This Day In Space History: August 8

1864

http://www.onthisday.com/events/august/8
Comet C/1864 N1  ("Temple") passes close to Earth, at 0.0964 AU. One AU ("astronomical unit") is the approximate distance between the Earth and Sun, equivalent to near 150 million kilometers (britannica.com).

1908

https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/day-wilbur-wright-flies-europe
Wilbur Wright flies in Le Mans, France - the first time in Europe - making the brothers "world celebrities overnight."

1977

https://www.space.com/37183-today-in-space.html
Launched in 1976, the Soviet space station Salyut 5 burned in the atmosphere from a lack of fuel.

2007

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts118/main/index.html
The 22nd space shuttle to the ISS, the STS 118 Endeavour mission was launched at 18:36 EDT, spending 12 days, 17 hours, and 55 minutes in space.



For a complete list of today’s Space History, see  http://www.astronautix.com/a/august08.html

What are Solar and Lunar Eclipses?

In anticipation of the solar eclipse that is quickly approaching - just about two weeks, I thought I'd give a really brief explanation of both solar and lunar eclipses.

solar eclipse

When positioned just right, the moon {new moon} will completely block the sun in a total eclipse - this is what we'll see on August 21st. (There are also partial solar eclipses).

lunar eclipse

Now with the earth aligned in the middle, the moon {full moon} will not be exposed to the sun at all, blocked by the earth's shadow. Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)  used his observation of a lunar eclipse to prove that the earth was round.

This Day In Space History: August 7

1959

https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/thismonth/this_month_aug09.html
Launched at 10:23 am EDT from the Easter Space and Missile Center, Explorer 6 sends the first TV images of space back to Earth.

1969

https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/thismonth/this_month_aug09.html
Zond 7, of the Soviet Circumlunar Mission, is launched and sends back to Earth pictures of the Earth and Moon in color.

1976

http://www.onthisday.com/events/august/7
Almost a year after its launch, Viking 2 enters Mars' orbit.

1980

https://www.space.com/37183-today-in-space.html
Launched in 1975 and first craft to successfully land on Mars, Viking 1 is shut down.



For a complete list of today’s Space History, see  http://www.astronautix.com/a/august07.html

Top Colleges For Astronomy Majors

According to the 2017 U.S. News & World Report, the top 5 universities in the U.S. to study space science are:

 

1. California Institute of Technology
2. Harvard University
3. University of California - Berkeley
4. University of California - Santa Cruz
5. Princeton University

If Harvard, Yale, and MIT don’t fall in your range of reach, many state schools still rank in the top 25 U.S. schools for space science, including:

 

1. Ohio State University - Columbus
2. University of Texas - Austin
3. Pennsylvania State University - University Park
4. University of California - Los Angeles
5. University of Massachusetts - Amherst

The following universities have been noted as the top 5 in the U.S. for a physics major:
 

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2. University of California - Berkeley
3. Harvard University
4. University of Chicago
5. California Institute of Technology

And still in the top 20 of all American universities, here are some of the best state schools to study physics:

 

1. University of Maryland - College Park
2. Ohio State University - Columbus
3. University of Wisconsin - Madison
4. University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
5. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

I hope this will be found useful to anyone who wishes to work one day as an astronomer, physicist, aerospace engineer, or wherever you Shoot for the Stars!

(and p.s., if you're really passionate about it, next time someone says "it's not rocket science", you can say "oh, but in my book, it literally is rocket science")

Go chase after that shooting star, I'm sure you'll catch it!  Good luck!  :)

This Day In Space History: August 6

1945

http://www.onthisday.com/events/august/6

Today was the day when, at the end of the second World War, the U.S. dropped the atom bomb on Hiroshima, Japan by the US B-29 Superfortress "Enola Gay". A sad day in history.

1961

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/6/newsid_2944000/2944638.stm

http://www.onthisday.com/events/august/6

Vostok 2 was launched - Gherman Titov, the second Soviet cosmonaut to enter space, was the first human to spend the full day in Earth's orbit, saying that he was "feeling splendid." He was the first to sleep in space, for 7.5 hours, but also experienced the first reported motion sickness in space.

1981

http://www.onthisday.com/events/august/6

FLTSATCOM (fleet satellite communications) was launched from Cape Canaveral, and would fail.

1996

http://www.onthisday.com/events/august/6

After an examination of the meteorite ALH84001 (thought to be from Mars), NASA announced the possibility that life may have once existed on the Red Planet.

2012

https://www.space.com/37183-today-in-space.html

The largest Mars rover, Curiosity lands on Mars at 1:17 EDT.

For a complete list of today’s Space History, see  http://www.astronautix.com/a/august06.html

This Day In Space History: August 5

1864

Giovanni Donati is the first to observe the spectrum of a comet.

1930

Neil Armstrong - the first man to step foot on the moon - was born.

1969

Just five days after Mariner 6 flew by Mars on July 31st, its twin Mariner 7 flew by Mars.

1973

The Soviet spacecraft Mars 6 is launched.

1986

The Senate approves Star Wars, the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) - an anti-ballistic missile system which would intercept Soviet and other enemy missiles (coldwar.org).

2011

The Juno spacecraft is launched for Cape Canaveral to Jupiter - it would not arrive at Jupiter for another 5 years.

learn more: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/juno/main/index.html

follow the Juno Mission on Twitter @NASAJuno

All events came from one of the following sources:
(1930, 1969, 2011) http://www.yearinspace.com/the-week-in-space/365-august-5-2013-this-is-why-we-explore
(1864, 1973, 1986) http://www.onthisday.com/events/august/5

For a complete list of today’s Space History, see  http://www.astronautix.com/a/august05.html

This Day In Space History: August 4

1181

http://www.onthisday.com/events/august/4

A supernova is reported to have been seen in the constellation Cassiopeia.

1971

http://www.onthisday.com/events/august/4

NASA launches the first satellite from a manned spacecraft to orbit the moon.

2007

http://www.yearinspace.com/the-week-in-space/422-august-4-2014-another-one-for-uncle-sam

The Mars Lander, Phoenix, was launched from Cape Canaveral.

For a complete list of today’s Space History, see  http://www.astronautix.com/a/august04html

This Day In Space History: August 3

1596

http://www.onthisday.com/events/august/3
David Fabricas observes Mira as the first variable star (brightness fluctuates).

http://www.yearinspace.com/the-week-in-space/486-august-3-2015-milky-way-looks-in-the-mirror

2004

https://www.space.com/37183-today-in-space.html
Costing $450 million, MESSENGER spacecraft is launched from Cape Canaveral at 6:15 EDT to Mercury.

2005

https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/day-first-spacewalk-under-shuttle
Stephen K. Robinson makes the first space walk under a shuttle in order to make the first in-flight repair.

For a complete list of today’s Space History, see  http://www.astronautix.com/a/august03.html

This Day In Space History: August 2

1909

For $30,000 and designed by the Wright Brothers, the U.S. government purchases the first military airplane.

https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/day-first-us-military-airplane

1971

We have been following the lunar module Falcon for the past 2 days, and now, on their third day, Irwin and Scott leave the moon, in the first televised lunar liftoff.

http://www.yearinspace.com/the-week-in-space/180-august-2-2010-shining-a-light-on-dark-matter

1989

Voyager 2 is confirmed to have found three more of Neptune’s moons - Larissa (1989 N2), Despina (1989 N3), and Galatea (1989 N4).

http://www.floridatoday.com/videos/tech/science/space/2017/08/02/-date-nasa-history-august-2/104222326/

For a complete list of today’s Space History, see  http://www.astronautix.com/a/august02.html

disclaimer...

a note regarding my This Day In Space History posts...

So, as I was preparing the post for today and doing some side research, I came across some inconsistencies with the dates for events on the astronautix page and other sites, which led me to wonder how accurate this site really was and kicked myself for not looking further into different sources. The website I used looked good, provided a lot of information, and made me feel happy with what I was doing.

I'm going to start doing better research and using different site(s) for my information, rather than relying solely on what is on the astronautix page. I will continue to link that at the bottom of each post because I think that it provides a lot of good facts, however, I think I am no longer going to use it unless I struggle to find something to post for that day's history post. As you'll see in today's August 1st post, two additional sources are provided, which is how I plan to set up future posts.

Also I want to say that while I will be (hopefully!) posting one of these each day, I will still be posting other things as well. Some ideas I have in mind are feature articles on important people/events in space, talk about apps and films, and possibly share a fun space-related recipe or craft if I can find some. And I will of course, continue to post about the nights when I go outside and report on what I can see!

I'm sorry for any misinformation I may have conveyed thus far.
I will now be working harder to ensure that reliable information is being shared on my blog.
Sorry this post had to be so serious - thanks for understanding.
I'll see you tomorrow with something fun - something OUT OF THIS WORLD!

    - Northern Star Gazer

This Day In Space History: August 1

1911

(from the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum website)

learn more: https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/day-first-female-earn-pilot%E2%80%99s-license

Harriet Quimby becomes the first female to receive a pilot license in the U.S. (2nd in the world).

1929

The first jet-assisted takeoff (JATO) took place in Germany.

1960

Scientific adviser to the British Ministry of Aircraft Production, Sir Henry Tizard, seeks out the aid of American scientists, marking a beginning of collaboration between the nation in aeronautics, rocketry, and related fields.

1957

As a result of the National Security Council approving a reorganization and cutback of the ballistic missile program, Atlas was prioritized over the Titan program and the Thor and Jupiter IRBM programs were to be chosen between.

1967

Lunar Orbiter V was launched at 6:33 EDT and would eventually return with 425 pictures including the far side of the moon and the first picture of the full earth.

1971

(from the BBC News website)

learn more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/1/newsid_4101000/4101579.stm

Apollo 15 - Irwin and Scott uncover a rock that could be from the moon's origin.

1975

The Israeli Air Force shoots down four piloted Soviet MiG-21's over Egypt.

1985

Soviet Russia selects pilots to train for missions on its Buran space shuttle.

1990

France selects astronauts for the Mir space station.

2000

Discovery of the Mars Meteorites SAU 051 and NWA 2737 in Oman and Morocco, respectively.

For a complete list of today’s Space History, see  http://www.astronautix.com/a/august01.html

This Day In Space History: July 31

1959

The first animal couch-cabin was inspected in the Aeromedical Field Laboratory for the Mercury Project. Read more about it here.

1961

President Kennedy praises the decision for unions to avoid strikes and lockouts at Cape Canaveral, saying, “The Nation cannot afford … [a] delay in our missile and space program … [or] wasteful and expensive practices.”

1969

Spacecraft Mariner 6 flies by Mars and takes pictures of both of Mars’ polar caps.

1991

The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I) is negotiated between the U.S. and Soviet Union, signed by Bush and Gorbachev to reduce nuclear weapons.

1999

Spacecraft Lunar Prospector crashes, as planned, into the moon.

For a complete list of today’s Space History, see http://www.astronautix.com/j/july31.html