Special to CosmicTribune.com, August 16, 2026 Excerpts from weekly Sky & Telescope.com report. SUNDAY, AUGUST 16 ■ Now the Moon shines about 10° left of Venus in twilight. Look too for Spica. ■ Check the sky low in the northwest or north at the end of these long summer twilights. Would you recognize shiny, ripply noctilucent clouds if […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, August 13, 2026 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher For 20 years the New Zealand origin, now Long Beach, California-based Rocket Lab corporation has developed innovative small space launch vehicles, growing into a space launch service provider and satellite developer, serving commercial and military markets in the United States and other democracies. On Aug. […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, August 9, 2026 Excerpts from weekly Astronomy.com report. Sunday, August 9 The Moon passes 4° north of Mars at 2 A.M. EDT; the pair is visible together in the early-morning sky, some 30° high in the east an hour before sunrise. They straddle the border of Gemini and Taurus, to the upper left […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, August 6, 2026 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher Before their astronauts set foot on the Moon, the United States (by 2028?) and China (by 2029-2030) are engaging in an “unmanned Moon race” to undertake surveys and to then deploy systems to prepare for building eventual manned Moon Bases. Targeting the lunar South Pole […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, August 2, 2026 Excerpts from weekly Astronomy.com report. Sunday, August 2 Mercury reaches its greatest western elongation at 4 A.M. EDT, standing 19° from the Sun. The tiny planet reaches an altitude of almost 5° above the eastern horizon an hour before sunrise, glowing at magnitude 0.2. Over to the far right of […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, July 30, 2026 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher The Philippines has ambitions to develop both a national space capability and a new military space force; Both should be opportunities for the Philippines and the United States to strengthen their alliance cooperation. During his July 27 State of the Nation Address, Philippine President Ferdinand […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, July 26, 2026 Excerpts from weekly Astronomy.com report. Sunday, July 26 Asteroid 3 Juno reaches opposition at 1 P.M. EDT. Already above the horizon at sunset and visible all night, Juno glows at 9th magnitude in the constellation Aquila the Eagle. The Moon is nearby, now contained within the lid of Sagittarius’ Teapot. […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, July 23, 2026 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher For both the United States and China, satellite megaconstellation companies require space launch vehicles (SLVs), or rockets, while SLV makers require customers — governments or companies that require their payload to be launched into space. In the United States there are well-known SLV-satellite “ecosystems” in […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, July 19, 2026 Excerpts from weekly Astronomy.com report. Sunday, July 19 Right as the Moon is setting this evening, the planetary nebula NGC 6563 in Sagittarius is reaching the highest point in its path across the sky. This oval-shaped bubble of gas, generated as well as lit up by a dying Sun-like star […]
Special to CosmicTribune.com, July 16, 2026 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher The video showed the big rocket’s first stage in recovery, then a huge crowd of people erupt in cheers — it was all very SpaceX-like — but only this video was of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation’s (CASC) July 10 first launch and […]
