Dream Big Galaxy Bracelet

Inspired by Oh The Lovely Things' galaxy necklace, I sought to make my own similar creation, which was super easy and quick to make. So off I went to Hobby Lobby for the supplies.

Here are the materials I used to make my galaxy bracelet:

• bracelet cord • "dream big" charm • mini star charms • jump rings • a sponge • jewelry pliers • different colored nail polish •

note: you only really need a few colors, but I had so many  appropriate colors at home that I added a good majority of the ones pictured here

I started with a dark base coat, which I applied with the brush and let sit to dry. Then I just went a little crazy sponging on the colors (I literally have no control!!), continuously adding a dab of pink here and a dab of green there, oh wait! a tad bit more of pink and so on and so forth. Once it had dried and I was happy with how the colors looked blended together, I put some clear polish with glitter as my top coat, giving it that starry feel I was going for.

here's what the charm ended up looking like - I used different light settings so you could see the depth of all the colors (and the glitter!)

The assembly was also very simple: First, I opened up two jump rings with the pliers, fitting the ends of the charm into the rings. Next, I added one star charm to the jump ring so that it would slightly overlap the main charm. Lastly, I closed the jump rings around the clasps in the cord to put the whole piece together.

This was so simple to make, but it looks great and provides a nice message - DREAM BIG - to those like me who like to gaze at the sky, always dreaming, always wondering.

Once again, a special thanks to Oh the Lovely Things for the inspiration - originally on a beautiful triangle necklace. 

🌠 𝕕𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕞 𝕓𝕚𝕘,

 𝕟𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕙 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣 𝕘𝕒𝕫𝕖𝕣

This Day In Space History: August 31

I'm sorry to any English teacher whose pet peeve is the misuse of the word literally, but I'm about to use it anyway...

Literally nothing happened today in space

I mean, 'stuff' happened, but nothing major, nothing earth-shattering, nothing hugely fascinating

Maybe over the course of the next year of research for these posts I will find a new website that will lead me to info to update on 8/31 next year, and maybe something will happen on this date in a future year! But as of now, I am sorry to disappoint, but it doesn't seem like there's anything worthy of reporting!!! 

So I guess this gives me the chance to pre-write future posts as well as finish a separate post I'd started a while ago! And in the meantime... For a complete list of today’s Space History, see  http://www.astronautix.com/a/august31.html

This Day In Space History: August 30

1885

http://www.onthisday.com/events/august/30
Over the course of an hour, 13,000 meteors are seen in Andromeda, a constellation which contains a galaxy of the same name. 

1963

http://www.astronautix.com/a/august30.html

Under Robert C. Seamans Jr., the Lunar Orbiter program is approved by NASA at an estimated cost of $150-200 million.

1979

http://www.onthisday.com/events/august/30

A comet hits the Sun -the first recorded instance of such a celestial collision- and releases the amount of energy of one millions hydrogen bombs, or 1,000x the amount of energy the U.S. uses in one year, according to Dr. Donald J. Michaels in this New York Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/1981/10/10/us/scientists-say-comet-collided-with-the-sun-2-years-ago.html

1983

https://er.jsc.nasa.gov/seh/daysAug3.html

Challenger 3, the 8th space shuttle mission is launched, with Guion "Guy" Bluford aboard, the first African American in space. I had a chance to hear him speak at an event a few years ago - a great, animated man with lots of stories to tell!

1984

http://www.onthisday.com/events/august/30
Discovery 1, the 12th space shuttle mission is launched from the Kennedy Space Center.



For a complete list of today’s Space History, see  http://www.astronautix.com/a/august30.html

This Day In Space History: August 28

1789

http://www.messier.seds.org/xtra/Bios/wherschel.html
William Herschel (1738-1822) discovers the sixth moon of Saturn, Enceladus - and would soon discover a seventh.

1845

http://www.onthisday.com/events/august/28
The first issue of Scientific American is published. I included this one because I would love to work for a magazine like this one day. In my first blog post, I talked about my passion for both learning and writing and how a career like this would enable me to do both!

1859

http://www.onthisday.com/events/august/28
The geomagnetic solar storm, known as The Storm of 1859, allows the Aurora Borealis to be so bright so as to be seen over parts of the U.S., Europe, and even Japan. Refer to the image below (critica.com) for where the Northern Lights would typically be seen - imagine it spreading all the way down to Japan!! Also, click this link to read excerpts of what many global news sources had to say about the sight.

"The Storm of 1859 was the first event recorded by humans from a truly global perspective."   (solarstorms.org)

1925

A meteorite falls on the Dutch island Schouwen in late morning. More details here: https://langbrom.home.xs4all.nl/ellemeng.html

1964

Weather satellite Nimbus 1 is launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base. This first second-generation meteorological satellite lasted a little less than a month. learn more about the craft here: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1964-052A

1993

Spacecraft Galileo flies by Ida, sending back the first detailed images of an asteroid. Read the report here: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1994IAUS..160..357C

2009

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts128/main/index.html
Space shuttle Discovery (STS-128) is launched to the ISS at 11:59 pm EDT with seven crew members aboard.

For a complete list of today’s Space History, see  http://www.astronautix.com/a/august28.html

This Day In Space History: August 27

1962

Mariner 2 is launched from Cape Canaveral - the first to fly by Venus, after its twin mission had failed. Read about the mission here: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1962-041A

1984

https://www.worldspaceflight.com/bios/teacher.php
President Ronald Reagan announces the Teacher in Space program, “directing NASA to begin a search in all of our elementary and secondary schools and to choose, as the first citizen passenger in the history of our space program, one of America’s finest—a teacher. All of America will be reminded of the crucial role that teachers and education play in the life of our nation. I can’t think of a better lesson for our children and our country.” After a thorough process, Christa McAuliffe, a teacher from New Hampshire, was selected among thousands of applicants. Unfortunately, a failure with the shuttle Challenger occurred in just 73 seconds, resulting in a loss of all seven crew members. This most tragic disaster is one that all Americans will remember.

                                                                                   fun fact: rumor has it my middle school had sent a small science experiment on this mission!!

1985

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-51I.html

Third time's a charm! After being delayed again for weather-related reasons on the 25th (from its original 24th), STS 51-I is finally launched - although still delayed, but only by three minutes.

2003

https://mars.nasa.gov/allaboutmars/nightsky/mars-close-approach/archive/

A first since 60,000 years ago, Mars and Earth are their closest distance until the year 2287. The Red Planet approaches Earth at 34,646,418 miles apart. A variety of space agencies are taking advantage of the relative closeness and sending spacecraft to Mars this year.

For a complete list of today’s Space History, see  http://www.astronautix.com/a/august27.html

This Day In Space History: August 24

With one new planet and one 'old' planet, we've got some pretty cool stuff happening today in the world of space...check it out!

1966

The Soviet Union's orbiter Luna 11 is launched. Read about the mission here: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/luna_11/indepth

1985

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-51I.html
Due to poor weather conditions, STS 51-I is cancelled at T-5 minutes and rescheduled.

1981 & 1989

http://www.yearinspace.com/the-week-in-space
Launched a few days ago in 1977, Voyager 2 -the spacecraft we've been following the past couple days- flies by Saturn and in 1989, flies by Neptune.

2006

The conclusion of the 26th General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) made the conclusion that the planet Pluto would now be considered a Dwarf Planet, as they refined their definition of what a "planet" is. I remember watching the news with in my parents' room when this happened. A sad day for those who support Pluto's existence as a planet! The excerpt below is from the press release which can be read here: https://www.iau.org/news/pressreleases/detail/iau0603/

The IAU members gathered at the 2006 General Assembly agreed that a "planet" is defined as a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and (c) has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit.

This means that the Solar System consists of eight "planets" Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. A new distinct class of objects called "dwarf planets" was also decided.

2016

A telescope at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile discovered an Earth-like exoplanet called Proxima B, which orbits Proxima Centauri, our closest star (besides our Sun). While the planet is closer to its sun than Mercury is to ours, it has the potential to have liquid water, but the potential for life would also depend on radiation from its sun and whether or not it has an atmosphere. These are two among a list of unknowns which can be found here: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/eso-discovers-earth-size-planet-in-habitable-zone-of-nearest-star  Who knows, maybe this discovery will be the push we needed to get a spacecraft out there, into another solar system!



For a complete list of today’s Space History, see  http://www.astronautix.com/a/august24.html

This Day In Space History: August 23

1961

Lunar probe, Ranger 1, is launched and reaches 190 km away from Earth, before falling back and out of orbit. read about the mission here: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/masterCatalog.do?sc=1961-021A

1966

http://www.yearinspace.com/the-week-in-space

Lunar Orbiter 1 photographs the first image of Earth taken from the moon.

1973

https://www.n2yo.com/satellite/?s=6796

Communications satellite INTELSAT 4-F7 is launched.

1974

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/540174/john-lennon-ufo-sighting-new-york-revelation-beatles-mary-peng
John Lennon and Mary Peng reportedly see a UFO from a balcony in New York City. "It definitely wasn't a helicopter," he said, as it was a silent dome with a red light on top that was "pulsating." The photographs they tried to take came out over-exposed, but seven other reports had also been made of the UFO, which, according to Lennon, he saw "turn right at the United Nations building, turn left and then down the [East] river."



For a complete list of today’s Space History, see  http://www.astronautix.com/a/august23.html

This Day In Space History: August 22

1963

Joe Walker, a civilian test pilot for NASA, breaks the altitude world record at 354,200 feet in the X-15 rocket plane. This record remained unbroken until 2004. Read the article to find out why Walker didn't get his astronaut wings until after his death: https://theaviationist.com/2014/08/07/x-15-altitude-record/

1964

http://www.astronautix.com/a/august22.html

The Soviet Union's first communications satellite, Cosmos 41, is launched

1976

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/luna24.html
Luna 24 lands in Moscow after a 13-day mission and returned 170.1 grams of soil from the moon.

1989

Contrary to researchers' predictions and expectations,Voyager 2 detects a complete ring around Neptune. Read the original article from the LA Times here: http://articles.latimes.com/1989-08-22/news/mn-1082_1_complete-ring




For a complete list of today’s Space History, see  http://www.astronautix.com/a/august22.html

This Day In Space History: August 21

1972

The Orbiting Astronomy Observatory 3, "Copernicus" is launched. Read about the mission here: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1972-065A

1989

Launched twelve years ago yesterday, Voyager 2 flies by Neptune's moon Triton. Read about Neptune's largest moon, and its encounter with the Voyager spacecraft here: https://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2009/08/dayintech_0821/

1993

https://www.cnbc.com/video/2017/08/21/this-day-in-history-august-21-2017.html

NASA loses contact with the Mars Observer orbiter before its entry into Martian orbit.

2017

A total solar eclipse is visible over North America, the first time in 38 years!!!

For a complete list of today’s Space History, see  http://www.astronautix.com/a/august21.html

It's Eclipse Day!!

Hi everyone! Today was an exciting day...when the moon crossed in front of the sun, in perfect alignment with the Earth. Watching the news, I was amazed at the size of the crowds, a truly national (and international - one reporter said 20 countries were represented) gathering for everyone to experience, what could be a once in a lifetime event. I saw a smiling bride and groom standing among a crowd, looking up toward the darkened afternoon sky; and it appears many couples said 'I do' today during the total solar eclipse. I watched as people waited anxiously, followed by cheers, in Saluki Stadium, Carbondale, Illinois - where tickets cost up to ten thousand dollars. And after they saw its totality -the longest duration: 2 minutes and 41 seconds- they were able to see Venus in the sky (might I remind you this was in early afternoon!). What an amazing sight it must have been!

As for how I experienced the eclipse, well...the glasses were all sold out, so I consulted the internet for how to experience it without looking at the sun! The Washington Post came through, providing me with easy directions for a pinhole projector. I used a Thin Mints box because I of course wanted to make the box be a special one and what better way to celebrate an eclipse than with cookies! Making it was so simple - white paper goes on the inside for the screen, cut two squares, cover one with foil, poke a hole through the foil, that's pretty much it. So here's my box and here's the best picture I could get of what I could see. Looking at the image of the sun is so incredibly misleading because its the middle of the afternoon and you see what looks like a crescent moon and it's just amazing and so fun to look at! Unfortunately my picture below does not do it justice for what I could really see (and of course what the people in the path of totality could see!). In my area, the peak time for the solar eclipse was 2:41 pm EDT, I watched from 2 to 3, and when I looked through my projector again at 4, the sun's image was a complete circle again!

and these three...well...they're just really cool to look at  :)

in these, you can see the sun and moon overlapping

Mercury is on the left, Mars is on the right, and Venus is at the bottom of the last picture

these were taken, respectively at: 12:30, 2:05, 2:15 and 3:15

Don't worry, if you weren't in the path of the total solar eclipse this year in 2017, the next one will be April 8, 2024. Check the map below from NationalEclipse.com to find out if you'll get the chance to see it! I'll be able to see it - will you? (Or will you be lucky enough to be right in that spot where the two paths collide and you get to see it twice?)

Also, check out this map from GreatAmericanEclipse.com to see all the future solar eclipses in the next hundred years

Now I want to hear about what you did and what you saw today! Let me know in the comments down below! I hope everyone had the chance to enjoy such a great phenomena on this exciting day!

💖,
The North Star Gazer 🌟

This Day In Space History: August 20

2

http://www.onthisday.com/events/august/20
A Venus-Jupiter conjunction occurs, believed to be the "Star of Bethlehem." It also happened one week earlier the following year, read my post here.

1913

http://www.onthisday.com/events/august/20
Adolphe Pegoud becomes the first pilot to parachute out of an airplane.

1975

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdloqU2bmcA
Viking 1 is launched to Mars' orbit and will become the first successful landing of a spacecraft on the Red Planet. learn about the mission here: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1975-075C

1977

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdloqU2bmcA
Just 16 days before its twin Voyager 1 is launched, Voyager 2 is launched today from Cape Canaveral toward Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.



For a complete list of today’s Space History, see  http://www.astronautix.com/a/august20.html

This Day In Space History: August 19

1871

https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/orville-wright-born-today-1871

Orville Wright is born. Together with his brother Wilbur, in 1903 they made "the first successful powered airplane." Today is now recognized as National Aviation Day in the U.S.

1959

The satellite Discoverer 6 is launched. learn more here: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1959-006A

1960

http://www.onthisday.com/events/august/19

The Soviet Union launches and successfully returns the first live animals in space on Sputnik 5. The animals included: Strelka & Belka, the dogs; 2 rats; 40 mice; 1 rabbit; and fruit flies.

1979

http://www.onthisday.com/events/august/19

Vladimir Lyakov and Valery Ryumin return to Earth after a record 175 days in space on Soyuz 34.

1982

http://www.yearinspace.com/the-week-in-space
Aboard Soyuz T-7, Svetlana Savitskaya becomes the second female in space.

For a complete list of today’s Space History, see  http://www.astronautix.com/a/august19.html

This Day In Space History: August 18

1686

https://www.revolvy.com/topic/Neith%20(hypothetical%20moon)&uid=1575

Giovanni Cassini (1625-1712) sights what he believes is a natural satellite of Venus. The hypothetical moon is called Neith.

1868

https://www.wired.com/2009/08/dayintech_0818/
In his observation of the spectral lines of a solar eclipse in Guntur, India, French astronomer Pierre Janssen (1824-1907) discovers helium, recognizing that a wavelength didn't match that of any known element.

1960

Discoverer XIV, "the first successful low resolution photo surveillance spacecraft" (nasa.gov) is launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base. learn more here: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1960-010A

1976

http://www.onthisday.com/events/august/18

The Soviet spacecraft Luna 24 lands on the moon's surface, ten days after its launch.

1993

http://www.yearinspace.com/the-week-in-space

The first flight of the Delta Clipper (DC-X), a reusable spacecraft.

For a complete list of today’s Space History, see  http://www.astronautix.com/a/august18.html

This Day In Space History: August 17

1877

http://www.astronautix.com/a/august17.html

Astronomer Asaph Hall (1829-1907) discovers Mars' moon Phobos.

1958

http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/edn-moments/4394263/Pioneer-0-moon-orbiter-explodes--August-17--1958

77 seconds after its launch, Pioneer (or Thor-Able 1), a probe meant to orbit the moon, exploded.

"This spacecraft was the first U.S. attempt at a lunar mission and the first attempted launch beyond Earth orbit by any country."  (nasa.gov)

1962

https://spacemedicineassociation.org/history1962/

Carl Sagan urges the need to sterilize lunar spacecraft, speculating the probable contamination by terrestrial microorganisms (already by Lunik II and Ranger IV) of both the moon and Earth.

1966

Satellite Pioneer 7 was launched into solar orbit. learn more here: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1966-075A

1970

Venera 7 is launched, a mission which would land on Venus and observe its atmosphere. learn more here: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1970-060A

2006

http://www.yearinspace.com/the-week-in-space

Voyager 1 reaches 100 AUs from Earth. If you remember my post where an 1864 comet passed Earth at 0.0964 - that was very close to Earth.

One AU ("astronomical unit") is the approximate distance between the Earth and Sun, equivalent to near 150 million kilometers (britannica.com).

According to NASA, already being the most distant object in space, "'The Spacecraft That Could' Hits New Milestone."

For a complete list of today’s Space History, see  http://www.astronautix.com/a/august17.html

August 12, 2017

So on this night, I went out and wow! I could see so much, the sky was so clear, the stars were so pretty! My pictures were such poor quality, though, and I just wish you could see it exactly how I could!

The brightest stars I could see were: Altair, Sinistra, Arcturus, Vega, and Omega Capricorni

I did, this time, make an effort to see where the planets were in the sky. Saturn and Jupiter were the only planets above the horizon, but I could not see it and I didn't have my telescope with me. But SkyView showed me where the other planets were, and even where the Hubble Telescope was!

Something I found really neat was that I was able to see a constellation - Sagittarius. So on my phone, I drew out the shape of the stars I could see, and... it matched the constellation on my app! I started with the 5 stars and drew a "house" and then added on whatever else I could see afterwards. See how well I did below...

Since I have really poor images, I'll just insert some SkyView screenshots below.

  

   

Saturn and Jupiter, above the horizon

(horizon = red line)

  

Venus, Mercury, and Hubble Telescope, below horizon

   

Mars and the Sun!

This day was a big looking-at-the-sky day because I also got up way to early ☺ to see the sunrise and also watched the sunset. The water from the lake made it especially gorgeous this night, but unfortunately it was so cloudy in the morning I could barely see anything. Here are a few shots!

sunrise

sunset

let's talk

You could say life happens. But it'd be more truthful to say procrastination happens.


I am known for my procrastination - so much that I once wrote an article for the school paper about procrastination and submitted it at 12:04 am the day after it was due (I mean, it was just 5 minutes late, right? LOL). But that is a prime example of me always waiting until the last moment to get things done. And that includes my blog. Most days, I'd wait to start writing my This Day in Space History posts until around 9 or 9:30 at night. And by the time I finish, there's not much time left to spend working on other side posts (I currently have 2 started but not ready to post). And you might have noticed that I missed a daily post on August 14th and 16th. I started both of them, but just... never really finished.

I was going to post an update like this closer to when school starts, but since I just missed another day, I think I should address it all now. For the rest of the summer, I will keep trying to post everyday, as well as work hard to pre-write as many History posts as I can so that they are all ready to be posted (I can schedule the publish time&date).  I am thinking, however, that pre-writing so many posts is not possible, so I think I will start by pre-writing every other day so that next year I could post the ones I didn't finish (including 8/14 and 8/16). And if there's a day I can get an extra one in, that's great!

So I think that's all I had to say. If I think of something else, I'll update the post.
Now, I want to set a goal for myself today...and publishing it online will sort of hold me accountable to at least try to get it all done. So today, I really want to work on/complete the following:

• This Day in Space History 8/17
• started about 6:30 and its about 7:30 now    ⇢ go read!!
• extra post #1  {preferably completed and published} 
• it's 12:08 pm and I just finished (started at 11 am!!!!)    ⇢ go read!!
• extra post #2  {preferably completed, but if not, its ok}
• pre-write a history post for when school starts again {completed and scheduled}

Wow, looks like today's gonna be a big blogging day! I'll edit this post each time I finish a task and say what time it is that I worked/finished. It is currently 10:58 am. Let's go!!

This Day In Space History: August 15

Not much happened today in space, but one especially fascinating thing did happen today. And it has to do with......

      ......ALIENS!

1977

Jerry Ehman, a professor at Ohio State and part of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) project, received records of sounds from space, via "The Big Ear" telescope. On August 15, 1977, however, the sounds were different. 6EQUJ5, to be exact. But what significance does that hold? The sound matched the 1959 predicted frequency by Philip Morrison and Giuseppe Cocconi - a 1420 megahertz radio wave, the frequency of hydrogen. So how did Ehman react to the signal? "Wow." The specifics of the signal made it appear to have been produced knowingly. But now the question is what made the noise? Where did it come from? It was tracked back to the Sagittarius constellation. It could have been a natural space sound such as a collision. But since 1977 -40 years ago today- it was never repeated.

We still don't know who or what made that noise, but we know we have not received another seemingly intentional signal from space. Maybe one day we'll come in contact with the sound's source again. Or maybe it will remain a mystery...

Click on the link below to read the NPR article about this amazing story of the WOW Signal.
http://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2010/05/28/126510251/aliens-found-in-ohio-the-wow-signal

as fun as aliens are, I want to acknowledge one more event today...

1986

http://www.nytimes.com/1986/08/15/nyregion/news-summary-friday-august-15-1986.html

After the space shuttle Challenger's devastating crash in January, President Ronald Reagan announces changes in the space program to fund a $3 billion project to replace Challenger with a new shuttle.

For a complete list of today’s Space History, see  http://www.astronautix.com/a/august15.html

This Day In Space History: August 13

1911

Just a few weeks after her friend Harriet Quimby becomes the first American woman to get her pilot's license, Matilde Moisant -who would break many records- becomes the second woman in the U.S. to become a licensed pilot. Read about why she was almost arrested here: https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/aug-13-1911-second-us-woman-earn-pilot%E2%80%99s-license

1959

https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1959-005A

Discoverer 5 is launched. Run by the Department of Defense and Air Force, the main goal of the program (though kept secret from the public) was to develop a surveillance satellite to replace U2 spyplanes in order to keep tabs on Soviet production of weapons.

2014

https://www.space.com/37183-today-in-space.html
With such detailed imaging abilities, previously unheard of from a private company, DigitalGlobe launched the high-resolution WorldView-3 satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The WorldView-3 has the sharpest image yet for a satellite.



For a complete list of today’s Space History, see  http://www.astronautix.com/a/august13.html

This Day In Space History: August 12

3

http://www.onthisday.com/events/august/12

A Venus-Jupiter conjunction occurs, meaning they experienced a close encounter. This is believed to be the "Star of Bethlehem."

1962

http://www.yearinspace.com/the-week-in-space
One day after launching Vostok 3, the USSR launches Vostok 4.

1977

http://www.onthisday.com/events/august/12

The High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO) 1 is launched into Earth's orbit.

1978

http://www.onthisday.com/events/august/12

The launching of the International Sun-Earth Explorer (ISSE), a project between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) to study solar wind and Earth's magnetism.

2005

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is launched from Cape Canaveral in search of proof of the longevity of water on Mars that would support life.

learn more: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/mars-reconnaissance-orbiter-mro/

follow the Mission on Twitter @HiRISE

For a complete list of today’s Space History, see  http://www.astronautix.com/a/august12.html

This Day In Space History: August 11

1960

https://www.space.com/37183-today-in-space.html
The satellite Discoverer 13 becomes the first space capsule to be recovered from Earth's orbit. It landed in the Pacific Ocean, was airlifted by a Navy helicopter to a ship to Pearl Harbor.

1962

http://www.yearinspace.com/the-week-in-space
The USSR launches Vostok 3.

1989

Voyager 2 discovers Neptune's partial rings.

read the news report here: http://www.upi.com/Archives/1989/08/11/Voyager-2-discovers-partial-rings-around-Neptune/5083618811200/

1999

http://www.onthisday.com/events/august/11

A total solar eclipse is seen in much of the northern hemisphere for a total of 2 minutes and 23 seconds.

For a complete list of today’s Space History, see  http://www.astronautix.com/a/august11.html