May 25, 2026
Li Jiaying, a 43-year-old police officer and mother of three, serves as the payload scientist in the three-member crew who made their way to China’s Tiangong space station on Sunday night.
Congratulations to her!
But is it really important that she is a “mother of three”? I never see anything about male astronauts being a “father of three.”
Presumably she got sent into space because she qualified for the job, not because she has three children. Sexist reporting like this has to stop.
May 5, 2026
Just 300 miles or so across, this mini Pluto is thought to be the solar system’s smallest object yet with a clearly detected global atmosphere bound by gravity, said lead researcher Ko Arimatsu of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/atmosphere-icy-world-beyond-pluto-rcna343509
The planetoid, called “(612533) 2002 XV93” (good luck remembering that one), was discovered and tracked by three separate observatories in Japan in 2024.
So why is it being only announced now?
Because scientists are cautious folk. They still want other observers to document this in other countries, to increase the validity of their finding.
The fact that the planetoid has an atmosphere (ridiculously thin, something like five to ten million times thinner than that of the Earth’s) came as a surprise.
So is this the famed “Planet X”? Or “Nibiru”?
No worries. It’s not rogue and won’t destroy the Earth in 3600 years. Sorry.
May 4, 2026
Astronomers have discovered 27 new potential planets that orbit two stars, like the fictional desert planet Tatooine from the Star Wars universe…
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/may/04/scientists-discover-27-potential-new-planets
And now you know what a “Circumbinary planet” means. Happy Star Wars Day!
April 14, 2026
“The moon really is its own unique body in the universe. When we have that perspective and we compare it to our home of the Earth, it just reminds us how much we have in common. Everything we need, the Earth provides, and that, in and of itself, is somewhat of a miracle.”
Should have posted this a couple days ago, but better late than never.
Just like this mission. It’s better to delay a mission than scrub it.
And DJT should stop trying to take credit for it. He’s still trying to slash NASA’s budget to practically nothing. Get rid of him already.
More good news like this, please. No more war. Space awaits all of us.
April 2, 2026
Live up dates of the Artemis II mission to “cislunar space” (it will not actually land on the Moon but will take four astronauts farther away from Earth than anyone else so far).
March 3, 2026
Lunar eclipse, tonight from 6:30 to 11:00…
Except it still raining here in Japan, and we’ll see nothing.
Rats.
At least we’ll visit JAXA tomorrow…
February 27, 2025
The best day to see all seven major planets (yes, you read that right, all seven!) is Friday, February 28th.
The link will describe (and give pictures) of where to find them all in the night sky.
Finding Orion is the key to most of them. Knowing where the Pleiades are helps, too.
The next time this “parade” appears will be 2040, so fingers crossed for clear skies!
https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/news/seven-planet-parade-28-february-2025
November 14, 2024
The planet Uranus and its five biggest moons may not be the dead sterile worlds that scientists have long thought.
Instead, they may have oceans, and the moons may even be capable of supporting life, scientists say.
Cue the jokes in five…four…three…
“So, you mean there really is life in…ah…”
Note that this is not from new data. It’s a re-analysis of what Voyager 2 sent back decades ago. Basically, it just had a bad day, with magnetic storms screwing up the scan.
Still…
There could be moons there that could have the conditions that are necessary for life, they might have oceans that below the surface that could be teeming with fish!
I think this is a bit of an exaggeration…
November 13, 2024
Jas Tiruvuru, business development manager for Orbit Fab in the UK and Europe, said the company was aiming to successfully demonstrate the technology in space by 2027.
“This will essentially be the first ever satellite to satellite refuelling demonstration funded here in the UK,” she said.
“Once we’ve proven that we can refuel to two spacecrafts we’ll be able to unlock a huge market potential.”
You know, maybe it’s just me, but I think 2027 may be a little optimistic. Just like the figure given in the article for how much the satellite sector will be worth in the future.
Aren’t there too many satellites already?
I’d like to see how this would help us colonize the solar system.
Actually, I’d like to see how they plan to get fuel up there in the first place.
Maybe my novel’s idea of using certain moons of Jupiter or Saturn as giant space gas pumps might help? 🪐
November 12, 2024
The Taurids meteor showers get their name because the shooting stars appear to stream from a point in the sky where the Taurus constellation is located. Taurid meteors can be seen from pretty much anywhere on the planet except the South Pole.
I waited too long to post this! The meteor shower peaked last week, but might still be visible. The Orionids ended already (they appeared to fall from, you guessed it, the constellation of Orion, while the Taurids came from Taurus.
If you can’t see them, not to worry: the Leonids are on their way from next week (falling from, right again, Leo).
Very imaginative, these names. At least it makes them easier to spot. ☄️
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