Table of contents for No. 135 in All About Space

It may have been scrubbed multiple times since August, plagued by cracks between the liquid oxygen and hydrogen tanks, fuel leaks, storms and other difficulties, but we at All About Space cannot wait for the launch of Artemis I – the mission that will land humankind on the surface of the Moon again. The launch is now slated for October, so this month we thought it was fitting to provide a complete overview to our natural satellite. From the missions that explored the surface to its fascinating features, we hope that you’ll be inspired to look up with your telescope, binoculars or even naked eye to explore the craters, lunar seas and mountains that pepper its chalky surface. It isn’t just about the Moon this month, though. We also have…

An enthralling new photo captures bright, golden swirling clouds of gas that generate an exceptionally high rate of star formation. This stellar nursery, a spiral galaxy known as NGC 4303, or Messier 61, is located 50 million light years from Earth in the constellation of Virgo. NGC 4303 is one of the largest galactic members of the Virgo Cluster – alarge nearby grouping of galaxies. NGC 4303 is considered a starburst galaxy, where an unusually high amount of stars are being born. Studying this type of galaxy helps astronomers better understand star formation across the universe. “Stars form when clouds of cold gas collapse,” European Southern Observatory (ESO) officials said. “The energetic radiation from newly born stars will heat and ionise the surrounding remaining gas.” The photo, taken using the…

Webb took its first direct image of a planet orbiting a distant star, proving its potential to revolutionise exoplanet research. The majority of exoplanets have only been observed through temporary dips in brightness of the stars they orbit. Only about 24 have been imaged directly, but that might soon change. Less than two months after it started science operations, Webb has delivered its first direct photo of a planet beyond our Solar System. A gas giant orbiting the star HIP 65426, some 385 light years from Earth, appears in the image as a tiny splotch close to the glowing star. Webb photographed the exoplanet using its Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), each of which focuses on a different flavour of infrared light. Scientists discovered the planet in 2017…

E very kilogram that must be hauled into space for a human crew represents one kilogram less that can be used for science experiments or instrumentation. More capable rockets is one solution to this problem. But what about actually making the components and food you need on site? The idea isn’t as far-fetched as it sounds. The European Space Agency (ESA), NASA and others are testing out 3D printing as a way to manufacture structures, rocket parts and even pizza. Looking ahead, the ESA has suggested that 3D printing could reduce the cost and complication of future lunar bases. “3D printing offers a potential means of facilitating lunar settlement with reduced logistics from Earth,” said Scott Hovland, head of the Facilities and Technology Unit at the ESA. The first step…

The James Webb Space Telescope has detected carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of an exoplanet in a breakthrough discovery that will usher in a new era of research on worlds outside our Solar System. The detection came during Webb’s first campaign focusing on exoplanets, planets orbiting other stars. The observations targeted a hot gas giant called WASP-39b, located some 700 light years away from Earth in the constellation Virgo. The planet, about as massive as Saturn but larger than Jupiter in size, had previously been observed by the Hubble Space Telescope in optical wavelengths and the now-retired Spitzer Space Telescope, which like Webb observed heat-carrying infrared wavelengths. Previous observations revealed the presence of water vapour, sodium and potassium in the planet’s atmosphere, but it wasn’t until Webb that scientists caught…

L ightning strikes are something to fear. Around 2,000 people are killed by them each year, and aside from causing many more injuries, lightning has the power to destroy objects too. But there’s a type of lightning you wouldn’t want to encounter. Called superbolts, they don’t happen all that often, “yet they’re 1,000 times more powerful than typical lightning,” says Jean-Francois Ripoll, senior scientist at the Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique (CEA) in Paris. “Superbolts are also potentially very destructive.” But their cause and nature remain unknown decades after being discovered. First reported in 1977, they were originally observed after the US Department of Defense developed Project Vela in 1963, a program that sought to find ways of monitoring nuclear explosions on or around Earth as the Cold War went on.…

In this issue... 78 What’s in the sky? Prepare for the clocks to go back at the end of the month 80 Planetarium Where you can find the planets this month and the phases of the Moon 82 Month’s planets Mars takes pride of place in the evening sky 84 Moon tour Explore one of the most isolated mountains on the lunar surface 85 Naked eye and binocular targets The skies are rich with objects sure to delight any observer 86 Deep sky challenge In late autumn, the constellations of Taurus and Auriga are packed with objects for telescope owners 88 The Northern Hemisphere You no longer need to stay up late to enjoy a whole host of night-sky objects 90 Your astrophotos The best of our readers’ astrophotography images…

1 The ‘W’ of Cassiopeia The five main stars that make up Cassiopeia are instantly recognisable. This is one of the oldest constellations known. 2 The Double Cluster Visible in 10x50 binoculars, the Double Cluster is the jewelled handle of Perseus’ sword and is teeming with resolvable stars. 3 The Owl Cluster Two bright stars make up the owl’s eyes, which are best seen in binoculars. This cluster is also known as the Dragonfly Cluster. 4 The Spiral Cluster Otherwise known as Messier 34, this star cluster is just visible to the naked eye. 10x50 binoculars will reveal its twisted structure. 5 Algol An eclipsing binary star that dips in brightness every 2.86 days, its blue-white appearance is obvious to the naked eye.…

NASA’s Juno probe snapped these mesmerising images of powerful storms around the north pole of Jupiter during its close approach to the planet on 5 July. The storms are over 50 kilometres (30 miles) deep and hundreds of kilometres wide. Scientists are still trying to understand what drives the formation of these storms in Jupiter’s atmosphere and gives them their striking colours. Observations have revealed that these cyclones have different colours based on the direction of their spin and their location. This image is the result of NASA asking space enthusiasts and citizen scientists to help categorise these storms and other atmospheric phenomena captured by Juno as part of the Jovian Vortex Hunter project. Brian Swift created this image using raw JunoCam image data.…

NASA has tasked SpaceX with carrying out five additional astronaut missions to the International Space Station (ISS) under a new $1.4 billion deal, which modifies an existing agreement between the two organisations. The deal, which will employ SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rockets, “allows NASA to maintain an uninterrupted US capability for human access to the space station until 2030,” NASA officials said. The pact will cover missions Crew-10 through Crew-14, representing around 20 seats overall. While NASA is banking on Boeing’s Starliner capsule flying people to space relatively soon, for now SpaceX is the only company certified to fly operational crewed missions for the agency. SpaceX also received a trio of astronaut flights from NASA in December as part of a sole-source modification to its Commercial Crew…

The Milky Way is home to billions of stars, and the universe is home to billions of galaxies. Our star, the Sun, has created a residential spot we call the Solar System. The Sun is the true centre of the Solar System: not only does everything else orbit around it, from asteroids to gas giants, but it makes up 99.8 per cent of the Solar System’s mass and is 108 times the diameter of Earth. This colossus was formed 4.6 billion years ago from a cloud of dust and gas. After this cloud began to rotate and collapse, it took 50 million years to form and become the star it is today. This was the point where the core of the star reached pressures and temperatures so intense that nuclear…

PLANET OF THE MONTH ARIES MARS Constellation: Taurus Magnitude: -0.7 AM/PM: PM M ars is always visible to the naked eye when it’s in the night sky, looking like an orange star, but sometimes it can become so bright it outshines every star and every other planet except Venus. This happens roughly every two years when it’s at the closest point to Earth in its orbit. It will happen this December, when Mars will reach opposition. At the start of October, however, Mars will be a bright star shining to the left of the V-shaped Hyades star cluster. It will rise at around 21:00, then spend the night arcing across the sky from east to west before fading from view by sunrise. As the days of October pass, Mars will…

2 Crab Nebula (Messier 1) The constellations of Taurus and Auriga are a rich hunting ground full of star clusters and nebulae to delight any telescope user. Quite apart from the famous open star cluster of the Pleiades, which is great to explore with a telescope of any size, there are other clusters that are equally rewarding. There are nebulae, too, perhaps the most famous of these being the Crab Nebula, which was the first object on Charles Messier’s well-known list. Head into the constellation of Auriga, which is attached to Taurus by the bluewhite star Elnath, or Beta Tauri, and you’ll discover a chain of impressive star clusters and the Flaming Star Nebula, designated IC 405. This is a fascinating region of the sky and well worth exploring with…

ANDREI PLESKATSEVICH Location: Minsk, Belarus Telescope: Askar FMA180 “Over the course of several months I imaged some of my favourite targets, the North America Nebula, Pelican Nebula, Flaming Skull Nebula and Spaghetti Nebula, using a ToupTek ATR3C571. The North America and Pelican nebulae can be found in the constellation of Cygnus, while the Flaming Skull is located in Serpens Cauda. The Spaghetti Nebula, a supernova remnant, straddles the border between the constellations Auriga and Taurus.” FERNANDO MENEZES Location: São Paulo, Brazil Telescope: Sky-Watcher Esprit 150 ED PRO “Over recent months I took great enjoyment in imaging the famous Southern Pinwheel Galaxy (Messier 83) using a ZWO ASI6200MC-PRO full-frame CMOS camera and compiled a coloured mosaic of our natural satellite, the Moon.” SERGIO CONCEIÇAO Location: Madeira, Portugal “This shows a tree…

1 1Sega Toys Homestar Flux Cost: £169 / $259 From: Sega Toys One of the sleekest-looking and most powerful star projectors around, the Homestar Flux, though compact, comes with a high price. More of a home planetarium than a simple star projector, we found that the Flux's multilevel glass lenses produce realistic-looking night skies from the comfort of your own home – it’s also bright enough for rooms that aren't totally dark. After adjusting the focus to suit your projection surface, you'll see 60,000 stars – many more than its competitors. This globe-shaped product excels with the sheer number of distinct stars it projects, and it has some tempting science-based upgrade options. The Flux comes with two discs: the Northern Hemisphere and the Northern Hemisphere Constellations. One shows a starry…

NASA’s Artemis I Moon rocket headed to the launchpad on 19 August, taking a step closer to a landmark lunar mission. Artemis I is an uncrewed test flight of the huge Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket and its Orion spacecraft, and it began the rollout to a Kennedy Space Center (KSC) launchpad at 02:00 GMT on 17 August. The Orion, stacked atop the rocket, began moving from the KSC’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) for a journey that took more than ten hours. The crawler carrying the hardware had to make a journey to Launch Complex 39B at roughly 1.6 to 3.2 kilometres (one to two miles) per hour. NASA elected to bring the rocket out a full two days earlier than planned. The agency revealed that the team finished flight…

Astronomer Frank Drake, who pioneered the modern search for intelligent life in the universe, passed away on 2 September at the age of 92. Drake is best known for the equation that bears his name, a formula that estimates how many detectable alien societies may exist within our Milky Way. Drake devised his famous equation in 1961, a year after he initiated Project Ozma at Green Bank Observatory, which used a radio telescope to hunt for possible signals from extraterrestrial civilisations. “His strategy is still enthusiastically deployed six decades after his pioneering SETI experiment. This is a truly remarkable circumstance, and nearly unprecedented in exploration,” radio astronomer Seth Shostak wrote in a 2020 tribute to Drake, for many years a colleague of his at the SETI Institute in Mountain View,…

Look up at the sky on a dark night and you’ll see hundreds of stars. But only a few will really stand out. For some it’s simply because they’re close to Earth. Sirius is just 8.6 light years away, so even though it’s a fairly average star – though still 25 times more luminous than our Sun – it appears as the brightest star in our sky. But other stars appear bright because they really are. The second-brightest star in the sky, Canopus, is one such star – 310 light years from Earth and some 15,000 times more luminous than the Sun. Stars in this class are usually known as supergiants. They have the mass of ten or more Suns and evolve in a very different way from lower-mass ‘Sun-like’…

One day our Sun will expand into a red giant and engulf its closest planets, and a new study now explores how these devoured planets can influence the processes inside the dying star. When stars the size of our Sun run out of hydrogen in their cores, they balloon into red giants that can be more than ten times larger than the original star. As these red giants engulf the planets that orbit them, many things can happen. Engulfing large planets, ten or more times the size of Jupiter, can trigger the star into shedding its envelope and increasing its brightness by several orders of magnitude for several thousands of years. The study was conducted using a method called hydrodynamical simulations and provides a glimpse into the possible future scenarios…

A new map of mineral deposits on Mars could not only change our understanding of past water distribution on the Red Planet, but also help create a map for future Mars exploration, including crewed missions. It’s revealed an unexpected abundance of minerals created by the interaction of rock and water, with hundreds of thousands of formerly water-rich areas discovered in some of Mars’ most ancient regions. The map could lead to a more detailed investigation of Martian geology, revealing what happened when Mars changed from a planet like Earth to the dry and arid world we see today and whether the planet was ever capable of supporting life. “I think we have collectively oversimplified Mars,” John Carter, assistant professor at Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale and part of the team behind the…

TOP TIP! As with other lunar features, you’ll enjoy your best view of Mons Pico when it’s close to the terminator. T he ancient light-and-darkdappled surface of the Moon is dominated by three types of geological features: craters, seas and mountains. Look at the Moon through a telescope – even a small one – and you’ll see mountains everywhere. Some stand alone on the edge or in the middle of one of the maria, the dark seas of frozen lava, while others form long ranges that curve across the seas like the long-buried fossilised spines of dinosaurs being eroded from the rock. Others still form the jagged rims of its craters. Our Moon tour destination this month is a smaller, much less imposing mountain to the north of the Moon.…

A fter finishing his PhD in 1958, it was Penrose’s work in the 1960s that brought him to prominence. In 1965 his paper Gravitational Collapse and Space-Time Singularities proved groundbreaking, establishing the existence of cosmological singularities in the framework of general relativity. It showed how continual gravitational collapse under the existence of a trapped surface gave rise to space-time singularities, and the work proved vital in showing how Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity implied space and time had a beginning in the Big Bang. Penrose worked with Stephen Hawking on gravitational singularity theorems in relation to the cosmological Big Bang and developed ideas about black holes. His papers showed that mathematical singularities were an inevitable initial condition that could be explained by general relativity and that black holes were…