Tag: Astronomy

How Will the Solar Eclipse Affect Animals? NASA Needs Your Help to Find Out
Technology

How Will the Solar Eclipse Affect Animals? NASA Needs Your Help to Find Out

In other anecdotes, onlookers have reported birds that stop singing, crickets that stopped chirping, or bees that return to their hive, reduce their foraging, or suspend their flight during total darkness. But there are also studies that deny that some of these behaviors occur or can be attributed to the eclipse.Therefore, NASA scientists plan not only to systematize observations but also to document what people hear and see under the shadow of the moon.“The Great North American Eclipse”NASA has created the Eclipse Soundscapes citizen science project to collect the experiences of volunteers. It was inspired by a study conducted nearly 100 years ago by William M. Wheeler and a team of collaborators. At that time, the Boston Natural History Society invited citizens, park rangers, and natura...
Geminids Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight: Here’s How and When to Watch
World

Geminids Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight: Here’s How and When to Watch

Updated Dec. 13, 2023 4:47 pm ETListen to article(1 minute)The Geminid meteor shower awes sky watchers around the world every December—but this year promises a particularly spectacular show as the meteors streak across an exceptionally dark sky. The Geminids will peak when the moon is just 1% full, leaving the night sky much less illuminated. Last year, light from a bright moon washed out many of the meteors.Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Got $1,350? Spend a Night in a Space Observatory. Here’s What It’s Like.
World

Got $1,350? Spend a Night in a Space Observatory. Here’s What It’s Like.

FROM THE TOP of Kitt Peak National Observatory, just 50 miles from downtown Tucson, the autumn night sky blazed; the Milky Way was so dense with stars it looked like a luminescent cloud. Jupiter shone like a beacon—so bright I wondered how I’d never noticed it before. And that was before we were directed to the telescopes. After lifetimes in cities where urban lights blot out the night sky, my wife, Deb, and I have sought out stargazing opportunities. Count us among the many who have popularized so-called dark-sky tourism, in which star seekers travel to find better viewing conditions. Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Russia Aims to Restore Prestige in Race to Moon’s South Pole
World

Russia Aims to Restore Prestige in Race to Moon’s South Pole

Updated Aug. 11, 2023 5:11 am ETListen to article(2 minutes)Russia’s launch of its first lunar lander in nearly 50 years on Friday, an attempt to become the first country to reach the south pole of the moon, is a symbolic moment for a country anxious to prove it still has the technological capabilities befitting a great world power.Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8