A NASA mission to deflect an asteroid – it’s been the premise for more than one Hollywood movie – but next month NASA launches its DART mission that aims to do it for real.
Astronomy
Sep 28, 2021 |
Tiny fragments from an asteroid could shed light on the early development of the solar system, thanks to the unique capabilities of Argonne National Laboratory.
Sep 21, 2021 |
Two harbingers of autumn — the harvest moon and fall equinox — are occurring within days of each other this week, which will make for some interesting sunsets and moon rises. And keep an eye out for “Chicagohenge.”
Aug 18, 2021 |
Jupiter and Earth are currently about as close as they get to each other. The outer planet is visible from sunset to sunrise and is among the brightest objects in the sky.
Jun 29, 2021 |
Talk about a heavy snack. For the first time, astronomers have witnessed a black hole swallowing a neutron star, the most dense object in the universe — all in a split-second gulp.
Jun 23, 2021 |
Feeling like you are being watched? It could be from a lot farther away than you think. Astronomers took a technique used to look for life on other planets and flipped it around — so instead of looking to see what’s out there, they tried to see what places could see us.
Jun 17, 2021 |
A return to pre-pandemic business as usual is not yet in the stars for the Chicago cultural institution, though some screenings and public observing events will make an in-person comeback beginning July 3.
Jun 10, 2021 |
Chicagoans’ view of Thursday morning’s “ring of fire” solar eclipse was over before most people were awake.
Plus: “Chicago Tonight” gets into the UFO report and its implications
The U.S. government has been taking a hard look at unidentified flying objects. A report summarizing what the U.S. knows about “unidentified aerial phenomena” — better known as UFOs — is expected to be made public this month.
May 25, 2021 |
Chicagoans aren’t in the right place or time zone to see Wednesday’s lunar eclipse at its peak. Just when the show gets interesting, the moon will sink from view.
May 12, 2021 |
Look to the night sky this week for fascinating celestial show: the solar system’s three inner planets — Mercury, Venus and Mars — will all be visible. Use the crescent moon as a guide to find them in the sky.
Mar 20, 2021 |
During the fall and spring equinoxes, the sun rises due east and sets due west, creating an effect dubbed Chicagohenge (in reference to Stonehenge), when sunset is strikingly framed by the city’s east-west streets.
Feb 22, 2021 |
NASA on Monday released the first high-quality video of a spacecraft landing on Mars, a three-minute trailer showing the enormous orange and white parachute hurtling open and the red dust kicking up as rocket engines lowered the rover to the surface.
Feb 18, 2021 |
NASA’s Perseverance rover greeted its global audience on Twitter, beaming back to Earth the first image captured after touching down Thursday afternoon on Mars.
Feb 17, 2021 |
NASA prepares to land a rover on Mars designed specifically to detect signs of ancient life. Local astronomer and space exploration enthusiast Mark Hammergren tells us more about the mission.
Dec 29, 2020 |
A spacecraft designed by an Illinois researcher and professor will orbit Earth’s outermost atmospheric layer to better understand powerful bursts of radiation from the sun, also known as solar flares. Lara Waldrop tells us more.
