The brightest comet of 2018 will streak past Earth right after the peak of the Geminid meteor shower. Comet 46P/Wirtanen will be closest to Earth on Dec. 16, according to EarthSky, and is currently the brightest comet in the sky. The comet will come within about 7 million miles of Earth, putting it among the […]
Science
Why Wannabe Astronauts Shouldn’t Get Too Excited About Virgin Galactic’s Flight to ‘Space’
For the first time in a very long time, Sir Richard Branson has some good news to report from the spaceport he built in the Mojave desert: at 7:11 a.m. Pacific time Thursday, his Virgin Galactic company at last succeeded in launching honest-to-goodness astronauts into honest-to-goodness space. Sort of. Maybe. If you’re grading on a […]
Virgin Galactic Says Its Tourism Spaceship Officials Flew into Space
(MOJAVE, Calif.) — Virgin Galactic says its tourism spaceship has climbed more than 50 miles high, which the company considers the boundary of space. Virgin Space Ship Unity was released from a carrier aircraft over California’s Mojave Desert early Thursday and ignited its rocket engine. The spacecraft with two test pilots at the controls quickly […]
The 2018 Geminid Meteor Shower, One of the Year’s Best, Peaks Thursday. Here’s How to Watch
Stargazers willing to endure December’s chill are in for a treat Thursday night into Friday morning: the 2018 Geminid meteor shower, typically one of the best meteor showers of the year, peaks the evening of Dec. 13 and the morning of Dec. 14. The Geminid meteor shower happens ever year, when the Earth flies through […]
Watch the Air and Space Museum’s Apollo 8 Anniversary Celebration Live
The National Air and Space Museum is celebrating the 50th anniversary of NASA’s Apollo 8 lunar mission with an event Tuesday, Dec. 11 at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Apollo 8 Command Module Pilot Capt. James Lovell will speak at the event, along with Rev. Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, NASA […]