Special to CosmicTribune.com, January 15, 2025 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher A deadly space competition between China and the United States was demonstrated by Jan.12 article in the unofficial Chinese state media South China Morning Post (SCMP) on how Chinese engineers are developing the means to target U.S. satellite mega-constellations. The SCMP article was likely coercive […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, January 13, 2025 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, JANUARY 12 ■ Mars is nearest to Earth tonight, appearing 14.6 arcseconds wide and magnitude –1.4. That’s as bright as Sirius, which sparkles whitely about four fists to Mars’s lower right in early evening, and directly below Mars when they’re highest around midnight or 1 a.m. […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, January 8, 2025 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher For its first satellite launch for 2025, China decided to demonstrate the dual-use nature of its space program, by launching its Shi Jian (Experimental)-25 satellite, ostensibly to test satellite refueling, but which can also perfect satellite interception, capture and destruction skills for the new Aerospace […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, January 6, 2025 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, JANUARY 6 ■ First-quarter Moon (exactly first-quarter at 6:56 p.m. EST). Find the Great Square of Pegasus to the Moon’s upper right shortly after dark, and directly right of the Moon later. A diagonal through the Square points at the Moon (for evening in North America). […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, January 1, 2025 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher In Dec. 2024 China has revealed that it is making advances that could enable its domination of “Near Space,” which could go far to ensure that China can dominate military conflicts on Earth. Like the United States, China has long viewed the region known as […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, December 30, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, DECEMBER 29 ■ As the year nears its end, Orion fully comes into his own. He’s striding up the east-southeastern sky as soon as it gets dark, with his three-star Belt nearly vertical. Left of the Belt is orange Betelgeuse and right of the Belt […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, December 23, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. ■ Last-quarter Moon (exact at 5:18 p.m. EST). The Moon rises around midnight, under the hind feet of Leo. MONDAY, DECEMBER 23 ■ The little Pleiades cluster shines very high in the southeast after dinnertime, no bigger than your fingertip at arm’s length. How many Pleiads can […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, December 18, 2024 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher Though not a Cabinet position, the leader of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has a political prominence greater than most Cabinet members, as this person is responsible for American leadership into the “final frontier,” with competency requirements that straddle the realms of […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, December 16, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15 ■ The Summer Triangle is finally sinking low in the west, and Altair is the first of its stars to go (for mid-northern skywatchers). Start by spotting bright Vega, magnitude zero, the brightest star in the northwest right after dark. The brightest one […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, December 11, 2024 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher Once again, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has delayed the Artemis-III return-to-the-Moon-mission, this time to mid-2027, again ceding momentum to China, which could begin occupying the Moon as early as 2029. This latest delay was announced by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson during a […]
