Special to CosmicTribune.com, June 5, 2024 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher The Chinese and American “new race” to the Moon was advanced by two major developments in the first week of June 2024. On June 4, China’s second sample-return Moon landing probe, Chang’e-6, successfully launched its 2-kilogram (4.4 lbs) Moon sample carrying ascending stage into Lunar […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, June 2, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. Let’s deal with this first. There is no “planet parade” spectacle! Friends and relatives may be asking you about the incredible “Planet Parade” they’ve heard is happening in the sky. Some internet and “news” outlets are calling it the third great celestial spectacle of this spring after the […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, May 29, 2024 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher China’s play was a classic exercise in coercion straight out of a 1930s gangland movie: Pay me and I will make sure my crazy cousin does not thump you! But in this case, on March 26 China had gathered in Seoul, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, May 27, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, MAY 27 ■ With the Moon gone from the evening sky, can you see the big, dim Coma Berenices star cluster? Does your light pollution really hide it, or do you just not know exactly where to look? It’s southwest of the zenith these evenings, 2/5 of the […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, May 221, 2024 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher In an April 18, 2022 speech at Vandenburg Space Force Base, a key space launch facility for the U.S. Department of Defense, Vice President Kamala Harris announced that following large debris field creating anti-satellite (ASAT) tests by China (Jan. 11, 2007) and Russia (Nov. 15, […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, May 19, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, MAY 19 ■ The Moon continues to illuminate Virgo’s part of the sky. Early this evening look about 3° or 4° lower left of the Moon for Spica, Virgo’s brightest star. By midnight the Moon moves closer to Spica, which then will be directly to […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, May 15, 2024 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher Despite its many self-inflicted crises and its increasing political-economic subordination to China, Russia is still striving for a superpower level space program with ambitions to compete with the United States and China on the Moon. But in addition, Russia’s space program is growing less transparent […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, May 12, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, MAY 12 ■ The thickening crescent Moon shines just left of Pollux this evening. About twice as far to their right, Castor lies nearly on the same line. MONDAY, MAY 13 ■ After dark, use binoculars or a good finderscope to look 3° lower left of […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, May 8, 2024 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher On April 17 before the U.S. House of Representative Committee on Appropriations, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) director Bill Nelson expressed his concerns about China beating the United States back to the Moon: “It is incumbent on us to get there first and to […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, May 5, 2024 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, MAY 5 ■ A gigantic spring asterism you may not know is the Great Diamond, some 50° tall and extending over five constellations. It now stands upright in the southeast to south after dusk. Its stars are magnitudes 0, 1 ,2 and 3. Start with Spica, its […]
