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The Next Full Moon is a Supermoon Blue Moon

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The Next Full Moon is a Supermoon Blue Moon

A full moon sets over tall grasses in a twilight blue sky illuminated by pink cloud bands.
The full moon sets over Homestead National Historic Park in Nebraska.
Credits:
National Park Service/Homestead

The Next Full Moon is a Supermoon, a Blue Moon; the Sturgeon Moon; the Red, Corn, Green Corn, Barley, Herb, Grain, or Dog Moon; Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi Purnima; and Tu B’Av. 

The full Moon will be Monday afternoon, August 19, 2024, at 2:26 PM EDT. This will be Tuesday morning from Nepal Standard Time eastward across the rest of Asia and Australia to the International Date Line. The Moon will appear full for three days, from Sunday morning through early Wednesday morning. 

This will be a supermoon. The term “supermoon” was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979 as either a new or full Moon that occurs when the Moon is within 90% of its closest approach to Earth. Since we don’t really see new Moons, what has caught the public’s attention are full supermoons as they are the biggest and brightest full Moons of the year. This will be the first of four consecutive supermoons this year (with the full Moons in September and October virtually tied for the closest of the year). 

Although it will not look blue, as the third full Moon in a season with four full Moons, this will be a Blue Moon. The first recorded use of “Blue Moon” in English dates from 1528. Speculations on the origin of the term include an old English phrase that means “betrayer Moon” (because it led to mistakes in setting the dates for Lent and Easter). Or it may be a comparison to rare events such as when dust in the atmosphere makes the Moon actually appear blue. Since the 1940’s the term “Blue Moon” has also been used for the second full Moon in a month that has two full Moons. 

Although it will not look blue, as the third full Moon in a season with four full Moons, this will be a Blue Moon. The first recorded use of “Blue Moon” in English dates from 1528.

Gordon Johnston

Gordon Johnston

Retired NASA Program Executive

The Maine Farmer’s Almanac began publishing “Indian” names for full Moons in the 1930s and these names have become widely known and used. According to this almanac, as the full Moon in August the Algonquin tribes in what is now the northeastern USA called this the Sturgeon Moon after the large fish that were more easily caught this time of year in the Great Lakes and other major bodies of water. Other names reported for this Moon include the Red Moon, the Corn or Green Corn Moon, the Barley Moon, the Herb Moon, the Grain Moon, and the Dog Moon.

A quick note for my Southern Hemisphere readers (as I’ve heard from some recently). Many lunar names and traditions are based on the Northern Hemisphere seasons (I’m interested in learning more about southern traditions). I’ve noticed some publications shifting names like the Sturgeon Moon by 6 months (e.g., using the northern February names for August). Also, for the detailed descriptions below, instead of looking south towards the Moon and planets you will be looking north, so what I describe will be upside down. Finally, the seasons are reversed, so morning and evening twilight times, etc., will be very different. 

This full Moon corresponds with the Hindu festival Raksha Bandhan, also called Rakhi Purnima, celebrating the bond between brothers and sisters. One of the traditions is for sisters of all ages to tie a rakhi (a cotton bracelet) around their brother’s wrist, receiving a gift from the brother in return as a sign of the continuing bond between them. The term “Raksha Bandhan” translates as “the bond of protection, obligation, or care.”

In many traditional Moon-based calendars the full Moons fall on or near the middle of each month. This full Moon is near the middle of the seventh month of the Chinese year of the Dragon, Safar in the Islamic calendar, and Av in the Hebrew calendar. Av corresponds with Tu B’Av, a holiday in modern Israel similar to Valentine’s Day.

For Science Fiction fans, a note on the author Theodore Sturgeon (1918-1985) in honor of the Sturgeon Moon. Theodore Sturgeon wrote mostly science fiction but some horror and mystery stories. For Star Trek fans, his scripts introduced important concepts although only “Shore Leave” and “Amok Time” were produced. He introduced “pon far,” the Vulcan hand symbol, “live long and prosper,” and the “Prime Directive” (in a script that was not produced but that influenced later scripts). 

As usual, the wearing of suitably celebratory celestial attire is encouraged in honor of the full Moon. In addition, enjoy the super blue Moon, keep in touch with your siblings, and consider reading some Theodore Sturgeon. 

As for other celestial events between now and the full Moon after next (with specific times and angles based on the location of NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC):

As Northern Hemisphere summer nears its end the daily periods of sunlight continue shortening, changing at their fastest around the equinox on September 22. On Monday, August 19, (the day of the full Moon), morning twilight will begin at 5:24 AM, sunrise will be at 6:26 AM, solar noon at 1:11 PM when the Sun will reach its maximum altitude of 63.6 degrees, sunset will be at 7:57 PM, and evening twilight will end at 8:58 PM. By Tuesday, September 17, (the day of the full Moon after next), morning twilight will begin at 5:54 AM, sunrise will be at 6:52 AM, solar noon at 1:02 PM when the Sun will reach its maximum altitude of 53 degrees, sunset will be at 7:12 PM, and evening twilight will end at 8:10 PM. 

This should be the start of a good season for Saturn viewing, especially through a backyard telescope. Saturn will be at its closest and brightest the night of September 7. It will be shifting west each evening, making it higher in the sky and friendlier for evening viewing (particularly for children with earlier bedtimes). Through a telescope you should be able to see Saturn’s bright moon Titan and its rings. The rings are appearing thinner and will be edge-on to the Earth by early 2025. We won’t get the “classic” view of Saturn with its rings until 2026. 

Meteor Showers

Two minor meteor showers are predicted to peak during this lunar cycle, both visible from the Northern Hemisphere. These are minor compared to the Perseids (which peak at 100 meteors per hour the morning of August 12). The Aurigids will peak at 10 meteors per hour the morning of August 31 and the September Epsilon Perseids at 5 meteors per hour the morning of September 9. These will be difficult to see from our light-polluted urban areas (although the Aurigids tend to be brighter meteors). If you are in a dark area with clear skies during the early mornings around these peaks, watch out for a few meteors. 

The best conditions for viewing these meteors would be if the sky is clear with no clouds or high hazes, you go to a place far from any light sources or urban light pollution, and you have a clear view of a wide expanse of the sky. Give your eyes time to adapt to the dark. Your color vision near the center of your field of view will adapt in about 10 minutes. Your more sensitive black and white vision will improve for an hour or more (improving most in the first 35 to 45 minutes). Since some meteors are faint, you will tend to see more meteors from the “corner of your eye.” Even a short exposure to light (from passing car headlights, etc.) will start the adaptation over again (so no turning on a light or your cell phone to check what time it is). 

Evening Sky Highlights

On the evening of Monday, August 19 (the evening of the full Moon), as twilight ends (at 8:58 PM), the rising Moon will be 7 degrees above the east-southeastern horizon. The only visible planet will be Saturn at 1.5 degrees above the eastern horizon. Bright Venus will set 4 minutes before twilight ends. Before it sets it will be bright enough to see in the glow of dusk on the western horizon. The bright star closest to overhead will be Vega, the brightest star in the constellation Lyra the lyre, at 80 degrees above the eastern horizon. Vega is part of the Summer Triangle along with Deneb and Altair. It is the 5th brightest star in our night sky, about 25 light-years from Earth, has twice the mass of our Sun, and shines 40 times brighter than our Sun. 

As this lunar cycle progresses, Saturn and the background of stars will appear to shift westward each evening (as the Earth moves around the Sun). The full Moon will pass near Saturn on August 20. Bright Venus will be moving away from the Sun and after August 28 will appear above the horizon when evening twilight ends. The waxing Moon will pass by Venus on September 4 (setting before evening twilight ends), Spica on September 6, Antares on September 9 and 10, and Saturn on September 16.

By the evening of Tuesday, September 17 (the evening of the full Moon after next), as twilight ends (at 8:10 PM), the rising Moon will be 11 degrees above the east-southeastern horizon with Saturn to the upper right at 14 degrees above the horizon. Later in the evening the partial shadow of the Earth will cover a small upper part of the Moon. Bright Venus will be 2 degrees above the west-southwestern horizon with the star Spica on the horizon to the lower left. The bright object appearing closest to overhead will still be Vega at 87 degrees above the western horizon. 

Morning Sky Highlights

On the morning of Monday, August 19 (the morning of the full Moon), as twilight begins (at 5:24 AM), the setting Moon will be 5 degrees above the southwestern horizon. The brightest planet in the sky will be Jupiter at 49 degrees above the eastern horizon. Near Jupiter will be Mars at 47 degrees above the horizon. Saturn will be 29 degrees above the southwestern horizon. The bright star appearing closest to overhead will be Capella, the brightest star in the constellation Auriga the charioteer, at 55 degrees above the east-northeastern horizon. Although we see Capella as a single star (the 6th brightest in our night sky), it is actually four stars (two pairs of stars orbiting each other). Capella is about 43 lightyears from us.

As this lunar cycle progresses, Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, and the background of stars will appear to shift westward each evening, with Mars moving more slowly, shifting away from Jupiter. Between August 28 and September 17 Mercury will join these planets, rising on the east-northeastern horizon. Mercury will reach its highest (as twilight begins) on September 6 and pass by the bright star Regulus on September 9. The waning Moon will pass by Saturn on August 21, the Pleiades star cluster on August 26, Jupiter on August 27 (forming a triangle with Mars), Mars on August 28, Pollux on August 30, Mercury on September 1, and the waxing full Moon will pass near Saturn on September 17. 

By the morning of Wednesday, September 18 (the morning of the night of the full Moon after next), as twilight begins (at 5:55 AM), the setting full Moon will be 15 degrees above the west-southwestern horizon. The brightest planet in the sky will be Jupiter at 71 degrees above the south-south eastern horizon. Near Jupiter will be Mars at 61 degrees above the east-southeastern horizon. Saturn will be below the Moon at 1 degree above the western horizon. The bright star appearing closest to overhead will still be Capella at 80 degrees above the northeastern horizon. 

Detailed Daily Guide

Here for your reference is a day-by-day listing of celestial events between now and the full Moon on September 17, 2024. The times and angles are based on the location of NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, and some of these details may differ for where you are (I use parentheses to indicate times specific to the DC area). If your latitude is significantly different than 39 degrees north (and especially for my Southern Hemisphere readers), I recommend using an astronomy app or a star-watching guide from a local observatory, news outlet, or astronomy club. 

For the Northern Hemisphere, this should be a good year for the annual Perseids (007 PER) meteor shower, which peaked the morning of Monday, August 12. Moonset will be a little before midnight on August 11 and the radiant will rise higher in the north-northern sky until the sky shows the first signs of dawn (before morning twilight begins at 5:16 AM). The peak is broad, and in past years high activity has been reported well after the peak, so keep an eye on the sky from moonset to the first hints of dawn over the next few mornings. See the meteor shower summary near the beginning of this posting for general information on viewing meteors. 

Monday morning, August 12, the Moon will reach its first quarter at 11:19 AM EDT (when we can’t see it). 

Tuesday night, August 13, the bright star Antares will be near the waxing gibbous Moon. Antares will be 2.5 degrees to the upper left as evening twilight ends (at 9:08 PM EDT). By moonset on the southwestern horizon (Wednesday morning at 12:30 AM) Antares will be 1 degree above the Moon. Viewers in the southern part of South America and the Antarctic Peninsula will see the Moon pass in front of Antares. See http://lunar-occultations.com/iota/bstar/0814zc2349.htm for a map and information on areas that can see this occultation. 

Throughout this lunar cycle Mars will drift towards bright Jupiter. They will be at their closest on Wednesday morning, August 14, just a third of a degree apart, which should be a good show! Jupiter will rise early in the morning (at 1:18 AM EDT) on the east-northeastern horizon below Mars. They will be 45 degrees above the eastern horizon as morning twilight begins 4 hours later (at 5:18 AM). 

Friday evening, August 16, will be the first evening that Saturn will be above the eastern horizon as evening twilight ends (at 9:03 PM EDT). 

Sunday evening, August 18, Mercury will be passing between the Earth and the Sun as seen from the Earth, called inferior conjunction. Mercury will be shifting from the evening sky to the morning sky and will begin emerging from the glow of dawn on the east-northeastern horizon at the end of August. 

As mentioned above, the full Moon will be Monday afternoon, August 19, at 2:26 PM EDT. This will be Tuesday morning from Nepal Standard Time eastward across the rest of Asia and Australia to the International Date Line. The Moon will appear full for about three days around this time, from Sunday morning through early Wednesday morning. As the third full Moon in a season with four full Moons, this will be a Blue Moon (by the older, more traditional definition). It will also be a supermoon. 

Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, August 20 to 21, Saturn will be very close to the full Moon. As evening twilight ends (at 8:57 PM EDT) they will be 2 degrees above the eastern horizon with Saturn 1 degree to the upper left. They will be at their closest about an hour later. The Moon will reach its highest in the sky Wednesday morning (at 2:32 AM) with Saturn 2 degrees to the right. When morning twilight begins (at 5:26 AM) Saturn will be almost 4 degrees to the lower right of the Moon. See http://lunar-occultations.com/iota/planets/0821saturn.htm for a map and information on the areas that will actually see the Moon pass in front of Saturn. 

Wednesday morning, August 21, at 1:02 AM EDT, the Moon will be at perigee, its closest to the Earth for this orbit. 

Sunday night into Monday morning, August 25 to 26, the Pleiades star cluster will appear above the waning half-moon. When the Moon rises on the east-northeastern horizon (at 11:12 PM EDT) the Pleiades will be just 1 degree above the Moon. The Pleiades will be 4 degrees to the upper right as morning twilight begins (at 5:31 AM). 

Monday morning, August 26, the waning Moon will appear half-full as it reaches its last quarter at 5:26 AM EDT.

Tuesday morning, August 27, bright Jupiter will appear below the waning crescent Moon. As Jupiter rises on the east-northeastern horizon (at 12:34 AM EDT) it will be 6 degrees below the Moon. By the time morning twilight begins (at 5:32 AM) Jupiter will be 5.5 degrees to the lower right of the Moon. 

Wednesday morning, August 28, Mars will appear to the right of the waning crescent Moon. As Mars rises on the east-northeastern horizon (at 12:56 AM EDT) it will be 6 degrees to the right. By the time morning twilight begins (at 5:34 AM) Mars will be 8 degrees to the upper right. Wednesday morning will also be the first morning that Mercury will be above the east-northeastern horizon as morning twilight begins. 

Thursday evening, August 29, will be the first evening bright Venus will be above the western horizon as evening twilight ends (at 8:42 PM EDT). 

Friday morning, August 30, the bright star Pollux will be above the waning crescent Moon. When the Moon rises on the northeastern horizon (at 2:50 AM EDT) Pollux will be 3 degrees from the Moon. It will be 4 degrees from the Moon when morning twilight begins (at 5:36 AM).

Sunday morning, September 1, you may be able to see the thin, waning crescent Moon with Mercury 4.5 degrees to the lower right. Mercury will rise last (at 5:14 AM) and the Moon will be 6 degrees above the east-northeastern horizon as morning twilight begins 24 minutes later (at 5:38 AM).

Monday evening, September 2, at 9:55 PM EDT, will be the new Moon when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun. 

The day of or the day after the New Moon marks the start of the new month for most lunisolar calendars. The eighth month of the Chinese year of the Dragon starts on Tuesday, September 3. Sundown on Tuesday marks the start of Elul in the Hebrew calendar. Elul is a time of preparation for the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Customs include granting and asking others for forgiveness as well as beginning or ending all letters with the wish that the recipient will have a good year. In the Islamic calendar the months traditionally start with the first sighting of the waxing crescent Moon. Many Muslim communities now follow the Umm al-Qura Calendar of Saudi Arabia, which uses astronomical calculations to start months in a more predictable way. Using this calendar, sundown on Tuesday evening will probably be the beginning of Rabi’ al-Awwal, the month in which many Muslims celebrate Mawlid, the birth of the Prophet Muhammad. 

Wednesday evening, September 4, will be when Mercury reaches its greatest angular separation from the Sun as seen from the Earth (called greatest elongation). This is not quite the same as when Mercury will appear at its highest as morning twilight begins.  

Friday morning, September 6, will be when Mercury will appear at its highest (2 degrees) above the east-northeastern horizon as morning twilight begins (at 5:43 AM EDT). 

Wednesday evening, September 4, you might be able to see the thin, waxing crescent Moon near bright Venus, although you may need binoculars to find the Moon in the glow of dusk. The Moon will be 3 degrees above the western horizon 30 minutes after sunset (at 8:03 PM EDT) with Venus 5 degrees to the upper left. The Moon will set 17 minutes later (at 8:20 PM), 12 minutes before evening twilight ends (at 8:32 PM). 

Thursday morning, September 5, at 10:55 AM EDT, the Moon will be at apogee, its farthest from the Earth for this orbit. 

Thursday evening, September 5, the thin, waxing crescent Moon will be 7 degrees to the left of bright Venus. The Moon will be 1 degree above the western horizon as evening twilight ends (at 8:30 PM EDT) with Venus setting first 4 minutes later (at 8:34 PM). 

Friday evening, September 6, the star Spica will appear 3 degrees to the left of the waxing crescent Moon. As evening twilight ends (at 8:29 PM EDT) the Moon will be 5 degrees above the west-southwestern horizon. Spica will set first 25 minutes later (at 8:54 PM). A small part of Africa will see the Moon pass in front of Spica, see http://lunar-occultations.com/iota/bstar/0906zc1925.htm for a map and information. 

Saturday night, September 7, Saturn will reach its closest and brightest for the year, called “opposition” because it will be opposite the Earth from the Sun, effectively a “full” Saturn. Saturn will be 10 degrees above the east-southeastern horizon as evening twilight ends (at 8:27 PM EDT), will reach its highest in the sky Sunday morning at 1:09 AM, and will be 11 degrees above the west-southwestern horizon as morning twilight begins (at 5:45 AM). 

Monday morning, September 9, will be when Mercury and the bright star Regulus will be at their closest, just 0.5 degrees apart. They will be 5 degrees above the east-northeastern horizon as morning twilight begins (at 5:46 AM EDT).

Monday evening, September 9, the star Antares will be 7 degrees to the upper left of the waxing crescent Moon. As evening twilight ends (at 8:24 PM EDT) the Moon will be 16 degrees above the southwestern horizon and it will set on the west-southwestern horizon 2 hours later (at 10:26 PM). 

By Tuesday evening, September 10, the Moon will have shifted to 6 degrees to the left of Antares and the pair will separate as the evening progresses, with Antares setting first (at 10:45 PM EDT). 

Wednesday morning, September 11, the Moon will appear half-full as it reaches its first quarter at 2:06 AM EDT. 

Our 24 hour clock is based on the average length of the solar day. Solar noon on Sunday, September 15 to solar noon on Monday, September 16, will be the shortest solar day of the year, 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 38.6 seconds long. 

Tuesday morning, September 17, will be the last morning that Mercury will be above the horizon as morning twilight begins (at 5:54 AM EDT). 

Monday night into Tuesday morning, September 16 to 17, Saturn will appear near the full Moon. As evening twilight ends (at 8:12 PM EDT) Saturn will be 6 degrees to the left of the Moon. When the Moon reaches its highest for the night (at 12:17 AM) Saturn will be 4 degrees to the upper left. By the time morning twilight begins (at 5:54 AM) the Moon will be 1 degree above the west-southwestern horizon with Saturn 1 degree above the Moon. For parts of western North America and across the Pacific Ocean towards Australia the Moon will pass in front of Saturn. See http://lunar-occultations.com/iota/planets/0917saturn.htm for a map and information on the areas that will see this occultation. 

The full Moon after next will be Tuesday night, September 17, at 10:35 PM EDT. This will be on Wednesday from Newfoundland and Greenland Time eastward across Eurasia, Africa, and Australia to the International Date Line. Most commercial calendars are based on Greenwich or Universal Time and will show this full Moon on Wednesday. 

This will be a partial lunar eclipse. The Moon will start entering the partial shadow of the Earth at 8:41 PM EDT. The slight dimming of the Moon will be difficult to notice until the top edge of the Moon starts entering the full shadow at 10:13 PM. The peak of the eclipse will be at 10:44 PM with just the top 8.4% of the Moon in full shadow. The Moon will finish exiting the full shadow at 11:16 PM and the partial shadow on Wednesday morning at 12:47 AM. 

This will also be the second of four consecutive supermoons. The Moon will appear full for about three days, from Monday evening through Thursday morning. 

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      Forensics with Hubble data show that the star has had a tumultuous life, mixing with two other stars gravitationally bound together in a remarkable triple-star system. The star has a kinship to so-called “blue stragglers,” which are hotter, brighter, and bluer than expected because they are likely the result of mergers between stars.
      Evolution of a “Blue Lurker” Star in a Triple System Panel 1: A triple star system containing three Sun-like stars. Two are very tightly orbiting. The third star has a much wider orbit. Panel 2: The close stellar pair spiral together and merge to form one more massive star. Panel 3: The merged star evolves into a giant star. As the huge photosphere expands, some of the material falls onto the outer companion, causing the companion to grow larger and its rotation rate to increase. Panels 4-5: The central merged star eventually burns out and forms a massive white dwarf, and the outer companion spirals in towards the white dwarf, leaving a binary star system with a tighter orbit. Panel 6: The surviving outer companion is much like our Sun but nicknamed a “blue lurker.” Although it is slightly brighter bluer than expected because of the earlier mass-transfer from the central star and is now rotating very rapidly, these features are subtle. The star could easily be mistaken for a normal Sun-like star despite its exotic evolutionary history. NASA, ESA, Leah Hustak (STScI) The blue lurker is spinning much faster than expected, an unusual behavior that led to its identification. Otherwise it looks like a normal Sun-like star. The term “blue” is a bit of a misnomer because the star’s color blends in with all the other solar-mass stars in the cluster. Hence it is sort of “lurking” among the common stellar population.
      The spin rate is evidence that the lurker must have siphoned in material from a companion star, causing its rotation to speed up. The star’s high spin rate was discovered with NASA’s retired Kepler space telescope. While normal Sun-like stars typically take about 30 days to complete one rotation, the lurker takes only four days.
      How the blue lurker got that way is a “super complicated evolutionary story,” said Emily Leiner of Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. “This star is really exciting because it’s an example of a star that has interacted in a triple-star system.” The blue lurker originally rotated more slowly and orbited a binary system consisting of two Sun-like stars.
      Around 500 million years ago, the two stars in that binary merged, creating a single, much more massive star. This behemoth soon swelled into a giant star, dumping some of its own material onto the blue lurker and spinning it up in the process. Today, we observe that the blue lurker is orbiting a white dwarf star — the burned out remains of the massive merger.
      “We know these multiple star systems are fairly common and are going to lead to really interesting outcomes,” Leiner explained. “We just don’t yet have a model that can reliably connect through all of those stages of evolution. Triple-star systems are about 10 percent of the Sun-like star population. But being able to put together this evolutionary history is challenging.”
      Hubble observed the white dwarf companion star that the lurker orbits. Using ultraviolet spectroscopy, Hubble found the white dwarf is very hot (as high as 23,000 degrees Fahrenheit, or roughly three times the Sun’s surface temperature) and a heavyweight at 0.72 solar masses. According to theory, hot white dwarfs in M67 should be only about 0.5 solar masses. This is evidence that the white dwarf is the byproduct of the merger of two stars that once were part of a triple-star system.
      “This is one of the only triple systems where we can tell a story this detailed about how it evolved,” said Leiner. “Triples are emerging as potentially very important to creating interesting, explosive end products. It’s really unusual to be able to put constraints on such a system as we are exploring.”
      Leiner’s results are being presented at the 245th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Washington, D.C.
      The Hubble Space Telescope has been operating for over three decades and continues to make ground-breaking discoveries that shape our fundamental understanding of the universe. Hubble is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope and mission operations. Lockheed Martin Space, based in Denver, also supports mission operations at Goddard. The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, conducts Hubble science operations for NASA.
      Facebook logo @NASAHubble @NASAHubble Instagram logo @NASAHubble Media Contact:
      Claire Andreoli (claire.andreoli@nasa.gov)
      NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
      Ray Villard
      Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD
      Science Contact:
      Emily Leiner
      Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL
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      Last Updated Jan 13, 2025 Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
      Astrophysics Astrophysics Division Goddard Space Flight Center Hubble Space Telescope Open Clusters Stars Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From Hubble
      Hubble Space Telescope


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    • NASA
      Newly Selected Citizen Science Proposals: A Peek at What’s Next
      By NASA
      7 min read
      Newly Selected Citizen Science Proposals: A Peek at What’s Next
      Last year, the NASA citizen science community saw a prize from the White House and two prizes from professional societies: one from the Division of Planetary Sciences and one from the American Astronomical Society. Our teams published two papers in the prestigious journal, Nature, one on a planetary crash and one about a distant world that seems to have auroras. 2024 was a year of 5000 comets, two solar eclipses and plenty of broken records.
      But we’re not stopping to rest on our laurels. In 2024, NASA selected 25 new citizen science proposals for funding that will lead to new projects and new results to look forward to in 2025 and beyond. Here’s a roundup of those selections and the principal investigators (PIs) of each team—a sneak peek at what’s coming next in NASA citizen science! Note that these investigations are research grants–some of them will result in new opportunities for the public, others will use results from earlier citizen science projects or develop new tools.
      Bright green glow observed from Texas on June 1, 2024, by Stephen Hummel. A new grant to the Spritacular project team will support citizen science research on this newly-discovered phenomenon. Stephen Hummel Citizen Science Seed Funding Program (CSSFP)
      The CSSFP aims to support scientists and other experts to develop citizen science projects and to expand the pool of scientists who use citizen science techniques in their science investigations. Four divisions of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate are participating in the CSSFP: the Astrophysics Division, the Biological and Physical Sciences Division, the Heliophysics Division, and the Planetary Science Division. Nine new investigations were recently selected through this program:
      Astrophysics Division
      SuPerPiG Observing Grid, PI Rachel Huchmala, Boise State University. Use a small telescope to monitor exoplanets to improve our knowledge of their orbits. Understanding the Nature of Clumpy Galaxies with Clump-Scout 2: a New Citizen-Science Project to Characterize Star-Forming Clumps in Nearby Galaxies. PI Claudia Scarlata, University of Minnesota. Label clumps of distant galaxies to help us understand Hubble Space Telescope data. ‘Backyard Worlds: Binaries’ — Discovering Benchmark Brown Dwarfs Through Citizen Science. PI Aaron Meisner, NSF’s NOIRLab. Search for planet-like objects called brown dwarfs that orbit nearby stars. Mobile Toolkits to Enable Transient Follow-up Observations by Amateur Astronomers. PI Michael Coughlin, University of Minnesota. Use your own telescope to observe supernovae, kilonovae and other massive explosions. Planetary Science Division
      A Citizen Scientist Approach to High Resolution Geologic Mapping of Intracrater Impact Melt Deposits as an input to Numerical Models, PI Kirby Runyon, Planetary Science Institute. Help map lunar craters so we can better understand how meteor impacts sculpt the moon’s surface. Identifying Active Asteroids in Public Datasets, PI Chad Trujillo, Northern Arizona University, Search for icy, comet-like bodies hiding in the asteroid belt using new data from the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope.  Heliophysics Division
      Enabling Magnetopause Observations With Informal Researchers (EMPOWR). PI Mo Wenil, Johns Hopkins University. Investigate plasma layers high above the Earth using data from NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission and the Zooniverse platform. High-resolution Ionospheric Imaging using Dual-Frequency Smartphones. PI Josh Semeter, Boston University. Study the upper atmosphere using cell phone signals. Large Scale Structures Originating from the Sun (LASSOS) multi-point catalog: A citizen project connecting operations to research.  PI Cecelia Mac Cormack, Catholic University of America. Help build a catalog of structures on the Sun. Comet Identification and Image Annotation Modernization for the Sungrazer Citizen Science Project. PI Oliver Gerland. Search for comets in data from ESA and NASA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) mission using new web tools. Heliophysics Citizen Science Investigations (HCSI)
      The HCSI program supports medium-scale citizen science projects in the Heliophysics Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.  Six investigations were recently selected through this program:
      Investigation of green afterglow observed above sprite and gigantic jet tops based on Spritacular project database, PI Burcu Kosar. Photograph electric phenomena above storm clouds to help us understand a newly discovered green glow and learn about atmospheric chemistry. Machine Learning competition for Solar Wind prediction in preparation of solar maximum. PI Enrico Camporeale, University of Colorado, Boulder. Take part in a competition to predict the speed of the solar wind using machine learning. A HamSCI investigation of the bottomside ionosphere during the 2023 annular and 2024 total solar eclipses. PI Gareth Perry, New Jersey Institute of Technology. Use Ham Radio data to investigate the effects of solar eclipses on the ionosphere. Dynamic footprint in mid-latitude mesospheric clouds. PI Chihiko Cullens,  University of Colorado, Boulder. Collect and analyze data on noctilucent clouds, rare high-altitude clouds that shine at night. Monitoring Solar Activity During Solar Cycle 25 with the GAVRT Solar Patrol Science and Education Program. PI Marin Anderson, Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Track solar activity during the period leading up to and including solar maximum. What is the total energy input to the heliosphere from solar jets? PI Nour Rawafi, The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Identify solar jets in images from the Solar Dynamics Observatory Citizen Science for Earth Systems Program (CSESP)  
      CSESP opportunities focus on developing and implementing projects that harness contributions from members of the general public to advance our understanding of Earth as a system. Proposals for the 2024 request were required to demonstrate a clear link between citizen science and NASA observation systems to advance the agency’s Earth science mission. Nine projects received funding.
      Engaging Citizen Scientists for Inclusive Earth Systems Monitoring, PI Duan Biggs, Northern Arizona University. Measure trees in tropical regions south of the equator with the GLOBE Observer App to improve models of vegetation structure and biomass models from NASA’s Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) mission. Integrating Remote Sensing and Citizen Science to Support Conservation of Woodland Vernal Pools, PI Laura Bourgeau-Chavez, Michigan Technological University. Map and monitor shallow, seasonal wetlands in Michigan, Wisconsin and New York to better understand these key habitats of amphibians and other invertebrates. Citizen-Enabled Measurement of PM2.5 and Black Carbon: Addressing Local Inequities and Validating PM Composition from MAIA, Albert Presto/Carnegie Mellon University. Deploy sensors to measure sources of fine airborne particle pollution filling gaps in data from NASA’s Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols (MAIA) mission. Expanding Citizen Science Hail Observations for Validation of NASA Satellite Algorithms and Understanding of Hail Melt, PI Russ Schumacher, Colorado State University. Measure the sizes and shapes of hailstones, starting in the southeastern United States, using photographs and special pads to help us understand microwave satellite data.  X-Snow: A Citizen-Science Proposal for Snow in the New York Area, PI, Marco Tedesco, Columbia University. Measure snow in the Catskill and Adirondacks regions of New York to help improve NASA’s models of snow depth and water content. Coupling Citizen Science and Remote Sensing Observations to Assess the Impacts of Icebergs on Coastal Arctic Ecosystems, PI, Maria Vernet, University of California, San Diego. Measure phytoplankton samples in polar regions to understand how icebergs and their meltwater affect phytoplankton concentration and biodiversity.  Forecasting Mosquito-Borne Disease Risk in a Changing Climate: Integrating GLOBE Citizen Science and NASA Earth System Modeling, PI Di Yang, University of Florida, Gainesville. Using data on mosquitoes from the GLOBE Observer App to predict future changes in mosquito-borne disease risk. Ozone Measurements from General Aviation: Supporting TEMPO Satellite Validation and Addressing Air Quality Issues in California’s San Joaquin Valley with Citizen Science, PI Emma Yates, NASA Ames Research Center. Deploy air-quality sensors around Bakersfield, California and compare the data to measurements from NASA’s Tropospheric Emissions Monitoring of Pollution instrument (TEMPO). Under the Canopy: Capturing the Role of Understory Phenology on Animal Communities Using Citizen Science, PI Benjamin Zuckerberg, University of Wisconsin, Madison. Measure snow depth, temperature, and sound in forest understories to improve satellite-based models of vegetation and snow cover for better modeling of wildlife communities.  For more information on citizen science awards from previous years, see articles from: 
      September 2023  August 2022 July 2021 For more information on NASA’s citizen science programs, visit https://science.nasa.gov/citizenscience.
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    • NASA
      55 Years Ago: Apollo 13 Prepares for Third Moon Landing 
      By NASA
      Following the historic year of 1969 that saw two successful Moon landings, 1970 opened on a more sober note. Ever-tightening federal budgets forced NASA to rescope its future lunar landing plans. The need for a Saturn V to launch an experimental space station in 1972 forced the cancellation of the final Moon landing mission and an overall stretching out of the Moon landing flights. Apollo 13 slipped to April, but the crew of James Lovell, Thomas “Ken” Mattingly, and Fred W. Haise and their backups John Young, John “Jack” Swigert, and Charles Duke continued intensive training for the landing at Fra Mauro. Training included practicing their surface excursions and water egress, along with time in spacecraft simulators. The three stages of the Apollo 14 Saturn V arrived at the launch site and workers began the stacking process for that mission now planned for October 1970. Scientists met in Houston to review the preliminary findings from their studies of the lunar samples returned by Apollo 11. 
      Apollo Program Changes 
      Apollo Moon landing plans in early 1970, with blue indicating completed landings, green planned landings at the time, and red canceled landings. Illustration of the Apollo Applications Program, later renamed Skylab, experimental space station then planned for 1972. On Jan. 4, 1970, NASA Deputy Administrator George Low announced the cancellation of Apollo 20, the final planned Apollo Moon landing mission. The agency needed the Saturn V rocket that would have launched Apollo 20 to launch the Apollo Applications Program (AAP) experimental space station, renamed Skylab in February 1970. Since previous NASA Administrator James Webb had precluded the building of any additional Saturn V rockets in 1968, this proved the only viable yet difficult solution.  
      In other program changes, on Jan. 13 NASA Administrator Thomas Paine addressed how NASA planned to deal with ongoing budgetary challenges. Lunar landing missions would now occur every six months instead of every four, and with the slip of Apollo 13 to April, Apollo 14 would now fly in October instead of July. Apollo 15 and 16 would fly in 1971, then AAP would launch in 1972, and three successive crews would spend, 28, 56, and 56 days aboard the station. Lunar landing missions would resume in 1973, with Apollo 17, 18, and 19 closing out the program by the following year. 
      Top NASA managers in the Mission Control Center, including Sigurd “Sig” Sjoberg, third from left, Christopher Kraft, sitting in white shirt, and Dale Myers, third from right. Wernher von Braun in his office at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. In addition to programmatic changes, several key management changes took place at NASA in January 1970. On Nov. 26, 1969, Christopher Kraft , the director of flight operations at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, assumed the position of MSC deputy director. On Dec. 28, MSC Director Robert Gilruth named Sigurd “Sig” Sjoberg, deputy director of flight operations since 1963, to succeed Kraft. At NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight George Mueller resigned his position effective Dec. 10, 1969. To replace Mueller, on Jan. 8, NASA Administrator Paine named Dale Myers, vice president and general manager of the space shuttle program at North American Rockwell Corporation. On Jan. 27, Paine announced that Wernher von Braun, designer of the Saturn family of rockets and director of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, since its establishment in 1960, would move to NASA Headquarters and assume the position of deputy associate administrator for planning. 
      Apollo 11 Lunar Science Symposium 
      Sign welcoming scientists to the Apollo 11 Lunar Science Conference. Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin addresses a reception at the First Lunar Science Conference. Between Jan. 5 and 8, 1970, several hundred scientists, including all 142 U.S. and international principal investigators provided with Apollo 11 samples, gathered in downtown Houston’s Albert Thomas Exhibit and Convention Center for the Apollo 11 Lunar Science Conference. During the conference, the scientists discussed the chemistry, mineralogy, and petrology of the lunar samples, the search for carbon compounds and any evidence of organic material, the results of dating of the samples, and the results returned by the Early Apollo Surface Experiments Package (EASEP). Senior NASA managers including Administrator Paine, Deputy Administrator Low, and Apollo Program Director Rocco Petrone attended the conference, and Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin gave a keynote speech at a dinner reception. The prestigious journal Science dedicated its Jan. 30, 1970, edition to the papers presented at the conference, dubbing it “The Moon Issue”. The Lunar Science Conference evolved into an annual event, renamed the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in 1978, and continues to attract scientists from around the world to discuss the latest developments in lunar and planetary exploration. 
      Apollo 12 
      Apollo 12 astronaut Richard Gordon riding in one of the Grand Marshal cars in the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California. Actress June Lockhart, left, interviews Apollo 12 astronauts Charles “Pete” Conrad, Gordon, and Alan Bean during the Rose Parade.courtesy emmyonline.com Apollo 12 astronauts and their wives visiting former President and Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson at the LBJ Ranch in Texas. On New Year’s Day 1970, Apollo 12 astronauts Charles “Pete” Conrad, Richard Gordon, and Alan Bean led the 81st annual Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California, as Grand Marshals. Actress June Lockhart, an avid space enthusiast, interviewed them during the TV broadcast of the event. As President Richard Nixon had earlier requested, Conrad, Gordon, and Bean and their wives paid a visit to former President Lyndon B. Johnson and First Lady Lady Bird Johnson at their ranch near Fredericksburg, Texas, on Jan. 14, 1970. The astronauts described their mission to the former President and Mrs. Johnson.  
      The Apollo 12 Command Module Yankee Clipper arrives at the North American Rockwell (NAR) facility in Downey, California. Yankee Clipper at NAR in Downey. A technician examines the Surveyor 3 camera returned by the Apollo 12 astronauts. Managers released the Apollo 12 Command Module (CM) Yankee Clipper from quarantine and shipped it back to its manufacturer, the North American Rockwell plant in Downey, California, on Jan. 12. Engineers there completed a thorough inspection of the spacecraft and eventually prepared it for public display. NASA transferred Yankee Clipper to the Smithsonian Institution in 1973, and today the capsule resides at the Virginia Air & Space Center in Hampton, Virginia. NASA also released from quarantine the lunar samples and the parts of the Surveyor 3 spacecraft returned by the Apollo 12 astronauts. The scientists received their allocated samples in mid-February, while after initial examination in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) the Surveyor parts arrived at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, for detailed analysis. 
      Apollo 13 
      As the first step in the programmatic rescheduling of all Moon landings, on Jan. 7, NASA announced the delay of the Apollo 13 launch from March 12 to April 11. The Saturn V rocket topped with the Apollo spacecraft had rolled out the previous December to Launch Pad 39A where workers began tests on the vehicle. The prime crew of Lovell, Mattingly, and Haise, and their backups Young, Swigert, and Duke, continued to train for the 10-day mission to land in the Fra Mauro region of the Moon.  

      During water recovery exercises, Apollo 13 astronauts (in white flight suits) Thomas “Ken” Mattingly, left, Fred Haise, and James Lovell in the life raft after emerging from the boilerplate Apollo capsule. Apollo 13 astronaut Lovell suits up for a spacewalk training session. Apollo 13 astronaut Haise during a spacewalk simulation. Apollo 13 prime crew members Lovell, Mattingly, and Haise completed their water egress training in the Gulf of Mexico near the coast of Galveston, Texas, on Jan. 24. With support from the Motorized Vessel Retriever, the three astronauts entered a boilerplate Apollo CM. Sailors lowered the capsule into the water, first in the Stable 2 or apex down position. Three self-inflating balloons righted the spacecraft into the Stable 1 apex up position within a few minutes. With assistance from the recovery team, Lovell, Mattingly, and Haise exited the spacecraft onto a life raft. A helicopter lifted them out of the life rafts using Billy Pugh nets and returned them to Retriever. Later that day, the astronauts returned to the MSC to examine Moon rocks in the LRL that the Apollo 12 astronauts had returned the previous November. 
      During their 33.5 hours on the Moon’s surface, Lovell and Haise planned to conduct two four-hour spacewalks to set up the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiment Package (ALSEP), a suite of five investigations designed to collect data about the lunar environment after the astronauts’ departure, and to conduct geologic explorations of the landing site. Mattingly planned to remain in the Command and Service Module (CSM), conducting geologic observations from lunar orbit including photographing potential future landing sites. Lovell and Haise conducted several simulations of the spacewalk timelines, including setting up the ALSEP equipment, practicing taking core samples, and photographing their activities for documentation purposes. They and their backups conducted practice sessions with the partial gravity simulator, also known as POGO, an arrangement of harnesses and servos that simulated walking in the lunar one-sixth gravity. Lovell and Young completed several flights in the Lunar Landing Training Vehicle (LLTV) that simulated the flying characteristics of the Lunar Module (LM) for the final several hundred feet of the descent to the surface. 

      A closed Apollo 13 rock box. An open rock box, partially outfitted with core sample tubes and sample container dispenser. A technician holds the American flag that flew aboard Apollo 13. In the LRL, technicians prepared the Apollo Lunar Sample Return Containers (ALSRC), or rock boxes, for Apollo 13. Like all missions, Apollo 13 carried two ALSRCs, with each box and lid manufactured from a single block of aluminum. Workers placed sample containers and bags and two 2-cm core sample tubes inside the two ALSRCs. Once loaded, technicians sealed the boxes under vacuum conditions so that they would not contain pressure greater than lunar ambient conditions. Engineers at MSC prepared the American flag that Lovell and Haise planned to plant on the Moon for stowage on the LM’s forward landing strut. 
      Apollo 14 
      Workers lower the Apollo 14 Lunar Module (LM) ascent stage onto the Command Module (CM) in a preflight docking test. Workers prepare the Apollo 14 LM descent stage for mating with the ascent stage. Workers prepare the Apollo 14 LM ascent stage for mating with the descent stage. As part of the rescheduling of Moon missions, NASA delayed the launch of the next flight, Apollo 14, from July to October 1970. The CSM and the LM had arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida late in 1969 and technicians conducted tests on the vehicles in the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building (MSOB). On Jan. 12, workers lowered the ascent stage of the LM onto the CSM to perform a docking test – the next time the two vehicles docked they would be on the way to the Moon and the test verified their compatibility. Workers mated the two stages of the LM on Jan. 20. 
      The first stage of Apollo 14’s Saturn V inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. The second stage of Apollo 14’s Saturn V arrives at the VAB. The third stage of Apollo 14’s Saturn V arrives at KSC. The three stages of the Apollo 14 Saturn V arrived in KSC’s cavernous Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) in mid-January and while workers stacked the first stage on its Mobile Launch Platform on Jan. 14, they delayed stacking the remainder of the rocket stages until May 1970. That decision proved fortunate, since engineers needed to modify the second stage engines following the pogo oscillations experienced during the Apollo 13 launch. 

      Apollo 14 backup Commander Eugene Cernan prepares for a vacuum chamber test in the Space Environment Simulation Lab (SESL). Apollo 14 backup crew member Joe Engle during a vacuum chamber test in the SESL. Apollo 14 astronauts Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa, and Edgar Mitchell and their backups Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans, and Joe Engle continued training for their mission. In addition to working in spacecraft simulators, Shepard, Mitchell, Cernan, and Engle conducted suited vacuum chamber runs in MSC’s Space Environmental Simulation Laboratory (SESL) and completed their first familiarization with deploying their suite of ALSEP investigations.  
      NASA engineer William Creasy, kneeling in sport coat, and the technical team that built the Modular Equipment Transporter (MET), demonstrate the prototype to Roundup editor Sally LaMere. Apollo 14 support astronaut William Pogue tests the MET during parabolic flight. The Apollo 14 astronauts made the first use of the Modular Equipment Transporter (MET), a golf-cart like wheeled conveyance to transport their tools and lunar samples. A team led by project design engineer William Creasy developed the MET based on recommendations from the first two Moon landing crews on how to improve efficiency on the lunar surface. Creasy and his team demonstrated the MET to Sally LaMere, editor of The Roundup, MSC’s employee newsletter. Three support astronauts, William Pogue, Anthony “Tony” England, and Gordon Fullerton tested the MET prototype in simulated one-sixth lunar gravity during parabolic aircraft flights.   
      To be continued … 
      News from around the world in January 1970: 
      January 1 – President Richard Nixon signs the National Environmental Protection Act into law. 
      January 4 – The Beatles hold their final recording session at Abbey Road Studios in London. 
      January 5 – Daytime soap opera All My Children premieres. 
      January 11 – The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Minnesota Vikings 23-7 in Super Bowl IV, played in Tulane Stadium in New Orleans. 
      January 22 – Pan American Airlines flies the first scheduled commercial Boeing-747 flight from New York to London. 
      January 14 – Diana Ross and the Supremes perform their final concert in Las Vegas. 
      January 25 – The film M*A*S*H, directed by Robert Altman, premieres. 
      January 26 – Simon & Garfunkel release Bridge Over Troubled Water, their fifth and final album. 

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    • NASA
      Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1
      By NASA
      Download Press Kit (PDF)
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