Astronomy

The full moons in 2018:

Full Moon Names 2018: From Wolf Moons to Cold Moons
"Each year since 2004, Space.com has provided a listing of full moon names that date back to a few centuries ago, when Native Americans occupied the region that's now the northern and eastern United States. Those tribes of long ago kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to each recurring full moon. Their names were applied to the entire month in which each occurred.
There were some variations in these moon names, but in general, the same ones were used by the Algonquin tribes from New England to Lake Superior. European settlers who arrived in those areas followed their own customs and created some of their own names. Because the lunar ("synodic") month is roughly 29.5 days long on average, the dates of these full moons shift from year to year."

https://www.space.com/39238-full-moon-names.html

https://astronomynow.com/2017/01/22/...elt-encounter/

The Kuiper Belt is surprisingly wide. New Horizons is continuing out beyond Pluto and has been doing so after flying past it in 2015. We now know more about Pluto than we did before, when it was just a dot in the sky. The Kuiper Belt is the first of two regions of space. The other, much larger is the Oort Cloud: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oort_cloud, as yet unvisited. But an object in the Kuiper Belt is the second target for New Horizons, designated as 2014 MU69.

It is now thought to be comprised of a number of smaller objects, including perhaps moons. We know that Pluto is also accompanied by another planet, Eris: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eris_(dwarf_planet), with its own moon, and further out still, Makemake - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makemake.

But we now think that 2014 MU69 consists of several objects, so it will be interesting to learn more. It will take another year to reach even at the fast speed that New Horizons travels at.

Eris and Makemake, two interesting dwarf planets.

That is an important scientific step:

Astronauts Identify Mystery Microbes in Space for the 1st Time

"NASA astronauts successfully sequenced the DNA of microbes found aboard the International Space Station, marking the first time unknown organisms were sequenced and identified entirely in space.
Previously, microbes had to be sent to Earth for analysis, and this new sequencing marks an important step in diagnosing astronaut illnesses and, someday, identifying any DNA-based life found on other planets, NASA officials said in a statement. Researchers back on Earth have now verified the microbe identifications are correct, marking the experiment a success."
https://www.space.com/39254-astronau...-in-space.html

https://astronomynow.com/2017/01/22/...elt-encounter/

The Kuiper Belt is surprisingly wide. New Horizons is continuing out beyond Pluto and has been doing so after flying past it in 2015. We now know more about Pluto than we did before, when it was just a dot in the sky. The Kuiper Belt is the first of two regions of space. The other, much larger is the Oort Cloud: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oort_cloud, as yet unvisited. But an object in the Kuiper Belt is the second target for New Horizons, designated as 2014 MU69.

It is now thought to be comprised of a number of smaller objects, including perhaps moons. We know that Pluto is also accompanied by another planet, Eris: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eris_(dwarf_planet), with its own moon, and further out still, Makemake - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makemake.

But we now think that 2014 MU69 consists of several objects, so it will be interesting to learn more. It will take another year to reach even at the fast speed that New Horizons travels at.

Thi post explains the concept of https://www.universetoday.com/138141...ensing-method/

Yes, I read it, but I became interested in the two dwarfs planets that accompany Pluto, Eris and Makemake. I wonder what impact all these discoveries will have on astrology, as it is entirely based on the solar system as it was known some decades ago.

You mean astronomy, not astrology...

No, I mean astrology. Astrology, as we know it today, is wholly based on what we know about the solar system.

Just to start 2018 a list of the astronomical celestial event for 2018:
http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astr...ndar-2018.html

https://www.universetoday.com/138197...-surface-moon/

"It would be no exaggeration to say that we live in an age of renewed space exploration. In particular, the Moon has become the focal point of increasing attention in recent years. In addition to President Trump’s recent directive to NASA to return to the Moon, many other space agencies and private aerospace companies are planning their own missions to the lunar surface.

A good example is the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP), otherwise known as the Chang’e Program. Named in honor of the ancient Chinese lunar goddess, this program has sent two orbiters and one lander to the Moon already. And later this year, the Chang’e 4 mission will begin departing for the far side of the Moon, where it will study the local geology and test the effects of lunar gravity on insects and plants.

The mission will consist of a relay orbiter being launched aboard a Long March 5 rocket in June of 2018. This relay will assume orbit around the Earth-Moon L2 Lagrange Point, followed by the launch of the lander and rover about six months later. In addition to an advanced suite of instruments for studying the lunar surface, the lander will also be carrying an aluminum alloy container filled with seeds and insects."

Quote:

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President Trump’s recent directive to NASA to return to the Moon

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Just wondering at the meaning of it.

No-one has been there since the US sent a mission there in the 1960s. see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_landing.

Yes, I know. That´s why I am wondering at they taking up the project at this moment.

The Cold War, especially as China is active at the moon. Also, the plan to go jointly with Russia was quickly abandoned by Trump. So it is back to the 1950s.