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November 18, 2019 - Honoring Hubble

Honoring Hubble  Few astronomers will ever be honored as highly as Edwin Hubble. Born 130 years ago this week, Hubble determined in the 1920s that so-called “spiral nebulae” were actually independent galaxies, not simply parts of our own Milky Way—a discovery that increased our estimate of the size of the Universe. Hubble also discovered that most galaxies were speeding away from each other, a phenomenon we now know to be caused by the Big Bang. Today, his legacy of discovery is honored by a namesake, the Hubble Space Telescope, the largest optical telescope ever placed in orbit, and the one responsible for more discoveries than almost any other scientific instrument in history. This Hubble image shows the brilliant star cluster NGC 346 surrounded by dark clouds and glowing nebulosity.

Image credit: NASA, ESA and A. Nota (ESA/STScI, STScI/AURA)

Weekly Calendar

November 18 - 24, 2019

Holidays - Sky Events - Space History

 

Moon phase Monday 18

Leonid meteor shower

1923: Alan Shepard born
1989: Cosmic Background Explorer launched
2013: MAVEN spacecraft launched to Mars

Moon phase Tuesday 19

Last Qtr Moon 4:11 PM ET

1969: Apollo 12 makes second lunar landing
1996: STS-80 Columbia launched
1997: STS-87 Columbia launched
2005: Hayabusa spacecraft makes first liftoff from an asteroid

Moon phase Wednesday 20

Mercury appears stationary

1889: Edwin Hubble born
1998: Zarya module launched, first element of International Space Station
2002: First Delta IV launched
2004: Swift spacecraft launched

Moon phase Thursday 21

Moon phase Friday 22

1989: STS-33 Discovery launched 

Moon phase Saturday 23

Moon at perigee

1977: Meteosat 1 launched
1983: 149-day Salyut 7 mission ends
2002: STS-113 Endeavour launched
2014Soyuz TMA-15M launched carrying ISS Expedition 42/43 crew
2015: New Shepard makes first powered vertical landing of rocket booster from space

Moon phase Sunday 24

Mars 4° south of Moon
Venus 1.4° south of Jupiter
Mercury 1.9° south of Moon

1947: First Aerobee rocket launch
1991
: STS-44 Atlantis launched

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