Nick's Space / Astronomy Blog September 2003 Archive

On Sunday, Europe's first mission to the moon blasted off aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana. The spacecraft has deployed its solar arrays and is currently undergoing ... Read More

According to ABCNEWS.com the space shuttle's replacement is becoming a reality. "The next-generation space vehicle is on the drawing boards now and NASA has just issued newly defined requirements."

We told you the other day that one of the nine NASA safety panel members who recently resigned, said that there have been several incidents lately, which could have had ... Read More

A recent article on BBC.com says that a small meteoroid (approximately 16 feet wide) flew past the Earth recently. It was detected 21 hours after its closest approach. This piece of ... Read More

The Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) has spotted several faint moons circling Uranus, including a newly detected moon and a rediscovered satellite. Check out the images.

According to a story in the New York Times, China plans to launch its first manned spacecraft "as early as next month." Quoting the state-owned People's Daily's web site, they ... Read More

This year's Antarctic ozone hole is the second largest ever observed, according to scientists from NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Naval Research Laboratory. The size of ... Read More

If you've tried to check out our free lesson plans and had some problems, try again. I discovered some problems with the links and I've fixed them.

After being delayed, the Smart 1 probe should be sent into space by the European Space Agency this Saturday. BBC NEWS reports that this mission, to be launched from the ... Read More

The Galileo spacecraft's 14-year odyssey came to an end on Sunday, Sept. 21, when the spacecraft passed into Jupiter's shadow then disintegrated in the planet's dense atmosphere at 11:57 a.m. ... Read More

As Earth pulls away from Mars after last month's close approach, NASA is developing a spacecraft that will take advantage of the next close encounter in 2005. That spacecraft, Mars ... Read More

According to MSNBC, Arthur Zygielbaum, one of the nine NASA safety panel members who recently resigned, said that there have been several incidents lately, which could have had disastrous affects. ... Read More

Sounding more like the FBI than NASA, agents from NASA seized moon rocks from a black-market lunar rocks dealer, according to CNN.com. One of these rocks had been missing from ... Read More

Citing a desire to give NASA and Congress "the freedom to revitalize the panel and reshape its charter and mission," all nine members of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel handed ... Read More

On October 1, 1847, Maria Mitchell was making observations of the night sky when she saw a star five degrees above the North Star where there had been no star ... Read More

New NASA safety rules, which restrict shuttle launches to daylight hours will cause more and longer flight delays, officials warned Wednesday, according to Space.com. "More than half of any given ... Read More

Japan, in a bid to revitalize its troubled space industry, is planning to roll out a new generation of rockets. According to CNN.com, "The new domestically-developed rockets built around an ... Read More

If you happened to be in North Carolina, the sight of advancing Hurricane Isabel was surely unwelcome. From space, though, it was a thing of beauty. NASA's Terra and Aqua ... Read More

Many people discover About Astronomy and Space by searching for some specific information. It appears that many people find what they are looking for here, and the quantity of information ... Read More

USATODAY.com reports that a group of astronomers from Case Western Reserve University report that they have discovered a new galaxy. They spotted a group of stars, previously undetected, just outside ... Read More

After the loss of the space shuttle Columbia and the resulting investigation and report, NASA may consider replacing its aging and ailing shuttle fleet with "a new generation of Apollo-type ... Read More

Check out the current space or astronomy picture of the day in our featured Space & Astronomy Picture of the Day. Discover the wonders of the universe.

NASA is keeping a close watch on Hurricane Isabel as it churns in the Atlantic with winds that top 150 miles per hour. Instruments aboard NASA's suite of Earth-observing satellites ... Read More

Cape Canaveral, October 18, 1989: A roar shakes the ground as Space Shuttle Atlantis climbs into the sky. The Galileo spacecraft rides in the payload bay, ready to begin a ... Read More

This is a series of images of Saturn, as seen at many different wavelengths, when the planet's rings were at a maximum tilt of 27 degrees toward Earth. Saturn experiences ... Read More

Two years ago today, an act of sheer cowardice occurred, which shocked the United States and the world. Almost everyone has their own story to tell of that day. Here, ... Read More

Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have discovered three of the faintest and smallest objects ever detected beyond Neptune. Each object is a lump of ice and rock — roughly ... Read More

Harvest Moon is an agricultural tradition, and the term relates to the full moon which falls closest to the Fall equinox (Spetember 23). It was especially important because it allowed ... Read More

NASA has developed a plan for returning the space shuttle fleet to service, according to CNN.com. According to the article, that first flight could be as early as next March. The ... Read More

So, why does the United Nations' World Space Week always start on October 4, no matter which day of the week it falls on? Read here to discover the significance.

Amid a backdrop of far-off galaxies, the majestic dusty spiral, NGC 3370, looms in the foreground in this NASA Hubble Space Telescope image. Recent observations taken with the Advanced Camera ... Read More

As kids around the world begin the new school year, NASA scientists are seeking their help in designing an orbital space colony. NASA Ames Research Center, located in California's Silicon ... Read More

MSNBC reports that Ret. Navy Adm. Harold W. Gehman Jr., speaking before the House Science Committee, said of NASA, “After a tragedy, they take a whole lot of management actions. ... Read More

According to USATODAY.com Masao Sakamoto, an amateur geologist, has discovered a crater from a meteorite impact more than 20,000 years ago. The crater, located in the Japanese Alps, is the ... Read More

CNN.com reports that New Scientist magazine quotes Albert Yen of NASA saying that information from the Mars Pathfinder mission points to meteorites as the culprit, not water as widely believed. The ... Read More

World Space Week is just a month away. Starting today, we'll be highlighting information related to the United Nations' World Space Week as the dates get closer. Begun in 1999 by ... Read More

CNN.com reported that, "Sen. Ernest F. Hollings, D-South Carolina, highly praised the Columbia Accident Investigation Board's report on the February 1 tragedy but said it and the space agency should ... Read More

NASA's Space Infrared Telescope Facility has switched on two of its onboard instruments and captured some preliminary star-studded images. The space observatory was launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on August ... Read More

A map showing the potential risk of West Nile virus being carried by mosquitoes in Monterey County, Calif. is the product of four students who worked this summer at NASA ... Read More

Once again, the planet can breathe a sigh of relief. After making further observations of asteroid 2003 QQ47, astronomers now say there is no threat from this rock. It has ... Read More

Although scientists have basically cleared us from any danger from asteroid 2002 NT7, which originally had been reported as an impact hazard for the year 2019, a newer space rock has been ... Read More