How do we measure the distance to stars?
The answer lies in the tiny shifts we see in a star’s position as Earth revolves around the sun. Scientific American contributor Christopher Crockett explains.
The answer lies in the tiny shifts we see in a star’s position as Earth revolves around the sun. Scientific American contributor Christopher Crockett explains.
On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the satellite Sputnik and, with it, an international space race. The United States and the Soviet Union rushed to declare dominance of space for 18 years, until the two countries agreed to a more collaborative model. The real winner? Science. Jeff Steers describes the history — and the benefits — of the space race.
The meteor that rocked the world in February 2013 also left a trail of dust around it. NASA’s Suomi NPP Satellite tracked the plume and showed that it had traveled around the northern hemisphere and back to Chelyabinsk, Russia in 4 days.
February 1st 2003: A loud thunder is heard throughout east Texas. Shortly after the bang, debris scattered from Dallas to Louisiana and from the Space Shuttle Columbia. I was at a friend’s sleepover and I heard the boom. The Columbia explosion was one of the most terrifying events that I heard about as a kid, second to 9/11. There have been 14 deaths in the 50 years and 500 people that America has sent to space. Therefore, about 3% of Americans sent to space die in an accident. That percentage is still a little bit high before I would jump onto a space shuttle.
If you live in a location with extreme light pollution and can’t get a glimpse of the shower here is what you’re missing.
An assortment of delightful facts about space.