Articles and News

☞ The Monthly Newsletter

 

Past Articles

Live Virtual Presentation: “Era of the Space Start-Ups”
(June 14, 2021, 9:23 a.m.)

 

Newsletter for May, 2021
(June 12, 2021, 5:47 p.m.)

 

Grants for Teachers 2021
by Jennifer Bartlett (June 11, 2021, 10:56 a.m.)

 

Newsletter for April, 2021
(May 14, 2021, 4:30 p.m.)

 

Newsletter for March, 2021
(April 26, 2021, 12:08 p.m.)

 

Newsletter for February, 2021
(April 26, 2021, 11:12 a.m.)

 

Volcanoes of the US: A Geologic Cornucopia
(April 11, 2021, 12:41 p.m.)

 

Newsletter for January, 2021
(April 7, 2021, 7:01 p.m.)

 

Annual Meeting 2021 Recap
by Jennifer Bartlett (March 5, 2021, 10:38 p.m.)

 

FOTP 2020 Annual Meeting
(Dec. 19, 2020, 8:01 p.m.)

 

Please Donate on this Giving Tuesday
(Nov. 24, 2020, 10:52 a.m.)

 

Voices from the Sky Sunday, November 15th, 3pm EST.
(Nov. 7, 2020, 12:49 p.m.)

 

The Planetarium is closed temporarily—but our programs continue
(Nov. 7, 2020, 12:38 a.m.)

 

American Archaeoastronomy: Free Online Program, August 25
(Aug. 25, 2020, 6:05 p.m.)

 

SuperMoon Science Sunday
(Feb. 27, 2020, 4:31 p.m.)

 

Grants for Teachers
(Feb. 17, 2020, 11:37 p.m.)

 

Darwin Trivia & MST3K Movie Night
(Jan. 24, 2020, 12:27 p.m.)

 

The City Dark
(Jan. 7, 2020, 11:10 p.m.)

 

2020 Annual Meeting
(Jan. 7, 2020, 10:58 p.m.)

 

50th anniversary of the David M. Brown Planetarium
(Oct. 28, 2019, 1:32 a.m.)

 

Theory of Relativity: celebrating 100 Years
(Oct. 15, 2019, 5:40 p.m.)

 

Theory of Relativity at 100 Years and Counting
(Oct. 5, 2019, 8:56 a.m.)

 

Stars: Powerhouses of the Universe October 18–20
(Sept. 15, 2019, 4:37 p.m.)

 

Friends of the Planetarium 2019–2020 Schedule
(Aug. 3, 2019, 12:30 a.m.)

 

Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Celebration
(July 3, 2019, 11:03 a.m.)

 

May 17–19: Apollo 11 Remembered: Tickets Now Available
(May 4, 2019, 12:37 a.m.)

 

Space Telescopes
(April 18, 2019, 3:35 p.m.)

 

Weather and Climate Change
(March 13, 2019, 11:31 p.m.)

 

Darwin and Evolution
(Feb. 5, 2019, 11:32 p.m.)

 

WEATHER CLOSURE
(Jan. 12, 2019, 10:38 p.m.)

 

Exploring Mars this weekend at the Planetarium
(Jan. 8, 2019, 10:44 p.m.)

 

Join the Board of Directors
(Dec. 19, 2018, 3:06 p.m.)

 

Annual Meeting
(Dec. 19, 2018, 2:08 p.m.)

 

Christmas 2018
(Dec. 11, 2018, 8:55 p.m.)

 

Art & Science
(Nov. 12, 2018, 10:24 p.m.)

 

Planetary Paint & Sip
(Oct. 17, 2018, 8:45 p.m.)

 

Exoplanets: Special Weekend October 19-21
(Oct. 12, 2018, 11:10 p.m.)

 

Eat to Help the Planetarium
(Oct. 2, 2018, 6:42 p.m.)

 

VOLCANOES
(Sept. 11, 2018, 7:17 p.m.)

 

Friends of the Planetarium 2018–2019 Schedule
(Aug. 28, 2018, 12:53 p.m.)

 

Special Events This Weekend - June 16-17!
by Kathi Overton (June 13, 2018, 8:37 a.m.)

 

May Special Weekend: Motion of the Heavens: Galileo and Newton
(May 8, 2018, 2:09 p.m.)

 

Collision Course with Earth: April 20 - 22
(April 12, 2018, 4:01 p.m.)

 

Fundraiser at Lost Dog Cafe: Thursday, April 26th, 2018
(April 10, 2018, 3:24 p.m.)

 

March Friends Weekend: Stargazing 101
(March 9, 2018, 9:49 a.m.)

 

2018 SMASH Contest: Deadline Today
(March 4, 2018, 1:10 p.m.)

 

February Weekend: Darwin & Date Night
(Jan. 19, 2018, 12:33 p.m.)

 

Ocean of New Worlds
(Jan. 15, 2018, 11:16 a.m.)

 

2018 Annual Meeting
(Jan. 13, 2018, 10:18 a.m.)

 

Beacon in the Winter Sky
(Dec. 11, 2017, 10:58 a.m.)

 

Important Update for Sunday, 11/19/17!
by Kathi Overton (Nov. 18, 2017, 11:15 p.m.)

 

Lunar Wonders
(Nov. 13, 2017, 4:19 p.m.)

 

Our Redesign
(Nov. 3, 2017, 8:35 p.m.)

 

35th Annual NOVAC Star Gaze Saturday, October 21, 2017
(Oct. 17, 2017, 9:36 a.m.)

 

Immense Telescopes that Sail the Night Above
(Oct. 16, 2017, 9:08 p.m.)

 

Upload Your 2017 Eclipse Images
(Sept. 16, 2017, 3:45 p.m.)

 

Icy Frontier of the Solar System
(Sept. 11, 2017, 3:04 p.m.)

 

Summertime and the Viewing is Easy
(May 17, 2017, 10:56 a.m.)

 

Rockets, Probes & Space Stations
(April 11, 2017, 9:59 a.m.)

 

The Art of Science
by Lee Phillips (Feb. 25, 2017, 12:24 p.m.)

 

Endless Forms Most Beautiful: Exploring Evolution & Celebrating Darwin Day
(Feb. 3, 2017, 10:50 a.m.)

 

January, 2017 FOTP Events: Citizen Science and the Friends' Annual Meeting
(Jan. 9, 2017, 8:14 p.m.)

 

The 2016 SMASH Contest is Now Open
(Jan. 7, 2017, 12:13 p.m.)

 

Science and the Christmas Star
(Dec. 3, 2016, 1:47 p.m.)

 

November Friends Weekend: “On the Shoulders of Giants”
(Oct. 27, 2016, 9:49 p.m.)

 

November Friends Weekend: Advance Notice
(Oct. 25, 2016, 9:38 a.m.)

 

September Friends Weekend: Amateur Astronomy, Telescopes and Stargazing
(Sept. 10, 2016, 7:44 a.m.)

 

Welcome Back: the September Friends' Weekend
(Aug. 26, 2016, 12:13 p.m.)

 

The 2016 Perseid Meteors
by Lee Phillips (Aug. 19, 2016, 4:43 p.m.)

 

Friends of the Planetarium 2017–2018 Schedule
(July 6, 2016, 12:56 p.m.)

 

June Friends' Weekend: PLANETS
by Lee Phillips (June 9, 2016, 11:06 p.m.)

 

May 20-22: Transits and Eclipses
(May 15, 2016, 10:44 p.m.)

 

View the Transit of Mercury
(May 6, 2016, 9:31 p.m.)

 

Human Space Exploration
(April 13, 2016, 4:55 p.m.)

 

Panel Discussion on Science Fiction and Future Technology on March 20th, 2016
by Kathi Overton (March 13, 2016, 11:01 a.m.)

 

March 2016 Friends Weekend - Science Fiction Festival!
by Kathi Overton (March 9, 2016, 8:37 p.m.)

 

February Friends' Weekend: Darwin and Evolution
by Lee Phillips (Feb. 11, 2016, 10:39 p.m.)

 

2016 Annual Meeting
(Jan. 20, 2016, 2:30 p.m.)

 

FRIENDS OF THE PLANETARIUM JANUARY WEEKEND, January 15-17, 2016: “ALL ABOUT TIME!”
by Lee Phillips (Jan. 8, 2016, 2:03 p.m.)

 

Science and the Christmas Star
by Lee Phillips (Dec. 13, 2015, 12:17 p.m.)

 

Friends of the Planetarium November Weekend: A Tribute to Carl Sagan
by Lee Phillips (Nov. 9, 2015, 9:36 p.m.)

 

The Second Annual Tribute to Carl Sagan
by Lee Phillips (Oct. 28, 2015, 1:35 p.m.)

 

“If you seek his memorial, look about you”
by Lee Phillips (Oct. 20, 2015, 12:10 p.m.)

 

Friends of the Planetarium October 2015 Weekend
by Lee Phillips (Oct. 5, 2015, 10:20 a.m.)

 

The Planetarium Calendar
by Lee Phillips (Oct. 5, 2015, 10:18 a.m.)

 

The 2015 Friends of the Planetarium Fall Fundraising Festival
by Lee Phillips (Sept. 21, 2015, 5:18 p.m.)

 

September 2015 Friends of the Planetarium Weekend: Fall Fundraising Kick-Off
by Lee Phillips (Sept. 9, 2015, 9:37 p.m.)

 

Friends of the Planetarium 2015-2016 Schedule
by Lee Phillips (Aug. 26, 2015, 10:04 a.m.)

 

The Final Friends Weekend of the Season
by Lee Phillips (June 23, 2015, 11:03 p.m.)

 

June 2015 Friends of the Planetarium Programming: The Sun
by Lee Phillips (June 12, 2015, 7:27 p.m.)

 

Community Events
by Lee Phillips (May 19, 2015, 3:01 p.m.)

 

May 2015 Friends of the Planetarium Programming: robots
by Lee Phillips (May 3, 2015, 9:51 a.m.)

 

April 2015 Friends of the Planetarium Programming: NASA
by Lee Phillips (April 8, 2015, 8:47 p.m.)

 

Planetarium Invaded and Occupied by Galactic Empire
by Lee Phillips (March 22, 2015, 12:33 p.m.)

 

March 2015 Friends of the Planetarium Programming: Science Fiction
by Lee Phillips (March 7, 2015, 4:39 p.m.)

 

The 2015 SMASH Contest is Now Open
by Lee Phillips (March 6, 2015, 5:01 p.m.)

 

Natural Selection - Extra Screening
by Lee Phillips (Feb. 23, 2015, 7:42 p.m.)

 

February 2015 Friends of the Planetarium Programming: LIFE!
by Lee Phillips (Feb. 4, 2015, 9:19 a.m.)

 

Friends' Annual Meeting on January 24th
by Kathi Overton (Jan. 23, 2015, 6:08 p.m.)

 

January 2015 Friends of the Planetarium Programming: LASERS!
by Lee Phillips (Jan. 1, 2015, 4:40 p.m.)

 

Annie Jump Cannon’s Birthday
by Lee Phillips (Dec. 11, 2014, 10:44 a.m.)

 

December 2014 Friends of the Planetarium programming: Science and the Christmas Star
by Lee Phillips (Dec. 2, 2014, 10:05 p.m.)

 

NOVEMBER 2014 FRIENDS OF THE PLANETARIUM PROGRAMMING - A Tribute to Cosmos
by Maria L. Dittrich (Nov. 2, 2014, 4:40 p.m.)

 

The Partial Solar Eclipse of October 23, 2014
by Lee Phillips (Oct. 24, 2014, 8:21 p.m.)

 

OCTOBER 2014 FRIENDS OF THE PLANETARIUM PROGRAMMING
by Maria L. Dittrich (Sept. 30, 2014, 10:40 p.m.)

 

SUCCESS! Friends' Fantastic Fall Fundraising Fest
by Maria L. Dittrich (Sept. 22, 2014, 10:43 p.m.)

 

MEET ISAAC NEWTON! Sept. 20, 2014 – Free Events
by Maria L. Dittrich (Sept. 13, 2014, 10:54 a.m.)

 

SEPTEMBER 2014 FRIENDS OF THE PLANETARIUM PROGRAMMING: Sept. 19-21, 2014
by Maria L. Dittrich (Sept. 3, 2014, 10:46 a.m.)

 

2014 DAVID M. BROWN SCHOLARSHIP Winner Honored
by Maria L. Dittrich (Aug. 20, 2014, 8:58 p.m.)

 

Friends of the Planetarium 2014-2015 Schedule
by Maria L. Dittrich (July 6, 2014, 10 p.m.)

 

International Space Station (ISS) Flyover
by Maria L. Dittrich (June 5, 2014, 4:53 p.m.)

 

JUNE 2014 FRIENDS OF THE PLANETARIUM PROGRAMMING: June 13-15, 2014
by Maria L. Dittrich (May 27, 2014, 1:28 a.m.)

 

MAY 2014 FRIENDS OF THE PLANETARIUM PROGRAMMING: May 16-18, 2014
by Maria L. Dittrich (April 28, 2014, 11:30 a.m.)

 

April 2014 Science and Engineering Festival
(April 9, 2014, 12:24 p.m.)

 

Exoplanet weekend kickoff
by Maria L. Dittrich (March 21, 2014, 8:51 p.m.)

 

MARCH 2014 FRIENDS OF THE PLANETARIUM PROGRAMMING
by Maria L. Dittrich (March 4, 2014, 5:26 p.m.)

 

Moon Reflections
by Maria L. Dittrich (Feb. 16, 2014, 5:48 p.m.)

 

FEBRUARY 2014 FRIENDS OF THE PLANETARIUM PROGRAMMING
by Maria L. Dittrich (Jan. 28, 2014, 9:25 a.m.)

 

2014 Annual Meeting Wrap-up
by Lee Phillips (Jan. 14, 2014, 3:47 p.m.)

 

Annual Meeting on January 11, 2014
(Dec. 9, 2013, 12:26 a.m.)

 

Brig Pari is ISCC Woman of the Year
(Nov. 30, 2013, 12:36 p.m.)

 

DECEMBER 2013 FRIENDS OF THE PLANETARIUM PROGRAMMING
by Maria L. Dittrich (Nov. 25, 2013, 8:12 p.m.)

 

Rocket Launch Today!
by Alice Monet (Nov. 19, 2013, 8:25 a.m.)

 

Comet ISON Photo Contest
by Maria L. Dittrich (Nov. 4, 2013, 10:57 p.m.)

 

This Morning’s Solar Eclipse: a Post-Mortem
by Lee Phillips (Nov. 3, 2013, 8:43 p.m.)

 

NOVEMBER 2013 FRIENDS OF THE PLANETARIUM PROGRAMMING
by Maria L. Dittrich (Oct. 29, 2013, 10:16 p.m.)

 

Sunday Science: the MAVEN Mission to Mars
by Alice Monet (Oct. 20, 2013, 7:41 p.m.)

 

Comet ISON Still Intact
by Alice Monet (Oct. 18, 2013, 9:49 a.m.)

 

Announcing the 2nd Annual SMASH Contest
by Alice Monet (Oct. 11, 2013, 11:03 a.m.)

 

OCTOBER 2013 FRIENDS OF THE PLANETARIUM PROGRAMMING
by Maria L. Dittrich (Oct. 2, 2013, 11:04 a.m.)

 

This Year's Friends' Weekends
(Oct. 1, 2013, 5:19 p.m.)

 

Annual Review 2012-2013
(Oct. 1, 2013, 9:51 a.m.)

 

History
(Sept. 20, 2013, 4:31 p.m.)

 

Donors
(Sept. 20, 2013, 3:30 p.m.)

 

The Board, Advisory Council, and Corporation
(Sept. 20, 2013, 1:54 p.m.)

 

September Friends of the Planetarium Programming
(Sept. 19, 2013, 12:08 p.m.)

 

Maria Mitchell's Birthday
by Lee Phillips (Aug. 1, 2013, 1:13 p.m.)

 

Astronomy News

2/7/2021 8:28 LIGO mirrors have been cooled to near their quantum ground state: “LIGO is designed to detect gravitational waves, but it is also proving to be a fantastic laboratory for pushing the limits of quantum physics.”
25/6/2021 12:21 How astronauts deal with the boring parts of being in space: “Former NASA astronaut Leland Melvin airs some dirty laundry about, well, dirty laundry.”
23/2/2021 9:08 NASA’s Juno Mission Expands Into the Future: “The spacecraft, which has been gathering data on the gas giant since July 2016, will become an explorer of the full Jovian system – Jupiter and its rings and moons.” Juno “will now continue its investigation of the solar system’s largest planet through September 2025, or until the spacecraft’s end of life.”
18/2/2021 7:52 How NASA Designed a Helicopter That Could Fly Autonomously on Mars: “This the first time we’ll be flying Linux on Mars. […] The software framework that we’re using is one that we developed at JPL for cubesats and instruments, and we open-sourced it a few years ago. So, you can get the software framework that’s flying on the Mars helicopter, and use it on your own project.”
11/2/2021 8:55 NASA Television to Air Space Station Cargo Ship Launch, Docking: “NASA will provide live coverage on NASA Television […] of the launch and docking of a Russian cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station beginning at 11:15 p.m. EST Sunday, Feb. 14. […] Following a two-day journey, the spacecraft will automatically link up to the station’s Pirs docking compartment at 1:20 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17.”
10/2/2021 8:49 Is It a Planet? Astronomers Spy Promising Potential World around Alpha Centauri: “The candidate could be a ‘warm Neptune’ or a mirage. Either way, it signals the dawn of a revolution in astronomy”.
21/1/2021 16:18 TIC 168789840: A Sextuply-Eclipsing Sextuple Star System: “We report the discovery of a sextuply-eclipsing sextuple star system from TESS data, TIC 168789840, also known as TYC 7037-89-1, the first known sextuple system consisting of three eclipsing binaries.”
18/12/2020 13:16 Cornell postdoc detects possible exoplanet radio emission: “By monitoring the cosmos with a radio telescope array, an international team of scientists has detected radio bursts emanating from the constellation Boötes –  that could be the first radio emission collected from a planet beyond our solar system.”
17/12/2020 10:06 Jupiter and Saturn’s Great Conjunction Is the Best in 800 Years—Here’s How to See It: “The giant planets will appear spectacularly close together in Earth’s sky during the solstice on December 21”.
11/12/2020 10:12 NASA to Provide Spanish-Language Coverage, Livestream of Solar Eclipse: Eclipse path. “NASA will provide live coverage Monday, Dec. 14, of a solar eclipse that will pass over South America, treating parts of Chile and Argentina to views of a total eclipse of the Sun.”
5/12/2020 7:46 Upcoming conjunctions in the night sky, and how to see them: You can see the dramatic “Great Conjunction” of Jupiter and Saturn on Dec. 21st, and other interesting conjunctions this month.
1/12/2020 12:41 Arecibo radio telescope’s massive instrument platform has collapsed: In a blow to the international radio astronomy community, to Puerto Rico, and to the standing of U.S. Science, the iconic Arecibo observatory is gone.
23/11/2020 13:00 This 12-Year-Old Is (Probably) The Youngest Person To Ever Find A Comet
19/11/2020 17:38 Arecibo telescope faces a catastrophic collapse, must be deconstructed: A sad day for radio astronomy and for science.
12/11/2020 13:37 SpaceX is about to send four astronauts to the ISS for six-month stay: “The Crew Dragon spacecraft is expected to lift off from Cape Canaveral in Florida atop a Falcon 9 rocket on 15 November.”
6/11/2020 15:22 The sky will literally be the limit at new Mayland planetarium this spring: “Construction is underway on a new planetarium located at the Mayland Community College’s Bare Earth to Sky Park in Yancey County and will open to the public spring of 2021.” The location has international dark sky certification.
6/11/2020 14:36 NASA Langley Wants Virtual-Inspired Art for 2021 Student Art Contest: The art contest is open to all children grades K-12 who are residents of the United States, and children grades K-12 of U.S. military stationed overseas. The submission period begins Dec. 1, 2020 and concludes on Dec. 31, 2020 at midnight EST.
30/10/2020 18:02 NASA’s Asteroid Mission Packs Away Its Cargo. Next Stop: Earth: “The OSIRIS-REX mission has been investigating a carbon-rich asteroid named Bennu for the last couple of years.”
27/10/2020 12:58 Juno Data Indicates “Sprites” or “Elves” Frolic in Jupiter’s Atmosphere: Sprite on Jupiter New results from NASA’s Juno mission at Jupiter reveal for the first time these flashes (transient luminous events, or TLEs) on another planet. The findings were published on Oct. 27, 2020, in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets.
27/10/2020 9:59 Asteroid samples escaping from jammed NASA spacecraft: “A NASA spacecraft is stuffed with so much asteroid rubble from this week’s grab that it’s jammed open and precious particles are drifting away in space”.
 

See also Arlington Planetarium news items.