The Sky, November 13-19: Cassiopeia, Orion and the winter sky

The Sky, November 13-19: Cassiopeia, Orion and the winter sky

Special to CosmicTribune.com, November 13, 2023, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13 ■ Perseus is high in the northeast these November evenings, below W-shaped Cassiopeia. The W is standing on end. To find the famous Double Cluster in Perseus, count down the segments of the W starting from the top. The third segment points almost […]

Sixth China crew flight highlights space station growth plans

Sixth China crew flight highlights space station growth plans

Special to CosmicTribune.com, November 8, 2023 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher On Oct. 26, from its Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan Island, China launched its Shenzhou-17 spacecraft, taking its 6th crew of three astronauts to its Tiangong Space Station. The launch also highlights China’s plans for growing this space station. This 6th crew mission was […]

The Sky: November 6-11: Double clusters and double stars

The Sky: November 6-11: Double clusters and double stars

Special to CosmicTribune.com, November 6, 2023, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6 ■ Perseus is high in the northeast these November evenings. The Perseus Double Cluster is below W-shaped Cassiopeia; the W is currently standing on end. Count down the segments of the W starting from the top. The third segment points almost straight down. […]

China’s dual-use, missile-bombing Moon base concept

China’s dual-use, missile-bombing Moon base concept

Special to CosmicTribune.com, November 1, 2023 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher A mid-October 2023 conference in China included a briefing on a concept to build an underground Moon Base that also provides an opportunity for China to take a serious dual-use military capability to the Moon. An Oct. 25 article on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) […]

India upends lunar geopolitics; China snarls

India upends lunar geopolitics; China snarls

Special to CosmicTribune.com, October 25, 2023 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher There are now three countries with announced ambitions to place their people on the Moon; in addition to the United States (late 2025) and China (by 2029), on Oct. 17 Indian Prime Minister Nahendra Modi announced India’s intention to place Indians on the Moon by […]

The Sky: October 21-29: Jupiter at its brightest and largest, telescopically

The Sky: October 21-29: Jupiter at its brightest and largest, telescopically

Special to CosmicTribune.com, October 22, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21 ■ First-quarter Moon (exact at 11:29 p.m. EDT). ■ The shadow of Jupiter’s fast-moving moon Io crosses onto the eastern edge of Jupiter’s face at 8:07 p.m. EDT, followed closely by Io itself 20 minutes later. Jupiter’s Red Spot should transit the planet’s central […]

Review of China’s 20-year military space program yields sobering conclusion

Review of China’s 20-year military space program yields sobering conclusion

Special to CosmicTribune.com, October 18, 2023 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher Oct. 15, 2023 marked the 20th anniversary of China’s first manned spaceflight, the Shenzhou-5 mission that saw former People’s Liberation Army Air Force Shenyang J-6 fighter pilot Yang Liwei orbit the Earth 14 times in 21 hours before landing. But for a Chinese Communist Party […]

The sky, October 15-21: Jupiter dominates the East late evenings

The sky, October 15-21: Jupiter dominates the East late evenings

Special to CosmicTribune.com, October 16, 2023, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 15 ■ Now that it’s mid-October, Deneb has replaced Vega as the zenith star after nightfall (for skywatchers at mid-northern latitudes). MONDAY, OCTOBER 16 ■ The Great Square of Pegasus is now high in the east-southeast after dark. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17 ■ Look for bright Capella […]

Is Russia losing relevance to China’s Moon program?

Is Russia losing relevance to China’s Moon program?

Special to CosmicTribune.com, October 10, 2023 Geostrategy-Direct By Richard Fisher It took much Chinese persuading but by 2020 to 2021 it was becoming increasingly clear that Russia was ready to dump its space partnership with the United States and Western space agencies for a new partnership with China. Space cooperation between the former Cold War […]

The sky: October 7-15; Venus the ‘Morning Star’

The sky: October 7-15; Venus the ‘Morning Star’

Special to CosmicTribune.com, October 8, 2023, 2023 Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6 ■ Arcturus shines in the west as twilight fades away. Capella, equally bright, is rising in the north-northeast (depending on your latitude; the farther north you live the higher it will be.) They’re both magnitude 0. Higher above Fomalhaut glows Saturn, pale […]

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