Night Sky Observer Space and Astronomy News https://www.nightskyobserver.com Astronomy and space exploration news from around the world Tue, 14 Jan 2025 19:30:41 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Recommended Astronomy DVDs, Blu-Rays and 4K UHD Blu-Rays https://www.nightskyobserver.com/astronomy-articles/recommended-astronomy-dvds/ https://www.nightskyobserver.com/astronomy-articles/recommended-astronomy-dvds/#comments Tue, 14 Jan 2025 18:37:28 +0000 http://www.nightskyobserver.com/?p=1633
Updated: January 14th, 2025.

Stuck for something to watch on TV of an evening? Then why not load up an astronomy or space-exploration themed DVD and enjoy something related to your hobby. This is my list of recommended DVDs and Blu-Ray title that cover astronomy and space related themes. All are in my own collection.

Looking for a quality 4K …

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]]> https://www.nightskyobserver.com/astronomy-articles/recommended-astronomy-dvds/feed/ 7 4-Billion-Year-Old Relic From the Early Solar System Is Headed This Way https://www.nightskyobserver.com/comets/4-billion-year-old-relic-from-the-early-solar-system-is-headed-this-way/ https://www.nightskyobserver.com/comets/4-billion-year-old-relic-from-the-early-solar-system-is-headed-this-way/#respond Tue, 12 Apr 2022 17:59:54 +0000 https://www.nightskyobserver.com/?p=24958

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has determined the size of the largest icy comet nucleus ever seen by astronomers.

The estimated diameter is approximately 80 miles (120 km) across, making it larger than the state of Rhode Island.

The nucleus is about 50 times larger than found at the heart of most known comets.

Its mass is estimated to be a …

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]]> https://www.nightskyobserver.com/comets/4-billion-year-old-relic-from-the-early-solar-system-is-headed-this-way/feed/ 0 Hubble Space Telescope Finds the Most Distant Star Ever Seen https://www.nightskyobserver.com/space-telescopes/hubble-space-telescope-finds-the-most-distant-star-ever-seen/ https://www.nightskyobserver.com/space-telescopes/hubble-space-telescope-finds-the-most-distant-star-ever-seen/#respond Thu, 31 Mar 2022 15:51:59 +0000 https://www.nightskyobserver.com/?p=24917

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has established an extraordinary new benchmark: detecting the light of a star that existed within the first billion years after the Universe’s birth in the Big Bang (at a redshift of 6.2) — the most distant individual star ever seen.

This sets up a major target for the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope in its …

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]]> https://www.nightskyobserver.com/space-telescopes/hubble-space-telescope-finds-the-most-distant-star-ever-seen/feed/ 0 The Lessons Learned From a Simulated Asteroid Strike Over Europe https://www.nightskyobserver.com/asteroids-and-neos/the-lessons-learned-from-a-simulated-asteroid-strike-over-europe/ https://www.nightskyobserver.com/asteroids-and-neos/the-lessons-learned-from-a-simulated-asteroid-strike-over-europe/#respond Sat, 01 May 2021 17:01:58 +0000 https://www.nightskyobserver.com/?p=24904

In an alternate reality playing out at this year’s international Planetary Defense Conference, a fictional asteroid crashes over Europe, ‘destroying’ a region about 100 km wide near the Czech Republic and German border.

The scenario was imagined, but the people who took part are very real, and the lessons learnt will shape our ability to respond to dangerous …

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]]> https://www.nightskyobserver.com/asteroids-and-neos/the-lessons-learned-from-a-simulated-asteroid-strike-over-europe/feed/ 0 Teachers: Apply Now to the ESA Teach With Space Online Conference https://www.nightskyobserver.com/announcements/teachers-apply-now-to-the-esa-teach-with-space-online-conference/ https://www.nightskyobserver.com/announcements/teachers-apply-now-to-the-esa-teach-with-space-online-conference/#respond Tue, 02 Mar 2021 16:47:55 +0000 https://www.nightskyobserver.com/?p=24895

Register now for ESA’s first-ever virtual teacher conference!

Over the course of three days, from 6 to 8 July 2021, ESA Education will bring space into your classroom.

Explore space by hearing from space experts; discover inspiring ways to use space as a context to teach STEM in your physical and virtual classrooms; experience demonstrations of our fun classroom activities; …

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]]> https://www.nightskyobserver.com/announcements/teachers-apply-now-to-the-esa-teach-with-space-online-conference/feed/ 0 First Panoramic View of Mars at Perseverance Rover Landing Site https://www.nightskyobserver.com/mars/first-panoramic-view-of-mars-at-perseverance-rover-landing-site/ https://www.nightskyobserver.com/mars/first-panoramic-view-of-mars-at-perseverance-rover-landing-site/#respond Wed, 24 Feb 2021 20:40:05 +0000 https://www.nightskyobserver.com/?p=24888

NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover got its first high-definition look around its new home in Jezero Crater on Feb. 21, after rotating its mast, or “head,” 360 degrees, allowing the rover’s Mastcam-Z instrument to capture its first panorama after touching down on the Red Planet on Feb 18. It was the rover’s second panorama ever, as the rover’s Navigation Cameras, …

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]]> https://www.nightskyobserver.com/mars/first-panoramic-view-of-mars-at-perseverance-rover-landing-site/feed/ 0 NASA’s Webb Telescope Will Show Us More Stars at Higher Resolution https://www.nightskyobserver.com/space-telescopes/nasas-webb-telescope-will-show-us-more-stars-at-higher-resolution/ https://www.nightskyobserver.com/space-telescopes/nasas-webb-telescope-will-show-us-more-stars-at-higher-resolution/#respond Tue, 23 Feb 2021 15:18:14 +0000 https://www.nightskyobserver.com/?p=24881

…And Here’s What That Means for Astronomy… Early observations of stars in the local universe will pave the way for years of discovery across a range of science topics

The combination of high resolution and infrared-detecting instruments on NASA’s upcoming James Webb Space Telescope will provide astronomers with a wealth of detailed data on individual stars in the local universe.…

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]]> https://www.nightskyobserver.com/space-telescopes/nasas-webb-telescope-will-show-us-more-stars-at-higher-resolution/feed/ 0 Animations of NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Landing https://www.nightskyobserver.com/mars/animations-of-nasas-mars-2020-perseverance-rover-landing/ https://www.nightskyobserver.com/mars/animations-of-nasas-mars-2020-perseverance-rover-landing/#respond Tue, 29 Dec 2020 13:13:19 +0000 https://www.nightskyobserver.com/?p=24870

This video depicts key events during entry, descent, and landing that will occur when NASA’s Perseverance rover lands on Mars February 18, 2021.

In the span of about seven minutes, the spacecraft slows down from about 12,100 mph (19,500 kph) at the top of the Martian atmosphere to about 2 mph (3 kph) at touchdown in an area called Jezero …

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]]> https://www.nightskyobserver.com/mars/animations-of-nasas-mars-2020-perseverance-rover-landing/feed/ 0 NASA Is Providing Spanish-Language Coverage for the Livestream of the December 14 Solar Eclipse https://www.nightskyobserver.com/the-sun/nasa-is-providing-spanish-language-coverage-for-the-livestream-of-the-december-14-solar-eclipse/ https://www.nightskyobserver.com/the-sun/nasa-is-providing-spanish-language-coverage-for-the-livestream-of-the-december-14-solar-eclipse/#respond Sat, 12 Dec 2020 18:20:05 +0000 https://www.nightskyobserver.com/?p=24865

NASA will provide live coverage on Monday, Dec. 14, of a solar eclipse that will pass over South America, treating parts of Chile and Argentina to views of a total eclipse of the Sun.

A Spanish-language program will air on NASA Television and the public channel on the agency’s website.

A separate livestream of the eclipse without narration …

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]]> https://www.nightskyobserver.com/the-sun/nasa-is-providing-spanish-language-coverage-for-the-livestream-of-the-december-14-solar-eclipse/feed/ 0 NASA Names Artemis Team of Astronauts Eligible for Early Moon Missions https://www.nightskyobserver.com/manned-space-flight/nasa-names-artemis-team-of-astronauts-eligible-for-early-moon-missions/ https://www.nightskyobserver.com/manned-space-flight/nasa-names-artemis-team-of-astronauts-eligible-for-early-moon-missions/#respond Thu, 10 Dec 2020 14:46:25 +0000 https://www.nightskyobserver.com/?p=24862

NASA has selected 18 astronauts from its corps to form the Artemis Team and help pave the way for the next astronaut missions on and around the Moon as part of the Artemis program.

Vice President Mike Pence introduced the members of the Artemis Team Wednesday during the eighth National Space Council meeting at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.…

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