Dominique Luchart's Blog, page 580

July 1, 2021

Mars methane mystery may be starting to clear up, ,

Some aspects of the Mars methane mystery are starting to clear up.

Since landing inside the Red Planet’s Gale Crater in 2012, NASA’s Curiosity rover has repeatedly detected methane — a background level of less than 0.5 parts per billion (ppb) molecules of air, with some puzzling surges up to 20 ppb.

Those measurements, made with the Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS) instrument in Curiosity’s Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) chemistry lab, are intriguing to astrobiologists, because methane is a possible biosignature gas. The vast majority of methane in Earth’s air, after all, is generated by microbes.

The search for life on Mars: A photo timeline

The gas can also be produced abiotically, however — via the interaction of hot water with certain types of rock, for example — so scientists still aren’t sure where the Martian methane is coming from. And there has been an additional complication in their interpretation of the TLS data as well.

That complication is the non-detection of methane higher up in the atmosphere by the European Space Agency’s Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), part of the European-Russian ExoMars exploration program. As its name suggests, TGO was designed to sniff out low-abundance gases, methane chief among them.

“When the Trace Gas Orbiter came on board in 2016, I was fully expecting the orbiter team to report that there’s a small amount of methane everywhere on Mars,” TLS lead scientist Chris Webster, who’s based at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, said in a statement. “But when the European team announced that it saw no methane, I was definitely shocked.”

In 2019, researchers led by Curiosity team member John E. Moores, a planetary scientist at York University in Toronto, proposed a possible answer.

Because TLS is such a power-hungry instrument, Curiosity makes its methane measurements at night, when most of the rover’s other science gear is dormant. But TGO needs sunlight to spot methane and therefore does its sniffing during the day. Perhaps that difference is the key variable, Moores and his colleagues suggested in their 2019 study: Maybe methane seeps out of Gale’s floor at night, building up to levels detectable by Curiosity, but is diluted so much during the day by atmospheric mixing that TGO cannot pick it up.

The Curiosity team decided to test this idea, taking high-precision daytime measurements with TLS for the first time over the course of one day last year. The researchers sandwiched those observations with nighttime readings and found that Moores’ idea appears to be on the money.

“John predicted that methane should effectively go down to zero during the day, and our two daytime measurements confirmed that,” SAM principal investigator Paul Mahaffy, of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said in the same statement. “So that’s one way of putting to bed this big discrepancy.”

Mahaffy and his team, which includes Moores, reported their results in a new study, which was published this week in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

There are more Mars methane mysteries to tackle, of course. There’s the origin question, for starters. It also appears that something may be destroying methane in Mars’ atmosphere faster than scientists had predicted. (Solar radiation should, on average, rip each methane molecule apart after about 300 years in Mars’ air.)

If methane is seeping from the ground all over the planet, and not just at Gale, the gas should accumulate to levels detectable by TGO despite atmospheric mixing, the researchers said.

“We need to determine whether there’s a faster destruction mechanism than normal to fully reconcile the data sets from the rover and the orbiter,” Webster said.

Mike Wall is the author of “ Out There ” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.

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Published on July 01, 2021 04:10

Arianespace Soyuz rocket will launch 36 OneWeb internet satellites today. Watch it live!, ,

Arianespace will launch 36 OneWeb broadband satellites into orbit today (July 1), and you can watch it live.

The European launch provider will use a Soyuz rocket to loft the satellites into orbit from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Siberia, at 8:48 a.m. EDT (1248 GMT). Watch it live in the window above, courtesy of OneWeb. The live webcast begins at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT).

Today’s mission, called OneWeb 8, will be the eighth OneWeb launch since the first satellites went up in 2019, bringing the total number of satellites in OneWeb’s blooming internet constellation up to 254. With today’s launch, the company will have enough satellites in orbit to begin rolling out services in parts of the Northern Hemisphere.

In photos: OneWeb launches new global satellite internet constellation

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An Arianespace Soyuz rocket stands ready to launch the OneWeb 8 mission from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Siberia. (Image credit: OneWeb)

The London-based communications company aims to launch a total of 648 OneWeb satellites to provide high-speed internet connectivity to customers around the world, with services beginning over limited regions by the end of 2021. (For comparison, SpaceX’s Starlink internet constellation is expected to have at least 12,000 satellites.)

“This launch will mark the completion of OneWeb’s ‘Five to 50’ ambition to bring into orbit the satellites required to enable connectivity services to the 50th parallel and above by year’s end, which includes Canada, U.K., Northern Europe, Alaska and Arctic regions,” Arianespace officials said in a mission description.

OneWeb kicked off its “Five to 50” campaign in December 2020 after the company emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy; it refers to the five launches needed to launch all the satellites it would need to provide services north of the 50th parallel.

“To mark the fifth and final launch of ‘Five to 50,’ with all satellites delivered on time, a welcome message ‘Hello North Pole’ is branded on the rocket, reflecting the significant progress OneWeb has made to secure its Arctic coverage,” OneWeb officials said in a statement.

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The Soyuz rocket carrying the OneWeb 8 mission to orbit has a special message on it to celebrate the company’s “Five to 50” campaign. (Image credit: OneWeb)

The Soyuz rocket will send the OneWeb satellites into a near-polar orbit, passing near but not directly over Earth’s north and south poles. The satellites will deploy from the rocket at an altitude of about 280 miles (450 kilometers) and, over the coming months, will fire thrusters to slowly reach an operational altitude of about 750 miles (1,200 km).

Satellites will deploy in batches of four, with the first batch separating from the rocket’s Fregat upper stage one hour and 18 minutes after liftoff. With about 19 minutes between deployments, the final OneWeb satellites will separate nearly four hours after liftoff.

After today’s mission, Arianespace has 11 more OneWeb missions with hundreds of satellites to launch under its contract with OneWeb. The next launch, OneWeb 9, is currently scheduled to lift off Aug. 2 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, followed by OneWeb 10 on Aug. 26, also from Baikonur.

Email Hanneke Weitering at hweitering@space.com or follow her @hannekescience . Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook .

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

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Published on July 01, 2021 04:03

Night sky, July 2021: What you can see this month [maps], ,

A clear night sky offers an ever-changing display of fascinating objects to see — stars, constellations, and bright planets, often the moon, and sometimes special events like meteor showers. Observing the night sky can be done with no special equipment, although a sky map can be very useful. Binoculars or a good beginner telescope will enhance some experiences and bring some otherwise invisible objects into view. You can also use astronomy apps and software to make your observing easier, and use our Satellite Tracker page powered by N2YO.com to find out when to see the International Space Station and other satellites. Below, find out what’s up in the night sky tonight (Planets Visible Now, Moon Phases, Observing Highlights This Month) plus other resources (Skywatching Terms, Night Sky Observing Tips and Further Reading).

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The night sky is more than just the moon and stars, if you know when and where to look. (Image credit: Karl Tate/SPACE.com)

Monthly skywatching information is provided to Space.com by Chris Vaughan of Starry Night Education, the leader in space science curriculum solutions. Follow Starry Night on Twitter @StarryNightEdu and Chris at @Astrogeoguy.

Editor’s note: If you have an amazing skywatching photo you’d like to share for a possible story or image gallery, you can send images and comments in to spacephotos@futurenet.com.

Night Sky Guides:

Calendar of Observing HighlightsThursday, July 1 – Third Quarter Moon (at 21:10 GMT)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

The moon will officially reach its third quarter phase at 5:10 p.m. EDT (or 21:10 GMT) on Thursday, July 1. At third quarter our natural satellite always appears half-illuminated, on its western side – towards the pre-dawn sun. It rises in the middle of the night and remains visible in the southern sky all morning. The name for this phase reflects the fact that the moon has completed three quarters of its orbit around Earth, measuring from the previous new moon. The ensuing week of moonless evening skies will be ideal for observing deep sky targets.

Sunday, July 4 – Old Moon near Uranus (pre-dawn)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

When the waning crescent moon rises in the east at about 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, July 4, it will be positioned a slim palm’s width to the right (or 5 degrees to the celestial southwest) of the magnitude 5.8 planet Uranus – close enough for them to share the view in binoculars (red circle). Try to find the planet before about 4:30 a.m. local time. After that, the brightening dawn sky will overwhelm it, but will leave the moon visible.

Sunday, July 4 – Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation (pre-dawn)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

During much of July Mercury will be visible in the pre-dawn sky. On Sunday, July 4, the swiftly-moving planet will reach a maximum angle of 22 degrees west of the sun, and peak visibility for its morning apparition. The best time to see the planet will come just before 5 a.m. in your local time zone, when Mercury will sit very low in the east-northeastern sky. In a telescope (inset) the planet will show a 36%-illuminated, waxing crescent phase. Mercury’s position well below the morning ecliptic (green line) will make this apparition a poor one for Northern Hemisphere observers, but a good showing for those located near the Equator, and farther south.

Monday, July 5 – Earth at Aphelion (at 22:00 GMT)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

On Monday, July 5 at 6 p.m. EDT, or 22:00 GMT, Earth will reach aphelion, its farthest position from the sun for this year. The aphelion distance of 94,511,180 miles (152.1 million km) is 1.67% farther from the sun than the mean Earth-sun separation of 92,955,807.3 miles (149,597,870.7 km), which is also defined to be 1 Astronomical Unit (1 AU). Earth’s minimum distance from the sun, or perihelion, will occur on January 4.

Thursday, July 8 – Crescent Moon with Mercury (pre-dawn)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

For a brief period before sunrise on Thursday, July 8, the slim crescent of the old, waning moon will be positioned several finger widths to the left (or 4 degrees to the celestial northeast) of the bright dot of Mercury. Look for the pair sitting very low over the east-northeastern horizon from the time they rise at about 4:20 a.m. local time until about 5 a.m. The moon and Mercury will be close enough to see them together through binoculars (red circle) – but turn your optics away before the sun rises.

Friday, July 9 – New Moon (at 9:16 p.m. EDT)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

The moon will officially reach its new phase on Friday, July 9 at 9:16 p.m. EDT (or 01:16 GMT on Saturday, July 10). While new, the moon is travelling between Earth and the sun. Since sunlight can only reach the far side of the moon, and the moon is in the same region of the sky as the sun, the moon becomes unobservable from anywhere on Earth for about a day (except during a solar eclipse). After the new moon phase Earth’s celestial night-light will return to shine in the western evening sky

Sunday, July 11 – Crescent Moon Passes Venus and Mars (after sunset)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

Low in the west-northwestern sky after sunset on Sunday, July 11, the young crescent moon will shine a generous palm’s width to the right (or 6.5 degrees to the celestial northwest) of two planets – bright Venus and much fainter Mars. Before they set at about 10 p.m. local time, the trio will make a nice wide-field photo when composed with some interesting scenery. On the following evening, the moon’s orbital motion will lift it to sit a similar distance above those two planets.

Monday, July 12 – Venus Kisses Mars (after sunset)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

On the evenings surrounding Monday, July 12, extremely bright Venus and much fainter Mars will meet in a very close conjunction quite low in the west-northwestern sky. While both planets have been traveling eastward in their orbits (red tracks with labelled dates:times), the faster motion of inner planet Venus will cause it to catch up to and pass slower-moving Mars from tonight to tomorrow. Look closely! Magnitude +1.84 Mars will be nearly 200 times fainter than magnitude -3.87 Venus, and positioned just 34 arc-minutes (equal to about the full moon’s diameter) to the lower left of Venus. From a location with an unobstructed horizon, start to look for the planets after about 9 p.m. local time, when they’ll sit a fist’s diameter above the horizon. They’ll set by 10 p.m. local time. Binoculars (red circle) will help – but use them only after the sun has completely set. The two planets will share the view in binoculars from about July 4 to 21, but they’ll only be telescope-close (yellow circle) from July 11 to 14.

Friday, July 16 – Lunar X in Early Evening (peaks at 9 p.m. EDT)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

Several times a year, for a few hours near its first quarter phase, a feature on the moon called the Lunar X becomes visible in strong binoculars and backyard telescopes. When the rims of the craters Purbach, la Caille, and Blanchinus are illuminated from a particular angle of sunlight, they form a small, bright X-shape. The Lunar X is located on the terminator, about one third of the way up from the southern pole of the Moon (at 2? East, 24? South). On Friday, July 16 the ‘X’ is predicted to start developing by about 7 p.m. EDT (or 23:00 GMT), peak in intensity at around 9 p.m. EDT (or 01:00 GMT on July 17), and then gradually fade out. The peak will be during waning daylight for observers in the eastern Americas – but you can observe the moon in a telescope during daytime, as long as you take care to avoid the sun. The Lunar X will be visible anywhere on Earth where the moon is shining, especially in a dark sky, between 23:00 and 03:00 GMT on July 17.

Saturday, July 17 – First Quarter Moon (at 10:10 GMT)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

When the moon completes the first quarter of its orbit around Earth at 6:10 a.m. EDT on Saturday, July 17 (or 10:10 GMT) its 90 degree angle away from the sun will cause us to see the moon half-illuminated – on its eastern side. At first quarter, the moon always rises around mid-day and sets around midnight, so it is also visible in the afternoon daytime sky. The evenings surrounding first quarter are the best ones for seeing the lunar terrain when it is dramatically lit by low-angled sunlight, especially along the terminator, the pole-to-pole boundary between the lit and dark hemispheres.

Saturday, July 17 – Pluto at Opposition (all night)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

On Saturday, July 17, the dim and distant dwarf planet designated (134340) Pluto will reach opposition for 2021. On that date, the Earth will be positioned between Pluto and the sun, minimizing our distance from that outer world. While at opposition, Pluto will be located 3.10 billion miles, 4.98 billion km, or 277 light-minutes from Earth – and it will shine with an extremely faint visual magnitude of +14.3. That’s far too dim for visual observing through backyard telescopes. Pluto will be located in the sky about midway between Saturn and the bright star Nunki in Sagittarius’ Teapot asterism. Telescope-owners (inset, yellow circle) can focus on a magnitude 7.8 star named HIP97602, which will be sitting 9.3 arc-minutes directly below Pluto on opposition night. Even if you can’t see Pluto directly, you will know that it is there.

Sunday, July 18 – Asteroid Pallas Pauses (overnight)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

On Sunday, July 18, the main belt asteroid designated (2) Pallas will halt its regular eastward motion in front of the distant stars, and begin a retrograde loop that will last until early November (red path). Pallas’ visual magnitude of 9.7 will allow it to be seen in amateur telescopes starting in late evening. On July 18 Pallas will be positioned in the eastern sky, less than half a degree to the right (or celestial south) of the magnitude 6.65 star HIP116417 and the magnitude 7.35 star HIP116431, which sit near the ring of stars that forms the western fish in Pisces. The asteroid and those stars will appear together in the eyepiece of your telescope.

Tuesday, July 20 – View the Apollo Sites (all night)

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It’s the 52nd Anniversary of humankind’s first steps on another world! The six crewed Apollo Missions were sent to different regions of the moon in order to carry out experiments and to bring back rock samples that help us determine the age and composition of the moon’s surface. For safety reasons, Apollo 11 was sent to the flat and relatively featureless terrain of Mare Tranquillitatis “Sea of Tranquility”. Later missions landed in more rugged regions with complex geology. When the moon approaches the full phase, all of the regions where the astronauts explored are illuminated by sunlight, including the most westerly site, Apollo 12 in Oceanus Procellarum.

Wednesday, July 21 – Venus Passes Regulus (after sunset)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

For about an hour after sunset on Wednesday, July 21, and very low in the west-northwestern sky, the very bright planet Venus will gleam above the prominent double star Regulus in Leo. The orbital motion of Venus will carry it within a finger’s width to the upper right of (or 1 degree to the celestial north) of Regulus on Wednesday – close enough for them to be viewed together in a backyard telescope. Magnitude -3.93 Venus will outshine magnitude +1.34 Regulus by about 130 times. The duo will be observable in binoculars (red circle), with Mars to their lower right, for the entire week. (Ensure that the sun has set fully before pointing optics towards the western horizon.)

Friday, July 23 – Full Thunder Moon (at 2:37 GMT)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

The moon will reach its full phase on Friday, July 23 at 10:37 p.m. EDT (or 02:37 GMT on Saturday, July 24). The July full moon, commonly called the Buck Moon, Thunder Moon, or Hay Moon, always shines in or near the stars of Sagittarius or Capricornus. The indigenous Ojibwe people of the Great Lakes region call this moon Abitaa-niibini Giizis, the Halfway Summer Moon, or Mskomini Giizis, the Raspberry Moon. The Cherokees call it Guyegwoni, the Corn in Tassel Moon. The Cree Nation of central Canada calls the June full moon Opaskowipisim, the Feather Moulting Moon (referring to wild water-fowl habits), and the Mohawks call it Ohiarihko:wa, the Fruits are Ripened Moon. Because the moon is full when it is opposite the sun in the sky, full moons always rise in the east as the sun is setting, and set in the west at sunrise. Since sunlight is striking the moon vertically at that time, no shadows are cast; all of the variations in brightness you see arise from differences in the reflectivity, or albedo, of the lunar surface rocks.

Saturday, July 24 – Bright Moon below Saturn and Jupiter (all night)

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While the moon’s monthly visit with the gas giant planets will begin with Saturn on the previous evening, skywatchers who are outside on Saturday night, July 24 will find our slightly-less-than-full natural satellite shining very brightly below and between bright Jupiter on the left (or celestial northeast) and Saturn on the right (celestial northwest). After they finish rising around 9:30 p.m. local time the trio will make a nice wide-field photo opportunity when composed with some interesting scenery.

Sunday, July 25 – Gibbous Moon and Jupiter (all night)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

After 24 hours, the moon’s eastward orbital motion will move it to a slim palm’s width below (or 4.75 degrees to the celestial south) of Jupiter on Sunday night, July 25. The pair will be visible together in binoculars all night long after they rise in the east-southeast at about 10 p.m. local time. The scene will make another nice wide-field photo opportunity by adding Saturn well off to their right.

Thursday, July 29 – Southern Delta-Aquariids Meteors Peak (at 5:00 GMT)

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The annual Southern Delta Aquariids meteor shower lasts from July 21 to August 23. It will peak before dawn on Thursday, July 29, but it is quite active for a week surrounding that date. This shower, produced by debris dropped from periodic Comet 96P/Machholz, commonly generates 15-20 meteors per hour at the peak. It is best enjoyed from the southern tropics, where the shower’s radiant, in southern Aquarius, climbs higher in the sky. Unfortunately, the bright gibbous moon shining in the night-time sky on the peak date will severely reduce the number of meteors seen – so continue your meteor-watching on the following few nights, when the moon will wane and rise later.

Thursday, July 29 – Mars meets Regulus (after Sunset)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

On Thursday, July 29, Mars will follow in Venus’ footsteps and pass only 38 arc-minutes (less than a finger’s width) above Leo’s brightest star Regulus. They’ll be visible just above the west-northwestern horizon after sunset, with Venus shining brightly to their upper left (or celestial east). White-colored Regulus will shine slightly brighter than reddish Mars. The pair will be close enough to be seen together in a backyard telescope (red circle) for a night or two on either side of Thursday, too; but objects observed that low in the sky will be blurred by Earth’s atmosphere. Observers viewing from equatorial and Southern Hemisphere latitudes will see them higher, and in a darker sky.

Thursday, July 29 – Double Shadow Transit on Jupiter (from 20:05 to 20:41 GMT)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

From time to time, the small round black shadows cast by Jupiter’s four Galilean moons become visible in amateur telescopes as they cross (or transit) the planet’s disk. On Thursday, July 29, observers with telescopes in Central Europe, the Middle East, and most of Asia can see two shadows crossing Jupiter at the same time. At 11:05 p.m. IDT (or 20:05 GMT) Io’s small shadow will join Callisto’s larger shadow already in transit. About 35 minutes later, at 11:41 p.m. IDT (or 20:41 GMT), Callisto’s shadow will move off the planet, leaving Io’s shadow to complete its crossing almost two hours later.

Saturday, July 31 – Third Quarter Moon Again (at 13:16 GMT)

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When a lunar phase occurs in the first few days of a calendar month, it can repeat at month’s end. For the second time in July, the moon will officially reach its third quarter phase – at 9:16 a.m. EDT (or 13:16 GMT) on Saturday, July 31. The ensuing week of moonless evening skies will be ideal for observing deep sky targets.

Planets

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Mercury will spend all of July in the eastern pre-dawn sky – but it won’t be easily observable during the final week. Mercury’s position south of the dawn ecliptic will prevent the planet from rising very long before the sun – making this apparition a poor one for Northern Hemisphere observers, but a good one for those viewing the planet from south of the equator. Mercury will reach greatest elongation and peak visibility on July 4, when it will stretch to 21.6? west of the sun. At mid-northern latitudes, the best time to see Mercury will then be at about 4:45 a.m. local time. Mercury will brighten from magnitude 0.8 to -2.1 during July. Viewed in a telescope, the speedy planet will wax in illuminated phase from 28% on July 1 to fully-illuminated at month’s end. Meanwhile, the planet’s apparent disk diameter will decrease from 8.7 to 5 arc-seconds. The old crescent moon will shine a few finger widths to the northeast of Mercury on July 8.

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

Extremely bright Venus will increase its angle east of the sun from 25.5? to 33? during July. The very shallow evening ecliptic will prevent the magnitude -3.87 planet from climbing very high over the western horizon after sunset, so you’ll need an unobstructed view toward the west to see it. During the month, Venus’ easterly orbital motion will counteract the westerly shift of the sky due to our orbit around the sun – so the planet will set at about 10 p.m. local time all month long. The earlier sunsets in late July will surround Venus with a darker sky. Viewed through a telescope in July, Venus will exhibit an 85%-illuminated waning gibbous phase and a slowly increasing apparent disk diameter of about 12 arc-seconds. (As always, ensure that the sun has completely disappeared below the horizon before using binoculars or telescopes to view Venus.) On July 11, Venus will depart Cancer for Leo. Meanwhile, faster-moving Venus will catch up to and pass slower-moving Mars in a close conjunction – with Venus outshining Mars by nearly 200 times! The two planets will share the view in binoculars from about July 4 to 21, but they’ll only be telescope-close from July 11 to 14. The young crescent moon will hop past the close-together planets on July 11-12, offering a nice photo opportunity.

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

After spending many months parked halfway up the western evening sky, magnitude 1.8 Mars will spend July descending into the western post-sunset twilight while it reduces its angular separation east of the sun from 32? to 22?. On July 1 Mars will set at about 10:30 p.m. local time; and at 9:15 p.m. on July 31. Telescope views of Mars during July will show a shrinking, only 3.8 arc-seconds-wide disk. Mars’ slow easterly prograde motion will carry it from Cancer into Leo on July 10, just days before faster-moving and 200 times brighter Venus will overtake and pass just 0.5? to the north of Mars, on July 12-13. On the same evenings, the young crescent moon will hop past the duo. Venus will appear with Mars in binoculars from about July 4 to 21, and the pair will be telescope-close from July 11 to 14.

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

Throughout July, bright, white Jupiter will be travelling retrograde westward across the faint stars of western Aquarius – with yellowish Saturn shining 19? to its right (or celestial east). As the month opens, Jupiter will rise shortly after 11 p.m. local time. By July 31, the planet will be observable from dusk to dawn, and it will have brightened slightly from magnitude -2.65 to -2.83. Unfortunately, the low summertime ecliptic will prevent Jupiter from climbing more than one-third of the way up the southern sky. Telescope views of Jupiter during July will show its large, banded disk increasing in apparent diameter from 45.3 to 48.4 arc-seconds. The Great Red Spot will be visible crossing Jupiter every second or third night. Single transits across Jupiter by the round, black shadows of its Galilean moons will be commonplace. A double shadow transit event will be visible across Eurasia on July 29. The waning gibbous moon will shine less than 5 degrees below (to the celestial south of) Jupiter from dusk to dawn on July 25.

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

Saturn will be ideally positioned for viewing in evening during July as it approaches opposition in early August. On July 1, the ringed planet will rise shortly after 10 p.m. local time. That will advance to 8:45 p.m. at month-end. All month long, Saturn will be travelling retrograde west across the surrounding stars of central Capricornus. But while Saturn’s magnitude 0.4 will outshine all of the stars of that constellation, it can’t compete with 16 times brighter Jupiter shining 19? to its left (or celestial east). The low summertime ecliptic will keep Saturn from ever climbing more than one-third of the way up the southern sky. When viewed through a backyard telescope, Saturn will exhibit its majestic rings, a number of its moons, and a mean apparent disk size of 18.5 arc-seconds. The waning gibbous moon will hop past Saturn on July 23-24.

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During July, blue-green Uranus will be available for observing in the eastern pre-dawn sky – especially near the end of the month, when it will rise around midnight and reach more than 37? altitude before the dawn twilight arrives. The magnitude 5.8 planet will be slowly travelling eastward across the stars of southern Aries, roughly between two stars of comparable brightness, Omicron and Rho Arietis. The waning crescent moon will pass several finger widths below (or 4.5 degrees to the celestial south) of Uranus on July 4-5.

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

During July the distant and slow-moving planet Neptune will be travelling retrograde westward through northeastern Aquarius – approximately a palm’s width to the left (or 6 degrees to the east) of the 4th-magnitude stars Psi, Xi, and Phi Aquarii. The blue, magnitude 7.9 planet will be rising just after midnight on July 1 and by 10:30 pm on July 31.

Skywatching Terms

Gibbous: Used to describe a planet or moon that is more than 50% illuminated.

Asterism: A noteworthy or striking pattern of stars within a larger constellation.

Degrees (measuring the sky): The sky is 360 degrees all the way around, which means roughly 180 degrees from horizon to horizon. It’s easy to measure distances between objects: Your fist on an outstretched arm covers about 10 degrees of sky, while a finger covers about one degree.

Visual Magnitude: This is the astronomer’s scale for measuring the brightness of objects in the sky. The dimmest object visible in the night sky under perfectly dark conditions is about magnitude 6.5. Brighter stars are magnitude 2 or 1. The brightest objects get negative numbers. Venus can be as bright as magnitude minus 4.9. The full moon is minus 12.7 and the sun is minus 26.8.

Terminator: The boundary on the moon between sunlight and shadow.

Zenith: The point in the sky directly overhead.

Night Sky Observing Tips

Adjust to the dark: If you wish to observe faint objects, such as meteors or dim stars, give your eyes at least 15 minutes to adjust to the darkness.

Light Pollution: Even from a big city, one can see the moon, a handful of bright stars and sometimes the brightest planets. But to fully enjoy the heavens — especially a meteor shower, the constellations, or to see the amazing swath across the sky that represents our view toward the center of the Milky Way Galaxy — rural areas are best for night sky viewing. If you’re stuck in a city or suburban area, a building can be used to block ambient light (or moonlight) to help reveal fainter objects. If you’re in the suburbs, simply turning off outdoor lights can help.

Prepare for skywatching: If you plan to be out for more than a few minutes, and it’s not a warm summer evening, dress warmer than you think necessary. An hour of observing a winter meteor shower can chill you to the bone. A blanket or lounge chair will prove much more comfortable than standing or sitting in a chair and craning your neck to see overhead.

Daytime skywatching: When Venus is visible (that is, not in front of or behind the sun) it can often be spotted during the day. But you’ll need to know where to look. A sky map is helpful. When the sun has large sunspots, they can be seen without a telescope. However, it’s unsafe to look at the sun without protective eyewear. See our video on how to safely observe the sun, or our safe sunwatching infographic.

Further Reading

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Published on July 01, 2021 03:38

Best night sky events of July 2021 (stargazing maps), ,

See what’s up in the night sky for July 2021, including stargazing events and the moon’s phases, in this Space.com gallery courtesy of Starry Night Software.

Related: Space calendar 2021: Rocket launches, sky events, missions & more

Thursday, July 1 – Third Quarter Moon (at 21:10 GMT)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

The moon will officially reach its third quarter phase at 5:10 p.m. EDT (or 21:10 GMT) on Thursday, July 1. At third quarter our natural satellite always appears half-illuminated, on its western side – towards the pre-dawn sun. It rises in the middle of the night and remains visible in the southern sky all morning. The name for this phase reflects the fact that the moon has completed three quarters of its orbit around Earth, measuring from the previous new moon. The ensuing week of moonless evening skies will be ideal for observing deep sky targets.

Sunday, July 4 – Old Moon near Uranus (pre-dawn)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

When the waning crescent moon rises in the east at about 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, July 4, it will be positioned a slim palm’s width to the right (or 5 degrees to the celestial southwest) of the magnitude 5.8 planet Uranus – close enough for them to share the view in binoculars (red circle). Try to find the planet before about 4:30 a.m. local time. After that, the brightening dawn sky will overwhelm it, but will leave the moon visible

Sunday, July 4 – Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation (pre-dawn)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

During much of July Mercury will be visible in the pre-dawn sky. On Sunday, July 4, the swiftly-moving planet will reach a maximum angle of 22 degrees west of the sun, and peak visibility for its morning apparition. The best time to see the planet will come just before 5 a.m. in your local time zone, when Mercury will sit very low in the east-northeastern sky. In a telescope (inset) the planet will show a 36%-illuminated, waxing crescent phase. Mercury’s position well below the morning ecliptic (green line) will make this apparition a poor one for Northern Hemisphere observers, but a good showing for those located near the Equator, and farther south.

Monday, July 5 – Earth at Aphelion (at 22:00 GMT)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

On Monday, July 5 at 6 p.m. EDT, or 22:00 GMT, Earth will reach aphelion, its farthest position from the sun for this year. The aphelion distance of 94,511,180 miles (152.1 million km) is 1.67% farther from the sun than the mean Earth-sun separation of 92,955,807.3 miles (149,597,870.7 km), which is also defined to be 1 Astronomical Unit (1 AU). Earth’s minimum distance from the sun, or perihelion, will occur on January 4.

Thursday, July 8 – Crescent Moon with Mercury (pre-dawn)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

For a brief period before sunrise on Thursday, July 8, the slim crescent of the old, waning moon will be positioned several finger widths to the left (or 4 degrees to the celestial northeast) of the bright dot of Mercury. Look for the pair sitting very low over the east-northeastern horizon from the time they rise at about 4:20 a.m. local time until about 5 a.m. The moon and Mercury will be close enough to see them together through binoculars (red circle) – but turn your optics away before the sun rises.

Friday, July 9 – New Moon (at 9:16 p.m. EDT)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

The moon will officially reach its new phase on Friday, July 9 at 9:16 p.m. EDT (or 01:16 GMT on Saturday, July 10). While new, the moon is travelling between Earth and the sun. Since sunlight can only reach the far side of the moon, and the moon is in the same region of the sky as the sun, the moon becomes unobservable from anywhere on Earth for about a day (except during a solar eclipse). After the new moon phase Earth’s celestial night-light will return to shine in the western evening sky.

Sunday, July 11 – Crescent Moon Passes Venus and Mars (after sunset)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

Low in the west-northwestern sky after sunset on Sunday, July 11, the young crescent moon will shine a generous palm’s width to the right (or 6.5 degrees to the celestial northwest) of two planets – bright Venus and much fainter Mars. Before they set at about 10 p.m. local time, the trio will make a nice wide-field photo when composed with some interesting scenery. On the following evening, the moon’s orbital motion will lift it to sit a similar distance above those two planets.

Monday, July 12 – Venus Kisses Mars (after sunset)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

On the evenings surrounding Monday, July 12, extremely bright Venus and much fainter Mars will meet in a very close conjunction quite low in the west-northwestern sky. While both planets have been traveling eastward in their orbits (red tracks with labelled dates:times), the faster motion of inner planet Venus will cause it to catch up to and pass slower-moving Mars from tonight to tomorrow. Look closely! Magnitude +1.84 Mars will be nearly 200 times fainter than magnitude -3.87 Venus, and positioned just 34 arc-minutes (equal to about the full moon’s diameter) to the lower left of Venus. From a location with an unobstructed horizon, start to look for the planets after about 9 p.m. local time, when they’ll sit a fist’s diameter above the horizon. They’ll set by 10 p.m. local time. Binoculars (red circle) will help – but use them only after the sun has completely set. The two planets will share the view in binoculars from about July 4 to 21, but they’ll only be telescope-close (yellow circle) from July 11 to 14.

Friday, July 16 – Lunar X in Early Evening (peaks at 9 p.m. EDT)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

Several times a year, for a few hours near its first quarter phase, a feature on the moon called the Lunar X becomes visible in strong binoculars and backyard telescopes. When the rims of the craters Purbach, la Caille, and Blanchinus are illuminated from a particular angle of sunlight, they form a small, bright X-shape. The Lunar X is located on the terminator, about one third of the way up from the southern pole of the Moon (at 2? East, 24? South). On Friday, July 16 the ‘X’ is predicted to start developing by about 7 p.m. EDT (or 23:00 GMT), peak in intensity at around 9 p.m. EDT (or 01:00 GMT on July 17), and then gradually fade out. The peak will be during waning daylight for observers in the eastern Americas – but you can observe the moon in a telescope during daytime, as long as you take care to avoid the sun. The Lunar X will be visible anywhere on Earth where the moon is shining, especially in a dark sky, between 23:00 and 03:00 GMT on July 17.

Saturday, July 17 – First Quarter Moon (at 10:10 GMT)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

When the moon completes the first quarter of its orbit around Earth at 6:10 a.m. EDT on Saturday, July 17 (or 10:10 GMT) its 90 degree angle away from the sun will cause us to see the moon half-illuminated – on its eastern side. At first quarter, the moon always rises around mid-day and sets around midnight, so it is also visible in the afternoon daytime sky. The evenings surrounding first quarter are the best ones for seeing the lunar terrain when it is dramatically lit by low-angled sunlight, especially along the terminator, the pole-to-pole boundary between the lit and dark hemispheres.

Saturday, July 17 – Pluto at Opposition (all night)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

On Saturday, July 17, the dim and distant dwarf planet designated (134340) Pluto will reach opposition for 2021. On that date, the Earth will be positioned between Pluto and the sun, minimizing our distance from that outer world. While at opposition, Pluto will be located 3.10 billion miles, 4.98 billion km, or 277 light-minutes from Earth – and it will shine with an extremely faint visual magnitude of +14.3. That’s far too dim for visual observing through backyard telescopes. Pluto will be located in the sky about midway between Saturn and the bright star Nunki in Sagittarius’ Teapot asterism. Telescope-owners (inset, yellow circle) can focus on a magnitude 7.8 star named HIP97602, which will be sitting 9.3 arc-minutes directly below Pluto on opposition night. Even if you can’t see Pluto directly, you will know that it is there.

Sunday, July 18 – Asteroid Pallas Pauses (overnight)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

On Sunday, July 18, the main belt asteroid designated (2) Pallas will halt its regular eastward motion in front of the distant stars, and begin a retrograde loop that will last until early November (red path). Pallas’ visual magnitude of 9.7 will allow it to be seen in amateur telescopes starting in late evening. On July 18 Pallas will be positioned in the eastern sky, less than half a degree to the right (or celestial south) of the magnitude 6.65 star HIP116417 and the magnitude 7.35 star HIP116431, which sit near the ring of stars that forms the western fish in Pisces. The asteroid and those stars will appear together in the eyepiece of your telescope.

Tuesday, July 20 – View the Apollo Sites (all night)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

It’s the 52nd Anniversary of humankind’s first steps on another world! The six crewed Apollo Missions were sent to different regions of the moon in order to carry out experiments and to bring back rock samples that help us determine the age and composition of the moon’s surface. For safety reasons, Apollo 11 was sent to the flat and relatively featureless terrain of Mare Tranquillitatis “Sea of Tranquility”. Later missions landed in more rugged regions with complex geology. When the moon approaches the full phase, all of the regions where the astronauts explored are illuminated by sunlight, including the most westerly site, Apollo 12 in Oceanus Procellarum.

Wednesday, July 21 – Venus Passes Regulus (after sunset)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

For about an hour after sunset on Wednesday, July 21, and very low in the west-northwestern sky, the very bright planet Venus will gleam above the prominent double star Regulus in Leo. The orbital motion of Venus will carry it within a finger’s width to the upper right of (or 1 degree to the celestial north) of Regulus on Wednesday – close enough for them to be viewed together in a backyard telescope. Magnitude -3.93 Venus will outshine magnitude +1.34 Regulus by about 130 times. The duo will be observable in binoculars (red circle), with Mars to their lower right, for the entire week. (Ensure that the sun has set fully before pointing optics towards the western horizon.)

Friday, July 23 – Full Thunder Moon (at 2:37 GMT)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

The moon will reach its full phase on Friday, July 23 at 10:37 p.m. EDT (or 02:37 GMT on Saturday, July 24). The July full moon, commonly called the Buck Moon, Thunder Moon, or Hay Moon, always shines in or near the stars of Sagittarius or Capricornus. The indigenous Ojibwe people of the Great Lakes region call this moon Abitaa-niibini Giizis, the Halfway Summer Moon, or Mskomini Giizis, the Raspberry Moon. The Cherokees call it Guyegwoni, the Corn in Tassel Moon. The Cree Nation of central Canada calls the June full moon Opaskowipisim, the Feather Moulting Moon (referring to wild water-fowl habits), and the Mohawks call it Ohiarihko:wa, the Fruits are Ripened Moon. Because the moon is full when it is opposite the sun in the sky, full moons always rise in the east as the sun is setting, and set in the west at sunrise. Since sunlight is striking the moon vertically at that time, no shadows are cast; all of the variations in brightness you see arise from differences in the reflectivity, or albedo, of the lunar surface rocks.

Saturday, July 24 – Bright Moon below Saturn and Jupiter (all night)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

While the moon’s monthly visit with the gas giant planets will begin with Saturn on the previous evening, skywatchers who are outside on Saturday night, July 24 will find our slightly-less-than-full natural satellite shining very brightly below and between bright Jupiter on the left (or celestial northeast) and Saturn on the right (celestial northwest). After they finish rising around 9:30 p.m. local time the trio will make a nice wide-field photo opportunity when composed with some interesting scenery.

Sunday, July 25 – Gibbous Moon and Jupiter (all night)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

After 24 hours, the moon’s eastward orbital motion will move it to a slim palm’s width below (or 4.75 degrees to the celestial south) of Jupiter on Sunday night, July 25. The pair will be visible together in binoculars all night long after they rise in the east-southeast at about 10 p.m. local time. The scene will make another nice wide-field photo opportunity by adding Saturn well off to their right.

Thursday, July 29 – Southern Delta-Aquariids Meteors Peak (at 5:00 GMT)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

The annual Southern Delta Aquariids meteor shower lasts from July 21 to August 23. It will peak before dawn on Thursday, July 29, but it is quite active for a week surrounding that date. This shower, produced by debris dropped from periodic Comet 96P/Machholz, commonly generates 15-20 meteors per hour at the peak. It is best enjoyed from the southern tropics, where the shower’s radiant, in southern Aquarius, climbs higher in the sky. Unfortunately, the bright gibbous moon shining in the night-time sky on the peak date will severely reduce the number of meteors seen – so continue your meteor-watching on the following few nights, when the moon will wane and rise later.

Thursday, July 29 – Mars meets Regulus (after Sunset)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

On Thursday, July 29, Mars will follow in Venus’ footsteps and pass only 38 arc-minutes (less than a finger’s width) above Leo’s brightest star Regulus. They’ll be visible just above the west-northwestern horizon after sunset, with Venus shining brightly to their upper left (or celestial east). White-colored Regulus will shine slightly brighter than reddish Mars. The pair will be close enough to be seen together in a backyard telescope (red circle) for a night or two on either side of Thursday, too; but objects observed that low in the sky will be blurred by Earth’s atmosphere. Observers viewing from equatorial and Southern Hemisphere latitudes will see them higher, and in a darker sky.

Thursday, July 29 – Double Shadow Transit on Jupiter (from 20:05 to 20:41 GMT)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

From time to time, the small round black shadows cast by Jupiter’s four Galilean moons become visible in amateur telescopes as they cross (or transit) the planet’s disk. On Thursday, July 29, observers with telescopes in Central Europe, the Middle East, and most of Asia can see two shadows crossing Jupiter at the same time. At 11:05 p.m. IDT (or 20:05 GMT) Io’s small shadow will join Callisto’s larger shadow already in transit. About 35 minutes later, at 11:41 p.m. IDT (or 20:41 GMT), Callisto’s shadow will move off the planet, leaving Io’s shadow to complete its crossing almost two hours later.

Saturday, July 31 – Third Quarter Moon Again (at 13:16 GMT)

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

When a lunar phase occurs in the first few days of a calendar month, it can repeat at month’s end. For the second time in July, the moon will officially reach its third quarter phase – at 9:16 a.m. EDT (or 13:16 GMT) on Saturday, July 31. The ensuing week of moonless evening skies will be ideal for observing deep sky targets.

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Published on July 01, 2021 03:38

Leaked Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic images reveal traditional design,

Images of Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4 Classic have leaked online, giving us our first look at what could be the more traditionally-styled entry in Samsung’s upcoming smartwatch lineup. The images, published by Android Headlines, show a smartwatch with a rotating bezel and two buttons on its right-hand side, available in white, gray, and black.

The watch will reportedly be available in three sizes in total: 42mm, 44mm, and 46mm, and will run on the smartwatch platform co-developed by Samsung and Google. The watch will also reportedly be available in either stainless steel or aluminum, will be water resistant up to a depth of 50 meters (thanks to a 5ATM rating), and should be rugged thanks to a MIL-STD-810G certification.

The watch is shown with a rotating bezel and two side buttons.Image: Android Headlines

The Galaxy Watch 4 Classic appears to be one of at least two smartwatch models Samsung plans to announce this summer. There could also be a non-Classic Galaxy Watch 4 on the way, which ditches the rotating bezel for a slimmer design that looks closer to Samsung’s previous Active-branded smartwatches (in fact, some leaks have referred to this watch as the Galaxy Watch Active 4). The non-Classic version will reportedly be available in 40mm and 44mm sizes, and will also feature 5ATM water resistance and MIL-STD 810G durability.

Regardless of how these watches end up being branded, it looks like Samsung has a busy summer ahead of it for smartwatch announcements. Android Headlines speculates that we might see these new watches announced at an Unpacked event in early August, which will presumably also include the new Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 5G foldables that have also recently leaked.

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Published on July 01, 2021 03:19

June 30, 2021

Judge blocks Florida’s social media law,

A Florida internet law is on hold while a lawsuit contesting it continues. Judge Robert Hinkle has issued a preliminary injunction blocking nearly all of SB 7072, a controversial and sweeping regulation of social media platforms.

“The legislation now at issue was an effort to rein in social-media providers deemed too large and too liberal. Balancing the exchange of ideas among private speakers is not a legitimate governmental interest,” Hinkle wrote his order. Moreover, the law “discriminates on its face among otherwise identical speakers,” partly thanks to an eyebrow-raising exemption for companies that operate a theme park. That raises the bar for evaluating whether the law violates the First Amendment — and in Hinkle’s estimation, it probably does.

SB 7072, signed by Governor Ron DeSantis in May, limits when web services can kick off users. It includes a ban on suspending or annotating the posts of political candidates, a requirement that users can “opt out” of algorithmic sorting systems, and an “antitrust violator blacklist” for companies that break the rules. As mentioned above, the rules don’t apply to “a company that owns and operates a theme park or entertainment complex,” placating media conglomerates like Disney.

Industry groups NetChoice and the CCIA sued to stop the law’s enforcement, saying it would compel social media platforms to host offensive speech that violated their editorial policies. Judge Hinkle heard arguments from both groups and the DeSantis administration on Monday, when he appeared dubious of the law, calling the theme park exemption in particular a “major constitutional issue.”

The injunction is similarly skeptical, summarizing the law as follows:

“The state of Florida has adopted legislation that imposes sweeping requirements on some but not all social-media providers. The legislation applies only to large providers, not otherwise-identical but smaller providers, and explicitly exempts providers under common ownership with any large Florida theme park. The legislation compels providers to host speech that violates their standards — speech they otherwise would not host — and forbids providers from speaking as they otherwise would. The Governor’s signing statement and numerous remarks of legislators show rather clearly that the legislation is viewpoint-based. And parts contravene a federal statute.”

The federal statute Hinkle mentions is Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a rule that gives websites and apps wide latitude to decide what material they host. Beyond that, Hinkle says social networks regularly use editorial judgment to prioritize, remove, label, and otherwise sort content shown to users — and much of that editorial judgment is likely protected by the First Amendment. “The state has asserted it is on the side of the First Amendment; the plaintiffs are not. It is perhaps a nice sound bite. But the assertion is wholly at odds with accepted constitutional principles,” Hinkle writes.

Federal lawmakers, like state ones, have an appetite for regulating social media. That includes a package of bills aimed at reducing the potential monopoly power of companies like Facebook and Google, as well as several proposals for changing Section 230. In April, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas also made a case for regulating social media. But Florida’s law was one of the first, most sweeping rules governing how companies can moderate web platforms — and it’s not surprising that it’s been stopped short.

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Published on June 30, 2021 18:00

Google is building support for digital COVID vaccine cards into Android,

Google is opening up Android’s built-in passes system to let Android users store a digital vaccine card, which it calls a COVID Card, on their phone. The feature will initially roll out in the US, and it will rely on support from healthcare providers, local governments, or other organizations authorized to distribute COVID vaccines. The feature will also support storing COVID test results.

For vaccinations, your COVID Card will show info on when you were vaccinated and which vaccine you received, according to a Google support page. The card can be saved from your healthcare provider’s app or website as well as from texts or emails sent to you.

Google recommends that you add a shortcut to the card on your home screen and will offer the option when you save your card to your device. Google says that the card won’t be saved the cloud and that it won’t use the information you provide for advertising purposes, but it does say that it will collect some information, like how many times you use your card and on which days. And you won’t have to have the Google Pay app downloaded to save and access cards.

It’s good to see that Google is making it easier for people to save their vaccination status digitally on their phones, though whether you’re actually able to use the feature or not will still depend on your healthcare provider or government. Some states, like New York and California, have implemented their own digital vaccine cards, but Google’s version could streamline the process for other authorities.

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Published on June 30, 2021 17:30

Space Chat with Space.com: Hubble fights on, Virgin Orbit launches and UFO report comes out, ,

This Friday (July 2), Space Chat will explore what’s new in space, including Hubble repairs, a Virgin Orbit launch and the Pentagon’s UFO report.

Do you want to know what’s going on in space?

Every Friday at 1 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT), Space.com senior writer Chelsea Gohd explores what’s new in space on Space Chat, which you can find live on Space.com’s Facebook page and Youtube page.

Do you have space questions you want to be answered?

Ask Gohd your questions on Facebook or Youtube and get them answered LIVE during Space Chat every Friday.

Related: Science & Astronomy News at Space.com

If there’s something happening in space that you want to ask questions about on the next episode of Space Chat, you can post your suggestion for future episode topics to any of Space.com’s social media channels.

Also, if you’re looking to stay actively involved in the Space.com community, feel free to chat with other space enthusiasts over in our Space.com Forums here.

The 12 Strangest Objects in the UniverseFrom Big Bang to Present: Snapshots of Our Universe Through Time.The 11 Biggest Unanswered Questions About Dark Matter

Follow Chelsea Gohd on Twitter @chelsea_gohd . Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook .

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

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Published on June 30, 2021 16:43

Watch live: Virgin Orbit to launch 7 satellites from airplane today, ,

Virgin Orbit plans to launch seven satellites Wednesday morning (June 30) on a mission called “Tubular Bells: Part One.”

The company’s Cosmic Girl carrier plane is scheduled to lift off from Mojave Air and Space Port in California between 9 a.m. EDT and 11 a.m. EDT (1300 to 1500 GMT). About an hour later, the LauncherOne rocket will separate from the plane and carrying the payloads to orbit.

You can watch it all live in the window above, courtesy of Virgin Orbit, or directly via the company. Coverage starts at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT).

A total of 7 satellites will fly on LauncherOne for “Tubular Bells: Part One.” The full list of customers onboard this mission includes:

The U.S. Department of Defense, which is launching three CubeSat sets as part of the DoD Space Test Program’s (STP) Rapid Agile Launch (RALI) Initiative. This launch, also known as STP-27VPA, was awarded to Virgin Orbit subsidiary VOX Space by the DoD’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), an organization working to accelerate the adoption of commercial technology into the U.S. military to strengthen national security. The Royal Netherlands Air Force, which is launching the Netherlands’ first military satellite, a CubeSat called BRIK II, built and integrated by Innovative Solutions in Space.SatRevolution, which is launching the first two optical satellites, STORK-4 and STORK-5 (A.K.A. MARTA), of the company’s 14-satellite STORK constellation.SpaceX Transporter 2 launch on Wednesday

A used SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch 88 satellites on the Transporter 2 rideshare mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida Wednesday (June 30) and you’ll be able to watch it live here, courtesy of SpaceX. Liftoff is set for 2:56 p.m. EDT (1856 GMT), with a one-hour launch window. A launch attempt on Tuesday was delayed.

The Falcon 9 rocket will liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40, with SpaceX’s webcast expected to begin about 15 minutes before liftoff. You can also watch directly from SpaceX here. SpaceX will have a one-hour window in which to launch the mission, which will fly on a polar trajectory into orbit.

From SpaceX

SpaceX is targeting Tuesday, June 29 for launch of Transporter-2, SpaceX’s second dedicated SmallSat Rideshare Program mission, from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The 58-minute launch window opens at 2:56 p.m. EDT, or 18:56 UTC, and there is a backup opportunity available on Wednesday, June 30 with the same 58-minute window.

Falcon 9’s first stage booster previously supported launch of GPS III Space Vehicle 03, Turksat 5A, and five Starlink missions. Following stage separation, SpaceX will land Falcon 9’s first stage on Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. One half of Falcon 9’s fairing previously supported Transporter-1 and a Starlink mission, and the other previously flew on SAOCOM 1B and a Starlink mission.

On board this launch are 85 commercial and government spacecraft (including CubeSats, microsats, and orbital transfer vehicles) and 3 Starlink satellites. While there are fewer spacecraft on board compared to Transporter-1, this mission is actually launching more mass to orbit for SpaceX’s customers.

A live webcast of this mission will begin about 15 minutes prior to liftoff.

Mission Profile:

LAUNCH, LANDING, AND DEPLOYMENT

HR/MIN/SEC EVENT

00:38:00 SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for propellant load

00:35:00 RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene) loading underway

00:35:00 1st stage LOX (liquid oxygen) loading underway

00:16:00 2nd stage LOX loading underway

00:07:00 Falcon 9 begins engine chill prior to launch

00:01:00 Command flight computer to begin final prelaunch checks

00:01:00 Propellant tank pressurization to flight pressure begins

00:00:45 SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for launch

00:00:03 Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence to start

00:00:00 Falcon 9 liftoff

00:01:12 Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)

00:02:15 1st stage main engine cutoff (MECO)

00:02:18 1st and 2nd stages separate

00:02:26 2nd stage engine starts

00:02:32 Boostback burn begins

00:03:42 Fairing deployment

00:06:34 1st stage entry burn begins

00:08:24 2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO)

00:08:24 1st stage landing

00:54:13 2nd stage engine restarts

00:54:15 2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-2)

00:57:50 NASA’s PACE-1 deploys

00:57:57 Satellogic’s NewSat-19 deploys

00:58:04 The 1st ICEYE satellite deploys from EXOPort-5

00:58:32 NASA’s TROPICS Pathfinder deploys

00:58:37 PlanetiQ’s GNOMES-2 deploys

00:58:44 Tyvak-0173 deploys

00:59:47 The 2nd ICEYE satellite deploys from EXOPort-3

01:00:00 Tyvak-0211 deploys

01:00:08 Loft Orbital’s YAM-3 deploys from EXOPort-5

01:00:18 TU Berlin’s TUBIN deploys from EXOPort-4

01:00:23 UmbraSAR deploys

01:00:33 D-Orbit’s ION satellite carrier deploys

01:01:50 Space Development Agency/General Atomics/Peraton’s LINCS-2 deploys

01:02:16 Satellogic’s NewSat-20 deploys

01:02:30 Satellogic’s NewSat-21 deploys

01:02:40 Capella SAR satellite deploys

01:02:46 The 3rd ICEYE satellite deploys from EXOPort-4

01:04:12 Space Development Agency/General Atomics/Peraton’s LINCS-1 deploys

01:04:29 DARPA/Space Development Agency/Air Force Research Laboratory’s Mandrake-2 Able deploys

01:05:33 The 4th ICEYE satellite deploys from EXOPort-3

01:06:48 Swarm’s 1st SpaceBEE cluster deploys from EXOPort-4

01:07:10 Swarm’s 2nd SpaceBEE cluster deploys from EXOPort-4

01:07:17 NanoAvionics’ D2/AtlaCom-1 deploys from EXOPort-3

01:07:24 Spire’s LEMUR number 1 deploys from EXOPort-3

01:07:47 Satellogic’s NewSat-22 deploys

01:07:56 Loft Orbital’s YAM-2 deploys

01:09:51 Spires’s LEMUR number 2 deploys from EXOPort-3

01:09:58 DARPA/Space Development Agency/Air Force Research Laboratory’s Mandrake-2 Baker deploys

01:21:10 Spaceflight Inc.’s Sherpa-FX2 deploys

01:21:14 Spaceflight Inc.’s Sherpa-LTE1 deploys

01:27:35 Starlink satellites deploy

A robotic Russian Progress cargo spacecraft launched toward the International Space Station on Tuesday (June 29) with more than 3,600 lbs. of supplies. The freighter is scheduled to arrive at the orbiting lab on Thursday evening (July 1). Read more below.

Editor’s Note: This advisory was updated June 28, 2021, to provide an updated figure for the amount of cargo being delivered.

Live coverage of Russia’s Progress 78 cargo spacecraft’s launch and docking to the International Space Station will begin at 7 p.m. EDT Tuesday, June 29, on NASA Television, the agency’s website, and the NASA app.

The uncrewed spacecraft is scheduled to launch on a Soyuz 2.1a rocket at 7:27 p.m. (4:27 a.m. Wednesday, June 30, Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The Progress spacecraft will go into orbit for a two-day journey before automatically docking to the Poisk module on the space-facing side of the station’s Russian segment at 9:02 p.m. Thursday, July 1. Coverage of rendezvous and docking will begin at 8:15 p.m.

Carrying more than 3,600 pounds of food, fuel, and supplies for the Expedition 65 crew, the Progress 78 resupply vehicle will spend almost five months at the station. The cargo craft is scheduled to perform an automated undocking and relocation to the new “Nauka” Multipurpose Laboratory Module in late October. Named for the Russian word for “science,” Nauka is planned to launch to the space station in mid-July.

Progress 78 will undock from the orbiting laboratory in November for a re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere that results in its safe destruction.

Get breaking news, images and features from the space station on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Find out what the astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station are up to by tuning in to the “ISS Live” broadcast. Hear conversations between the crew and mission controllers on Earth and watch them work inside the U.S. segment of the orbiting laboratory. When the crew is off duty, you can enjoy live views of Earth from Space. You can watch and listen in the window below, courtesy of NASA.

“Live video from the International Space Station includes internal views when the crew is on-duty and Earth views at other times. The video is accompanied by audio of conversations between the crew and Mission Control. This video is only available when the space station is in contact with the ground. During ‘loss of signal’ periods, viewers will see a blue screen.

“Since the station orbits the Earth once every 90 minutes, it experiences a sunrise or a sunset about every 45 minutes. When the station is in darkness, external camera video may appear black, but can sometimes provide spectacular views of lightning or city lights below.”

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Published on June 30, 2021 04:23

Astronomers spot 3,000 light-year ‘light echo’ of dying supermassive black hole, ,

At the dark hearts of galaxies like the Milky Way lie supermassive black holes, with millions or even billions of times the sun’s mass.

Some of those supermassive black holes are what scientists call active galactic nuclei (AGN), which spew out copious amounts of radiation like X-rays and radio waves. AGN are responsible for the twin jets of ionized gas you see shooting away in pictures of many galaxies.

As all things must pass, so too must every AGN one day shut off. But scientists have never quite understood how or when that happens. Now, researchers led by Kohei Ichikawa, an astronomer at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan, may have found a clue. Looking at the distant galaxy Arp 187, those researchers have seen what they think is an AGN in its very last days.

Related: Black holes of the universe (images)

Ichikawa and his colleagues observed Arp 187 with the radio telescopes at the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in northern Chile and the Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico. They spotted twin jet lobes, a telltale sign of an AGN. But they couldn’t detect radio waves, which also should have been coming from an active nucleus.

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The observational difference between a standard AGN (left) and a dying AGN (right) discovered by Ichikawa et al. In the dying AGN, the nucleus is very faint in all wavelength bands because AGN activity is already dead, while the extended ionized region is still visible for about 3,000 light-years since it takes about 3,000 years for the light to cross the extended region. (Image credit: Ichikawa et al.)

So, the researchers took a second look at Arp 187’s core with NASA’s NuSTAR (“Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array”) X-ray satellite. AGN normally produce X-rays in abundance, but no such signal emerges in the NuSTAR data, the team reported in a study presented earlier this month at the 238th meeting of the American Astronomical Society, which was held virtually.

The researchers therefore think that, sometime in the past several thousand years (as observed from Earth), Arp 187’s AGN has gone dark.

This observation is possible because an AGN’s jets are colossal. Arp 187’s stretch out for 3,000 light-years, meaning that you can see their matter stream away for millennia after the AGN core “dies.” Astronomers call this mourning period a “light echo.” It’s like watching smoke from a newly extinguished fire.

The researchers have called their discovery “serendipitous.” Arp 187 could be a stepping stone to learning more about what happens at the end of an AGN’s life, study team members said.

“We will search for more dying AGN using a similar method as this study,” Ichikawa said in a statement. “We will also obtain the high spatial resolution follow-up observations to investigate the gas inflows and outflows, which might clarify how the shutdown of AGN activity has occurred.”

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Published on June 30, 2021 04:20