Tag Archives: International Astronomical Union

Earth has 7 strange quasi-moons and you can name one of them

2004 GU9’s circular orbit around Earth. | Source: Data source: HORIZONS System, JPL, NASA, wiki User: Created by Phoenix7777 There are usually two names for things in space. One is official, the other is fun. It makes sense. Researchers have their own exoplanet catalogs and black hole references are consistent, communicable, and clear — but… Read More »

The rush to return humans to the Moon and build lunar bases could threaten astronomy opportunities

The 2020s have already seen many Moon landing attempts, although many have crashed or rolled over. With all the excitement surrounding the possibility of humans returning to the Moon, both commercial interests and scientists stand to gain. The Moon is perfectly suited for researchers to build telescopes they cannot place on Earth; because the Moon… Read More »

The rush to return humans to the Moon and build lunar bases could threaten astronomy opportunities

The 2020s have already seen many Moon landing attempts, although many have crashed or rolled over. With all the excitement surrounding the possibility of humans returning to the Moon, both commercial interests and scientists stand to gain. The Moon is perfectly suited for researchers to build telescopes they cannot place on Earth; because the Moon… Read More »

The Moon may be perfect for cutting-edge telescopes, but not if we protect it

Space scientists are keen to preserve the option of doing astronomy from the moon. There are plans to place astronomical hardware on the lunar surface, such as supercooled infrared telescopes, an array of gravitational wave detectors, large Arecibo-like radio telescopes, and even “peek-a-boo” instruments tuned to look for evidence. Aliens “out there”. Yes, the future… Read More »