Hey everyone! It sure has been a hot second since I've last uploaded a blog. But not to worry, because I'm back with a new blog. In this blog, you will learn the
LATEST NASA news, find out what will be best to see in the sky, and fun facts about new space things. I hope you all enjoy reading
CHB's Monthly Space Magazine!
NASA Updates
WE ARE GOING TO THE MOON! I REPEAT: WE ARE GOING TO THE MOON! No, I am not making this up. In 2024, NASA astronauts will go to the moon. This program is called: The Artemis Program!. It's naming is quite cool. Hopefully, you should all know that the Apollo program sent the FIRST astronauts to the moon. Now, Apollo's twin sister, Artemis, will send the next batch of astronauts. Clever naming, if you ask me!!
Rockets have changed SO MUCH since 1969, so we can only guess that the shuttle to the moon will have the most advanced rockets in the world. At the moment, thousands of NASA employees are working every single day to build and test these rockets, ensuring the safety of the people. The future astronauts have ALREADY been selected. They have already been training for months and years. And, even more exciting news, this will mean the first ever WOMAN to land on the moon.
The Artemis Program is important because it brings us one step closer to going to Mars! What a century it is to live in, right? Do you think we will go to Mars before the end of the 21'st century? I do! I also believe that this event will GO DOWN IN HISTORY! Our grandhcildren and great-grandchildren will ask us questions, and we will be able to answer them!
Stargazing
Oh man! December was quite the month for stargazing. Unfortunately, this blog will be posted by the end of December, but keep these in mind for next year. So what did we see?
Well, the annual meteor shower of The Geminids happened. It is the best annual meteor shower. It's peak was on December 13'th and 14th and it produced over 100 meteors per hour. Where is the best place to view them? Well, you want to get away from the city. Light pollution affects the skies and renders it extremely hard to see good stars. Then, let your eyes adjust to the dark. This will take at least 30 minutes! Lay on your back and look UP! I wish you all had clear skies to see them! It was really cloudly, and I wasn't able to view this magical event.
Another GREAT event happening is the conjuction - a conjunction is the event where one celestial body appears to be very close to another celestial body of Saturn and Jupiter. Luckily, these planets are two of the brightest objects in the night sky, so they will be very very easy to find! With just binoculaours alone, you will be able to see both planets at the same time. Even more so, you could be able to see Saturn's rings and Jupiter's moons. AND! Did you know that they have not been this close together since the 1600's!!! But where to look? Well, the moon will be a crescent, a tiny sliver in the sky. If you can find the moon, they will be quite close to it. The best time to see this event will be December 21, 2020. Good luck, demigods!
Winter is a bad time to see any of the Messier list objects. Unfortunately, these are mainly seen in the summer. So no galaxies, nebulae, or star cluster this month. Check back in the later months.
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