@beyondearthsky.bsky.social
Reality observer. Astronomy and sci-fi fan. Amateur historian.
My Blog: https://beyondearthsky.blogspot.com
My Blog: https://beyondearthsky.blogspot.com
Pinned
View of the Earth as seen by the Apollo 17 crew traveling toward the Moon on Dec. 7, 1972. This translunar coast photograph extends from the Mediterranean Sea area to the Antarctica south polar ice cap. This is the first time the Apollo trajectory made it possible to photograph the south polar cap.
#OTD in 1901, Werner Heisenberg, a German theoretical physicist, considered one of the founders of quantum mechanics and known for the uncertainty principle, was born. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1932 "for the creation of quantum mechanics".
December 5, 2025 at 8:09 PM
#OTD in 1901, Werner Heisenberg, a German theoretical physicist, considered one of the founders of quantum mechanics and known for the uncertainty principle, was born. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1932 "for the creation of quantum mechanics".
Reposted
Today's #ArtAdventCalendar is this illustration, showing the planet Uranus seen from its closest known moon, Miranda.
#SciArt #blender
#SciArt #blender
December 5, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Today's #ArtAdventCalendar is this illustration, showing the planet Uranus seen from its closest known moon, Miranda.
#SciArt #blender
#SciArt #blender
#OTD in 1965, Gemini VII spacecraft was launched. It carried astronauts Frank Borman and Jim Lovell on the 14-day mission – a new record for the duration of a spaceflight. The spacecraft also acted as a rendezvous target for the Gemini VI-A mission.
December 4, 2025 at 9:53 PM
#OTD in 1965, Gemini VII spacecraft was launched. It carried astronauts Frank Borman and Jim Lovell on the 14-day mission – a new record for the duration of a spaceflight. The spacecraft also acted as a rendezvous target for the Gemini VI-A mission.
#OTD in 1639, the first recorded transit of Venus was observed by two English amateur astronomers – Jeremiah Horrocks and William Crabtree. This phenomenon was predicted by Horrocks. The observations allowed Horrocks to estimate the size of Venus and the distance between Earth and the Sun.
December 4, 2025 at 8:45 PM
#OTD in 1639, the first recorded transit of Venus was observed by two English amateur astronomers – Jeremiah Horrocks and William Crabtree. This phenomenon was predicted by Horrocks. The observations allowed Horrocks to estimate the size of Venus and the distance between Earth and the Sun.
#OTD in 2015, ESA's LISA Pathfinder satellite, a technology demonstrator for future spaceborne gravitational wave detectors, was launched.
December 3, 2025 at 10:34 PM
#OTD in 2015, ESA's LISA Pathfinder satellite, a technology demonstrator for future spaceborne gravitational wave detectors, was launched.
#OTD in 1999, Mars Polar Lander crashed on the surface of Mars, most likely due to premature termination of the engine firing prior to the lander touching the surface.
December 3, 2025 at 10:26 PM
#OTD in 1999, Mars Polar Lander crashed on the surface of Mars, most likely due to premature termination of the engine firing prior to the lander touching the surface.
Reposted
Fantastic space (etc.) artwork by @markgarlick.com:
www.markgarlick.com
I have this retro travel advert of Proxima Centauri hanging on my bathroom wall.
www.markgarlick.com
I have this retro travel advert of Proxima Centauri hanging on my bathroom wall.
November 19, 2025 at 7:22 AM
Fantastic space (etc.) artwork by @markgarlick.com:
www.markgarlick.com
I have this retro travel advert of Proxima Centauri hanging on my bathroom wall.
www.markgarlick.com
I have this retro travel advert of Proxima Centauri hanging on my bathroom wall.
Reposted
#ArtAdventCalendar #SciArt
Proxima is the nearest star to the Sun. It is a red dwarf, 1/5 the size of our Sun and 20,000 times dimmer. Here we see it seen from the surface of one of its planets. To the left one can also make out Alpha Centauri, which is a binary star with two Sun-like components.
Proxima is the nearest star to the Sun. It is a red dwarf, 1/5 the size of our Sun and 20,000 times dimmer. Here we see it seen from the surface of one of its planets. To the left one can also make out Alpha Centauri, which is a binary star with two Sun-like components.
December 2, 2025 at 10:02 AM
#ArtAdventCalendar #SciArt
Proxima is the nearest star to the Sun. It is a red dwarf, 1/5 the size of our Sun and 20,000 times dimmer. Here we see it seen from the surface of one of its planets. To the left one can also make out Alpha Centauri, which is a binary star with two Sun-like components.
Proxima is the nearest star to the Sun. It is a red dwarf, 1/5 the size of our Sun and 20,000 times dimmer. Here we see it seen from the surface of one of its planets. To the left one can also make out Alpha Centauri, which is a binary star with two Sun-like components.
Reposted
#OTD 3️⃣0️⃣ years ago, 2 December 1995, launch of the joint ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). Originally designed for a two-year mission to study the Sun, it was extended multiple times and is still operational 🧪🔭
www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
@science.esa.int @americaspace.bsky.social
www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
@science.esa.int @americaspace.bsky.social
December 2, 2025 at 8:59 AM
#OTD 3️⃣0️⃣ years ago, 2 December 1995, launch of the joint ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). Originally designed for a two-year mission to study the Sun, it was extended multiple times and is still operational 🧪🔭
www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
@science.esa.int @americaspace.bsky.social
www.esa.int/Science_Expl...
@science.esa.int @americaspace.bsky.social
Reposted
#OTD 2 December 1993, Space Shuttle flight STS-61, the first Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission, was launched with @esa.int astronaut Claude Nicollier on board 🧪🔭
@science.esa.int @exploration.esa.int @stsci.edu
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-61 #SpaceHistory
@science.esa.int @exploration.esa.int @stsci.edu
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-61 #SpaceHistory
December 2, 2025 at 9:45 AM
#OTD 2 December 1993, Space Shuttle flight STS-61, the first Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission, was launched with @esa.int astronaut Claude Nicollier on board 🧪🔭
@science.esa.int @exploration.esa.int @stsci.edu
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-61 #SpaceHistory
@science.esa.int @exploration.esa.int @stsci.edu
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-61 #SpaceHistory
#OTD in 2013, Chang'e 3 with Yutu rover was launched. On Dec. 14 it landed in Mare Imbrium, the first spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon since Luna 24 in 1976.
#OTD in 2020, Chang'e 5 landed in Oceanus Procellarum. The spacecraft collected 1.7 kg of lunar soil and returned to Earth on Dec. 16.
#OTD in 2020, Chang'e 5 landed in Oceanus Procellarum. The spacecraft collected 1.7 kg of lunar soil and returned to Earth on Dec. 16.
December 1, 2025 at 10:04 PM
17-year-old Yuri Gagarin at the foundry department of the Lyubertsy Steel Plant in 1951. He graduated from trade school as a foundryman and later pursued his studies at the Saratov Technical College, where he specialized in tractors.
November 30, 2025 at 8:56 PM
17-year-old Yuri Gagarin at the foundry department of the Lyubertsy Steel Plant in 1951. He graduated from trade school as a foundryman and later pursued his studies at the Saratov Technical College, where he specialized in tractors.
#OTD in 1967, PSR B1919+21, the first known radio pulsar, was discovered at the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory in Cambridge, UK, by Jocelyn Bell Burnell. Pusars are now understood to be rapidly rotating, magnetized neutron stars.
November 28, 2025 at 6:44 PM
#OTD in 1967, PSR B1919+21, the first known radio pulsar, was discovered at the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory in Cambridge, UK, by Jocelyn Bell Burnell. Pusars are now understood to be rapidly rotating, magnetized neutron stars.
#OTD in 1964, Mariner IV, the first successful mission to Mars, was launched. The spacecraft flew by Mars on July 15, 1965, and returned the first close-up pictures of another planet.
November 28, 2025 at 6:09 PM
#OTD in 1964, Mariner IV, the first successful mission to Mars, was launched. The spacecraft flew by Mars on July 15, 1965, and returned the first close-up pictures of another planet.
#OTD in 1971, Soviet Mars 2 spacecraft entered orbit around Mars, but its lander crashed on the Martian surface. The lander became the first human-made object to reach the surface of Mars.
November 27, 2025 at 9:22 PM
#OTD in 1971, Soviet Mars 2 spacecraft entered orbit around Mars, but its lander crashed on the Martian surface. The lander became the first human-made object to reach the surface of Mars.
Astérix, the first French satellite, was launched #OTD in 1965, on the maiden flight of a Diamant A launch vehicle from Hammaguir, Algeria. With this launch, France has become the third nation to launch a satellite on its own launch vehicle.
beyondearthsky.blogspot.com/2025/11/and-...
beyondearthsky.blogspot.com/2025/11/and-...
November 26, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Astérix, the first French satellite, was launched #OTD in 1965, on the maiden flight of a Diamant A launch vehicle from Hammaguir, Algeria. With this launch, France has become the third nation to launch a satellite on its own launch vehicle.
beyondearthsky.blogspot.com/2025/11/and-...
beyondearthsky.blogspot.com/2025/11/and-...
#OTD 110 y ago "Die Feldgleichungen der Gravitation" paper with field equations formulated by Albert Einstein was presented to the Prussian Academy of Sciences. Einstein’s field equations are a central part of general relativity, describing how matter and energy influence the curvature of spacetime
November 25, 2025 at 7:25 PM
#OTD 110 y ago "Die Feldgleichungen der Gravitation" paper with field equations formulated by Albert Einstein was presented to the Prussian Academy of Sciences. Einstein’s field equations are a central part of general relativity, describing how matter and energy influence the curvature of spacetime
The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), designed to evaluate the kinetic impact technique by striking an asteroid with a spacecraft, was launched #OTD in 2021. It slammed into an asteroid Dimorphos, in the Didymos binary system, on September 26, 2022.
beyondearthsky.blogspot.com/2025/11/doub...
beyondearthsky.blogspot.com/2025/11/doub...
Beyond Earth History Blog
DART — Double Asteroid Redirection Test Artist’s impression of the aftermath of the DART impact on Dimorphos. The illustration shows the ej...
beyondearthsky.blogspot.com
November 24, 2025 at 8:59 PM
The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), designed to evaluate the kinetic impact technique by striking an asteroid with a spacecraft, was launched #OTD in 2021. It slammed into an asteroid Dimorphos, in the Didymos binary system, on September 26, 2022.
beyondearthsky.blogspot.com/2025/11/doub...
beyondearthsky.blogspot.com/2025/11/doub...
#OTD in 1990, the Keck I Telescope at the W. M. Keck Observatory near the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii, at that time the largest optical telescope, saw its first light (the Keck II saw its first light in 1996). Both telescopes have 10-metre aperture primary mirrors with 36 segments.
November 24, 2025 at 1:56 PM
#OTD in 1990, the Keck I Telescope at the W. M. Keck Observatory near the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii, at that time the largest optical telescope, saw its first light (the Keck II saw its first light in 1996). Both telescopes have 10-metre aperture primary mirrors with 36 segments.
#OTD in 1969, Apollo 12, the second crewed mission to land on the Moon, successfully returned to Earth. The Command Module, carrying astronauts Charles "Pete" Conrad, Alan L. Bean, and Richard F. Gordon, splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, about 300 miles east of American Samoa.
November 24, 2025 at 1:46 PM
#OTD in 1969, Apollo 12, the second crewed mission to land on the Moon, successfully returned to Earth. The Command Module, carrying astronauts Charles "Pete" Conrad, Alan L. Bean, and Richard F. Gordon, splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, about 300 miles east of American Samoa.
The fourth and final test launch of the Soviet N1 super heavy-lift launch vehicle (N1 7L), carrying Soyuz 7K-LOK spacecraft and a mockup LK lunar module, took place #OTD in 1972. The engine cutoff caused propellant line hammering, rupturing the fuel system, and the rocket failed 107 s after liftoff.
November 23, 2025 at 11:11 PM
The fourth and final test launch of the Soviet N1 super heavy-lift launch vehicle (N1 7L), carrying Soyuz 7K-LOK spacecraft and a mockup LK lunar module, took place #OTD in 1972. The engine cutoff caused propellant line hammering, rupturing the fuel system, and the rocket failed 107 s after liftoff.