What's Up? The Space Place

Hey, Space Placers! A March launch of Artemis II is out. NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft stand vertical on mobile launcher 1 at Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. The Artemis II test flight will take Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency), around the Moon and back to Earth. NASA/Ben Smegelsky The stack is to be rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building to troubleshoot a problem with the upper stage. Details here and here. Sky Guy in VA

 Hey, Space Placers! A beautiful video and message to us all...... Sky Guy in VA

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 Hey, Space Placers!      Back from Mardi Gras, New Orleans! A full Moon is seen shining over NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) and Orion spacecraft, atop the mobile launcher at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in the early hours of Feb. 1, 2026. NASA/Sam Lott NASA started the second Wet Dress Rehearsal for Artemis II yesterday .  NASA's press release describes the event in greater detail: Launch controllers will arrive to their consoles in the Launch Control Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:40 p.m. EST on Feb. 17 to begin the nearly 50-hour countdown. The simulated launch time is 8:30 p.m., Feb. 19, with a four-hour window for the test. While the Artemis II crew is not participating in the test, a team of personnel will go to the launch pad to practice Orion closeout operations, including closing the spacecraft’s hatches. During the rehearsal, the team will execute a detailed countdown sequence. Operators will conduct two ru...

 Hey, Space Placers! This artist's animation shows a hypothesized event known as a superkilonova. A massive star explodes in a supernova, collapsing into a stellar core that forms two neutron stars. The neutron stars spiral together and merge, sending gravitational waves rippling through the cosmos and seeding the universe with heavy elements, such as gold and platinum. Animation credit: Caltech/K. Miller and R. Hurt (IPAC) A good read if you are into stars that go BOOM! Sky Guy in VA

 Hey, Space Placers! NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope reveals the clearest view yet of the Egg Nebula. This structure of gas and dust was created by a dying, Sun-like star. These newest observations were taken with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3. NASA, ESA, Bruce Balick (UWashington) Full story here. Sky Guy in VA