If all goes according to plan, by the time this article is published, the next great cosmic observatory should be on its way to its new home. The Nancy Grace Roman telescope is NASA’s latest offering to aid in our understanding of the Universe. It will join Hubble and James Webb in scouring the cosmos, trying to unlock its deepest and darkest secrets.
Every August, the night sky puts on one of its most reliable and spectacular performances: the Perseid meteor shower. Peaking around the second week of the month, and coinciding with New Moon, observers may see dozens of meteors per hour streaking across the heavens, leaving brief trails of silver, green, or gold.
As the nights grow warmer, new regions of the heavens drift into view, offering us a chance to meet some of our closest and most spectacular galactic neighbours.
As we saw in last month’s article, stars are not infinite objects. They live out their lives, just as we do. They are born, reach maturity, and ultimately die. Stars can be seen as great stellar engines – they are reliant on a constant supply of fuel to shine. Once that fuel is depleted, the star can no longer sustain itself.
On April 14, 2023, the European Space Agency (ESA) launched JUICE. The space industry loves a good acronym and this is no exception. JUICE stands for Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer and is another huge step towards scouring our solar system for signs of life.
