Flying a helicopter drone on Mars is no easy task! The most important hurdle to clear is the fact that the Martian atmosphere is very, very, very thin compared to Earth’s rich, life-giving atmosphere. Jaakko Karras is a robotics electrical engineer with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and he joined me for this episode of WeatherJazz® […]
The official astronomical definition of a “planet” changed in 2006. When it did, the planet we all knew as Pluto lost its classification! So what is the definition of a planet? It hinges on three criteria, the last of which caught Pluto on the short end of the stick. Let’s expand on this topic as […]
What is the weather like on Mars? What are the similarities and differences between earth and Mars? With the recent successful landing of the NASA Martian rover, Perseverance, many people have asked these questions and more. Let’s explore as well as listen to NASA’s Mission Control audio as Perseverance made it’s landing attempt. The actual […]
God sure is creative! This was the scene just outside the doors of the Fairbanks, Alaska National Weather Service on Monday morning. The sun has been active and I’ve heard from our friends in Iceland that their nighttime skies have been very colorful, too. In the meantime, the new Mars rover has been beaming back […]
With stunningly clear skies since late last week, seeing some fun astronomical objects has been easy! Jupiter and Saturn are low in the SW sky until they set around 9 p.m. (click on the image to see a larger version). Mars is now rising high in the SE sky just after twilight fades! It’s very […]
From “Trucker Beetle Bailey,” LINK HERE. “This video was taken from my DashCam in Pennsylvania on interstate 76 westbound at approximately the 150 mile marker at about 5:25 AM Eastern.”
Check out tonight’s sky! Out of the five planets visible in the sky at the same time, three of them are easy “naked-eye” (you don’t need a telescope) objects. My new WeatherJazz® Audience Connect line is: 234-525-5888. Call anytime you have a comment or topic suggestion! There’s a new way to become a supporter of […]
Many colorful stars are packed close together in this image of the globular cluster NGC 1805, taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. This tight grouping of thousands of stars is located near the edge of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of our own Milky Way. For more on this unique globular cluster, click here.
Check out this surprise aurora show in central Pennsylvania this morning! The aurora borealis visible from Pennsylvania’s Cherry Springs State Park. pic.twitter.com/lvMZrQVeoT — Sumita (@SumitaShankar) August 17, 2020
My GoPro camera in “Night Lapse” mode caught a few of the Perseids last night. Click on each frame for a bigger view: …along with a bonus frame:
