Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
The International Space Station is a hub for scientific research and technology demonstration. Currently, in its third decade of human-tended operations, the orbiting lab is building on previous research to produce pivotal results while conducting cutting-edge science. Read highlights of some of the groundbreaking space station science conducted in 2023 that is benefiting humanity on Earth and preparing humans for journeys to the Moon and beyond.
Bringing Back the Benefits to People on Earth
The first human knee meniscus successfully 3D bioprinted in orbit using the BioFabrication Facility.
Redwire
The first human knee meniscus was successfully bioprinted in orbit using the space station’s BioFabrication Facility. BFF-Meniscus-2 evaluates 3D printing knee cartilage tissue using bioinks and cells. Demonstration of this capability in space supports continued and expanded commercial use of the space station for fabricating tissues and organs for transplant on the ground.
NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara pose in front of the International Space Station’s Cold Atom Lab.
NASA
For the first time in space, scientists produced a quantum gas containing two types of atoms using station’s Cold Atom Laboratory. This new capability could allow researchers to study the quantum properties of individual atoms as well as quantum chemistry, which focuses on how different types of atoms interact and combine in a quantum state. This research could enable a wider range of Cold Atom Lab experiments, harnessing the facility to develop new space-based quantum technologies. Quantum tools are used in everything, from cell phones to medical devices, and could deepen our understanding of the fundamental laws of nature.
Monitoring Climate Change from Above
On Sept. 14, 2023, NASA announced that July 2023 was the hottest recorded month since 1880. The space station is helping monitor climate change by collecting data using multiple Earth-observing instruments mounted on its exterior.
The Canadarm2 robotic arm maneuvers NASA’s EMIT after retrieving it from the trunk of the SpaceX Dragon.
NASA
Since launching in 2022, NASA’s EMIT (Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation) has detected more than surface minerals. The imaging spectrometer is now identifying point-source emissions of greenhouse gases with a proficiency that surprises even its designers. Detecting methane was not part of EMIT’s primary mission, but with more than 750 emissions sources now identified, the instrument has proven effective at spotting sources both big and small. This is an important factor in identifying “super-emitters” – sources that produce disproportionate shares of total emissions. Tracking human-caused emissions could offer a low-cost, rapid approach to reducing greenhouse gases.
Evaporative Stress Index over San Joaquin Valley, CA.
NASA
Models using NASA’s ECOSTRESS data found that photosynthesis in plants begins to fail at 116 degrees Fahrenheit (F) (46.7 degrees Celsius (C)). ECOSTRESS is helping to explore the implications of climate change within tropical rainforests. According to this study, average temperatures have increased 0.5 C per decade in some tropical regions, and temperature extremes are becoming more pronounced. It is unknown whether tropical vegetation temperatures could soon approach this threshold, but this result raises awareness of the need to mitigate climate change effects on rainforests, a primary producer of the world’s oxygen.
Studying for the Journey Beyond Low Earth Orbit
NASA now has the ability to recycle 98% of the water collected from the US segment on the space station – meeting the threshold necessary for water recovery on long-duration space exploration missions. Credit: NASA/ ScienceCasts
NASA has achieved 98% water recovery aboard the U.S. segment of the space station, a necessary milestone for space missions that venture to distant destinations. NASA uses the station to develop and test life support systems that can regenerate or recycle consumables such as food, air, and water. Ideally, life support systems need to recover close to 98% of the water that crews bring along at the start of a long journey. In 2023, the space station’s Environmental Control and Life Support System demonstrated this ability
NASA’s Laser Communications Roadmap – proving the technology’s validity in a variety of environments.
NASA / Dave Ryan
NASA’s ILLUMA-T, a laser communications demonstration, completed its first link — a critical milestone for the agency’s first two-way laser relay system. Laser communications send and receive information at higher rates, providing spacecraft with the capability to send more data back to Earth in a single transmission. Testing operational laser communications in a variety of scenarios could refine the capability for future missions to the Moon and Mars.
NASA astronaut Frank Rubio harvests tomatoes for the Veg-05 experiment. Credit: NASA
NASA astronaut Frank Rubio completed a record-breaking science mission, spending 371 days in space. During his time in orbit, Rubio was the first astronaut to participate in a study examining how exercising with limited gym equipment affects the human body and is one of a handful of astronauts to help researchers test whether an enhanced diet can improve adaptation to life in space. Rubio’s contributions help researchers understand how spaceflight affects human physiology and psychology and prepare for long-duration missions.
UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi harvests leaves from thale cress plants for the Plant Habitat-03 experiment.
NASA
The completion of one of the first multi-generational plant studies aboard the space station could help researchers assess whether genetic adaptations in one generation of plants grown in space can transfer to the next. Plant Habitat-03 results could provide insight into how to grow repeated generations of crops to provide fresh food and other services on future space missions.
A sample of fabric burns inside an uncrewed Cygnus cargo spacecraft for the Saffire-IV experiment.
NASA
Saffire-VI (Spacecraft Fire Experiment-IV) marked the completion of a series of combustion experiments helping researchers understand the risks and behaviors of fire in space. Because flame-related experiments are difficult to conduct aboard an occupied spacecraft, Saffire (Spacecraft Fire Experiments) use the unmanned Cygnus resupply vehicle after it departs from the space station to test flammability at different oxygen levels and to demonstrate fire detection and monitoring capabilities.
Christine Giraldo International Space Station Program Research Office Johnson Space Center
Search this database of scientific experiments to learn more about those mentioned above.
The Next Full Moon is the Cold, Frost or Winter Moon
23 Min Read
The Next Full Moon is the Cold, Frost or Winter Moon
A full moon rises about California’s Vasquez Rocks
Credits: NASA/Preston Dyches
January 2024
The Next Full Moon is the Cold, Frost, or Winter Moon; the Long Night Moon; the Moon after Yule; the Datta Jayanti and Thiruvathira Festival Moon; Unduvap Poya; and the Chang’e Moon.
The next full Moon will be Tuesday evening, December 26, 2023, appearing opposite the Sun (in Earth-based longitude) at 7:33 PM EST. This will be on Wednesday in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and for most of Eurasia, Africa, and Australia. Many commercial calendars use UTC and will show this full Moon on Wednesday. The Moon will appear full for 3 days, from Monday evening to Thursday morning.
The Maine Farmers’ Almanac began publishing “Indian” names for full Moons in the 1930s. Over time these names have become widely known and used. According to this almanac, as the full Moon in December this is the Cold Moon, due to the long, cold nights. Other names are the Frost Moon, for the frosts as winter nears or the Winter Moon.
As the full Moon closest to the winter solstice, this is the Long Night Moon. The plane of the Moon’s orbit around the Earth nearly matches the plane of the Earth’s orbit around the Sun. When the path of the Sun appears lowest in the sky for the year, the path of the full Moon opposite the Sun appears near its highest. For the Washington, DC, area, on Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning, December 7 to 8, 2023, the Moon will be in the sky for a total of 15 hours 57 minutes, with 14 hours 33 minutes of this when the Sun is down, making this the longest full Moon night of the year. The Moon will reach a maximum altitude of 79.0 degrees at 24 minutes after midnight.
As the full Moon after the winter solstice, some consider this the Moon after Yule. Yule was a 3- to 12-day festival near the winter solstice in pre-Christian Europe. In the tenth century King Haakon I associated Yule with Christmas as part of the Christianization of Norway, and this association spread throughout Europe. However, when Yule was celebrated is unclear. Some sources associate it with the 12 days of Christmas, which puts the Moon after Yule in January. Other sources suggest that Yule is an old name for the month of January, so the Moon after Yule is in February. In the absence of better information, I’m going with the full Moon after the winter solstice as the Moon after Yule.
This full Moon corresponds with Datta Jayanti, also known as Dattatreya Jayanti, a Hindu festival commemorating the birth day of the Hindu god Dattatreya (Datta). This full Moon corresponds with the Thiruvathira festival celebrated by Hindus in the Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
For the Buddhists of Sri Lanka, this is Unduvap Poya. In the third century BCE, Sanghamitta Theri, the daughter of Emperor Asoka of India and founder of an order of Buddhist nuns in Sri Lanka, brought a branch of the Bodhi Tree to Sri Lanka. This sapling was planted in 288 BCE by King Devanampiya Tissa in the Mahamevnāwa Park in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, where it still grows today, making it the oldest living human-planted tree with a known planting date.
We could also call this the Chang’e Moon, after the three Chinese lunar landers that launched and landed on the Moon this time of year. These missions get their name from the Chinese goddess of the Moon, Chang’e, who lived on the Moon with her pet rabbit, Yutu. The Chang’e 3 lander and its companion Yutu-1 rover launched on December 1 and landed on the Moon on December 14, 2013. The Chang’e 4 lander and Yutu-2 rover launched December 7, 2018, and landed on the Moon on January 3, 2019. The Chang’e 5 lunar sample return mission launched on November 23 (in UTC, November 24 in China’s time zone), collected samples from the Moon, and returned them to Earth on December 16, 2020, humanity’s first lunar sample return since 1976.
In many lunar and lunisolar calendars the months change with the new Moon and full Moons fall in the middle of the lunar month. This full Moon is in the middle of the eleventh month of the Chinese calendar, Tevet in the Hebrew calendar, and Jumada al-Thani in the Islamic calendar, also known as Jumada al-Akhirah or Jumada al-Akhir.
As usual, the wearing of suitably celebratory celestial attire is encouraged in honor of the full Moon. Make sure you are ready for winter and take advantage of these early sunsets to enjoy and share the wonders of the night sky.
As for other celestial events between now and the full Moon after next (with times and angles based on the location of NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC):
As winter continues, the daily periods of sunlight continue lengthening. On Tuesday, December 26, 2023 (the day of the full Moon), morning twilight will begin at 6:22 AM, sunrise will be at 7:25 AM, solar noon will be at 12:09 PM when the Sun will reach its maximum altitude of 27.8 degrees, sunset will be at 4:52 PM, and evening twilight will end at 5:56 PM. Our 24-hour clock is based on the average length of the solar day. Although the day of the winter solstice is sometimes called the “shortest day of the year” (because it has the shortest period of sunlight), the solar days near the solstice are actually the longest solar days of the year. Because of this, the earliest sunset of the year occurs before the solstice and the latest sunrise of the year (ignoring Daylight Savings Time) occurs after the solstice. For the Washington, DC area and similar latitudes (I’ve not checked other latitudes), Friday, January 5, 2024, will have the latest (non-daylight-savings time) sunrise of the year (with sunrise at 7:26:56 AM EST). By Thursday, January 25 (the day of the full Moon after next), morning twilight will begin at 6:24 AM, sunrise will be at 7:27 AM, solar noon will be at 12:13 PM when the Sun will reach its maximum altitude of 28.5 degrees, sunset will be at 5:00 PM, and evening twilight will end at 6:03 PM.
Meteor Showers
The Quadrantids (010 QUA) meteor shower is predicted to be active from December 28, 2023 to January 12, 2024, peaking early Thursday morning, January 4. This shower can have visible meteor rates as high as the other two reliably rich meteor showers (the Perseids in August and the Geminids in December), but is harder to see because the peak is narrower (only a few hours) and these meteors are fainter. The best time to look may be the morning of January 4 for the hour or two before the Moon rises (at 2:29 AM EST), as moonlight will interfere at the time of the predicted peak at 4 AM EST. The International Meteor Organization (IMO) reports that video and radio forward scatter data from the last few years suggest the peak may be a few hours ahead of the predicted peak and that the maximum may be wider than the usually quoted 4 hours, making the time before moonrise more promising.
The area of the sky that these meteors will appear to radiate out from (called the radiant) will rise above the north-northeastern horizon Wednesday night at around 10 PM EST. The higher the radiant is above the horizon the fewer meteors will be hidden, so it’s generally best to look after midnight but before moonrise. To see these meteors you will need a dark place far from the glow of city lights with a clear view of a large part of the sky, and for the weather to cooperate by providing a clear sky without clouds or haze. This is particularly important because these meteors tend to be faint.
Be sure to give your eyes plenty of time to adapt to the dark. The rod cells in your eyes are more sensitive to low light levels but play little role in color vision. Your color-sensing cone cells are concentrated near the center of your view with more rod cells on the edge of your view. Since some meteors are faint, you will tend to see more meteors from the “corner of your eye” (which is why you need to view a large part of the sky). Your color vision (cone cells) will adapt to darkness in about 10 minutes, but your more sensitive night vision rod cells will continue to improve for an hour or more (with most of the improvement in the first 35 to 45 minutes). The more sensitive your eyes are, the more chance you have of seeing meteors. Even a short exposure to light (from passing car headlights, etc.) will start the adaptation over again (so no turning on a light or your cell phone to check what time it is).
These meteors are caused by a stream of debris that enters the Earth’s atmosphere at 41 kilometers per second (92,000 miles per hour). The source of this debris might be the asteroid (196256) 2003 EH1, which may be an extinct comet and may be related to a comet discovered by Chinese, Japanese, and Korean astronomers in 1490 (called C/1490 Y1).
Evening Sky Highlights
Despite the cold weather, these still should be great evenings for Jupiter and Saturn watching, especially with a backyard telescope. Both will appear to shift westward each night. Jupiter was at its closest and brightest on November 2, 2023, and will be high in the sky as evening twilight ends. Saturn was at its closest and brightest for the year on August 27, and will be lower in the sky, gradually shifting towards the west-southwestern horizon. With clear skies and a telescope you should be able to see Jupiter’s four bright moons, Ganymede, Callisto, Europa, and Io, noticeably shifting positions in the course of an evening. For Saturn, you should be able to see Saturn’s rings as well as Saturn’s largest moon, Titan.
On the evening of Tuesday, December 26 (the evening of the night of the full Moon), as evening twilight ends (at 5:56 PM EST), the rising Moon will be 15 degrees above the east-northeastern horizon. Two planets will be visible. The brightest will be Jupiter at 51 degrees above the southeastern horizon. Saturn will be 33 degrees above the south-southwestern horizon. The bright object appearing closest to overhead will be the star Deneb at 52 degrees above the west-northwestern horizon, with Jupiter a close second. Deneb is the brightest star in the constellation Cygnus the swan and is one of the three bright stars of the “Summer Triangle” (along with Vega and Altair). Deneb is about 20 times more massive than our Sun and has used up its hydrogen, becoming a blue-white supergiant about 200 times the diameter of the Sun. If Deneb were where our Sun is, it would extend to about the orbit of the Earth. Deneb is about 2,600 light years from us and is the 19th brightest star in our night sky.
As this lunar cycle progresses, Jupiter, Saturn, and the background of stars will appear to shift westward each evening (as the Earth moves around the Sun). The still full Moon will appear near the bright star Pollux on December 27 and the waxing Moon will pass by Saturn on January 14, 2024, Jupiter on January 18, the Pleiades star cluster on January 20, and Pollux on January 24.
By the evening of Thursday, January 25 (the evening of the day of the full Moon after next), as evening twilight ends (at 6:22 PM EST), the rising Moon will be 11 degrees above the east-northeastern horizon. Two planets will be visible. The brightest will be Jupiter at 64 degrees above the southern horizon, making Jupiter the bright object closest to overhead. Saturn will be 15 degrees above the west-southwestern horizon.
Morning Sky Highlights
On the morning of Wednesday, December 27, 2023 (the morning of the night of the full Moon), as morning twilight begins (at 6:22 AM EST), the setting full Moon will be 18 degrees above the west-northwestern horizon. The only visible planet will be bright Venus at 19 degrees above the southeastern horizon. The bright object appearing closest to overhead will be the star Arcturus at 61 degrees above the southeastern horizon. Arcturus is the brightest star in the constellation Boötes the herdsman or plowman, is the 4th brightest star in our night sky, and is 36.7 light years from us. While it has about the same mass as our Sun, it is about 2.6 billion years older and has used up its core hydrogen, becoming a red giant 25 times the size and 170 times the brightness of our Sun.
As this lunar cycle progresses, the background of stars will appear to shift westward each evening, while Venus will gradually shift the other direction towards the southeastern horizon. After December 28 the planet Mercury will join Venus in the morning sky, rising on the east-southeastern horizon before morning twilight begins. Mercury will reach its highest as morning twilight begins on January 8, 2024, after which it will shift towards the horizon again. After January 20 the planet Mars will join Venus and Mercury, rising on the east-southeastern horizon before morning twilight begins. The waning Moon will pass near Pollux on December 28, Regulus on December 31, Spica on January 4 and 5, Antares and bright Venus on January 8 (with Mercury farther to the left), and Mercury on January 9. One of the three major meteor showers of the year, the Quadrantids, is predicted to peak early January 4. The best time to look may be the hour or two before the Moon rises (at 2:29 AM EST), as moonlight will interfere by the time of the predicted peak at 4 AM.
By the morning of Thursday, January 25 (the morning of the day of the full Moon after next), as morning twilight begins (at 6:19 AM EST), the setting full Moon will be 13 degrees above the west-northwestern horizon. Three planets will be visible in the sky (although two will be very low on the horizon). The brightest will be Venus at 10 degrees above the southeastern horizon. Next in brightness will be Mercury at 1.5 degrees above the east-southeastern horizon. To the lower left of Mercury will be Mars, just barely above the horizon. Mercury and Mars will appear at their closest to each other two mornings later. The bright object appearing closest to overhead will still be the star Arcturus at 70 degrees above the southern horizon.
Detailed Daily Guide
Here for your reference is a day-by-day listing of celestial events between now and the full Moon after next. The times and angles are based on the location of NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, and some of these details may differ for where you are (I use parentheses to indicate times specific to the DC area).
Thursday evening, December 21, 2023, at 10:27 PM EST, will be the winter solstice. This will be the day with the shortest period of daylight (9 hours, 26 minutes, 13 seconds long). Worldwide there are many festivals associated with the winter solstice, including Yule and the Chinese Dongzhi Festival.
Europeans have used two main ways to divide the year into seasons and define winter. The old Celtic calendar used in much of pre-Christian Europe considered winter to be the quarter of the year with the shortest periods of daylight and the longest periods of night, so that winter started around Halloween and ended around Groundhog Day (hence the origin of these traditions). However, since it takes time for our planet to cool off, the quarter year with the coldest average temperatures starts later than the quarter year with the shortest days. In our modern calendar we approximate this by having winter start on the winter solstice and end on the spring equinox. For the Washington, DC area at least, the quarter year with the coldest average temperatures actually starts the first week of December and ends the first week of March.
Solar noon on Thursday, December 21, to solar noon on Friday, December 22, 2023, will be the longest solar day of the year, 24 hours 29.8 seconds long. In this sense, the “shortest day of the year” is also the “longest day of the year!”
Thursday night into Friday morning, December 21 to 22, 2023, the bright planet Jupiter will appear near the waxing gibbous Moon. Jupiter will be 8 degrees to the lower left of the Moon as evening twilight ends (at 5:53 PM EST). The Moon will reach its highest in the sky for the night 2 hours later (at 7:53 PM) with Jupiter 7 degrees to the left. By the time the Moon sets on the west-northwestern horizon (at 2:50 AM) Jupiter will be 4 degrees to the upper left of the Moon.
Friday afternoon, December 22, 2023, the planet Mercury will be passing between the Earth and the Sun as seen from the Earth, called inferior conjunction. Planets that orbit inside of the orbit of Earth can have two types of conjunctions with the Sun, inferior (when passing between the Earth and the Sun) and superior (when passing on the far side of the Sun as seen from Earth). Mercury will be shifting from the evening sky to the morning sky and will begin emerging from the glow of dawn on the east-southeastern horizon in late December (depending upon viewing conditions).
Friday evening, December 22, 2023, the waxing gibbous Moon will have shifted to the other side of the bright planet Jupiter, with Jupiter appearing 6.5 degrees to the upper right of the Moon. Jupiter will appear to shift clockwise around the Moon, moving farther away as the night progresses.
Saturday evening into Sunday morning, December 23 to 24, 2023, the Pleiades star cluster will appear near the waxing gibbous Moon. The Pleiades will be about 6 degrees to the lower left as evening twilight ends (at 5:54 PM EST) and will shift clockwise around the Moon, appearing about 4 degrees to the upper left by the time the Moon reaches its highest in the sky (at 9:34 PM). By the time the Moon sets on the west-northwestern horizon (at 5:11 AM) the Pleiades will be less than 2 degrees to the upper right of the Moon. Due to the glare of the nearly full Moon, it may be difficult to see the Pleiades without very clear and dark skies or binoculars.
As mentioned above, the next full Moon will be Tuesday evening, December 26, 2023, at 7:33 PM EST. This will be on Wednesday in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and for most of Eurasia, Africa, and Australia. Many commercial calendars use UTC and will show this full Moon on Wednesday. The Moon will appear full for 3 days, from Monday evening to Thursday morning.
Wednesday evening into Thursday morning, December 27 to 28, 2023, the bright star Pollux will appear near the still full Moon. As evening twilight ends (at 5:56 PM EST) Pollux will be 6.5 degrees to the lower left of the Moon low on the east-northeastern horizon. By the time the Moon reaches its highest in the sky for the night 7 hours later (at 1:15 AM) Pollux will be 3 degrees to the upper left. As morning twilight begins (at 6:22 AM) Pollux will be 2.5 degrees to the upper right of the Moon.
Thursday morning, December 28, 2023, will be the first morning the planet Mercury will be above the east-southeastern horizon as morning twilight begins (at 6:22 AM EST).
Thursday night, December 28, 2023, the waning gibbous Moon will have shifted to the other side of the bright star Pollux. As the Moon rises (at 6:22 PM EST) above the east-northeastern horizon 25 minutes after evening twilight ends, Pollux will be 7 degrees to the upper right of the Moon, and the pair will separate as the night progresses.
Saturday night into Sunday morning, December 30 to 31, 2023, the bright star Regulus will appear near the waning gibbous Moon. As Regulus rises above the east-northeastern horizon (at 8:59 PM EST) it will be 5.5 degrees to the lower right of the Moon. By the time the Moon reaches its highest in the sky for the night (at 3:38 AM) Regulus will be 3.5 degrees below the Moon. As morning twilight begins (at 6:23 AM) Regulus will be 3 degrees to the lower left of the Moon.
Monday morning, January 1, 2024, at 10:29 AM EST, the Moon will be at apogee, its farthest from the Earth for this orbit.
Tuesday evening, January 2, 2024, the Earth will be at perihelion, the closest we get to the Sun in our orbit. Between perihelion and 6 months later at aphelion there is about a 6.7% difference in the intensity of the sunlight reaching the Earth, one of the reasons the seasons in the Southern hemisphere are more extreme than in the Northern Hemisphere. Perihelion is also when the Earth is moving the fastest in its orbit around the Sun, so if you run east at local midnight, you will be moving about as fast as you can (at least in Sun-centered coordinates) for your location. Wednesday evening, January 3, 2024, the waning Moon will appear half-full as it reaches its last quarter at 10:31 PM EST.
The Quadrantids (010 QUA) meteor shower is predicted to peak early Thursday morning, January 4, 2024. The best time to look may be the hour or two before the Moon rises (at 2:29 AM EST). See the meteor shower summary above for more information.
Friday morning, January 5, 2024, the bright star Spica will appear to the upper right of the waning crescent Moon. As the Moon rises on the east-southeastern horizon (at 1:25 AM EST) Spica will be 4 degrees to the upper right. By the time morning twilight begins (at 6:24 AM) Spica will be 5.5 degrees to the upper right.
Ignoring Daylight Savings Time, for the Washington, DC area and similar latitudes, (I’ve not checked elsewhere), Friday, January 5, 2024, will be the morning with the latest sunrise of the year, 7:26:56 AM EST.
Sunday morning, January 7, 2024, as morning twilight begins (at 6:24 AM EST), the waning crescent Moon will be 22 degrees above the south-southeastern horizon, with the bright planet Venus to the lower left at 15 degrees above the southeastern horizon, the bright star Antares to the lower right of Venus at 11 degrees above the horizon, and the planet Mercury farther to the lower left of Venus at 5 degrees above the east-southeastern horizon. The planet Mars will join this lineup 8 minutes later, rising in the glow of dawn to the lower left of Mercury.
Monday morning, January 8, 2024, the Moon, Venus, and Antares will appear clustered together above the southeastern horizon, with Mercury farther to the lower left. As morning twilight begins (at 6:24 AM EST) the bright planet Venus will appear 7 degrees to the upper left of the waning crescent Moon with the bright star Antares 1.5 degrees to the lower left of the Moon. The planet Mercury will be farther to the lower left of the Moon, Venus, and Antares, this being the morning when Mercury will be at its highest as twilight begins, a little over 6 degrees above the east-southeastern horizon. Mars will rise 7 minutes later, joining this grouping.
By Tuesday morning, January 9, 2024, the Moon will have shifted to 8 degrees to the lower right of Mercury, appearing only 3 degrees above the southeastern horizon as morning twilight begins (at 6:24 AM EST). The Moon will be a thin crescent and may be hard to see. Mars will rise in the glow of dawn 7 minutes later to the lower left of Mercury.
Thursday morning, January 11, 2024, at 6:57 AM EST, will be the new Moon, when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from the Earth. The day of or the day after the New Moon usually marks the start of the new month for most lunisolar calendars. Sundown on Wednesday, January 10, marks the start of Shevat in the Hebrew calendar. The twelfth month of the Chinese year of the Rabbit starts on January 11.
Friday morning, January 12, 2024, will be when the planet Mercury reaches its greatest angular separation from the Sun as seen from the Earth for this apparition (called greatest elongation). Because the angle of the line between the Sun and Mercury and the horizon changes, when Mercury and the Sun appear farthest apart as seen from the Earth is not always when Mercury appears highest above the east-southeastern horizon as morning twilight begins, which occurred January 8.
In the Islamic calendar the months traditionally start with the first sighting of the waxing crescent Moon. Many Muslim communities now follow the Umm al-Qura Calendar of Saudi Arabia, which uses astronomical calculations to start months in a more predictable way. Using this calendar, sundown on Friday evening, January 12, 2024, will probably mark the beginning of Rajab, the seventh month of the Islamic calendar. Rajab is one of the four sacred months in which warfare and fighting are forbidden.
Saturday morning, January 13, 2024, at 5:36 AM EST, the Moon will be at perigee, its closest to the Earth for this orbit.
Sunday evening, January 14, 2024, the planet Saturn will appear to the lower right of the waxing crescent Moon. The pair will be 7 degrees apart as evening twilight ends (at 6:11 PM EST) and Saturn will set first on the west-southwestern horizon a little over 2 hours later (at 8:26 PM).
Wednesday evening, January 17, 2024, the Moon will appear half-full as it reaches its first quarter at 10:53 PM EST.
Thursday evening into early Friday morning, January 18 to 19, 2024, the bright planet Jupiter will appear below the waxing gibbous Moon. Jupiter will be 3 degrees to the lower right of the Moon as evening twilight ends (at 6:15 PM EST) and will be 6 degrees below the Moon by the time Jupiter sets on the west-northwestern horizon 7 hours later (at 1:17 AM).
Saturday morning, January 20, 2024, will be the first morning that the planet Mars will be above the east-southeastern horizon as morning twilight begins (at 6:22 AM EST).
Saturday evening into Sunday morning, January 20 to 21, 2024, the Pleiades star cluster will appear near the waxing gibbous Moon. The Pleiades will be 5 degrees to the upper right of the Moon as evening twilight ends (at 6:17 PM EST). The Moon will reach its highest for the night 2 hours later (at 8:23 PM) with the Pleiades 6 degrees to the right. By the time the Pleiades set on the west-northwestern horizon (at around 3:25 AM) they will be 9 degrees to the lower right of the Moon.
Late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, January 23 to 24, 2024, the bright star Pollux will appear near the nearly full Moon. As evening twilight ends (at 6:20 PM EST) Jupiter will be 10 degrees to the lower left of the Moon, but will shift closer as it swings clockwise around the Moon. When the Moon reaches its highest for the night 5 hours later (at 11:08 PM) Jupiter will be 8 degrees to the left of the Moon. By the time morning twilight begins (at 6:20 AM) Jupiter will be 5 degrees above the Moon.
Thursday night into Friday morning, January 24 to 25, 2024, the Moon will have shifted to the other side of the bright star Pollux. Pollux will appear 3.5 degrees above the Moon as evening twilight ends (at 6:21 PM EST) and will appear to swing clockwise around the Moon as they move apart. When the Moon reaches its highest for the night (at midnight) Pollux will be 5.5 degrees to the upper right. As morning twilight begins (at 6:19 AM) Pollux will be 8 degrees to the lower right of the Moon.
The full Moon after next will be Thursday afternoon, January 25, 2024, at 12:54 PM EST. This will be on Friday morning from Myanmar time eastward to the International Dateline in the mid-Pacific. The Moon will appear full for about 3 days around this time, from around midnight Wednesday morning through about midnight Friday night.
Formal Job Classification: Research Astrophysicist
Organization: Stellar Astrophysics and Exoplanets Laboratory, Astrophysics Division, Sciences and Exploration Directorate (Code 667)
Joshua Schlieder is the Wide Field Instrument scientist for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. “I am never bored (but sometimes stressed),” he said. “Every day is a new adventure.”
Courtesy of Joshua Schlieder
What do you do and what is most interesting about your role here at Goddard? How do you help support Goddard’s mission?
As the Wide Field Instrument scientist for the Roman Space Telescope, I am a member of the project science team and work with other scientists, engineers, and managers to ensure that the Wide Field Instrument, the primary wide field survey camera on Roman, meets its science requirements.
As the operations project scientist for NASA’s Swift Observatory, I work with the principal investigator and project team to ensure that Swift is operating efficiently and obtaining data to meet our science goals and the needs of the astrophysics community.
I also do fundamental astrophysics research focusing on low-mass stars and their exoplanets.
What is your educational background?
From a very young age I was fascinated by the natural world and was constantly trying to understand how it worked. There wasn’t a question I wouldn’t ask or a rock I wouldn’t turn over to understand a little more. This curiosity led me to a B.S. in physics from Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania. I then received an M.A. and Ph.D. in physics with a concentration in astrophysics from Stony Brook University in New York.
How did you come to Goddard? Why do you stay?
From 2014 – 2016, I had a postdoctoral fellowship at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California to develop science programs for the James Webb Space Telescope and analyze data from the exoplanet hunting K2 mission. In 2016, I went to the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute at the California Institute of Technology as a member of the Exoplanet Archive team. In 2017, I came to Goddard to work on the latest exoplanet hunting mission, TESS, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite.
Goddard is truly unique compared to other academic institutions. It has an outstanding scientific environment where you can perform cutting edge astrophysics research and directly contribute to developing and implementing NASA missions.
Goddard astrophysicist Joshua Schlieder helps make sure the Roman Space Telescope’s Wide Field Instrument meets its science requirements. He also gardens, spends time outdoors, and goes to minor league baseball games in his spare time.
Courtesy of Joshua Schlieder
What is most interesting about your role on Roman?
We are working to build and test a new scientific instrument that will fly on a space telescope. I have the privilege of contributing to this effort and working with really excellent people from all disciplines. We combine our different scientific and technical backgrounds to solve difficult problems.
I am never bored (but sometimes stressed). Every day is a new adventure.
What is most interesting about your role on Swift?
Swift has been operating for many years. I enjoy working on a team that is a well-oiled machine. The observatory is dynamic, it is always doing something new and can observe about 100 targets each day. Unlike many space telescopes, it can rapidly respond to astronomical events and re-point very quickly, delivering new science on short notice. Swift was designed in a way that enables it to observe many different types of targets over a wide range of wavelengths and it is exciting to be a part of the planning and execution of its diverse science program.
What basic astrophysics research do you do? What is the one, big discovery you would like to make?
I study red dwarf stars and the exoplanets that orbit them. Red dwarfs are a class of star that are generally about half the size of the Sun or smaller, very faint, and have red colors because of their relatively low temperatures. Red dwarfs are everywhere, they make up more than 70% of the stars in our galaxy! But, because they are not very bright, you cannot see them with the naked eye. I also study exoplanets. Exoplanets are planets that are outside our solar system orbiting other stars. We know of many exoplanets that orbit red dwarf stars. It is common to find a red dwarf with several Earth sized planets in a compact system that would easily fit inside the orbit of Mercury in our solar system.
I hope someday that the astrophysics community will detect enough planets around red dwarf stars to truly understand the population and disentangle how such small stars can form so many planets. Since red dwarfs are the most common type of star, most planets in the galaxy orbit them. They may be our best opportunity to find planets that are similar to Earth and are close enough to study in great detail.
Goddard astrophysicist Joshua Schlieder grows tropical plants indoors when he isn’t working on the Roman Space Telescope’s Wide Field Instrument. “Research is never done, but that does not mean you should be doing it all the time. Having aspects of your life that are separate from astrophysics will keep you healthy and happy.”
Courtesy of Joshua Schlieder
What makes a good astrophysicist?
You have to be imaginative and think outside the box but also learn from criticism. You have to enjoy collaborating with many people because the best ideas come from the combined efforts of people with different backgrounds and different experiences.
You need a deep desire to push forward to understand the unknown, even if you do not know what path you may follow. You need to have a drive for new knowledge and an ability to go in different directions at the same time to solve a problem.
You have to embrace big ideas. What in the universe is waiting to be understood? How do I take what I know and work with other people to try to figure it out? Astrophysicists are both linear and abstract thinkers. In general, we have to be abstract in coming up with ideas and linear in solving them but many times we rely on both ways of thinking.
We also have to be able to explain these ideas to others in the community and the public. Communicating our work and explaining why it is important is a critical skill.
As a mentor, what is the most important advice you give?
Trust in your own ideas and abilities. You will run into setbacks and difficult times when projects are slow to move forward or even regress, but every day is progress and you will get there.
You have to expect, accept, and learn from constructive criticism. When someone pushses back on an idea, an approach, or a result, know that you are capable and use it as an opportunity to improve.
Ask questions, meet people, and build your community. Seek out those who may have the answers you need. You are not alone. Many people will be working on similar ideas, so work with them to see how everyone can build on an idea together. Being a scientist is tough, it is very competitive and everyone, whether they admit it or not, needs support. These people will be your support network.
Most importantly, take time for yourself. Research is never done, but that does not mean you should be doing it all the time. Having aspects of your life that are separate from astrophysics will keep you healthy and happy.
Goddard astrophysicist Joshua Schlieder relaxes at a Bowie Baysox game. “I also really enjoy minor league baseball, I try to see the local team in every city I visit. I have several dozen minor league team hats.”
Courtesy of Joshua Schlieder
Who inspires you?
The early career scientists that I work with. They bring huge enthusiasm and new ideas to projects and are willing and able to dive into big problems. I am always impressed with their ingenuity, capability, and resilience. It is a privilege to work with people that are bound to be future leaders in the field.
What is your hobby?
I like to garden and grow outdoor plants. I like plants that produce fruit. I am growing several fig trees, a plum tree, a paw paw, and raspberry, blueberry, and goji berry bushes. I also grow tropical plants indoors including orchids, which can be difficult but rewarding.
I enjoy going on long distance bicycle rides and recently completed a 100 km “metric century.” I also love being outdoors hiking, camping, and fishing.
I also really enjoy minor league baseball, I try to see the local team in every city I visit. I have several dozen minor league team hats.
Who is your favorite author?
I read a lot of science fiction and fantasy novels. I especially enjoy books by N. K. Jemisin and Alastair Reynolds.
What is your “six-word memoir”? A six-word memoir describes something in just six words.
Feet on the Ground, Head in the Stars. (I know this is eight words, but I was struggling to fit one to six.)
Conversations With Goddard is a collection of Q&A profiles highlighting the breadth and depth of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center’s talented and diverse workforce. The Conversations have been published twice a month on average since May 2011. Read past editions on Goddard’s “Our People” webpage.
On March 30, 2023, NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Jessica Watkins, and Robert Hines took part in STEM demonstrations with local students in Washington. Lindgren, Hines, and Watkins spent 170 days in space as part of Expeditions 67 and 68 aboard the International Space Station. While aboard, the crew studied ways to reverse the aging of immune cells, how wounds heal in microgravity, and cardiovascular health. They also participated in spacewalks, tested new technology to diagnose medical conditions, explored the development of new construction materials in space, grew red dwarf tomatoes, and observed liquid behavior in artificial gravity to support missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
The NASA Headquarters photographers chose this photo as one of the best images from 2023. See the rest on Flickr.
X-ray: NASA/CXC/Penn State Univ./L. Townsley et al.; Optical: NASA/STScI/HST; Infrared: NASA/JPL/CalTech/SST; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Schmidt, N. Wolk, K. Arcand
A colorful, festive image shows different types of light containing the remains of not one, but at least two, exploded stars. This supernova remnant is known as 30 Doradus B (30 Dor B for short) and is part of a larger region of space where stars have been continuously forming for the past 8 to 10 million years. It is a complex landscape of dark clouds of gas, young stars, high-energy shocks, and superheated gas, located 160,000 light-years away from Earth in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small satellite galaxy of the Milky Way.
The new image of 30 Dor B was made by combining X-ray data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (purple), optical data from the Blanco 4-meter telescope in Chile (orange and cyan), and infrared data from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope (red). Optical data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope was also added in black and white to highlight sharp features in the image.
A team of astronomers led by Wei-An Chen from the National Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan, have used over two million seconds of Chandra observing time of 30 Dor B and its surroundings to analyze the region. They found a faint shell of X-rays that extends about 130 light-years across. (For context, the nearest star to the Sun is about 4 light-years away). The Chandra data also reveals that 30 Dor B contains winds of particles blowing away from a pulsar, creating what is known as a pulsar wind nebula.
When taken together with data from Hubble and other telescopes, the researchers determined that no single supernova explosion could explain what is being seen. Both the pulsar and the bright X-rays seen in the center of 30 Dor B likely resulted from a supernova explosion after the collapse of a massive star about 5,000 years ago. The larger, faint shell of X-rays, however, is too big to have resulted from the same supernova. Instead, the team thinks that at least two supernova explosions took place in 30 Dor B, with the X-ray shell produced by another supernova more than 5,000 years ago. It is also quite possible that even more happened in the past.
This result can help astronomers learn more about the lives of massive stars, and the effects of their supernova explosions.
The paper led by Wei-An Chen describing these results was recently published in the Astronomical Journal. The co-authors of the paper are Chuan-Jui Li, You-Hua Chu, Shutaro Ueda, Kuo-Song Wang, Sheng-Yuan Liu, all from the Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica, in Taipei, Taiwan, and Bo-An Chen from National Taiwan University.
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts.
Today’s release features a spectacular composite image of a large region of space where stars have been continuously forming for the past eight to ten million years. At the center of this complex landscape of brilliant, colorful gas clouds is a supernova remnant. Known as 30 Doradus B, the remnant likely contains the remains of at least two exploded stars.
The entire image is awash in intricate clouds, and swathes of superheated gas. At our upper lefthand corner is a thick, coral pink and wine-colored cloud with a texture resembling cotton candy. At our lower and upper right is a network of deep red clouds that resemble streaks of thick red syrup floating in water. A layer of wispy blue cloud appears to be present across the entire image, but is most evident at our lower left which is free of overlapping gas. Glowing pink, orange, and purple specks of light, which are stars, dot the image.
In the center of the frame is a bright purple and pink cloud, aglow with brilliant white dots, and streaked with lightning-like veins. This is 30 Doradus B, which is delineated by a faint shell of X-rays identified by Chandra. Within this supernova remnant are high energy shocks and winds of particles blowing away from a pulsar.
News Media Contact
Megan Watzke Chandra X-ray Center Cambridge, Mass. 617-496-7998
Jonathan Deal Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, Ala. 256-544-0034
