craft burned up in Earth’s atmosphere, somewhere east of Australia, ending a 10-day-long saga that began with Peregrine’s apparent successful launch from Earth on January 8. In its most recent update, its 22nd since launch, Astrobotic reported that it lost telemetry with the spacecraft around 20:50 UTC, or 2:50 p.m. CST on January 18. By yesterday evening, Astrobotic was still awaiting confirmation of the reentry from government entities. It plans a teleconference with NASA at 18 UTC, or 1 p.m. EST on Friday, January 19, to discuss the updates. Listen to the teleconference here.

The bull’s-eye map above shows the most likely location where Peregrine burned up in Earth’s atmosphere, over the South Pacific.

The failed lunar lander began leaking fuel shortly after its launch on January 8 and thus was unable to complete its mission to the moon. Astrobotic’s 20th update on the mission on January 17 said:

Astrobotic has positioned the Peregrine spacecraft for a safe, controlled re-entry to Earth over a remote area of the South Pacific. The team has been continuously monitoring our re-entry analysis with NASA, which indicates a re-entry path over the indicated area below, with no anticipated hazards. A safe re-entry is our top priority …

Astrobotic – which is based in Pittsburgh – has done a great job communicating Peregrine’s situation day by day. Much appreciated! One can only imagine that the team is now ready for a nice long nap …

Welcome home #Peregrine. Thank you for being such a scrappy lil’ lander and for all the Science! @astrobotic you guys rock! ????? pic.twitter.com/IY5EjPL2f4

— Space By Storm (@SpaceByStorm) January 19, 2024

A few of our last shots of @astrobotic's Peregrine lander, firing its thrusters on its way to re-entry. Recorded today, from our station in Australia, between 17:32 and 18:32 UTC pic.twitter.com/INsHCzKpee

— s2a systems (@s2a_systems) January 18, 2024

Peregrine's final ground track. #PeregrineLunarLander pic.twitter.com/ruMyFJA6MP

— Tony Dunn (@tony873004) January 19, 2024

Problems after launch

So Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander launched toward the moon on January 8. But the mission – which was to be the first commercial craft to land on the moon – was leaking fuel. Astrobotic has sent out regular updates with the mission’s progress as they’ve attempted to do some of the science. Four of the five science instruments onboard have been working. Plus, we’ve seen some images the spacecraft has taken on its new and unexpected journey. In its update from Monday, January 15, Astrobotic said:

The spacecraft continues to be responsive, operational, and stable, and remains on its previously reported trajectory toward Earth’s atmosphere. The propellant leak caused by the anomaly has practically stopped. The team continues to work with NASA and U.S. government agencies to assess the final trajectory path in which the vehicle is expected to burn up.

Read more about what Peregrine has achieved and the decision to send it into Earth’s atmosphere in Astrobotic’s 17th update.

After new data from JPL Horizons as well as the latest statement from @astrobotic it's now looking likely that #peregrine will return home, impacting Earth over the Great Barrier Reef on January 18. pic.twitter.com/hV3mGRgHIV

— Tony Dunn (@tony873004) January 13, 2024

A beautiful launch

Initially, there was huge excitement when the Peregrine lunar lander lifted off on January 8, 2024, riding aboard United Launch Alliance’s new Vulcan Centaur rocket. It was the first launch of a lunar lander from U.S. soil in decades. The launch itself was a success, as well as the separation from the Vulcan Centaur rocket. The lander was supposed to touch down on the lunar surface on February 23, 2024.

Lunar lander flight was packed with payloads

Funded in part by NASA, Peregrine Mission One was also carrying several small scientific instruments. The Agencia Espacial Mexicana (AEM), the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and European Space Agency (ESA) also flew science packages on Peregrine.

It launched with the science payloads were a variety of memorial, advertising, archival and citizen participation packages. Included were collections of photos of footprints from around the world, messages from children and even a lunar Bitcoin.

Plus, more poignantly, Peregrine was carrying capsules containing symbolic portions of cremated remains and DNA samples (a service offered by Houston-based Celestis, Inc., for a price), which were meant to go to the moon.

Among the samples is the DNA of legendary sci-fi writer Arthur C. Clarke.

Peregrine’s path through space

Update #10 for Peregrine Mission One: pic.twitter.com/lpLd6KF24Y

— Astrobotic (@astrobotic) January 10, 2024

It didn’t collide with the moon

For a while, according to Astrobotic and other experts on X – the platform formerly known as Twitter – Peregrine was thought to be on a collision course with the moon. But that wasn’t the case.

Update #6 for Peregrine Mission One: pic.twitter.com/lXh9kcubXs

— Astrobotic (@astrobotic) January 9, 2024

More Peregrine updates from Astrobotic

Update #5. Mission controllers worked feverishly to save what they could of the crippled spacecraft’s onboard science experiments and gather as much data as possible.

Update #5 for Peregrine Mission One: pic.twitter.com/94wy2J0GyA

— Astrobotic (@astrobotic) January 8, 2024

Update #4. Then, minutes later, it became clear Peregrine would not land on the lunar surface, as its propellent was leaking away into space.

Update #4 for Peregrine Mission One: pic.twitter.com/6uISAG3Je1

— Astrobotic (@astrobotic) January 8, 2024

Update #3. Mission controllers were able to regain control of the tumbling spacecraft and achieve a stable flight path, allowing Peregrine to charge its batteries. Yet the propulsion anomaly was now identified as a system failure:

Update #3 for Peregrine Mission One: pic.twitter.com/z4NK2achGG

— Astrobotic (@astrobotic) January 8, 2024

Update #2. They quickly identified the anomaly as a problem with the propulsion system, threatening the ability to land on the moon:

Update #2 on Peregrine Mission One: pic.twitter.com/hS5QsAihh4

— Astrobotic (@astrobotic) January 8, 2024

Update #1. Shortly after deploying from the rocket’s Centaur upper stage, Peregrine’s controllers at Astrobotic reported on X that the lander was unstable, as an unspecified problem prevented the craft from charging its onboard batteries:

An Update on Peregrine Mission One: pic.twitter.com/Q20dGVOMml

— Astrobotic (@astrobotic) January 8, 2024

Solar system’s smallest rover and tiny robots

The Peregrine lander wasn’t a large vehicle. It stood just 6.2 feet (1.9 meters) tall. And the rover it was carrying to the moon was tiny. Built by Carnegie Mellon University students in Pennsylvania, the Iris lunar rover weighed in at just 4.4 pounds (1.8 kilos). It was the smallest and lightest rover ever sent into space. The Iris website explained:

Iris’s shoebox-sized chassis and bottle cap wheels are made from carbon fiber, contributing to its lightweight design and another first for planetary robotics. Along with testing small, lightweight rover mobility on the moon, Iris is collecting scientific images for geological sciences, as well as UWB RF ranging data for testing new relative localization techniques.

The rover was still enormous compared to the robots the Mexican space agency hoped to send to the moon with Peregrine. Called COLMENA – Spanish for the hive – the project had hoped to test the ability of a swarm of robots to act autonomously:

The five robots each weigh less than 60 grams (0.1 pounds) and measure 12 centimeters (4.7 inches) in diameter. All of their electronics [were to be] less than two centimeters from the rocky rubble on the moon’s surface known as the lunar regolith.

The Peregrine lunar lander was part of NASA’s preparation for Artemis

NASA has been working with several American companies in preparation for future Artemis missions to the moon. NASA calls it the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) project. Part of having a human presence on the moon requires payloads sent to the moon to supply the astronauts with all their needs. As NASA said, these first commercial deliveries are meant to:

… perform science experiments, test technologies and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the moon as it prepares for human missions.

NASA also provided a preliminary timeline – now long since out the window – for the journey to the moon:

After a 3-to-33-day Earth orbit and cruise to the moon, followed by a 4-to-25-day lunar orbit phase, it will descend and land in Sinus Viscositatis (Bay of Stickiness) adjacent to the Gruitheisen Domes on the northeast border of Oceanus Procellarum (Ocean of Storms). It is planned to land 55-110 hours after local sunrise and to operate for about 192 hours.

Bottom line: Peregrine was meant to be the 1st commercial lunar lander. But a fuel leak doomed the mission. Then yesterday – January 18, 2024 – spacecraft made a fiery reentry over Earth.

The post Would-be Peregrine lunar lander has come home first appeared on EarthSky.

Tonight look for the constellation Orion the Hunter. It’s a constant companion on winter evenings in the Northern Hemisphere, and on summer nights in the Southern Hemisphere. Plus, it’s probably the easiest constellation to spot thanks to its distinctive Belt. Orion’s Belt consists of three medium-bright stars in a short, straight row at the Hunter’s waistline. So if you see any three equally bright stars in a row this evening, you’re probably looking at Orion. Do you want to be sure? There are two even brighter stars – one reddish and the other blue – on either side of the Belt stars.

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When to look for Orion

As seen from mid-northern latitudes, you’ll find Orion in the southeast in the early evening and shining high in the south by mid-to-late evening (around 9 to 10 p.m. local time, the time on your clock wherever you live). If you live at temperate latitudes south of the equator, you’ll see Orion high in your northern sky around that same hour.

What to look for in Orion the Hunter

First, look for the two brightest stars in Orion: Betelgeuse and Rigel. Rigel’s distance is approximately 860 light-years. However, the distance to Betelgeuse has been harder for scientists to determine. Its current estimate is about 724 light-years away, but uncertainties remain.

Betelgeuse dimmed for a while in late 2019, generating a fair amount of excitement, because Betelgeuse is a star on the brink of a supernova. However, the star has since returned to its normal brightness. So how bright does it look tonight?

Also, take a moment to trace the Belt of Orion and the Sword that hangs from his belt. If one of the stars in the Sword looks blurry to you, that’s because you’re actually seeing the Orion Nebula. And if you use binoculars or a telescope to look at the Orion Nebula, you’ll start to see some shape in the gas and dust cloud.

Connections between the stars

While the stars of constellations often look like they should be physically related and gravitationally bound, they usually are not.

However, some of Orion’s most famous stars do have a connection. Several of the brightest stars in Orion are members of our local spiral arm, sometimes called the Orion Arm or sometimes the Orion Spur of the Milky Way. Our local spiral arm lies between the Sagittarius and Perseus Arms of the Milky Way.

Now consider those three prominent Belt stars. They appear fainter than Rigel or Betelgeuse, and, not surprisingly, they’re farther away. As a matter of fact, they’re all giant stars located in the Orion Arm. These stars’ names and approximate distances are Mintaka (1,200 light-years), Alnilam (2,000 light-years), and Alnitak (1,260 light-years). When you look at these three stars, know that you’re looking across vast space, and into our local arm of the Milky Way galaxy.

Bottom line: Orion the Hunter is one of the easiest constellations to identify thanks to its Belt, the three medium-bright stars in a short, straight row at his waist.

Why do stars seem brighter in winter?

The post Orion the Hunter is easy to spot in January first appeared on EarthSky.