Moon

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NASA revealed the first unique views of the far side of the moon today.

The images were captured by a video camera on one of NASA's twin Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) lunar spacecrafts on January 19. In the video (see below), the spacecraft flies towards the lunar south pole exposing the moon's north pole.

"The far side of the moon is extremely rugged," said Maria Zuber, a principal investigator on the project. "The surface also contains many impact craters which are preserved features from asteroids that hit the moons surface after it formed.&… Read more

The one percent may feel under siege these days, but at least there's one consolation to having hundreds of millions of dollars to burn: The opportunity to take a trip around the moon.

According to the Smithsonian magazine Air & Space, anyone with a spare $150 million laying may have the opportunity to hop aboard a future lunar flight.

To be sure, it's not going to be United Airlines ferrying the super rich to the moon. Rather, it is likely to be Space Adventures, the private company that for the last ten years has been taking mega-rich passengers on trips to the International Space Station. … Read more

Whether you're an astronomy buff or a werewolf or have some other interest in the moon's phases, Moonphase is a simple desktop utility that might be of interest to you. This attractive program provides detailed information about the moon that's specific to your location, even noting which days are best for fishing according to what the moon's up to.

The program's interface is maybe a little cluttered at first glance, but it's fairly easy to figure out. On the left side, an attractive graphic provides a realistic depiction of the moon in its current … Read more

Continuing its bold space plans, China has unveiled a five-year white paper that calls for putting astronauts on the moon, which would make it the first nation to visit since the U.S. last set foot there some 40 years ago.

"China will conduct studies on the preliminary plan for a human lunar landing," the State Council white paper says, also calling for deep-space exploration of planets and asteroids.

It does not give a timeline for the moonshot, but is seen as an official declaration of China's lunar goals.

The plans come as U.S. manned spaceflight … Read more

If you live in the western United States, set your alarm tonight. The total lunar eclipse Saturday morning promises to be big and bright--and we won't get another one until 2014.

It starts around 4:45 a.m. PT, when Earth's shadow will begin to fall across the moon. By 6:05 a.m., the moon will be in full eclipse mode and glowing red. One atmospheric scientist who's become adept at predicting such events expects this eclipse to be "bright red with a possible hint of turquoise." Find out more--and why the moon will … Read more

For Muslims, time, place, and direction are critical to worship. Accurate Times by the Jordanian Astronomical Society is the perfect tool for the task. This compact freeware calculates prayer time, sun time, direction, date, and other data with an accuracy of two seconds or less. It offers Arabic and English language options, accurate graphical displays, and some important extras.

Accurate Times has a simple, compact interface that is nicely configured, displaying our location and other data as well as the day's prayer times. The layout slightly resembles a telescope control panel, which (not surprisingly) it is, in a way, … Read more

If you happen to find yourself at a bar on a Monday, it's nice to hear stories that will warm the heart as quickly as your pinot noir.

This may not be one of those stories. Indeed, the tale of NASA, Joann Davis, and the tiny piece of moon rock, might make you question the content of the space between some people's ears.

As the Associated Press tells it, NASA operatives turned up at a Denny's in Lake Elsinore, Ca., in order to enjoy one of their fine Big Cheese Country-Fried Steak and Eggs.

Well, almost. In … Read more

Yoo Ninja puts you in the swift-moving shoes of a ninja on the run. As the levels automatically scroll to the right, you must tap the screen to hop from floor to ceiling and back, avoiding obstacles along the way, and moving fast enough to evade the throwing stars hot on your heels. Slow down too much and they will end your game in one fell slice. Tap the screen at the wrong time, and you could end up flying above or below a platform into the abyss. In Story Mode, you travel through 34 levels and across four different … Read more