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May 16, 2024Radio: Today’s Episode
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Missing Giant
A giant planet goes missing
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Radio: Yesterday’s Episode
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Moon and Regulus
Lighting up the Moon
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Stargazing
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Cygnus Returns
Beautiful Cygnus, the swan, returns to the evening sky this month. It rises in the northeast by about 11 p.m. Its brightest star is Deneb, which marks the swan’s tail. Its body stretches to the right of Deneb, through the glow of the Milky Way.
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Moon and Regulus
The Moon and the heart of the lion stand close together this evening. The lion’s heart is the star Regulus, below the Moon at nightfall.
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NGC 3432
The spiral galaxy NGC 3432 is about 30 million light-years away, in Leo Minor, the little lion. The galaxy is too faint to see without a telescope. It’s high above the Moon this evening. The bright star Regulus stands to the left of the Moon.
Moon Phases
At the new Moon phase, the Moon is so close to the Sun in the sky that none of the side facing Earth is illuminated (position 1 in illustration). In other words, the Moon is between Earth and Sun. At first quarter, the half-lit Moon is highest in the sky at sunset, then sets about six hours later (3). At full Moon, the Moon is behind Earth in space with respect to the Sun. As the Sun sets, the Moon rises with the side that faces Earth fully exposed to sunlight (5).
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The Return of IGRINS
by Emily Howard
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Star Teachers
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Stars and Galaxies
Galaxies contain billions of stars. Do galaxies collide? Do the stars within them collide?