ScienceHerman Copeland

strawberry moon low on horizon
News Science
June’s Strawberry Moon to Light Up Skies Tonight — Here’s What Makes It Special
The full moon on June 10 is no ordinary one. Nicknamed the “Strawberry Moon,” it’s the lowest-hanging full moon since 2006 — and it’s putting on a show for skywatchers across the globe. Whether you’re a stargazer or just a night owl who likes pretty things in the sky, tonight’s moonrise could be worth staying up for. It’s not going to turn into a big pink fruit, but the view?…
south-korea-venus-cubesat-nanoavionics-nasa
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South Korea Eyes Venus with Tiny Satellite as Big Missions Feel the Squeeze
A bold plan from South Korea could keep planetary science afloat—by going small—just as major space agencies like NASA tighten their belts. South Korea is betting on cubesats to fill the widening gaps in space research, and it’s starting with Venus. As large-scale planetary missions stall under budget pressure, the nation’s Institute for Basic Science (IBS) has inked a deal for a small satellite to peer at Earth’s broiling sister…
SpaceX Dragon
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Sonic Boom Rattles California as SpaceX Dragon Returns From Space Station Mission
SpaceX’s Dragon cargo capsule shook up California skies with a brief sonic boom late Saturday, completing its journey home from the International Space Station and marking another tick in NASA’s growing list of successful resupply missions. The spacecraft, loaded with scientific materials and station returns, wrapped up its orbital duties and plunged back through Earth’s atmosphere—fast, fiery, and just loud enough to turn heads across Southern California. A Fiery Finish…
SpaceX Falcon 9 launch
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SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Breaks Records with 28th Launch, Sends 28 Starlink Satellites to Orbit
SpaceX has set another remarkable milestone with the Falcon 9 rocket, achieving its 28th launch and adding 28 Starlink satellites to orbit. This latest launch breaks records, as the reusable Falcon 9 rocket booster has now completed its 28th successful flight. It was early in the morning on May 13, 2025, when the Falcon 9 rocket roared to life at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch, which took…
NASA astronaut Don
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NASA’s Oldest Full-Time Astronaut, Don Pettit, Says Space Made Him Feel Younger
NASA’s oldest full-time astronaut, Don Pettit, is back on Earth after a remarkable seven-month mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Returning to Earth on April 20 aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule, Pettit, now 70, described his time in space as a rejuvenating experience, claiming that the weightlessness he experienced seemed to erase decades from his body. After marking his 70th birthday on the very day of his return, Pettit…
Bullseye Galaxy rings Hubble
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Galaxy with Nine Rings May Hold Clues to Dark Matter Mysteries
A recent discovery of a galaxy with nine rings has left astronomers stunned. While galaxies often crash or come close to one another, it’s rare for one galaxy to shoot through the core of another. This is exactly what happened with the newly observed Bullseye Galaxy, which not only boasts an astonishing number of rings but may also hold keys to understanding dark matter. The discovery was made using the…
Lyrid meteor shower night sky Vega star
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Lyrid Meteor Shower Set to Peak Tonight: What You Need to Know
Stargazers, clear your calendars. The Lyrid meteor shower is back—and it’s hitting its peak tonight. If you’re lucky and the sky’s dark enough, you might catch up to 18 shooting stars an hour. Just look up. It’s one of the oldest known meteor showers, dating back more than 2,700 years. And while it’s not the flashiest one we get all year, it’s a reliable cosmic showstopper, especially after a lull…
james webb space telescope planetary
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James Webb Telescope Captures Breathtaking Snapshot of a Dying Star’s Final Act
A cosmic light show from 1,500 light-years away offers a hauntingly beautiful look at the final chapters of a star’s life. The James Webb Space Telescope just delivered what might be one of its most mesmerizing images yet: an intricate and oddly-shaped planetary nebula known as NGC 1514. At the center of this dramatic, glowing gas cloud lies a binary star system—one star fading into a white dwarf, the other…
Mangalyaan-2 Mars
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How Mangalyaan-2 Will Land on Mars: ISRO Chief Reveals Plan
India is gearing up for a historic leap in space exploration with Mangalyaan-2, a mission set to make its mark by landing a spacecraft on Mars for the first time. Here’s how ISRO plans to achieve this ambitious goal. Mangalyaan-2: A Major Step for ISRO India’s space agency, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), is preparing for a breakthrough with Mangalyaan-2, the second mission to Mars following the success of…
dark energy spectroscopic instrument mayall
News Science
Dark Energy Twist? New 3D Cosmic Map Sparks Rethink of Universe’s Fate
A groundbreaking cosmic map has cracked open the door to something astronomers have only dared to speculate about — that dark energy, the invisible force accelerating the universe’s expansion, may be changing over time. And if that’s true, we might be standing on the edge of a serious rewrite of our understanding of the universe. The map, created using the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), charts the positions of more…