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Category: space – Page 830

The Space Force would constitute the sixth branch of the US armed forces.

The news: During a meeting with the National Space Council today, President Donald Trump directed the Department of Defense and the Pentagon to begin work on the creation of the Space Force. He stated, “‘We are going to have the Air Force and we’re going to have the Space Force, separate but equal.”

Some background: This isn’t the first time Trump has brought up this idea. He has continued to express interest in the idea during visits to West Point and in speeches to military members.


This particular region is located over 66,000 light years from Earth and at on opposite side of the Milky Way, relative to our Solar System. The previous record for a parallax measurement was about 36,000 light-years, roughly 11,000 light years farther than the distance between our Solar System and the center of our galaxy. As Sanna explained, this accomplishment in radio astronomy will enable surveys that reach much farther than previous ones:

“Most of the stars and gas in our Galaxy are within this newly-measured distance from the Sun. With the VLBA, we now have the capability to measure enough distances to accurately trace the Galaxy’s spiral arms and learn their true shapes.”

Hundreds of star-forming regions exist within the Milky Way. But as Karl Menten – a member of the MPIfR and a co-author on the study – explained, this study was significant because of where this one is located. “So we have plenty of ‘mileposts’ to use for our mapping project,” he said. “But this one is special: Looking all the way through the Milky Way, past its center, way out into the other side.”

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2019 is featuring five eclipses, a rare planet transit, one of the best meteor showers and a super blood wolf moon, but the fun doesn’t stop there.

The new year will also bring three supermoons, a blue moon, multiple meteor showers, close approach by the moon and Jupiter and several rocket launches.

Although we would love to talk about all of the extraordinary occurrences, these are our top events to watch for in the sky in 2019:


NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has been speeding through space since early 2006 and it’s about to make what might be its most interesting flyby to date. After speeding past Jupiter and Pluto in the 12 years since its launch, the probe is about to have a very close encounter with a mysterious object in the outer Solar System called Ultima Thule. As luck would have it, it’s going to meet its target on New Year’s Day, and it’s a pretty big deal for NASA.

As we approach the probe’s arrival at Ultima Thule, NASA is announcing its schedule of events related to the probe’s flyby. The big show will begin on the afternoon of Monday, December 31st, and it’ll kick off three days of news and briefings that will give us our best look yet at an extremely distant Solar System object.

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- National Aeronautics and Space Administration will still continue supporting the operations of the International Space Station despite government shutdown.

NASA has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget its plan for an orderly shutdown of operations if there is no budget in place. During a shutdown, most NASA operations would cease and most employees would be furloughed, with the exception of operations and personnel needed to protect life and property.

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You won’t want to miss next month’s super blood wolf moon eclipse. Mark your calendars for Jan. 20.

Technically, next month’s lunar event could be called a super blood wolf moon eclipse.

Starting Jan. 20, a total lunar eclipse, or blood moon, that coincides with a supermoon, will be visible throughout the United States. The event starts late in the evening Jan. 20 and finishes during the wee hours of Jan. 21.

After that, you have to wait until May 26, 2021, for the next total lunar eclipse. Typically, each year has two lunar eclipses with total lunar eclipses about every two years, Brian Murphy, director of the Holcomb Observatory & Planetarium and Butler University professor.

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