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September 21, 2020 - Spend a Night under the Stars

Spend a Night under the Stars  On Saturday, thousands of stargazers will “bring astronomy to the people” during numerous semi-annual Astronomy Day events coordinated by the Astronomical League, an umbrella organization of over 240 U.S. amateur astronomy clubs. Science museums, astronomy clubs, planetaria, libraries, and nature centers will host special events worldwide—at decidedly non-astronomical sites like shopping malls, parks, and downtown centers—to acquaint people with local astronomical resources and facilities. This is a great chance to meet and learn from talented amateur astronomers, test the view through different telescopes, find out how to observe the Sun safely during the day, or attend your first star party at night. Visit the AstroLeague.org website to learn more.

Image credit: NPS/M.Quinn

Weekly Calendar

September 21 - 27, 2020

Holidays - Sky Events - Space History

 

Moon phase Monday 21

1866: H. G. Wells born
1874
: Gustav Holst born
1974: Mariner 10 flies by Mercury for second time
2003: Galileo mission ends
2018: HIBOU and OWL "hoppers" deployed to asteroid Ryugu

Moon phase Tuesday 22

Mercury 0.3° north of Spica
Equinox 9:31 AM ET

1990: Pioneer 10 reaches 50 AU from Sun
2006: Hinode spacecraft launched
2014: MAVEN spacecraft enters orbit around Mars

Moon phase Wednesday 23

First Qtr Moon 9:55 PM ET

1783: Caroline Herschel discovers NGC 253
1846: J. G. Galle discovers Neptune
1962: “The Jetsons” premieres
1977: Third glide test of space shuttle Enterprise

Moon phase Thursday 24

1930: John Young born
1962: MOOSE astronaut rescue system proposed
1970: Luna 16 returns lunar soil samples
1999: IKONOS-1 launched
2014: Mars Orbiter Mission enters orbit around Mars

Moon phase Friday 25

Jupiter 1.6° north of Moon
Saturn 2° north of Moon

1973: 59-day Skylab 3 mission ends
1992: Mars Observer launched
1997: STS-86 Atlantis launched
2008: Shenzhou 7 launched
2013Soyuz TMA-10M launched carrying ISS Expedition 37/38 crew
2014Soyuz TMA-14M launched carrying ISS Expedition 41/42 crew

Moon phase Saturday 26

Astronomy Day (Fall)

Moon phase Sunday 27

Yom Kippur begins at sunset

1814: Daniel Kirkwood born
2007: Dawn spacecraft launched

Suggestions for new history dates or better links? Corrections for errors on this page? Please e-mail me.