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Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have increased the number of known supernovae in the early universe by a factor of 10 and found the most distant one ever confirmed

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have increased the number of known supernovae in the early universe by a factor of 10 and found the most distant one ever confirmed

A microbe can grow a neck that is 30 times as long as its body in just a few seconds. Origami folding explains how

The latest images from Euclid, a European mission studying dark matter and dark energy, are spectacularly beautiful—and scientifically promising

Europe’s newest rocket soon launches, taking with it many space missions, each with a unique objective, destination and team at home, cheering them on. Whether launching new satellites to look back and study Earth, peer out to deep space or test important new technologies in orbit, Ariane 6’s first flight will showcase the versatility and flexibility of this impressive, heavy-lift launcher. Read on for all about GRBBeta, then see who else is flying first.

As we approach solar maximum, something strange is happening to the sun's magnetic field. We explore this flip in polarity in more detail and look at the effects it could have on Earth.

Researchers are investigating how an iron infusion from glacial meltwater might change Antarctica’s seas and the climate.

Long term space exploration comes with many challenges. Not least is how much toilet paper to take but more worryingly is the impact on human physiology. We have not evolved in a weightless environment, we are not used to floating around for months on end nor are we able to cope with increased levels of radiation. It is likely that organs like the kidneys will become damaged but it make take time for signs to appear. Researchers are developing ways to detect organ issues in the early stages and develop ways to protect them during long duration flights. 

We have known for some years that space flight causes health problems. Reduced muscle and bone density are the more well known but since the 1970’s we have also seen a weakening of the heart, eyesight issues and kidney stone development. The main cause of the problem is thought to be increased exposure to radiation from space. It’s not just the radiation from the Sun but Galactic Cosmic Radiation from deep space also plays a part. Fortunately for us here on Earth, the magnetic field protects us and those in low Earth orbit to a degree too. Those who travel further afield; to the Moon and other planets will be far more at risk. 

ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst gets a workout on the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED). Credit: NASA

To date, no-one has attempted to study what might be happening inside our organs as a result of long duration space flight, until now. A new study, published in Nature Communications, reports upon the analysis of kidney health in space flight. The study was funded by Wellcome, St Peters Trust and Kidney Research UK and was undertaken by a team of researchers from over 40 groups. 

The research team collected samples from over 40 low Earth orbit missions from humans and mice chiefly from the International Space Station. Using these samples they conducted biomolecular, physiological and anatomical assessments. Using mice, they were able to simulate Galactic Cosmic Radiation doses equivalent to a 1.5 year to 2.5 year Mars mission. 

NASA Image: ISS020E049908 – NASA astronaut Nicole Stott, Expedition 20/21 flight engineer, is pictured near the Mice Drawer System (MDS) in the Kibo laboratory of the International Space Station.

Indications from the study showed that the kidney from both animal and human experienced changes. Parts of the kidney, known as tubules, are responsible for tweaking the calcium and salt balances and these showed signs of shrinkage after less than a month in space. The researchers believe though that this is more likely the result of weightlessness rather than radiation doses. The team did suggest however that further research is appropriate to see if the combination of increased doses of radiation coupled with microgravity had an increasing effect. 

Another finding of the study was the way in which salt is processed by the kidneys. It is now thought that fundamental changes to how this is handled leads to the formation of kidney stones whilst it was originally assumed to be the result solely of microgravity. 

Perhaps the most shocking finding of the study though was that anyone venturing beyond the confines fo the Earth’s protective magnetic field for 2.5 years is likely to experience permanent kidney damage and loss of function. This was demonstrated in the mice samples that had experienced a simulated Galactic Cosmic Radiation dose for that period fo time. The impact of this is quite staggering. Currently any astronaut venturing to Mars is likely to need kidney dialysis on the way back! The race is now on to find new ways to protect astronauts, and organs during long duration spaceflights. 

Source : Would astronauts’ kidneys survive a roundtrip to Mars?

The post An Astronaut Might Need Kidney Dialysis on the Way Home from Mars appeared first on Universe Today.

Get Amazon's lowest price on a smart telescope, which we rate very highly, save over $1160 and beat the crowds in this pre-Pime Day deal.

On solstice week the brightening Moon moves across the evening sky from Spica to Scorpius. On Monday, it helps you find a piece of Centaurus from as far north as southernmost Canada!

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, June 14 – 23 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

The search for life has to be one of the most talked about questions in science. The question is, what do you look for? The Odysseus lunar lander has recently detected signs of a technologically advanced civilisation…on Earth! The lander is equipped with an instrument called ROLSES which has probed the radio emissions from Earth as if it was an exoplanet to se if it could detect signs of life! 

Odysseus was launched on 15 February, it was the Intuitive Machines lunar lander and it touched down in the solar polar region of the Moon seven days later. Since then it has been collecting valuable data from the area as a prelude for future human exploration. It was part of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program which have all been built by private companies. Despite the hiccup of a landing where Odysseus tipped onto its side it has still been performing well.

There have been other challenges along the way. The laser guided navigation system which was supposed to aid the landing over the rocky surface failed. In a nod to Armstrong landing Apollo 11 manually in the last few minutes, the ground crew had to land using the optical camera system alone.  Even the journey to the Moon was not without incident. One of the antennae of the ROLSES system overheated and became dislodged from its housing.  On landing, an image showed the antenna sticking out. 

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin plant the US flag on the Lunar Surface during 1st human moonwalk in history 45 years ago on July 20, 1969 during Apollo 1l mission. Credit: NASA

On board Odysseus is the Radio wave Observations at the Lunar Surface of the photo Electron Sheath or ROLSES for short. It is a radio experiment designed to explore properties of the Earth’s atmosphere from the surface of the Moon. It was a unique opportunity to observe Earth in a completely different way and, to see if our approach for hunting for technologically capable alien civilisations are correct. 

The instrument was built at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland and included radio antennae and a device called a radio spectrometer. It’s purpose was to record a wide range of radio emissions from the ‘radio quiet’ locale of the Moon. It turned out to be a bit of a bonus though as the team were able to record radio waves coming from Earth for about an hour and a half. 

NASA has selected three commercial Moon landing service providers that will deliver science and technology payloads under Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) as part of the Artemis program. Each commercial lander will carry NASA-provided payloads that will conduct science investigations and demonstrate advanced technologies on the lunar surface, paving the way for NASA astronauts to land on the lunar surface by 2024…The selections are:..• Astrobotic of Pittsburgh has been awarded $79.5 million and has proposed to fly as many as 14 payloads to Lacus Mortis, a large crater on the near side of the Moon, by July 2021…• Intuitive Machines of Houston has been awarded $77 million. The company has proposed to fly as many as five payloads to Oceanus Procellarum, a scientifically intriguing dark spot on the Moon, by July 2021…• Orbit Beyond of Edison, New Jersey, has been awarded $97 million and has proposed to fly as many as four payloads to Mare Imbrium, a lava plain in one of the Moon’s craters, by September 2020. ..All three of the lander models were on display for the announcement of the companies selected to provide the first lunar landers for the Artemis program, on Friday, May 31, 2019, at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. ..Read more: https://go.nasa.gov/2Ki2mJo..Credit: NASA/Goddard/Rebecca Roth

We have known for some time that all the signals from mobile phones and TV/radio  broadcast have been slowly drifting out into space (and have now reached a distance of just over 100 light years.) All of these emissions are potentially detectable but the further away from Earth, the weaker the signal. Within those signals, the team were able to detect signs of an intelligent, technological civilisation. The attention now will of course turn to hunting down the same signals from exoplanets, but perhaps not from ROLSES, something a little larger may be required. 

Source : In new experiment, scientists record Earth’s radio waves from the Moon

The post Moon Lander Detects Technosignatures Coming from Earth appeared first on Universe Today.

Week in images: 10-14 June 2024

Discover our week through the lens

Image: The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over a section of Italy’s heel in the southern part of the boot-shaped peninsula.

Blown by fast winds from a hot, massive star,

Eight former SpaceX employees are suing the company and its founder and CEO, Elon Musk, alleging sexual harassment and wrongful termination.

In 2021, NASA’s Perseverance rover landed in the Jezero Crater on Mars. For the next three years, this astrobiology mission collected soil and rock samples from the crater floor for eventual return to Earth. The analysis of these samples is expected to reveal much about Mars’ past and how it transitioned from being a warmer, wetter place to the frigid and desiccated place we know today. Unfortunately, budget cuts have placed the future of the proposed NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission in doubt.

As a result, NASA recently announced that it was seeking proposals for more cost-effective and rapid methods of bringing the samples home. This will consist of three studies by NASA and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL). In addition, NASA has selected seven commercial partners for firm-fixed-price contracts for up to $1.5 million to conduct their own 90-day studies. Once complete, NASA will consider which proposals to integrate into the MSR mission architecture.

As Administrator Bill Nelson stated in a NASA press release

“Mars Sample Return will be one of the most complex missions NASA has undertaken, and it is critical that we carry it out more quickly, with less risk, and at a lower cost. I’m excited to see the vision that these companies, centers and partners present as we look for fresh, exciting, and innovative ideas to uncover great cosmic secrets from the Red Planet.”

The MSR mission represents the culmination of decades of efforts to learn more about the early history of Mars. NASA had originally hoped that the first crewed mission (planned for 2033) would retrieve the samples and transport them back to Earth. However, delays and budget concerns have led to growing concerns that a crewed mission will not reach Mars until 2040 (at the earliest). As a result, NASA and the European Space Agency adopted a joint mission architecture consisting of multiple robotic elements that would return the samples by 2031.

This included the Sample Retrieval Lander (SRL), two Sample Recovery Helicopters (SRH), the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV), the Earth Return Orbiter (ERO), and the Earth Entry System (EES). However, the current budget environment forced NASA to announce that the 15-year MSR mission architecture (which would cost $11 billion) was too expensive and that waiting until 2040 was impractical. As a result, NASA has adopted a revised plan that leverages current technology and will return the Mars samples by the 2030s. As NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said at the time:

“Mars Sample Return will be one of the most complex missions NASA has ever undertaken. The bottom line is, an $11 billion budget is too expensive, and a 2040 return date is too far away. Safely landing and collecting the samples, launching a rocket with the samples off another planet – which has never been done before – and safely transporting the samples more than 33 million miles back to Earth is no small task. We need to look outside the box to find a way ahead that is both affordable and returns samples in a reasonable timeframe.”

In addition to the NASA-led studies, seven aerospace companies have been selected to develop sample-return concepts. They include NASA’s regular commercial partners, such as Lockheed Martin, SpaceX, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Blue Origin, and Northrop Grumman, as well as relative newcomers Quantum Space and Whittinghill Aerospace. A total of $10 million has been awarded to these companies to develop their concepts, the full list of which can be found here.

Once again, NASA is facing a budget crunch and has reached out to its commercial partners to develop cost-effective alternatives. This is in keeping with NASA’s long history of collaborating with the commercial sector to develop key mission concepts. However, the need to outsource major elements of its Moon to Mars program highlights the agency’s ongoing budget problems. As independent experts have concluded, a budget increase is necessary if NASA is to realize its ambitious goals for the future.

Further Reading: NASA

The post NASA is Considering Other Ways of Getting its Mars Samples Home appeared first on Universe Today.

17 Min Read The Next Full Moon is the Strawberry Moon

A perigee full moon, or supermoon, is seen next to the Empire State Building, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2015 in New York City.

Credits:
NASA/Joel Kowsky

The Next Full Moon is the Strawberry Moon; the Flower, Hot, Hoe, or Planting Moon; the Mead or Honey Moon; the Rose Moon; Vat Purnima; Poson Poya; and the LRO Moon.

The next full Moon will be Friday evening, June 21, 2024, appearing opposite the Sun (in Earth-based longitude) at 9:08 PM EDT. This will be Saturday from Greenland and Cape Verde time eastward across Eurasia, Africa, and Australia to the International Date Line in the mid-Pacific. Most commercial calendars will show this full Moon on Saturday, June 22, the date in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The Moon will appear full for about three days around this time, from Thursday evening through Sunday morning.

In the 1930s the Maine Farmer’s Almanac began publishing “Indian” names for full Moons and these names are now widely known and used. According to this Almanac, as the full Moon in June this is the Strawberry Moon, a name that comes from the relatively short season for harvesting strawberries in the north-eastern United States. Other seasonal names that I have found in various sources (sometimes with conflicting information about whether they are of European or Native American origin) are the Flower Moon, Hot Moon, Hoe Moon, and Planting Moon.

An old European name for this full Moon is the Mead or Honey Moon. Mead is a drink created by fermenting honey mixed with water and sometimes fruits, spices, grains, or hops. In some countries Mead is also called Honey Wine (though in others Honey Wine is made differently). Some writings suggest the time around the end of June was when honey was ready for harvesting, which made this the “sweetest” Moon. The word “honeymoon” traces back to at least the 1500s in Europe. The tradition of calling the first month of marriage the “honeymoon” may be tied to this full Moon because of the custom of marrying in June or because the “Honey Moon” is the “sweetest” Moon of the year. There doesn’t appear to be enough evidence to support a 19th century theory that the word entered English from the custom of gifting newlyweds mead for their first month of marriage.

Another European name for this full Moon is the Rose Moon. Some sources indicate “Rose Moon” comes from the roses that bloom this time of year. Others indicate that the name comes from the color of the full Moon. The orbit of the Moon around the Earth is in almost the same plane as the orbit of the Earth around the Sun (only about 5 degrees off). On the summer solstice the Sun appears highest in the sky for the year. Full Moons are opposite the Sun, so a full Moon near the summer solstice will be low in the sky. Particularly for Europe’s higher latitudes, when the full Moon is low it shines through more atmosphere, making it more likely to have a reddish color (for the same reasons that sunrises and sunsets are red). For the Washington, DC area, the full Moon on the night from the evening of June 21 to the morning of June 22 will have the lowest full Moon of the year, reaching only 21.9 degrees above the southern horizon at 1:20 AM EDT.

For Hindus this is Vat Purnima. During the 3 days of this full Moon married women will show their love for their husbands by tying a ceremonial thread around a banyan tree. The celebration is based on the legend of Savitri and Satyavan.

For Buddhists this full Moon is Poson Poya. The Poson holiday in Sri Lanka celebrates the introduction of Buddhism in 236 BCE.

Another tribe has also given a name to this full Moon. This tribe is now scattered but mostly lived in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. This tribe’s language is primarily English, but with a liberal smattering of acronyms, arcane scientific and engineering terms, and Hawaiian phrases (cheerfully contributed by the former Deputy Project Manager). Comprised of people from all backgrounds, many of whom have gone on to join other tribes, this tribe was devoted to the study of the Moon. This tribe calls June’s full Moon the LRO Moon, in honor of the spacecraft they launched towards the Moon 15 years ago, on June 18, 2009. NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is still orbiting the Moon providing insights about our nearest celestial neighbor, some of which help us understand our own planet. See https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/main/index.html for more information.

Many lunar and lunisolar calendars start the months on or just after the new Moon and the full Moon is near the middle of the month. This full Moon is near the middle of the fifth month of the Chinese year of the Dragon, Sivan in the Hebrew calendar, and Dhu al-Hijjah, the final month of the Islamic year and one of the four sacred months during which fighting is forbidden.

As usual, the wearing of suitably celebratory celestial attire is encouraged in honor of the full Moon. If you’re not allergic, enjoy the strawberries, flowers, and honey during this “sweetest” month of the year, and take note of how low in the sky this full Moon will be.

As for other celestial events between now and the full Moon after next (with specific times and angles based on the location of NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC):

As summer begins the daily periods of sunlight start to gradually shorten, having been at their longest on the summer solstice on the day before this full Moon. On Friday, June 21, 2024 (the day of the full Moon), morning twilight will begin at 4:30 AM, sunrise will be at 5:43 AM, solar noon at 1:10 PM when the Sun will reach its maximum altitude of 74.6 degrees, sunset will be at 8:37 PM, and evening twilight will end at 9:49 PM. The period of daylight will be 1.2 seconds shorter than on the summer solstice the previous day.

The solar days (as measured, for example, from solar noon to solar noon on a sundial) are longer than 24 hours near the solstices, so the earliest sunrises of the year occur before the summer solstice and the latest sunsets occur after the solstice. For the Washington, DC area and similar latitudes at least (I’ve not checked for other latitudes), Thursday, June 27, will have the latest sunset of the year, with sunset at 8:37:30 PM EDT.

By Sunday, July 21, (the day of the full Moon after next), morning twilight will begin at 4:52 AM, sunrise will be at 6:00 AM, solar noon at 1:15 PM when the Sun will reach its maximum altitude of 71.4 degrees, sunset will be at 8:28 PM, and evening twilight will end at 9:37 PM.

The comet 13P/Olbers is expected to peak at magnitude 7.5 in early July, too dim to see with the naked eye. The two meteor showers expected to peak this lunar cycle will be difficult to see. The full Moon will interfere with the peak of the June Bootids (170 JBO) on June 27. The July Pegasids (175 JPE), peaking on July 10, is only expected to show 3 meteors per hour (under ideal conditions).

Evening Sky Highlights:

On the evening of Friday, June 21, 2024 (the evening of the day of the full Moon), as twilight ends (at 9:49 PM EDT), the rising Moon will be 7 degrees above the southeastern horizon. The bright planets Venus and Mercury will be below the horizon, with Venus setting 21 minutes and Mercury setting 43 minutes after sunset. Mercury may be visible from about 30 minutes after sunset until it sets 13 minutes later. The bright object appearing closest to overhead will be the star Arcturus at 69 degrees above the south-southwestern horizon. Arcturus is the brightest star in the constellation Boötes the herdsman or plowman. It is the 4th brightest star in our night sky and is 36.7 light years from us. While it has about the same mass as our Sun, it is about 2.6 billion years older and has used up its core hydrogen, becoming a red giant 25 times the size and 170 times the brightness of our Sun.

As this lunar cycle progresses the background of stars will appear to shift westward each evening (as the Earth moves around the Sun). June 30 will be the first evening that the bright planet Mercury will be above the west-northwestern horizon as evening twilight ends and the first evening that the bright planet Venus will be above the horizon 30 minutes after sunset (an approximation of when Venus will start emerging from the glow of dusk. Mercury will shift to the left low along the horizon, reaching its highest above the horizon (just 2 degrees as twilight ends) on July 13. The waxing Moon will pass by Regulus on July 8 and 9, Spica on July 13, and Antares on July 17.

By the evening of Sunday, July 21 (the evening of the day of the full Moon after next), as twilight ends (at 9:37 PM EDT), the rising Moon will be 3 degrees above the east-southeastern horizon. The bright planet Mercury will be 1 degree above the west-northwestern horizon and 6 minutes away from setting. The planet Venus will set 22 minutes before twilight ends, but will be bright enough to see in the glow of dusk low on the west-northwestern horizon before it sets. The bright object appearing closest to overhead will be Vega, the brightest star in the constellation Lyra the lyre, at 65 degrees above the eastern horizon. Vega is one of the three bright stars in the Summer Triangle along with Deneb, and Altair. Vega is the 5th brightest star in our night sky, about 25 light-years from Earth, has twice the mass of our Sun, and shines 40 times brighter than our Sun.

Morning Sky Highlights:

On the morning of Friday, June 21, 2024 (the morning of the day of the full Moon), as twilight begins (at 4:31 AM EDT), the setting full Moon will be 2 degrees above the southwestern horizon. The brightest planet in the sky will be Jupiter at just 3 degrees above the east-northeastern horizon. The planet Mars will be 19 degrees above the eastern horizon and the planet Saturn (almost as bright as Mars) will be 37 degrees above the southeastern horizon. The bright object appearing closest to overhead will be the star Deneb at 80 degrees above the northwestern horizon. Deneb is the 19th brightest star in our night sky and is the brightest star in the constellation Cygnus the swan. Deneb is one of the three bright stars of the “Summer Triangle” (along with Vega and Altair). Deneb is about 20 times more massive than our Sun but has used up its hydrogen, becoming a blue-white supergiant about 200 times the diameter of the Sun. If Deneb were where our Sun is, it would extend to about the orbit of the Earth. Deneb is about 2,600 light years from us.

As this lunar cycle progresses, Jupiter, Saturn, and the background of stars will appear to shift westward each evening, with Mars shifting more slowly and to the left. The waning Moon will pass by Saturn on June 27, on Mars on July 1, the Pleiades star cluster on July 2, and Jupiter on July 3.

By the morning of Sunday, July 21 (the morning of the day of the full Moon after next), as twilight begins (at 4:52 AM EDT), the setting full Moon will be 7 degrees above the southwestern horizon. The brightest planet in the sky will be Jupiter at 25 degrees above the eastern horizon. Mars will be 33 degrees above the eastern horizon and Saturn 45 degrees above the southern horizon. The bright object appearing closest to overhead still will be the star Deneb at 56 degrees above the west-northwestern horizon.

Detailed Daily Guide:

Here for your reference is a day-by-day listing of celestial events between now and the full Moon after next. The times and angles are based on the location of NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, and some of these details may differ for where you are (I use parentheses to indicate times specific to the DC area).

Sunday morning, June 16, 2024, will be the first morning that the bright planet Jupiter will be above the east-northeastern horizon as morning twilight begins (at 4:30 AM EDT).

Sunday evening into early Monday morning, June 16 to 17, 2024, the bright star Spica will appear near the waxing gibbous Moon. As evening twilight ends (at 9:48 PM EDT) Spica will be 3.5 degrees to the right of the Moon. By the time Spica sets on the west-southwestern horizon 4.5 hours later (at 2:16 AM) it will be 5 degrees to the lower right of the Moon. Around the northern part of the boundary between Europe and Asia the Moon will actually block Spica from view.

Wednesday evening, June 19, 2024, will be the first evening the bright planet Mercury will be above the west-northwestern horizon 30 minutes after sunset, an approximation of when it will begin emerging from the glow of dusk. Each evening after this Mercury should become easier to spot and by the end of June will be above the horizon as evening twilight ends.

Wednesday evening into Thursday morning, June 19 to 20, 2024, the bright star Antares will appear near the waxing gibbous Moon. As evening twilight ends (at 9:49 PM EDT) Antares will be 5 degrees to the lower left of the Moon. The Moon will reach its highest in the sky 1.5 hours later (at 11:25 PM EDT) with Antares 4 degrees to the left of the Moon. The Moon will set first on the southwestern horizon (at 4:03 AM) with Antares 2 degrees to the upper left.

Thursday afternoon, June 20, 2024, at 4:51 PM EDT will be the summer solstice, the astronomical end of spring and start of summer. This will be the day with the longest period of sunlight (14 hours, 53 minutes, 42.5 seconds) but will not be the day with the earliest sunrise or the latest sunset.

As mentioned above, the full Moon will be Friday evening, June 21, 2024, at 9:08 PM EDT. This will be on Saturday from Greenland and Cape Verde time eastward across Eurasia, Africa, and Australia to the International Date Line in the mid-Pacific. Most commercial calendars will show this full Moon on Saturday, June 22. This will be the lowest full Moon of the year (reaching only 21.9 degrees above the southern horizon Saturday morning at 1:20 AM). The Moon will appear full for about three days around this time, from Thursday evening through Sunday morning.

Thursday morning, June 27, 2024, the planet Saturn will appear near the waning gibbous Moon. As Saturn rises on the eastern horizon (at 12:26 AM EDT) it will be 6 degrees to the lower left of the Moon. By the time morning twilight begins (at 4:33 AM) Saturn will be 4 degrees to the upper left of the Moon.

Thursday morning June 27, 2024, the Moon will be at perigee, its closest to the Earth for this orbit.

For the Washington, DC area and similar latitudes, at least, Thursday, June 27, 2024, will have the latest sunset of the year (with sunset at 8:37:30 PM EDT).

Friday afternoon, June 28, 2024, the waning Moon will appear half-full as it reaches its last quarter at 5:53 PM EDT (when the Moon will be below the horizon).

Sunday evening, June 30, 2024, will be the first evening that the bright planet Mercury will be above the west-northwestern horizon as evening twilight ends (at 9:49 PM EDT). It will also be the first evening that the bright planet Venus will be above the west-northwestern horizon (at 9:07 PM) 30 minutes after sunset, an approximation of when Venus will start emerging from the glow of dusk.

Monday morning, July 1, 2024, the planet Mars will appear 5 degrees to the lower left of the waning crescent Moon. Mars will rise last on the east-northeastern horizon (at 2:29 AM EDT) and morning twilight will begin a little more than 2 hours later (at 4:35 AM).

Tuesday morning, July 2, 2024, the Pleiades star cluster will appear 5 degrees to the lower left of the waning crescent Moon. The Pleiades will rise last on the east-northeastern horizon (around 2:46 AM EDT) and morning twilight will begin a little less than 2 hours later (at 4:35 AM).

Friday afternoon, July 5, 2024, the Earth will be at aphelion, its farthest away from the Sun in its orbit, 3.4% farther away than it was at perihelion in early January. Since the intensity of light drops off as the square of the distance, the sunlight reaching the Earth at aphelion is about 6.5% less bright than sunlight reaching the Earth at perihelion.

Friday evening, July 5, 2024, at 6:57 PM EDT, will be the new Moon, when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from the Earth. The day of or the day after the New Moon marks the start of the new month for most lunisolar calendars. Saturday, July 6 will be the start of the sixth month of the Chinese year of the Dragon. Sundown on July 6 will mark the start of Tammuz in the Hebrew calendar. In the Islamic calendar the months traditionally start with the first sighting of the waxing crescent Moon. Many Muslim communities now follow the Umm al-Qura Calendar of Saudi Arabia, which uses astronomical calculations to start months in a more predictable way. Using this calendar, sundown on Saturday, July 6, will probably mark Al-Hijra, the Islamic New Year and the beginning of the month of Muharram, although Muharram is one of four months for which the calendar dates may be adjusted by the religious authorities of Saudi Arabia after actual sightings of the lunar crescent. Al-Hijra is a public holiday in many Muslim countries. Customs vary, but most include observing the day quietly and practicing gratitude. Muharram is one of the four sacred months during which warfare is forbidden.

Sunday evening, July 7, 2024, the planet Mercury will appear 3 degrees below the thin, waxing crescent Moon, with the Beehive cluster (visible with binoculars) 1.5 degrees to the lower right of Mercury. As evening twilight ends (at 9:47 PM EDT) the Moon will be 4 degrees above the west-northwestern horizon, with Mercury a little more than 1 degree and the Beehive cluster a little less than 1 degree above the horizon. The Beehive cluster will set first 7 minutes later (at 9:54 PM), followed by Mercury 4 minutes after that (at 9:58 PM) and the Moon 19 minutes after Mercury set (at 10:17 PM).

Friday morning, July 12, 2024, at 4:12 AM EDT (when we can’t see it), the Moon will be at apogee, its farthest from the Earth for this orbit.

Saturday evening, July 13, 2024, the Moon will appear half-full as it reaches its first quarter at 6:49 PM EDT.

Saturday evening, July 13, 2024, will be when the planet Mercury will reach its highest (2 degrees) above the west-northwestern horizon as evening twilight ends (at 9:43 PM EDT).

Saturday night, July 13, 2024, the bright star Spica will appear near the half-full Moon, so near that for part of the night the Moon will block Spica from view for much of North America (see http://lunar-occultations.com/iota/bstar/0714zc1925.htm for a map and information on the locations that will see this occultation). For the location of NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC (angles and times will be different for other locations), as evening twilight ends (at 9:43 PM EDT), Spica will be 1 degree to the left of the Moon. If you are in a location that will see this occultation, you should be able to see Spica vanish behind the dark half of the Moon (at 11:26 PM for the DC area). For the Washington, DC area the Moon will set (at 12:32 AM) before Spica reemerges. For locations farther west, the brightness of the lit half of the Moon will make it hard to see when Spica emerges.

Wednesday night into early Thursday morning, July 17 to 18, 2024, the bright star Antares will appear near the waxing gibbous Moon. As evening twilight ends (at 9:40 PM EDT) Antares will be 3 degrees to the upper right of the Moon. The Moon will reach its highest in the sky 27 minutes later (at 10:07 PM). As Antares sets (at 2:21 AM) it will be 5 degrees to the lower right of the Moon. For much of the southern part of Africa the Moon will pass in front of Antares earlier on Wednesday. See http://lunar-occultations.com/iota/bstar/0717zc2366.htm for a map and information on the locations that will see this occultation. The full Moon after next will be Sunday morning, July 21, 2024, at 6:17 AM EDT. This will be late Saturday night for the International Date Line West and the American Samoa and Midway time zones and early Monday morning for Line Islands Time. The Moon will appear full for about three days around this time, from Friday evening through Monday morning, making this a full Moon weekend.

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NASA's NuSTAR telescope found evidence of cosmic fireworks and X-ray echoes coming from the Milky Way's supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*.

In early May, widespread flooding and landslides occurred in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, leaving thousands of people without food, water, or electricity. In the following days, NASA teams provided data and imagery to help on-the-ground responders understand the disaster’s impacts and deploy aid.

Building on this response and similar successes, on June 13, NASA announced a new system to support disaster response organizations in the U.S. and around the world.

Members of the Los Angeles County Fire Department’s Urban Search and Rescue team in Adiyaman, Turkey (Türkiye), conducting rescue efforts in the wake of powerful earthquakes that struck the region in February 2023. NASA provided maps and data to support USAID and other regional partners during these earthquakes. USAID

“When disasters strike, NASA is here to help — at home and around the world,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “As challenges from extreme weather grow, so too does the value of NASA’s efforts to provide critical Earth observing data to disaster-response teams on the frontlines. We’ve done so for years. Now, through this system, we expand our capability to help power our U.S. government partners, international partners, and relief organizations across the globe as they take on disasters — and save lives.”

The team behind NASA’s Disaster Response Coordination System gathers science, technology, data, and expertise from across the agency and provides it to emergency managers. The new system will be able to provide up-to-date information on fires, earthquakes, landslides, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, and other extreme events.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson delivers remarks during an event launching a new Disaster Response Coordination System that will provide communities and organizations around the world with access to science and data to aid disaster response, Thursday, June 13, 2024, at the NASA Headquarters Mary W. Jackson Building in Washington. NASA/Bill Ingalls

“The risk from climate-related hazards is increasing, making more people vulnerable to extreme events,” said Karen St. Germain, director of NASA’s Earth Science Division. “This is particularly true for the 10% of the global population living in low-lying coastal regions who are vulnerable to storm surges, waves and tsunamis, and rapid erosion. NASA’s disaster system is designed to deliver trusted, actionable Earth science in ways and means that can be used immediately, to enable effective response to disasters and ultimately help save lives.”

Agencies working with NASA include the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Agency for International Development — as well as international organizations such as World Central Kitchen.

“With this deliberate and structured approach, we can be even more effective in putting Earth science into action,” said Josh Barnes, at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Barnes manages the Disaster Response Coordination System.

NASA Disasters Team Aiding Brazil

When the floods and landslides ravaged parts of Brazil in May, officials from the U.S. Southern Command — working with the U.S. Space Force and Air Force, and regional partners — reached out to NASA for Earth-observing data.

Image Before/After

NASA’s response included maps of potential power outages from the Black Marble project at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Disaster response coordinators at NASA Goddard also reviewed high-resolution optical data — from the Commercial Smallsat Data Acquisition Program — to map more than 4,000 landslides.

Response coordinators from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology, both in Southern California, produced flood extent maps using data from the NASA and U.S. Geological Survey Landsat mission and from ESA’s (the European Space Agency) Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite. Response coordinators at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston also provided photographs of the flooding taken by astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

Building on Previous Work

The Brazil event is just one of hundreds of responses NASA has supported over the past decade. The team aids decision-making for a wide range of natural hazards and disasters, from hurricanes and earthquakes to tsunamis and oil spills. 

“NASA’s Disasters Program advances science for disaster resilience and develops accessible resources to help communities around the world make informed decisions for disaster planning,” said Shanna McClain, manager of NASA’s Disasters Program. “The new Disaster Response Coordination System significantly expands our efforts to bring the power of Earth science when responding to disasters.”

For more information visit:

https://disasters.nasa.gov/response

By Jacob Reed
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

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Editor Rob Garner

Related Terms

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• Earth
• Extreme Weather Events
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• Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• Johnson Space Center
• Langley Research Center
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• Natural Disasters

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