Tag Archives: Mercury

Podcast #34: The Equinox Show

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Welcome to this special Equinox edition of the Urban Astronomer Podcast! This episode I share the microphone with Clem Unger for the first of a quarterly series. Clem has been on the show before, and he’ll be back every equinox and every solstice. In this episode We start with a look at coming attractions in the sky over the next three months. Clem discusses the state of current asteroid missions OSIRIS-Rex and Hayabusa 2 Allen and Clem butt heads over … Continue reading →

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Mercury

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Mercury is one of The five classical planets and an easy naked eye object.  The planets stood out from the other stars to our ancestors because of the way they all moved in regular patterns against the night sky, but Mercury was unique in its rapid motion and the way it never strayed far from the sun.  If the planets were to be named for gods, then it was only natural that the flighty mercurial one should be their messenger. … Continue reading →

Spacecraft orbits Mercury

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At 01h00 UTC this morning, MESSENGER ended its six and a half year journey by slipping neatly into orbit around Mercury.  “This mission will continue to revolutionize our understanding of Mercury during the coming year,” said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, speaking at MESSENGER mission control. “NASA science is rewriting text books. MESSENGER is a great example of how our scientists are innovating to push the envelope of human knowledge.”  This is the first time a spacecraft has ever orbited the … Continue reading →