natural satellite
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New Moons Discovered Around Uranus and Neptune
Astronomers found a new moon orbiting Uranus, as well as two around Neptune. The tiny satellites appeared as faint specks in the outer reaches of the solar system following hours of ground-based observations. Using observatories in Chile and Hawaii, Scott Sheppard, an astronomer at the Carnegie Institution for Science, first spotted the Uranian moon on…
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Then and Now: Our Earliest Close-Ups of the Planets Compared to Today’s Best Shots
For centuries, astronomers were limited to ground-based observations of the planets, but now we use spacecraft to capture close-up views of our neighboring worlds. Excitingly, our views of solar system planets have been getting progressively better over the decades, as these images attest. The dawn of the Space Age finally made it possible for humankind…
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10 Spectacularly Silly Depictions of the Moon in Sci-Fi Movies
Over the weekend I rewatched master of disaster Roland Emmerich’s Moonfall (I paid $2.99 on Amazon Prime for the pleasure), I’ve got the Moon on the brain. Not the semi-plausible or at least seriously considered depictions seen in movies like Moon, 2001: A Space Odyssey or Ad Astra, but the full-on goofy treatments that put the…
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When to See the ‘Harvest Moon’ at Peak Brilliance This Month
The full moon that occurs nearest to the autumnal equinox, which is coming up on Sept. 22 — is nearly upon us. Which means, for all you infinity scarf and pumpkin spice disciples — squee! — fall is almost officially here. Let’s delve into why this moon is so unique, and when to see it…