Special to CosmicTribune.com, February 18, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 18 ■ Canopus, the second-brightest star after Sirius, happens to lie almost due south of Sirius: by 36°. That’s far enough south that it never appears above your horizon unless you’re below latitude 37° N (southern Virginia, southern Missouri, central California). And near there, you’ll […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, February 14, 2024 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher The not-so-secret “secret” of the global “private” space sector is that successful private space companies usually achieve success due to the demand and subsidies provided by governments. President Ronald Reagan promoted the ambition that commercial space operators would someday vastly eclipse government space operations and […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, February 12-17, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12 ■ Orion stands his highest in the south by about 8 p.m. Under Orion’s feet, and to the right of Sirius, hides Lepus the Hare. Like Canis Major, this is a constellation with a connect-the-dots that really looks like what it’s supposed to be. […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, Feb. 7, 2024 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher As China and Russia have increased their open conventional military cooperation, and have explored covert nuclear military cooperation, it is likely that both have been pursuing military cooperation in space. On Feb. 1 the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted a press release titled, “Press […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, February 4, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4 Today is the center of winter; we cross the midpoint between the December solstice and the March equinox at 10:16 a.m. EST (15:16 UT). That minute is the very bottom of the wheel of the year, astronomically speaking. In ancient Gaelic cultures this day […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, January 29, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, JANUARY 29 ■ After dark the Great Square of Pegasus sinks low in the west, balancing on one corner. Meanwhile, the Big Dipper climbs up in the north-northeast, tipping up on its handle. ■ Algol shines at its minimum light, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, January 22, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, JANUARY 22 ■ The gibbous Moon shines in a starry area of the winter sky. Face east in early evening. Upper left of the Moon sparkles bright Capella. A little farther upper right of the Moon is orange Aldebaran. Lower left of the Moon are Castor […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, January 10, 2024 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher A major Chinese aerospace journal has “suggested” a date for China’s first manned Moon landing while on Jan. 8, the United States launched the Perigrine-1 commercial robotic Moon lander built by the Astrobotic Corporation, due to reach the Moon in February. The December 2023 issue […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, January 8, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, JANUARY 7 ■ Sirius and Procyon in the balance. Sirius, the Dog Star, sparkles low in the east-southeast after dinnertime. Procyon, the Little Dog Star, shines in the east about two fists at arm’s length to Sirius’s left. ■ On Monday morning the 8th, the waning crescent […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, January 3, 2024 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher The year 2023 was significant for China’s space program on a number of levels, starting with the largest number of space launches — 65 — one more than 2022, while 17 were from new “commercial” space companies (CAS Space, Galactic Energy, Landspace, Space Pioneer, Expace, […]
