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A bristly bump on some mantises’ chests is a never-before-seen “gustifolium”, which may have evolved to help the insects with their highly specialised lifestyles

Is China’s future population drop a crisis or an opportunity?

Instead of just asking questions about how exercise helps our bodies, let’s also consider how it helps our brains

One percent of scientific articles published in 2023 showed signs of generative AI’s potential involvement, according to a recent analysis

Doctors are starting to prescribe vegetables or entire meals to ward off disease.

A new Stephen King short story collection, an Ursula K. Le Guin reissue and a celebration of cyberpunk featuring writing from Philip K. Dick and Cory Doctorow are among the new science fiction titles published this month

A new Stephen King short story collection, an Ursula K. Le Guin reissue and a celebration of cyberpunk featuring writing from Philip K. Dick and Cory Doctorow are among the new science fiction titles published this month

Some practical advice for how to sit, happily, joyfully, with uncertainty—and in doing so, grow and learn from it.

Boeing's Starliner capsule is scheduled to launch astronauts for the first time ever on May 6. Here's how to watch that historic liftoff, as well as key events before and after it.

3 min read

May’s Night Sky Notes: Stargazing for Beginners

by Kat Troche of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific

Millions were able to experience the solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, inspiring folks to become amateur astronomers – hooray! Now that you’ve been ‘bitten by the bug’, and you’ve decided to join your local astronomy club, here are some stargazing tips!

The Bortle Scale

Before you can stargaze, you’ll want to find a site with dark skies. It’s helpful learn what your Bortle scale is. But what is the Bortle scale? The Bortle scale is a numeric scale from 1-9, with 1 being darkest and 9 being extremely light polluted; that rates your night sky’s darkness. For example, New York City would be a Bortle 9, whereas Cherry Springs State Park in Pennsylvania is a Bortle 2.

The Bortle scale helps amateur astronomers and stargazers to know how much light pollution is in the sky where they observe. International Dark Sky Association

Determining the Bortle scale of your night sky will help narrow down what you can expect to see after sunset. Of course, other factors such as weather (clouds namely) will impact seeing conditions, so plan ahead. Find Bortle ratings near you here: www.lightpollutionmap.info

No Equipment? No Problem!

There’s plenty to see with your eyes alone. Get familiar with the night sky by studying star maps in books, or with a planisphere. These are great to begin identifying the overall shapes of constellations, and what is visible during various months.

A full view of the northern hemisphere night sky in mid-May. Stellarium Web

Interactive sky maps, such as Stellarium Web, work well with mobile and desktop browsers, and are also great for learning the constellations in your hemisphere. There are also several astronomy apps on the market today that work with the GPS of your smartphone to give an accurate map of the night sky.

Keep track of Moon phases. Both the interactive sky maps and apps will also let you know when planets and our Moon are out! This is especially important because if you are trying to look for bright deep sky objects, like the Andromeda Galaxy or the Perseus Double Cluster, you want to avoid the Moon as much as possible. Moonlight in a dark sky area will be as bright as a streetlight, so plan accordingly! And if the Moon is out, check out this Skywatcher’s Guide to the Moon: bit.ly/MoonHandout

Put On That Red Light

If you’re looking at your phone, you won’t be able to see as much. Our eyes take approximately 30 minutes to get dark sky adapted, and a bright light can ruin our night vision temporarily. The easiest way to stay dark sky adapted is to avoid any bright lights from car headlights or your smartphone. To avoid this, simply use red lights, such as a red flashlight or headlamp.

The reason: white light constricts the pupils of your eyes, making it hard to see in the dark, whereas red light allows your pupils to stay dilated for longer. Most smartphones come with adaptability shortcuts that allow you to make your screen red, but if you don’t have that feature, use red cellophane on your screen and flashlight.

Up next: why binoculars can sometimes be the best starter telescope, with Night Sky Network’s upcoming mid-month article through NASA’s website!

Briou Bouregois is a mechanical test operations engineer at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, where he enjoys working on a variety of projects to support NASA’s efforts of leading the way in space exploration for humanity.

Work at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, takes one site engineer back to a childhood memory, where a dream of being a member of the NASA team began. Now, Briou Bourgeois is working to launch a career with even bigger aspirations.

A lot of the work we do at NASA Stennis … I think is going to be beneficial to the agency’s focus of establishing the first long-term presence on the Moon

Briou Bouregois

NASA Stennis Mechanical Test Operations Engineer

The Bay St. Louis native recalls childhood watching the Apollo 13 movie with his dad. He became fascinated with the story of how astronauts overcame challenges when NASA attempted the third lunar landing in 1970.

Even as the lunar portion of the mission was aborted due to the rupture of a service module oxygen tank, Bourgeois was fascinated by how everybody on the ground at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston fought through challenges to come up with solutions.

Bourgeois said he did not understand the gravity of the situation he was watching unfold, but he was not short of questions. He wanted to learn more.

“That probably spurred me into wanting to become part of the NASA team but, even more so, to become an astronaut and be sort of the tip of the spear when it comes to space exploration and doing the hard things that allow humanity to further understand the universe and space in general,” Bourgeois said.

Now in his seventh year at NASA Stennis, the Mississippi State University graduate said the wide range of testing capabilities at the south Mississippi site, coupled with working alongside a variety of people “highly specialized in the aerospace operations realm” is what he enjoys most.

He currently works at the versatile E Test Complex, where the mechanical test operations engineer supports research and development testing as NASA collaborates with commercial companies pursuing a future in space.

The Pass Christian, Mississippi, resident is the mechanical operations lead for the Relativity Space thrust chamber assembly test project and the Blue Origin pre-burner project. In those roles, he has written test procedures and developed a thorough knowledge of test operations.

Even as Bourgeois continues adding to his experience, he also has applied to become a NASA astronaut. Thanks, to his work at NASA Stennis, he feels equipped to make the split-second decisions needed during highly critical and hazardous moments. In addition, his NASA Stennis experience has taught him greatly about the importance of teamwork.

“A lot of the work we do at NASA Stennis with propellant transfers, managing cryogenic systems, pneumatic systems, hydraulic systems, and just having the hands-on experience and operational knowledge of those systems, I think is going to be beneficial to the agency’s focus of establishing the first long-term presence on the Moon,” Bourgeois said.

Whether Bourgeois’ future is at NASA Stennis or beyond, the NASA employee looks forward to helping the agency explore the secrets of the universe for the benefit of all.

Learn more about the people who work at NASA Stennis

Exciting news for young space fans! PaniniPedia Space, the most complete and up-to-date sticker reference album about space, launches in France on 1 May 2024. Created by Panini in collaboration with ESA, PaniniPedia Space takes readers on a journey of discovery through our Solar System and beyond.

Spiked running shoes with a rubbery material between the inner and outer soles, and a stiff plate to improve stability, seem to help people move faster

Spiked running shoes with a rubbery material between the inner and outer soles, and a stiff plate to improve stability, seem to help people move faster

High above you on May evenings is an one obvious star pattern that just about everyone knows: the Big Dipper. This “Swiss Army Knife of the sky” can help you find many other key springtime stars and constellations. Just download or stream this month’s Sky Tour podcast.

The post May Podcast: Big Dipper Shows the Way appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Located some 3 million light-years away in the arms of nearby spiral

How did a star form this beautiful nebula?

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson addresses a Diplomatic Corps during a U.S. Department of State Open House, Monday, April 29, 2024, at the NASA Headquarters Mary W. Jackson Building in Washington. NASA/Bill Ingalls

This event was part of Space Diplomacy Week, focused on deepening bilateral relationships, specifically how international partnerships are strengthened by space exploration.

Lunar settlers could avoid health problems like muscle wasting by running on the inside of a circular wall to mimic the pull of Earth’s gravity on the body

Lunar settlers could avoid health problems like muscle wasting by running on the inside of a circular wall to mimic the pull of Earth’s gravity on the body