Space Sciences

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Getting to Know Orion: Betelgeuse

Betelgeuse is not only the most famous star in the constellation Orion, it’s one of the most famous stars in the whole sky. But just what makes this star so famous? Or perhaps the term I should be using is infamous? Let’s find out!
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Getting to Know Orion: the Belt

‘Tis the season when the world’s most well-known constellation makes its reappearance in the night sky. I’m talking, of course, about the group of stars officially classified as the constellation Orion the Hunter. We’re going to start off with what is...
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Looking Ahead: 2026 in Space

Happy New Year! The turning of the calendar is always a good time for looking ahead and obviously we here at Spacing Out are most excited for the space-related things happening (or at least scheduled to happen, you know how these things can go) in the...
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Space News Deep Dive: Mixed-Up MAVEN

What the heck happened to MAVEN?? On December 6th, this completely fine Mars orbiter passed behind Mars. But when it emerged, the spacecraft was spinning wildly, and may even have seen its orbit change. So let’s check out what MAVEN is, what rovers have...
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Escaping with ESCAPADE, or Going to Mars the Long Way ‘Round

On November 13th, on only the second launch of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, the twin spacecraft of NASA’S ESCAPADE mission flew into space. Let’s dive in to get to know these sibling spacecraft, what they’re going to do once they get to Mars, and just...
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Staring at the Sun: Thirty Years of SOHO

It’s the 30th anniversary of the launch of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, aka SOHO, and in honor of this spacecraft, designed for a two-year mission, managing to survive for thirty whole years, let’s take a look back at SOHO and its three decades...
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So You Want to Buy a Telescope

When a lot of folks try for the first time to wade into the murky waters of buying a telescope, usually as a holiday gift for a budding astronomy enthusiast in their lives, there’s a lot to consider, and a lot of terms that are unfamiliar.
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Deep Sky

Experience the universe as never before through images captured by NASA’s Webb Telescope. Witness their beauty on the IMAX® Dome screen!
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The Loveliness of Lagrange Points

If you’re a space nut (guilty) it’s hard not to have a solid appreciation for gravity. Lagrange points are places where gravity behaves juuuuuust a little differently than otherwise. And it can be a surprisingly useful quirk. So let’s get gravitational...
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Planetary Profile: Abnormal Asteroids

It’s been a while since I made an entry in my weird solar system series but we’re onto the asteroids. What’s that you say, the asteroids are not planets? Well yeah, but they’re undeniably part of our solar system, and there are at least a few that are...
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How Heavy Is a Teaspoon of Neutron Star?

Astrophysicist Erika Hamden explains how this stellar core remnant weighs more than a mountain because it’s packed with neutrons under crushing gravity.
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Nearby Super-Earth Might Support Life

We discovered a super-Earth with potential for life in our cosmic neighborhood! Larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune, it orbits in the habitable zone of a red dwarf star.
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That Time We Tried to Harpoon a Comet: Remembering Rosetta and Philae

November 12th marks the anniversary of the 2014 attempt by the European Space Agency’s Philae lander to land on the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as part of the Rosetta spacecraft mission. Rosetta is long dead and Philae even longer dead but this is as...
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After the ISS: What Comes Next?

There are few accomplishments as beneficial and inspirational as the International Space Station. However, the ISS is due to be deorbited in early 2031. What will follow it? I recently got to talk to someone working on possible solutions, so let's talk...
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Vampire Stars Suck the Life from Dying Stars

Erika Hamden dives into how, in close binary star systems, one star nearing the end of its life can expand so much that its outer layers are pulled in by the gravity of its companion.