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April 24, 2017 - Celebrate Astronomy Day

Celebrate Astronomy Day  This week, thousands of stargazers will be “bringing astronomy to the people” during 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 like R. Jay GaBany, who captured this image of galaxy M83 in Hydra using an advanced half-meter (twenty-inch) telescope. Visit the AstroLeague.org website this week to learn more.

Image credit: R. Jay GaBany / www.cosmotography.com

Weekly Calendar

April 24 - 30, 2017

Holidays - Sky Events - Space History

 

Monday 24

Pallas 0.8° south of Moon

1970: China becomes fifth nation to launch its own satellite
1990: STS-31 Discovery launched

Tuesday 25

1962: Second Block I Saturn C-1 (SA-2) launched
1990: Hubble Space Telescope deployed
2003: ISS Expedition Seven crew launched on Soyuz TMA-2

Moon phase Wednesday 26

New Moon 8:16 AM ET

1920: Shapley-Curtis debate on the nature and distance of spiral nebulae
1993: STS-55 Columbia launched

Thursday 27

Moon at perigee

Friday 28

Mars 6° north of Moon
Aldebaran 0.5° south of Moon

1900: Jan Oort born
1906: Bart Bok born
1928:
Eugene Shoemaker born
1991:
STS-39 Discovery launched
2001:
Soyuz TM-32 launched; Dennis Tito becomes first space tourist
2003:
GALEX launched
2006:
CloudSat and CALIPSO launched

Saturday 29

Astronomy Day

1985: STS-51B Challenger launched

Sunday 30

2017: Soyuz MS-04 launched carrying ISS Expedition 51/52 crew

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