# Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina kicks off election campaign amid an opposition boycott
By **JULHAS ALAM**
December 20, 2023. 10:08 AM EST

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**DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP)** - Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally kicked off her ruling Awami League party's campaign Wednesday amid an election boycott by the country's main opposition party.

Addressing a massive rally in the northeastern city of Sylhet, Hasina strongly criticized the Bangladesh Nationalist Party for refusing to participate in the Jan. 7 general election. She also blamed the party, which is led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, and its allies for recent acts of violence.

Hundreds of thousands of Awami League supporters cheered and raised their hands when Hasina asked if they would cast their ballots for the ruling party's candidates, the United News of Bangladesh agency reported.

The prime minister denounced the party of her archrival Zia after the country's railway minister alleged that arson and sabotage caused a fire on a passenger train that killed four people Tuesday. Hasina joined the minister Wednesday in accusing the Bangladesh Nationalist Party of being behind it.

"They thought that with some incidents of arson the government will fall. It's not that easy," United News of Bangladesh quoted her as saying.

"Where do they get such courage? A black sheep sitting in London gives orders and some people are here to play with fire. ... Their hands will be burned in that fire," Hasina said in an apparent reference to Zia's son, Tarique Rahman, who has been in self-exile in the United Kingdom since 2008.

Rahman was convicted of various criminal violence charges, including a 2004 grenade attack on an opposition rally when his mother was prime minister and Hasina was opposition leader. He is the acting chief of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the absence of the ailing Zia, who was convicted of corruption and sentenced to 17 years in prison.

On Wednesday, the party urged Bangladeshis to join a non-cooperation movement against the government by refusing to pay taxes.

Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, a senior joint secretary-general of the party, also urged citizens and government workers not to cooperate with Hasina's administration in running the country and holding the election next month in which is the prime minister is seeking a fourth consecutive term.

Zia's party has intermittently calling for transportation blockades and general strikes while demanding Hasina's resignation. The party says more than 20,000 opposition supporters have been arrested since Oct. 28, when a massive anti-government rally turned violent.

Authorities blamed the Bangladesh Nationalist Party for an attack on the official residence of the country's chief justice and the death of a police officer on the day of the rally. Hasina's critics say her administration has used the police and other agencies to silence them.

Bangladesh is a parliamentary democracy with a history of violence, especially before and during elections. Campaigning for next month's vote began across the country on Monday with about 1,900 candidates, including many independents, running for parliament seats in 300 constituencies.

Zia's party's call to boycott the polls came after its demands for a caretaker government to conduct the election were not met. The party accused Hasina of rigging the 2018 vote and said it did not have any faith the coming election would be fair. The boycott means voters have little choice but to reelect Hasina.

The government has denied accusations of targeting the opposition but warned that any "acts of sabotage" or "attempts to create chaos" in the country would not be tolerated.

The United Nations, the United States and the European Union earlier urged all sides to refrain from violence and work together to create conditions for a free, fair and peaceful election. A call for political dialogue got no response from the two major parties.


# Party of Pakistan's popular ex-premier Imran Khan says he'll contest upcoming elections from prison
By **MUNIR AHMED**
December 20, 2023. 8:54 AM EST

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**ISLAMABAD (AP)** - Pakistan's former premier Imran Khan will run in upcoming parliamentary elections from prison, his party said Wednesday, which legal experts said is possible while his appeal of his conviction in a corruption case is being considered.

"Imran Khan has decided to contest elections for three seats in the National Assembly," or the lower house of parliament, said Gohar Khan, head of the former premier's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI. In Pakistan, politicians usually run for a seat from more than one constituency to expand their chances of winning.

The 71-year-old former prime minister, the country's most well-known opposition figure, is serving at a high-security prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. He was removed as prime minister in April 2022 following a vote of no confidence in Parliament by his political opponents.

Khan was disqualified from holding public office months ago. But he has challenged the ruling by the country's election commission.

Kanwar Dilshad, a former commission official, said Khan's political rivals may object to his filing of nomination papers.

"Imran Khan will have to fight a long legal battle to contest the elections, as technically he is eligible to run for the parliament, but practically there are multiple cases against him," Dilshad said.

This week, Khan for the first time used artificial intelligence to deliver a speech to supporters. The surprise development could help his party to win the upcoming elections in February, according to analysts.

His spokesman, Zulfiqar Bukhari, said Khan will contest the vote in the cities of Lahore, Mianwali and Islamabad.

Khan has had almost no contact with the outside world since he was imprisoned in August on a corruption charge. He faces a slew of other legal cases that could make it difficult for him to contest the election.

Khan came to power in 2018. Since his ouster in 2022, he has alleged without providing evidence that his government was toppled by former premier Shehbaz Sharif as part of a U.S. plot - claims that both the premier and Washington have denied.

Sharif and his elder brother Nawaz Sharif, who has served three times as premier, have also announced their candidacies for parliament. Their Pakistan Muslim League enjoys an edge over Khan and his party.


# Christian group and family raise outcry over detention of another 'house church' elder in China
By **HUIZHONG WU**
December 20, 2023. 11:00 PM EST

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**BANGKOK (AP)** - Ding Zhongfu was awakened by loud pounding on his door. Five policemen greeted Ding, an elder in a Chinese church.

The officers pinned him to the wall that Thursday morning in November and interrogated him while searching the apartment he shared with his wife, Ge Yunxia, and their 6-year old daughter.

Ding's family now pleads for his release after he was taken from his home in China's central Anhui province on suspicion of fraud. In their first public comments on the case, the family denies that Ding committed any fraud.

Instead, they told The Associated Press in an interview, it is part of a wider crackdown on religious freedoms in China.

Four others were detained, all senior members of the Ganquan church, a name that means "Sweet Spring," according to the family. All were taken on suspicion of fraud, according to a bulletin from a Christian prayer group.

"Under the fabricated charge of 'fraud,' many Christians faced harsh persecution," said Bob Fu, the founder of a U.S.-based Christian rights group, ChinaAid, who is advocating for Ding's release.

Police have started using fraud charges in recent years against leaders of what are known as house churches, or informal churches not registered with the government in China.

While China allows the practice of Christianity, it can only legally be done at churches registered with the state. Many who choose to worship in house churches say that joining a state church means worshiping the supremacy of the government and Communist Party over God, which they reject.

Beijing in the past several years has increased the pressure on house churches. In 2018, Chinese leader Xi Jinping issued a five-year plan to "Sinicize" all the nation's officially allowed religions, from Islam to Christianity to Buddhism, by infusing them with "Chinese characteristics" such as loyalty to the Communist Party. Heeding the call, local governments started shutting down house churches through evictions, police interrogations and arrests.

In 2022, pastor Hao Zhiwei in central Hubei province was sentenced to eight years in prison after being charged with fraud, according to Fu. That same year, preachers Han Xiaodong and Li Jie and church worker Wang Qiang were also arrested on suspicion of committing fraud.

On Dec. 1 police called Ding Zhongfu's wife into the station saying that her husband was being criminally detained on suspicion of fraud. They declined to give her a copy of any paperwork they had her sign that acknowledged they were investigating him.

A police officer at the Shushan branch's criminal division who answered the phone Tuesday declined to answer questions, saying he could not verify the identity of The Associated Press journalist calling.

The family had been preparing to move to the United States in December to join Ding's daughter from a previous marriage.

"I wasn't necessarily a proponent of him moving to the U.S.," said the daughter, Wanlin Ding, because it would be such a drastic uprooting. "It wasn't until this event that I realized how serious it was."

She had wanted him to be part of her wedding in the spring.

Ding's Ganquan house church had been forced to move multiple times in the past decade, Ge said. The congregation pooled money to buy property so they could use it as a place of worship. Because the churches aren't recognized by the government, the deeds were put in the names of Ding and two other church members.

Still, police forbid them from using the property to worship, showing up ahead of services to bar people from entering.

In recent years, Ding's wife said, the church had been meeting at more random locations to avoid police. The church has about 400-500 worshipers from all levels of society.

Ding, in addition to managing the church's finances, served as an elder in the community, someone people could come to with their problems.

One friend called Ding a "gentle" person in a handwritten testimony for the pastor's case as part of the public plea for his release: "He was always proactively helping those in society who needed to be helped."


# A Japan court orders Okinawa to approve a modified plan to build runways for US Marine Corps
By **MARI YAMAGUCHI**
December 20, 2023. 9:50 AM EST

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**TOKYO (AP)** - A Japanese court on Wednesday ordered the governor of Okinawa to approve the central government's modified plan for landfill work at the planned relocation site of a key U.S. military base on the southern island despite persistent opposition and protests by residents.

The decision will move forward the suspended construction at a time Okinawa's strategic importance is becoming key for the Japan-U.S. military alliance in the face of growing tensions with China. Japan also rapidly seeks to buildup its military in the southwestern region.

The ruling by the Fukuoka High Court Naha branch allows the Land and Transport Ministry to order the modification work designed to reinforce extremely soft ground at the designated relocation site for U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, overriding Gov. Denny Tamaki's disapproval. The ruling ordered Tamaki to issue the approval within three working days.

Tamaki said it was unjust that the will of the residents is crushed by the central government.

Tamaki, noting the spirit of local government autonomy and democracy, said in a statement that the ruling that allows the government's forcible execution of its planned construction of a new military base is "absolutely unacceptable."

If completed, the new site will serve a key Marine Corps facility for the region and will be also home to MV-22 Ospreys that are currently deployed at Futenma.

Tamaki can still appeal to the Supreme Court, but the local government at this point has no power to stop the work unless the top court overturns the decision.

Okinawa and the central government have long tussled over the relocation of the Futenma base.

The Japanese and U.S. governments initially agreed in 1996 to close the Futenma air station a year after the rape of a schoolgirl by three U.S. military personnel led to a massive anti-base movement. But persistent protests and lawsuits between Okinawa and Tokyo have held up the plan for nearly 30 years.

Japan's central government began the reclamation work off Henoko Bay on the eastern coast of Okinawa in 2018 to pave the way for the relocation of the Futenma base from its crowded neighborhood on the island.

The central government later found out that large areas of the designated reclamation site are on soft ground, which some experts described "as soft as mayonnaise," and submitted a revision to the original plan with additional land improvement. But Okinawa's prefectural government rejected the revision plan and suspended the reclamation work.

The ground improvement plan requires tens of thousands of pillars and massive amounts of soil, which opponents say would damage the environment. It is expected to cost 930 billion yen ($6.5 billion), 2.5 times the initial estimate, and take 12 years to finish, according to the Defense Ministry.

The Supreme Court in September turned down Okinawa's appeal in another lawsuit that ordered the prefecture to withdraw its rejection of the modified landfill plan.

Tamaki has called for a significant reduction of the U.S. militar y on the island, which is home to more than half of 50,000 American troops based in Japan under the bilateral security pact. Tamaki also has demanded the immediate closure of Futenma base and the scrapping of the base construction at Henoko. Okinawa accounts for just 0.6% of Japanese land.

Tokyo and Washington say the relocation within Okinawa, instead of moving it elsewhere as demanded by many Okinawans, is the only solution.

"We believe that action should be taken promptly in line with this ruling," Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said. He pledged that the government will continue to make effort for the return of the Futenma air station as soon as possible to reduce the burden from the base.


# 9 people have died in wild weather in Australian states of Queensland and Victoria, officials say
December 26, 2023. 11:18 PM EST

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**BRISBANE, Australia (AP)** - At least nine people have died in wild weather in the Australian eastern states of Queensland and Victoria, officials said on Wednesday.

Three men were killed after a boat with 11 people aboard capsized in rough weather in Moreton Bay off the south Queensland coast on Tuesday, police said.

Ambulances took the eight survivors to hospital in stable conditions.

A 59-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree at the Queensland city of Gold Coast on Monday night. The body of a 9-year-old girl was found on Tuesday in the neighboring city of Brisbane hours after she disappeared in a flooded stormwater drain.

The bodies of a 40-year-old woman and a 46-year-old woman were found in the Mary River in the Queensland town of Gympie. They were among three women swept into the flooded river through a stormwayter drain on Tuesday. Another 46-year-old woman managed to save herself.

Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll blamed "extraordinarily difficult weather" for the tragedies.

"It has been a very tragic 24 hours due to the weather," Carroll told reporters.

Severe weather has lashed parts of southeast Australia since Monday including Queensland and Victoria.

A woman, who is yet to be identified, was found dead late Tuesday after flash flooding receded at a camp ground at Buchan in regional Victoria.

Earlier on Tuesday, a 44-year-old man was killed by a falling branch at his rural property at Caringal in eastern Victoria.

Thunderstorms and strong winds have brought down more than 1,000 power lines in parts of Queensland and left 85,000 people without electricity.


# Contrary to politicians' claims, offshore wind farms don't kill whales. Here's what to know.
By **CHRISTINA LARSON**, **JENNIFER McDERMOTT**, **PATRICK WHITTLE**, and **WAYNE PARRY**
December 23, 2023. 3:01 PM EST

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PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - Unfounded claims about offshore wind threatening whales have surfaced as a flashpoint in the fight over the future of renewable energy.

In recent months, conservatives including former President Donald Trump have claimed construction of offshore wind turbines is killing the giant animals.

Scientists say there is no credible evidence linking offshore wind farms to whale deaths. But that hasn't stopped conservative groups and ad hoc "not in my back yard"-style anti-development groups from making the connection.

The Associated Press sorts fact from fiction when it comes to whales and wind power as the rare North Atlantic right whale's migration season gets underway:

## WHERE ARE U.S. OFFSHORE WIND PROJECTS?
To date, two commercial offshore wind farms are under construction in the United States. Danish wind energy developer Ørsted and the utility Eversource are building South Fork Wind, located 35 miles (56 kilometers) east of Montauk Point, New York. Ørsted announced Dec. 7 that the first of its 12 turbines there is now sending electricity onto the grid. Vineyard Wind is building a 62-turbine wind farm 15 miles (24 kilometers) off Massachusetts. Both plan to open by early next year, and other large offshore wind projects are obtaining permits.

There are also two pilot projects - five turbines off Rhode Island and two off Virginia. The Biden administration aims to power 10 million homes with offshore wind by 2030 - a key piece of its climate goals.

Lawsuits from community groups delayed Ørsted's two large offshore wind projects in New Jersey and the company recently announced it's cancelling those projects. That decision was based on their economic viability and had nothing to do with offshore wind opposition in New Jersey, said David Hardy, group executive vice president and CEO Americas at Ørsted.

## ARE U.S. WIND FARMS CAUSING WHALE DEATHS?
Experts say there's no evidence that limited wind farm construction on the Atlantic Coast has directly resulted in any whale deaths, despite politically motivated statements suggesting a link.

Rumors began to swirl after 2016, when an unusual number of whales started to be found dead or stranded on New England beaches -- a trend that predates major offshore wind farm construction that began this year.

"With whale strandings along the Northeast earlier this year in places like New Jersey, the reality is that it's not from offshore wind," said Aaron Rice, a marine biologist at Cornell University.

In answering questions about whale strandings earlier this year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that around 40% of recovered whale carcasses showed evidence of death from fishing gear entanglement or vessel strikes. The others could not be linked to a specific cause.

In Europe, where offshore wind has been developed for more than three decades, national agencies also have not found causal links between wind farms and whale deaths.

Meanwhile, U.S. scientists are collecting data near offshore wind farms to monitor any possible impacts short of fatality, such as altered behavior or changes to migration routes. This research is still in preliminary stages, said Doug Nowacek, a marine biologist at Duke University who helped put trackers on whales this summer off Massachusetts as part of a 5-year federally-funded study.

## WHAT REAL DANGERS DO WHALES FACE?
While the exact causes of recent whale strandings along the East Coast mostly are not known, whales do face dangers from human activities.

The biggest threats are shipping collisions and entanglement in fishing gear, according to scientists and federal authorities. Underwater noise pollution is another concern, they say.

Some advocates for protecting whales have characterized the push against offshore wind power as a distraction from real issues. "It seems that this is being used in an opportunistic way by anti-wind interests," said Gib Brogan, fisheries campaign director at the environmental group Oceana.

Since 2016, humpback whales have been dying at an advanced rate - one the federal government terms an "unusual mortality event." The much rarer North Atlantic right whale with fewer than 360 on Earth is also experiencing an unusual mortality event.

NOAA reports 83 whales have died off the East Coast since Dec. 1, 2022. Roughly half were humpbacks between Massachusetts and North Carolina, and two were critically-endangered right whales in North Carolina and Virginia.

## WHAT'S BEING DONE TO PROTECT WHALES NEAR WIND FARMS?
Federal law sets limits on human-generated sound underwate r for continuous noise and short sudden bursts.

Marine construction projects can reduce possible impact on marine mammals, including by pausing construction during migration seasons, using "bubble curtains" to contain sound from pile-driving and stationing trained observers with binoculars on ships to look for marine mammals.

Offshore wind developers are taking steps required by regulators, but also are voluntarily adopting measures to ensure marine mammals are not harmed. Ørsted won't drive piles between Dec. 1 and April 30, when whales are on the move. It uses additional lookout vehicles, encircles monopiles for turbines with bubble curtains and does underwater acoustic monitoring.

Equinor plans to use acoustic monitoring and infrared cameras to detect whales when it starts developing two lease areas off Long Island with its partner bp. The company says it will limit pile driving to months when right whales are least likely to be present.

## WHY ARE SOME PEOPLE ALLEGING WIND FARMS CAUSE WHALE DEATHS?
One vocal opponent of offshore wind is the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. Diana Furchtgott-Roth, director of the foundation's center for energy, climate and environment, wrote in November that Ørsted's scrapped New Jersey wind project was "unsightly" and a threat to wildlife.

"Whales and birds ... stand to gain if offshore wind abandons the Garden State," Furchtgott-Roth wrote.

Ørsted's Hardy said claims about wind farms killing whales are "not scientific" but "very much politically-driven misinformation."

The Heartland Institute, another conservative public policy group, has also pushed back at offshore wind projects. H. Sterling Burnett, director of the Arthur B. Robinson Center on Climate and Environmental Policy at the institute, said the wind projects are subject to unfairly lax regulatory restrictions compared to fossil fuel projects.

"We think it should be held to the same standard that any oil and gas project would be," Burnett said.

Smaller anti-wind groups have also organized in coastal communities to oppose projects they feel jeopardize water views, coastal industries and recreation.

## WHAT'S THE IMPACT OF MISINFORMATION?
Offshore wind opponents are using unsupported claims about harm to whales to try to stop projects, with some of the loudest opposition centered in New Jersey.

Misinformation can cause angst in coastal communities where developers need to build shoreside infrastructure to operate a wind farm.

Republican politicians have taken opposition from shore towns and community groups seriously. GOP congressmen from New Jersey, Maryland and Arizona got the U.S. Government Accountability Office to open an investigation into the offshore wind industry's impacts on commercial fishing and marine life and want a moratorium on projects.

New Jersey's Democrat-controlled Legislature remains steadfastly behind the industry.

## ARE WHALES IMPACTED BY CLIMATE CHANGE?
One reason whale advocates push for renewable energy is that they say climate change is harming the animals - and less reliance on fossil fuels would help solve that problem.

Scientists say global warming has caused the right whale's preferred food - tiny crustaceans - to move as waters have warmed.

That means the whales have strayed from protected areas of ocean in search of food, leaving them vulnerable to ship strikes and entanglements. Large whales play a vitally important role in the ecosystem by storing carbon, so some scientists say they are also part of the solution to climate change.


# International astronaut will be invited on future NASA moon landing
By **MARCIA DUNN**
December 20, 2023. 4:35 PM EST

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**CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP)** - An international astronaut will join U.S. astronauts on the moon by decade's end under an agreement announced Wednesday by NASA and the White House.

The news came as Vice President Kamala Harris convened a meeting in Washington of the National Space Council, the third such gathering under the Biden administration.

There was no mention of who the international moonwalker might be or even what country would be represented. A NASA spokeswoman later said that crews would be assigned closer to the lunar-landing missions, and that no commitments had yet been made to another country.

NASA has included international astronauts on trips to space for decades. Canadian Jeremy Hansen will fly around the moon a year or so from now with three U.S. astronauts.

Another crew would actually land; it would be the first lunar touchdown by astronauts in more than a half-century. That's not likely to occur before 2027, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

All 12 moonwalkers during NASA's Apollo program of the 1960s and 1970s were U.S. citizens. The space agency's new moon exploration program is named Artemis after Apollo's mythological twin sister.

Including international partners "is not only sincerely appreciated, but it is urgently needed in the world today," Hansen told the council.

NASA has long stressed the need for global cooperation in space, establishing the Artemis Accords along with the U.S. State Department in 2020 to promote responsible behavior not just at the moon but everywhere in space. Representatives from all 33 countries that have signed the accords so far were expected at the space council's meeting in Washington.

"We know from experience that collaboration on space delivers," said Secretary of State Antony Blinken, citing the Webb Space Telescope, a U.S., European and Canadian effort.

Notably missing from the Artemis Accords: Russia and China, the only countries besides the U.S. to launch their own citizens into orbit. Russia is a partner with NASA in the International Space Station, along with Europe, Japan and Canada. Even earlier in the 1990s, the Russian and U.S. space agencies teamed up during the shuttle program to launch each other's astronauts to Russia's former orbiting Mir station.

During Wednesday's meeting, Harris also announced new policies to ensure the safe use of space as more and more private companies and countries aim skyward. Among the issues that the U.S. is looking to resolve: the climate crisis and the growing amount of space junk around Earth. A 2021 anti-satellite missile test by Russia added more than 1,500 pieces of potentially dangerous orbiting debris, and Blinken joined others at the meeting in calling for all nations to end such destructive testing.


# Orange tabby cat named Taters steals the show in first video sent by laser from deep space
By **MARCIA DUNN**
December 19, 2023. 6:30 PM EST

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**CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP)** - An orange tabby cat named Taters stars in the first video transmitted by laser from deep space, stealing the show as he chases a red laser light.

The 15-second video was beamed to Earth from NASA's Psyche spacecraft, 19 million miles (30 million kilometers) away. It took less than two minutes for the ultra high-definition video to reach Caltech's Palomar Observatory, sent at the test system's maximum rate of 267 megabits per second.

The video was loaded into Psyche's laser communication experiment before the spacecraft blasted off to a rare metal asteroid in October. The mission team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, decided to feature an employee's 3-year-old playful kitty.

The video was streamed to Earth on Dec. 11 and released by NASA this week. Despite the vast distance, the test relayed the video faster than most broadband internet connections here on Earth, said the project's Ryan Rogalin.

NASA wants to improve communications from deep space, especially as astronauts gear up to return to the moon with an eye toward Mars. The laser demo is meant to transmit data at rates up to 100 times greater than the radio systems currently used by spacecraft far from Earth.

More test transmissions are planned as Psyche heads toward the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. But Taters won't be making anymore appearances, according to JPL.

Joby Harris, an art director in JPL's DesignLab, couldn't be prouder, but doesn't want his cat's newfound celebrity to go to his head.

"I'm celebrating his spotlight with him, but making sure he keeps his paws on the carpet," Harris said in an email Tuesday.


# Jeff Bezos' rocket company launches experiments in first flight since 2022 crash
By **MARCIA DUNN**
December 19, 2023. 1:18 PM EST

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Jeff Bezos' space company successfully launched a rocket carrying experiments on Tuesday, its first flight since engine trouble caused a crash more than a year ago.

The New Shepard rocket soared from West Texas, lifting a capsule full of tests, many of which were aboard the failed Blue Origin launch in September 2022. No one was aboard that flight or this latest one.

This time, the capsule made it to the fringes of space, exposing the experiments from NASA and others to a few minutes of weightlessness, before parachuting back down to the desert. The rocket landed first, after releasing the capsule. It reached an altitude of 66 miles (107 kilometers) during the 10-minute flight.

During last year's failed launch, the rocket started to veer off course shortly after liftoff, prompting the escape system to kick in and catapult the capsule off the top. The capsule landed safely, but the rocket came crashing down.

The problem was traced to an overheated rocket engine nozzle that broke apart. Design changes were made to the nozzles and combustion chambers.

Blue Origin has been launching from this remote area, southeast of El Paso, for almost 20 years. The company launched its first experiments for NASA in 2019 and its first passengers in 2021 that included Bezos and his brother. The second crew, a few months later, included "Star Trek" actor William Shatner.

Altogether, Blue Origin has launched six times with 31 passengers, interspersing the 10-minute flights with research hops.

"Following a thorough review of today's mission, we look forward to flying our next crewed flight soon," said launch commentator Erika Wagner.

Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket, designed to reach orbit, has yet to fly. The company is aiming for a debut sometime next year from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It's named after John Glenn, the first American to orbit the world. New Shepard is named after Alan Shepard, the first American in space.


# Oregon appeals court finds the rules for the state's climate program are invalid
December 20, 2023. 8:55 PM EST

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**PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)** - A state appeals court in Oregon decided late Wednesday that the rules for a program designed to limit and drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel companies are invalid. The program, started in 2022, is one of the strongest climate programs in the nation.

State environmental officials said the court's decision hinges on an administrative error and doesn't touch on whether the state Department of Environmental Quality has the authority to implement the program. The Climate Protection Program targets a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from transportation fuels and natural gas by 2050.

Wednesday's decision by the Oregon Court of Appeals comes in a case brought by fossil fuel companies that alleged the state Environmental Quality Commission erred in its rulemaking for the program. The commission acts as the Department of Environmental Quality's policy and rulemaking board.

The court in its decision said it concluded the rules for the program were invalid.

The department said the decision was limited to an administrative error and not effective immediately, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.

"The court did not make a decision about whether the Environmental Quality Commission has authority to adopt the Climate Protection Program," Lauren Wirtis, a department spokesperson, said in a statement.

The department is confident it has the authority to adopt and enforce the program and is evaluating next steps with the state Department of Justice, Wirtis said.

NW Natural, one of the litigants, said it was pleased with the court's decision and that it is committed to moving toward a low-carbon energy future.

A group of environmental, climate and social justice groups agreed with the state position that the decision focused on a procedural technicality and did not undermine the Department of Environmental Quality's authority to set greenhouse gas emissions limits on the oil and gas industry.


# A six-planet solar system in perfect synchrony has been found in the Milky Way
By **MARCIA DUNN**
November 29, 2023. 11:02 AM EST

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**CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP)** - Astronomers have discovered a rare in-sync solar system with six planets moving like a grand cosmic orchestra, untouched by outside forces since their birth billions of years ago.

The find, announced Wednesday, can help explain how solar systems across the Milky Way galaxy came to be. This one is 100 light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. A light-year is 5.8 trillion miles.

A pair of planet-hunting satellites - NASA's Tess and the European Space Agency's Cheops - teamed up for the observations.

None of the planets in perfect synchrony are within the star's so-called habitable zone, which means little if any likelihood of life, at least as we know it.

"Here we have a golden target" for comparison, said Adrien Leleu of the University of Geneva, who was part of an international team that published the results in the journal Nature.

This star, known as HD 110067, may have even more planets. The six found so far are roughly two to three times the size of Earth, but with densities closer to the gas giants in our own solar system. Their orbits range from nine to 54 days, putting them closer to their star than Venus is to the sun and making them exceedingly hot.

As gas planets, they're believed to have solid cores made of rock, metal or ice, enveloped by thick layers of hydrogen, according to the scientists. More observations are needed to determine what's in their atmospheres.

This solar system is unique because all six planets move similar to a perfectly synchronized symphony, scientists said. In technical terms, it's known as resonance that's "precise, very orderly," said co-author Enric Palle of the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands.

The innermost planet completes three orbits for every two by its closest neighbor. It's the same for the second- and third-closest planets, and the third- and fourth-closest planets.

The two outermost planets complete an orbit in 41 and 54.7 days, resulting in four orbits for every three. The innermost planet, meanwhile, completes six orbits in exactly the time the outermost completes one.

All solar systems, including our own, are thought to have started out like this one, according to the scientists. But it's estimated only 1-in-100 systems have retained that synchrony, and ours isn't one of them. Giant planets can throw things off-kilter. So can meteor bombardments, close encounters with neighboring stars and other disturbances.

While astronomers know of 40 to 50 in-sync solar systems, none have as many planets in such perfect step or as bright a star as this one, Palle said.

The University of Bern's Hugh Osborn, who was part of the team, was "shocked and delighted" when the orbital periods of this star system's planets came close to what scientists predicted.

"My jaw was on the floor," he said. "That was a really nice moment."


# Oldest black hole discovered dating back to 470 million years after the Big Bang
By **MARCIA DUNN**
November 6, 2023. 1:56 PM EST

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**CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP)** - Scientists have discovered the oldest black hole yet, a cosmic beast formed a mere 470 million years after the Big Bang.

The findings, published Monday, confirm what until now were theories that supermassive black holes existed at the dawn of the universe. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and Chandra X-Ray Observatory teamed up over the past year to make the observations.

Given the universe is 13.7 billion years old, that puts the age of this black hole at 13.2 billion years.

Even more astounding to scientists, this black hole is a whopper - 10 times bigger than the black hole in our own Milky Way.

It's believed to weigh anywhere from 10% to 100% the mass of all the stars in its galaxy, said lead author Akos Bogdan of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. That is nowhere near the miniscule ratio of the black holes in our Milky Way and other nearby galaxies - an estimated 0.1%, he noted.

"It's just really early on in the universe to be such a behemoth," said Yale University's Priyamvada Natarajan, who took part in the study published in the journal Nature Astronomy. A companion article appeared in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. "It's astounding how this thing actually is sitting in place already with its galaxy so early on in the universe."

The researchers believe the black hole formed from colossal clouds of gas that collapsed in a galaxy next door to one with stars. The two galaxies merged, and the black hole took over.

The fact that Chandra detected it via X-ray confirms "without a doubt that it is a black hole," according to Natarajan. With X-rays "you're actually capturing the gas that is being gravitationally pulled into the black hole, sped up and it starts glowing in the X-rays," she said.

This one is considered a quasar since it's actively growing and the gas is blindingly bright, she added.

The Webb telescope alone may have spotted a black hole that is 29 million years older, according to scientists, but it's yet to be observed in X-rays and verified. Natarajan expects more early black holes will be found - perhaps not as far out, but still quite distant.

"We are expecting a new window to open in the universe, and I think this is the first crack," she said.

The two space telescopes - Webb and Chandra - used a technique called gravitational lensing to magnify the region of space where this galaxy, UHZ1, and its black hole are located. The telescopes used the light from a much closer cluster of galaxies, a mere 3.2 billion light-years from Earth, to magnify UHZ1 and its black hole much farther in the background.

"It's a pretty faint object, and thanks to like luck, nature has magnified it for us," Natarajan said

Launched in 2021 to a point 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometers) away, Webb is the biggest and most powerful astronomical observatory ever sent into space; it sees the universe in the infrared. The much older Chandra has X-ray vision; it rocketed into orbit in 1999.

"I absolutely find it amazing that Chandra can do such amazing discoveries 24 years after its launch," Bogdan said.


# NASA spacecraft discovers tiny moon around asteroid during close flyby
By **MARCIA DUNN**
November 3, 2023. 11:09 AM EST

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**CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP)** - The little asteroid visited by NASA's Lucy spacecraft this week had a big surprise for scientists.

It turns out that the asteroid Dinkinesh has a dinky sidekick - a mini moon.

The discovery was made during Wednesday's flyby of Dinkinesh, 300 million miles (480 million kilometers) away in the main asteroid belt beyond Mars. The spacecraft snapped a picture of the pair when it was about 270 miles out (435 kilometers).

In data and images beamed back to Earth, the spacecraft confirmed that Dinkinesh is barely a half-mile (790 meters) across. Its closely circling moon is a mere one-tenth-of-a-mile (220 meters) in size.

NASA sent Lucy past Dinkinesh as a rehearsal for the bigger, more mysterious asteroids out near Jupiter. Launched in 2021, the spacecraft will reach the first of these so-called Trojan asteroids in 2027 and explore them for at least six years. The original target list of seven asteroids now stands at 11.

Dinkinesh means "you are marvelous" in the Amharic language of Ethiopia. It's also the Amharic name for Lucy, the 3.2 million-year-old remains of a human ancestor found in Ethiopia in the 1970s, for which the spacecraft is named.

"Dinkinesh really did live up to its name; this is marvelous," Southwest Research Institute's Hal Levison, the lead scientist, said in a statement.


# NASA's Lucy spacecraft swoops past first of 10 asteroids on long journey to Jupiter
By **MARCIA DUNN**
November 1, 2023. 4:11 PM EST

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**CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP)** - NASA's Lucy spacecraft on Wednesday encountered the first of 10 asteroids on its long journey to Jupiter.

The spacecraft on Wednesday swooped past the pint-sized Dinkinesh, about 300 million miles (480 million kilometers) away in the main asteroid belt beyond Mars. It was "a quick hello," according to NASA, with the spacecraft zooming by at 10,000 mph (16,000 kph).

Lucy came within 270 miles (435 kilometers) of Dinkinesh, testing its instruments in a dry run for the bigger and more alluring asteroids ahead. Dinkinesh is just a half-mile (1 kilometer) across, quite possibly the smallest of the space rocks on Lucy's tour.

Lucy's main targets are the so-called Trojans, swarms of unexplored asteroids out near Jupiter that are considered to be time capsules from the dawn of the solar system. The spacecraft will swing past eight Trojans believed to be up to 10 to 100 times bigger than Dinkinesh. It's due to zip past the final two asteroids in 2033.

NASA launched Lucy on its nearly $1 billion mission two years ago. The spacecraft is named after the 3.2 million-year-old skeletal remains of a human ancestor found in Ethiopia in the 1970s. Lucy will next swing past an asteroid named after one of the fossil Lucy's discoverers: Donald Johanson.

One of two solar wings on the spacecraft remains loose. Flight controllers gave up trying to latch it down, but it is believed to be stable enough for the entire mission.

Wednesday's flyby caps what NASA is calling Asteroid Autumn. NASA returned its first samples of rubble from an asteroid in September. Then in October, it launched a spacecraft to a rare, metal-rich asteroid named Psyche.

Unlike those missions, Lucy will not stop at any asteroids or collect any samples.

It will take at least a week for the spacecraft to send back all its pictures and data from the flyby.

Until now, Dinkinesh's only been "an unresolved smudge in the best telescopes," Southwest Research Institute's Hal Levison, the lead scientist, said in a statement.


# 'Ring of fire' eclipse brings cheers and shouts of joy as it moves across the Americas
By **MARÍA VERZA** and **IVÁN VALENCIA**
October 14, 2023. 10:58 PM EST

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**CANCÚN, México (AP)** - First came the darkening skies, then the crescent-shaped shadows on the ground, and finally an eruption of cheers by crowds that gathered Saturday along the narrow path of a rare "ring of fire" eclipse of the sun.

It was a spectacular show for millions of people across the Americas as the moon moved into place and blocked out all but a brilliant circle of the sun's outer edge.

Hundreds of people filed into the planetarium in the Caribbean resort city of Cancún to watch the eclipse. Some peered through box projectors, while others looked through telescopes and special glasses.

Excited children whistled, as some adults raised their arms toward the sky as if to welcome the eclipse.

Vendors selling plants outside observed the dance between the moon and the sun in a more natural way - with the help of trees as the shifting sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting unique shadows on the sidewalk.

"There was silence and like a mist, as if it was dusk, but only a few minutes later the birds were singing again," said Carmen Jardines, 56, one of the vendors.

Artemia Carreto, was telling passersby about her experience as a child in southern Mexico, when they were told to look instead at the river where it reflected beautifully on the sand beneath the water.

While she wasn't near a river this time, Carreto said she was carried away by the sensations induced by changing temperatures and a feeling of heaviness that she pegged to the rotation of the Earth.

For Pilar Cáceres, there was a sense of energy.

"It is something that nature brings us and that we must watch," said the 77-year-old retired elementary school teacher who watched the eclipse by following its shadow through a piece of cardboard.

Ancient Maya astronomers who tracked the movements of the sun and moon with precision referred to eclipses as "broken sun." They may have used dark volcanic glass to protect their eyes, said archeologist Arturo Montero of Tepeyac University in Mexico City.

Unlike a total solar eclipse, the moon doesn't completely cover the sun during a ring of fire eclipse. When the moon lines up between Earth and the sun, it leaves a bright, blazing border.

The entire eclipse - from the moment the moon starts to obscure the sun until it's back to normal - lasted 2 1/2 to three hours at any given spot. The ring of fire portion was from three to five minutes, depending on the location.

Saturday's U.S. path: Oregon, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Texas in the U.S., with a sliver of California, Arizona and Colorado. Then: Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Brazil. Much of the rest of the Western Hemisphere got a partial eclipse.

NASA and other groups livestreamed the event.

In the U.S., some eclipse watchers traveled to remote corners of the country to try to get the best view possible while those in Albuquerque got a double treat as the eclipse coincided with an international balloon fiesta that typically draws tens of thousands of spectators and hundreds of hot air balloon pilots from around the world.

There were hoots, hollers and yelps from the balloon launch field as the moon began to cover the sun. Some pilots used their propane burners to shoot flames upward in unison as the spectacle unfolded.

"It's very exciting to be here and have the convergence of our love of flying with something very natural like an eclipse," said Allan Hahn, a balloon pilot from Aurora, Colorado.

At Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah, enthusiasts hit the trails before sunrise to stake out their preferred spots among the red rock hoodoos.

With the ring of fire in full form, cheers echoed through the canyons of the park.

"I just think it's one of those things that unites us all," said John Edwards, a cancer drug developer who traveled alone across the country to watch the eclipse from Bryce Canyon.

Kirby James and Caroline McGuire from Toronto didn't realize they would be in a prime spot when they planned their trip to southern Utah.

"Nothing that you can read could prepare you for how it feels," said Kirby James, 63, a co-founder of a software company. "It's the moment, especially when the ring of fire came on, you realized you were having a lifetime experience."

For the small towns and cities along the path, there was a mix of excitement, worries about the weather and concerns they'd be overwhelmed by visitors flocking to see the annular solar eclipse.

In Eugene, Oregon, oohs and ahs combined with groans of disappointment as the eclipse was intermittently visible, the sun's light poking through the cloud cover only at times.

In southern Colombia, the Tatacoa desert played host to astronomers helping a group of visually impaired people experience the perfect golden ring created by the moon and sun through raised maps and temperature changes.

Colombia Science Minister Yesenia Olaya said moments like this should inspire people to promote science among children, so they see it as "a life project."

Juan Pablo Esguerra, 13, waited months to make the trip to the desert with his father to witness the eclipse.

"I like the astronomy because it's a spectacular experience," he said. "This is the best that I've seen in my life."

In Mexico City, some children came dressed as astronauts as thousands of people gathered at the main esplanade of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the country's main public college. People shared special glasses, and the university set up telescopes.

Saturday's eclipse marked the first for Brazil since 1994. The country's national observatory broadcast the event online while thousands flocked to parks and beaches in the north and northeastern regions to soak in the phenomenon.

Next April, a total solar eclipse will crisscross the U.S. in the opposite direction. That one will begin in Mexico and go from Texas to New England before ending in Canada.

The next ring of fire eclipse is in October next year at the southernmost tip of South America. Antarctica gets one in 2026. It will be 2039 before another ring of fire is visible in the U.S., and Alaska will be the only state in its direct path.


# NASA spacecraft launched to mysterious and rare metal asteroid in first mission of its kind
By **MARCIA DUNN**
October 13, 2023. 1:04 PM EST

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**CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP)** - NASA's Psyche spacecraft rocketed away Friday on a six-year journey to a rare metal-covered asteroid.

Most asteroids tend to be rocky or icy, and this is the first exploration of a metal world. Scientists believe it may be the battered remains of an early planet's core, and could shed light on the inaccessible centers of Earth and other rocky planets.

SpaceX launched the spacecraft into an overcast midmorning sky from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Named for the asteroid it's chasing, Psyche should reach the huge, potato-shaped object in 2029.

"It's so thrilling," said Laurie Leshin, director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Added Arizona State University's Jim Bell, part of the Psyche team: "What a great ride so far."

An hour later, the spacecraft separated successfully from the rocket's upper stage and floated away, drawing applause from ground controllers.

After decades of visiting faraway worlds of rock, ice and gas, NASA is psyched to pursue one coated in metal. Of the nine or so metal-rich asteroids discovered so far, Psyche is the biggest, orbiting the sun in the outer portion of the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter alongside millions of other space rocks. It was discovered in 1852 and named after Greek mythology's captivating goddess of the soul.

"It's long been humans' dream to go to the metal core of our Earth. I mean, ask Jules Verne," lead scientist Lindy Elkins-Tanton of Arizona State University said ahead of the launch.

"The pressure is too high. The temperature is too high. The technology is impossible," she said. "But there's one way in our solar system that we can look at a metal core and that is by going to this asteroid."

Astronomers know from radar and other observations that the asteroid is big - about 144 miles (232 kilometers) across at its widest and 173 miles (280 kilometers) long. They believe it's brimming with iron, nickel and other metals, and quite possibly silicates, with a dull, predominantly gray surface likely covered with fine metal grains from cosmic impacts.

Otherwise, it's a speck of light in the night sky, full of mystery until the spacecraft reaches it after traveling more than 2 billion miles (3.6 billion kilometers).

Scientists envision spiky metal craters, huge metal cliffs and metal-encrusted eroded lava flows greenish-yellow from sulfur - "almost certain to be completely wrong," according to Elkins-Tanton. It's also possible that trace amounts of gold, silver, platinum or iridium - iron-loving elements - could be dissolved in the asteroid's iron and nickel, she said.

"There's a very good chance that it's going to be outside of our imaginings, and that is my fondest hope," she said.

Believed to be a planetary building block from the solar system's formation 4.5 billion years ago, the asteroid can help answer such fundamental questions as how did life arise on Earth and what makes our planet habitable, according to Elkins-Tanton.

On Earth, the planet's iron core is responsible for the magnetic field that shields our atmosphere and enables life.

Led by Arizona State University on NASA's behalf, the $1.2 billion mission will use a roundabout route to get to the asteroid. The van-size spacecraft with solar panels big enough to fill a tennis court will swoop past Mars for a gravity boost in 2026. Three years later, it will reach the asteroid and attempt to go into orbit around it, circling as high as 440 miles (700 kilometers) and as close as 47 miles (75 kilometers) until at least 2031.

The spacecraft relies on solar electric propulsion, using xenon gas-fed thrusters and their gentle blue-glowing pulses. An experimental communication system is also along for the ride, using lasers instead of radio waves in an attempt to expand the flow of data from deep space to Earth. NASA expects the test to yield more than 10 times the amount of data, enough to transmit videos from the moon or Mars one day.

The spacecraft should have soared a year ago, but was held up by delays in flight software testing attributed to poor management and other issues. The revised schedule added extra travel time. So instead of arriving at the asteroid in 2026 as originally planned, the spacecraft won't get there until 2029.

That's the same year that another NASA spacecraft - the one that just returned asteroid samples to the Utah desert - will arrive at a different space rock as it buzzes Earth.


# In many Indigenous cultures, a solar eclipse is more than a spectacle. It's for honoring tradition
By **TERRY TANG**
October 12, 2023. 2:26 PM EST

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**PHOENIX (AP)** - For a few hours, Krystal Curley and her Indigenous women's work group took over a college auditorium to share traditional Navajo practices regarding this weekend's highly anticipated solar eclipse. More than 50 people - young and old - showed up for the chance to either connect with or remember cultural protocol going back hundreds of years.

They laid out books on Navajo astronomy and corn pollen used for blessings. A medicine man fielded questions from the majority Navajo, or Diné, audience on what to do when the moon partially shrouds the sun.

Don't: Look at the eclipse, eat, drink, sleep or engage in physical activity.

Do: Sit at home and reflect or pray during what's considered an intimate, celestial moment.

"There's so many things we're not supposed to do as Diné people compared to other tribes, where it's OK for them to look at the eclipse or be out or do things," said Curley, executive director of nonprofit Indigenous Life Ways.

The belief is pronounced on the Navajo Nation but not shared among all Indigenous cultures North, Central and South America that will be in the primary viewing path for the "ring of fire" eclipse Saturday. Navajo, which has the largest reservation in the U.S., is closing well-known tourist destinations like Monument Valley and the Four Corners Monument to allow residents to be at home with curtains drawn in silence.

Navajo-led tour companies also will cease operations during the phenomenon. Some Indigenous groups elsewhere are using the occasion to pass down cultural teachings, share stories and ensure members, especially younger generations, learn sacred traditions.

In Navajo culture, an eclipse is about solemnity - not spectacle. It marks the end of a cycle and the power of when the moon and sun are in alignment. When the sun is blocked, it is undergoing a rebirth. It also is seen as the moon and the sun embracing each other.

Paul Begay, a Navajo cultural adviser for guided hikes with Taadidiin Tours in Antelope Canyon, plans to quietly sit at home in Page, Arizona. Begay said he was taught from a young age that deities are responsible for creation starting with the first man and first woman, who traveled through four worlds.

Begay described an eclipse as a disturbance, or death of the sun, which is considered a father figure in Navajo. Out of respect, he said, all activity stops.

"It's just a show of reverency, a show of being the way the holy people would want you to be," Begay said. "Of course, the eclipse will subside in due time and activities go back to normalcy."

Shiyé Bidzííl, who is Navajo and Lakota, plans to view it with his 12-year-old twin sons and 11-year-old daughter outside their home in Chinle, Arizona. He even bought special viewing glasses last week. Bidzííl, who says Lakota believe they descend from "Star People," grew up finding stargazing compelling and wants to educate his children on the significance of the celestial alignment.

"My sons, they're all into stars and space and planets and moons, things like that," Bidzííl said.

In southern Oregon, GeorGene Nelson, director of the Klamath Tribes' language department, says no tribal tradition dictates that she hunker down. She will be part of an educational panel at Running Y Resort in Klamath Falls. She wants to share eclipse-related stories from the Klamath, Modoc and Yahooskin-Paiute people.

The story she learned is that a grizzly bear is trying to eat the moon. Meanwhile, a frog jumps on the moon and the moon decides to keep the frog as his wife so she can chase away the bear. The frog ends up married to the sun, too.

"Our people used to gather when these eclipses started happening ... calling for the frog to come," Nelson said. "When the eclipse is over with, then that's the frog being successful in chasing the grizzly bear."

Klamath Tribes officials won't be able to avoid the eclipse-driven fanfare. EclipseFest23, a festival in Klamath County roughly 20 miles (32 kilometers) from Crater Lake National Park, started Tuesday. The five-day celebration features food trucks, a beer garden and rock band Smash Mouth, performing Saturday. The county's 60,000-plus population could double by Saturday with all the extra foot traffic, said Tim Sexton, Klamath Tribes fire program manager.

"Just the sheer number of people over here at one time looking for places to stay overnight or even places to have a nice view of the eclipse could unwittingly (do) damage," Sexton said. "A lot of these areas are remote. With this number of people, there's a tendency for folks to not want to stay in a big crowd and they'll go to areas they haven't seen visitors for a while."

In Oklahoma off the premiere path of the eclipse, other tribes are recounting origin stories of eclipses, said Chris Hill, a cultural specialist for Native American programming in Tulsa Public Schools. In his own Muscogee (Creek) Nation tribe, the 66 tribal towns each have a unique story surrounding eclipses, he said.

The story he grew up with was that a rabbit being chased by a little boy transformed into a "little person" and offered the boy three wishes. After food and friends, the boy asked for shade. So, the little person lobbed cornmeal at the sun, covering it, and proclaimed the moon and sun have been brought together. The little person then teaches the boy a "friendship dance." The eclipse symbolizes that friendship.

"During that time of the eclipse, we all pay homage, we all get silent. We all basically don't do anything during that time. But we also prepare medicines for that time, too," Hill said.

Still, there are a lot of people who are "colonized" and don't follow tradition, he added.

Curley, of Indigenous Life Ways, wants to do more workshops to educate Natives about celestial events - even giving them corn pollen, or tádídíín, for the post-eclipse offering.

"We know people are hungry for traditional knowledge," she said. "I'm really thankful our young people are really interested in preserving our ways."


# NASA shows off its first asteroid samples delivered by a spacecraft
By **MARCIA DUNN**
October 11, 2023. 9:59 PM EST

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**CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP)** - NASA on Wednesday showed off its first asteroid samples delivered last month by a spacecraft - a jumble of black dust and rubble that's the most ever returned to Earth.

Scientists anticipated getting a cupful but are still unsure how much was grabbed from the carbon-rich asteroid named Bennu, almost 60 million miles (97 million kilometers) away. That's because the main sample chamber has yet to be opened, officials said during an event at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

"It's been going slow and meticulous, but the science is already starting," said the mission's lead scientist, Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona.

NASA's Osiris-Rex spacecraft collected the samples three years ago from the surface of Bennu and then dropped them off sealed in a capsule during a flyby of Earth last month. The expected cupful was far more than the teaspoon or so that Japan brought back from a pair of missions.

Black dust and particles were scattered around the outside edge of the internal sample chamber, according to Lauretta. He said there's still "a whole treasure chest of extraterrestrial material" to be studied. The samples are priceless, the preserved building blocks from the dawn of the solar system.

No one at Wednesday's celebration at Johnson got to see any of the samples firsthand - just photos and video. The asteroid pieces were behind locked doors in a new lab at the space center, accessible only to scientists in protective gear.

Besides carbon, the asteroid rubble holds water in the form of water-bearing clay minerals, Lauretta and others pointed out.

"That is how we think water got to the Earth," he said. "Minerals like we're seeing from Bennu landed on Earth 4 billion years ago to 4.5 billion years ago, making our world habitable."

That was one of the primary reasons for the $1 billion, seven-year mission: to help learn how the solar system - and Earth in particular - formed. "You can't get more exciting than that," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

Back in 2020, Lauretta and his team lost some of their haul when the lid on the sample container jammed a few days after the spacecraft collected the material. It vacuumed up so many pieces from Bennu that small rocks got lodged under the lid and prevented it from closing, sending pieces floating off into space.

That's why scientists did not have a precise measurement of what was coming back; they estimated 250 grams, or about a cupful, ahead of the Sept. 24 landing in the Utah desert. They won't have a good count until the container is opened, within two weeks or so.

Much of the material shown Wednesday was overflow from when the lid was stuck open, before everything could be sealed inside the return capsule. The larger visible rocks were under an inch (2.5 centimeters) in size.

"We have a bounty of sample on our hands already and we're not even inside" the main sample container, said NASA astromaterials curator Francis McCubbin.

Once the samples are archived, the team will dole out particles to researchers around the world, while saving a fair amount for future analysis when better technology should be available.

NASA has another asteroid-chasing spacecraft on a Florida launch pad, ready to blast off later this week. The destination will be a rare asteroid made of metal named Psyche. No samples will be coming back.


# 'Ring of fire' solar eclipse will slice across Americas on Saturday with millions along path
By **MARCIA DUNN**
October 10, 2023. 12:04 PM EST

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Tens of millions in the Americas will have front-row seats for Saturday's rare "ring of fire" eclipse of the sun.

What's called an annular solar eclipse - better known as a ring of fire - will briefly dim the skies over parts of the western U.S. and Central and South America.

As the moon lines up precisely between Earth and the sun, it will blot out all but the sun's outer rim. A bright, blazing border will appear around the moon for as much as five minutes, wowing skygazers along a narrow path stretching from Oregon to Brazil.

The celestial showstopper will yield a partial eclipse across the rest of the Western Hemisphere.

It's a prelude to the total solar eclipse that will sweep across Mexico, the eastern half of the U.S. and Canada, in six months. Unlike Saturday, when the moon is too far from Earth to completely cover the sun from our perspective, the moon will be at the perfect distance on April 8, 2024.

Here's what you need to know about the ring of fire eclipse, where you can see it and how to protect your eyes:

## WHAT'S THE PATH OF THE RING OF FIRE ECLIPSE?
The eclipse will carve out a swath about 130 miles (210 kilometers) wide, starting in the North Pacific and entering the U.S. over Oregon around 8 a.m. PDT Saturday. It will culminate in the ring of fire a little over an hour later. From Oregon, the eclipse will head downward across Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Texas, encompassing slivers of Idaho, California, Arizona and Colorado, before exiting into the Gulf of Mexico at Corpus Christi. It will take less than an hour for the flaming halo to traverse the U.S.

From there, the ring of fire will cross Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and, finally, Brazil before its grand finale over the Atlantic.

The entire eclipse - from the moment the moon starts to obscure the sun until it's back to normal - will last 2 1/2 to three hours at any given spot. The ring of fire portion lasts from three to five minutes, depending on location.

## WHERE CAN THE ECLIPSE BE SEEN?
In the U.S. alone, more than 6.5 million people live along the so-called path of annularity, with another 68 million within 200 miles (322 kilometers), according to NASA's Alex Lockwood, a planetary scientist. "So a few hours' short drive and you can have over 70 million witness this incredible celestial alignment," she said.

At the same time, a crescent-shaped partial eclipse will be visible in every U.S. state, although just barely in Hawaii, provided the skies are clear. Canada, Central America and most of South America, also will see a partial eclipse. The closer to the ring of fire path, the bigger the bite the moon will appear to take out of the sun.

Can't see it? NASA and others will provide a livestream of the eclipse.

## HOW TO PROTECT YOUR EYES DURING THE ECLIPSE
Be sure to use safe, certified solar eclipse glasses, Lockwood stressed. Sunglasses aren't enough to prevent eye damage. Proper protection is needed throughout the eclipse, from the initial partial phase to the ring of fire to the final partial phase.

There are other options if you don't have eclipse glasses. You can look indirectly with a pinhole projector that you can make yourself, including one made with a cereal box.

Cameras - including those on cellphones - binoculars, or telescopes need special solar filters mounted at the front end.

## SEEING DOUBLE
One patch of Texas near San Antonio will be in the cross-hairs of Saturday's eclipse and next April's, with Kerrville near the center. It's one of the locations hosting NASA's livestream.

"Is the city of Kerrville excited? Absolutely!!!" Mayor Judy Eychner said in an email. "And having NASA here is just icing on the cake!!!"

With Saturday's eclipse coinciding with art, music and river festivals, Eychner expects Kerrville's population of 25,000 to double or even quadruple.

## WHERE'S THE TOTAL ECLIPSE IN APRIL?
April's total solar eclipse will crisscross the U.S. in the opposite direction. It will begin in the Pacific and head up through Mexico into Texas, then pass over Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, the northern fringes of Pennsylvania and New York, and New England, before cutting across Canada into the North Atlantic at New Brunswick and Newfoundland. Almost all these places missed out during the United States' coast-to-coast total solar eclipse in 2017.

It will be 2039 before another ring of fire is visible in the U.S., and Alaska will be the only state then in the path of totality. And it will be 2046 before another ring of fire crosses into the U.S. Lower 48. That doesn't mean they won't be happening elsewhere: The southernmost tip of South America will get one next October, and Antarctica in 2026.

## GOING AFTER THE SCIENCE
NASA and others plan a slew of observations during both eclipses, with rockets and hundreds of balloons soaring.

"It's going to be absolutely breathtaking for science," said NASA astrophysicist Madhulika Guhathakurta.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Aroh Barjatya will help launch three NASA-funded sounding rockets from New Mexico's White Sands Missile Range before, during and after Saturday's eclipse. The goal is to see how eclipses set off atmospheric waves in the ionosphere nearly 200 miles (320 kilometers) up that could disrupt communications.

Barjatya will be just outside Saturday's ring of fire. And he'll miss April's full eclipse, while launching rockets from Virginia's Wallops Island.

"But the bittersweet moment of not seeing annularity or totality will certainly be made up by the science return," he said.


# NASA's first asteroid samples land on Earth after release from spacecraft
By **MARCIA DUNN**
September 25, 2023. 12:42 AM EST

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NASA's first asteroid samples fetched from deep space parachuted into the Utah desert Sunday to cap a seven-year journey.

In a flyby of Earth, the Osiris-Rex spacecraft released the sample capsule from 63,000 miles (100,000 kilometers) out. The small capsule landed four hours later on a remote expanse of military land, as the mothership set off after another asteroid.

"We have touchdown!" Mission Recovery Operations announced, immediately repeating the news since the landing occurred three minutes early. Officials later said the orange striped parachute opened four times higher than anticipated - around 20,000 feet (6,100 meters) - basing it on the deceleration rate.

To everyone's relief, the capsule was intact and not breached, keeping its 4.5 billion-year-old samples free of contamination. Within two hours of touchdown, the capsule was inside a temporary clean room at the Defense Department's Utah Test and Training Range, hoisted there by helicopter.

The sealed sample canister will be flown on Monday to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, where it will be opened in a new, specially designed lab. The building already houses the hundreds of pounds (kilograms) of moon rocks gathered by the Apollo astronauts.

"We can't wait to crack into it. For me, the real science is just beginning," said the mission's lead scientist, Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona. He'll accompany the samples all the way to Texas.

Lori Glaze, NASA's planetary science division director, added: "Those are going to be a treasure for scientific analysis for years and years and years to come."

Scientists estimate the capsule holds at least a cup of rubble from the carbon-rich asteroid known as Bennu, but won't know for sure until the container is opened in a day or two. Some spilled and floated away when the spacecraft scooped up too much material, which jammed the container's lid during collection three years ago.

Japan, the only other country to bring back samples, gathered about a teaspoon during a pair of asteroid missions.

The pebbles and dust delivered Sunday represent the biggest haul from beyond the moon. Preserved building blocks from the dawn of our solar system, the samples will help scientists better understand how Earth and life formed, providing "an extraordinary glimpse" of 4.5 billion years ago, said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

Osiris-Rex, the mothership, rocketed away on the $1 billion mission in 2016. It reached Bennu two years later and, using a long stick vacuum, grabbed rubble from the small roundish space rock in 2020. By the time it returned, the spacecraft had logged 4 billion miles (6.2 billion kilometers).

At a news conference several hours later, Lauretta said he broke into tears of joy upon hearing that the capsule's main parachute had opened.

"I knew we had made it home," he said, so overwhelmed with emotion when he arrived at the scene that he wanted to hug the capsule, sooty but undamaged and not even bent.

Flight controllers for spacecraft builder Lockheed Martin stood and applauded the touchdown from their base in Colorado. NASA camera views showed the charred capsule upside down on the sand with its parachute disconnected and strewn nearby, as the recovery team moved in via helicopters.

"Boy, did we stick that landing," Lauretta said. "It didn't move, it didn't roll, it didn't bounce. It just made a tiny little divot in the Utah soil."

British astronomer Daniel Brown, who was not involved in the mission, said he expects "great things" from NASA's largest sample return since the Apollo moon landings more than a half-century ago. With these asteroid samples, "we are edging closer to understanding its early chemical composition, the formation of water and the molecules life is based on," he added from Nottingham Trent University.

One Osiris-Rex team member was stuck in England, rehearsing for a concert tour. "My heart's there with you as this precious sample is recovered," Queen's lead guitarist Brian May, who's also an astrophysicist, said in a prerecorded message. "Happy Sample Return Day."

Engineers estimate the canister holds 250 grams (8.82 ounces) of material from Bennu, plus or minus 100 grams (3.53 ounces). Even at the low end, it will easily surpass the minimum requirement of the mission, Lauretta said.

It will take a few weeks to get a precise measurement, said NASA's lead curator Nicole Lunning.

NASA plans a public show-and-tell in October.

Currently orbiting the sun 50 million miles (81 million kilometers) from Earth, Bennu is about one-third of a mile (one-half of a kilometer) across, roughly the size of the Empire State Building but shaped like a spinning top. It's believed to be the broken fragment of a much larger asteroid.

During a two-year survey, Osiris-Rex found Bennu to be a chunky rubble pile full of boulders and craters. The surface was so loose that the spacecraft's vacuum arm sank a foot or two (0.5 meters) into the asteroid, sucking up more material than anticipated.

These close-up observations may come in handy late next century. Bennu is expected to come dangerously close to Earth in 2182 - possibly close enough to hit. The data gleaned by Osiris-Rex will help with any asteroid-deflection effort, according to Lauretta.

Osiris-Rex is already chasing after the asteroid Apophis, and will reach it in 2029.

This was NASA's third sample return from a deep-space robotic mission. The Genesis spacecraft dropped off bits of solar wind in 2004, but the samples were compromised when the parachute failed and the capsule slammed into the ground. The Stardust spacecraft successfully delivered comet dust in 2006.

NASA's plans to return samples from Mars are on hold after an independent review board criticized the cost and complexity. The Martian rover Perseverance has spent the past two years collecting core samples for eventual transport to Earth.


# The fall equinox is here. What does that mean?
By **MADDIE BURAKOFF**
September 22, 2023. 10:09 AM EST

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NEW YORK (AP) - Fall is in the air - officially.

The equinox arrives on Saturday, marking the start of the fall season for the Northern Hemisphere.

But what does that actually mean? Here's what to know about how we split up the year using the Earth's orbit.

## WHAT IS THE EQUINOX?
As the Earth travels around the sun, it does so at an angle.

For most of the year, the Earth's axis is tilted either toward or away from the sun. That means the sun's warmth and light fall unequally on the northern and southern halves of the planet.

During the equinox, the Earth's axis and its orbit line up so that both hemispheres get an equal amount of sunlight.

The word equinox comes from two Latin words meaning equal and night. That's because on the equinox, day and night last almost the same amount of time - though one may get a few extra minutes, depending on where you are on the planet.

The Northern Hemisphere's spring - or vernal - equinox can land between March 19 and 21, depending on the year. Its fall - or autumnal - equinox can land between Sept. 21 and 24.

## WHAT IS THE SOLSTICE?
The solstices mark the times during the year when the Earth is seeing its strongest tilt toward or away from the sun. This means the hemispheres are getting very different amounts of sunlight - and days and nights are at their most unequal.

During the Northern Hemisphere's summer solstice, the upper half of the earth is tilted in toward the sun, creating the longest day and shortest night of the year. This solstice falls between June 20 and 22.

Meanwhile, at the winter solstice, the Northern Hemisphere is leaning away from the sun - leading to the shortest day and longest night of the year. The winter solstice falls between December 20 and 23.

## WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN METEOROLOGICAL AND ASTRONOMICAL SEASONS?
These are just two different ways to carve up the year.

Meteorological seasons are defined by the weather. They break down the year into three-month seasons based on annual temperature cycles. By that calendar, spring starts on March 1, summer on June 1, fall on Sept. 1 and winter on Dec. 1.

Astronomical seasons depend on how the Earth moves around the sun.

Equinoxes, when the sun lands equally on both hemispheres, mark the start of spring and autumn. Solstices, when the Earth sees its strongest tilt toward or away from the sun, kick off summer and winter.


# NASA spacecraft delivering biggest sample yet from an asteroid
By **MARCIA DUNN**
September 20, 2023. 12:48 PM EST

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Planet Earth is about to receive a special delivery - the biggest sample yet from an asteroid.

A NASA spacecraft will fly by Earth on Sunday and drop off what is expected to be at least a cupful of rubble it grabbed from the asteroid Bennu, closing out a seven-year quest.

The sample capsule will parachute into the Utah desert as its mothership, the Osiris-Rex spacecraft, zooms off for an encounter with another asteroid.

Scientists anticipate getting about a half pound (250 grams) of pebbles and dust, much more than the teaspoon or so brought back by Japan from two other asteroids. No other country has fetched pieces of asteroids, preserved time capsules from the dawn of our solar system that can help explain how Earth - and life - came to be.

Sunday's landing concludes a 4 billion-mile (6.2-billion-kilometer) journey highlighted by the rendezvous with the carbon-rich Bennu, a unique pogo stick-style touchdown and sample grab, a jammed lid that sent some of the stash spilling into space, and now the return of NASA's first asteroid samples.

"I ask myself how many heart-pounding moments can you have in one lifetime because I feel like I might be hitting my limit," said the University of Arizona's Dante Lauretta, the mission's lead scientist.

A brief look at the spacecraft and its cargo:

## THE LONG JOURNEY
Asteroid chaser Osiris-Rex blasted off on the $1 billion mission in 2016. It arrived at Bennu in 2018 and spent the next two years flying around the small spinning space rock and scouting out the best place to grab samples. Three years ago, the spacecraft swooped in and reached out with its 11-foot (3-meter) stick vacuum, momentarily touching the asteroid's surface and sucking up dust and pebbles. The device pressed down with such force and grabbed so much that rocks became wedged around the rim of the lid. As samples drifted off into space, Lauretta and his team scrambled to get the remaining material into the capsule. The exact amount inside won't be known until the container is opened.

## ASTEROID BENNU
Discovered in 1999, Bennu is believed to be a remnant of a much larger asteroid that collided with another space rock. It's barely one-third of a mile (half a kilometer) wide, roughly the height of the Empire State Building, and its black rugged surface is packed with boulders. Roundish in shape like a spinning top, Bennu orbits the sun every 14 months, while rotating every four hours. Scientists believe Bennu holds leftovers from the solar system's formation 4.5 billion years ago. It may come dangerously close and strike Earth on Sept. 24, 2182 - exactly 159 years after the asteroid's first pieces arrive. Osiris-Rex's up-close study can help humanity figure out how to deflect Bennu if needed, Lauretta said.

## GAME DAY
Osiris-Rex will release the sample capsule from 63,000 miles (100,000 kilometers) out, four hours before it's due to touch down at the Defense Department's Utah Test and Training Range on Sunday morning. The release command will come from spacecraft builder Lockheed Martin's control center in Colorado. Soon afterward, the mothership will steer away and take off to explore another asteroid. The capsule - nearly 3 feet wide (81 centimeters) and 1.6 feet tall (50 centimeters) - will hit the atmosphere at 27,650 mph (44,500 kph) for the final 13 minutes of descent remaining. The main parachute will slow the last mile (1.6 kilometers), allowing for a mild 11 mph (18 kph) touchdown. Once everything is deemed safe, the capsule will be hustled by helicopter to a makeshift clean lab at the range. The next morning, a plane will carry the sealed container full of rubble to Houston, home to NASA's Johnson Space Center. NASA is livestreaming the touchdown, set for around 10:55 a.m. EDT.

## CLEANER THAN CLEAN
A new lab at Johnson will be limited to the Bennu rubble to avoid cross-contamination with other collections, said NASA curator Kevin Righter. Building 31 already holds the moon rocks brought back by the Apollo astronauts from 1969 through 1972, as well as comet dust and specks of solar wind collected during two previous missions and Mars meteorites found in Antarctica. The asteroid samples will be handled inside nitrogen-purging gloveboxes by staff in head-to-toe clean room suits. NASA plans a splashy public reveal of Bennu's riches on Oct. 11.

## ASTEROID AUTUMN
This fall is what NASA is calling Asteroid Autumn, with three asteroid missions marking major milestones. The Osiris-Rex touchdown will be followed by the launch of another asteroid hunter on Oct. 5. Both the NASA spacecraft and its target - a metal asteroid - are named Psyche. Then a month later, NASA's Lucy spacecraft will encounter its first asteroid since soaring from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in 2021. Lucy will swoop past Dinkinesh in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter on Nov. 1. It's a warmup for Lucy's unprecedented tour of the so-called Trojans, swarms of asteroids that shadow Jupiter around the sun. Neither Psyche nor Lucy will collect souvenirs, nor will Osiris-Rex on its next assignment, to explore the asteroid Apophis in 2029.

## OTHER SAMPLE RETURNS
This is NASA's third sample return from deep space, not counting the hundreds of pounds (kilograms) of moon rocks gathered by the Apollo astronauts. The agency's first robotic sample grab ended with a bang in 2004. The capsule bearing solar wind particles slammed into the Utah desert and shattered, compromising the samples. Two years later, a U.S. capsule with comet dust landed intact. Japan's first asteroid sample mission returned microscopic grains from asteroid Itokawa in 2010. It's second trip yielded about 5 grams - a teaspoon or so- from the asteroid Ryugu in 2020. The Soviet Union transported moon samples to Earth during the 1970s, and China returned lunar material in 2020.


# Across the Northern Hemisphere, now's the time to catch a new comet before it vanishes for 400 years
By **MARCIA DUNN**
September 6, 2023. 1:23 PM EST

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**CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP)** - A newly discovered comet is swinging through our cosmic neighborhood for the first time in more than 400 years.

Stargazers across the Northern Hemisphere should catch a glimpse as soon as possible - either this week or early next - because it will be another 400 years before the wandering ice ball returns.

The comet, which is kilometer-sized (1/2-mile), will sweep safely past Earth on Sept. 12, passing within 78 million miles (125 million kilometers).

Early risers should look toward the northeastern horizon about 1 1/2 hours before dawn - to be specific, less than 10 or so degrees above the horizon near the constellation Leo. The comet will brighten as it gets closer to the sun, but will drop lower in the sky, making it tricky to spot.

Although visible to the naked eye, the comet is extremely faint.

"So you really need a good pair of binoculars to pick it out and you also need to know where to look," said said Paul Chodas, manager of NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies.

The comet will come closest to the sun - closer than Mercury is - on about Sept. 17 before departing the solar system. That's assuming it doesn't disintegrate when it buzzes the sun, though Chodas said "it's likely to survive its passage."

Italian astronomer Gianluca Masi, founder of the Virtual Telescope Project, said in an email that the next week represents "the last, feasible chances" to see the comet from the Northern Hemisphere before it's lost in the sun's glare.

"The comet looks amazing right now, with a long, highly structured tail, a joy to image with a telescope," he said.

If it survives its brush with the sun, the comet should be visible in the Southern Hemisphere by the end of September, Masi said, sitting low on the horizon in the evening twilight.

Stargazers have been tracking the rare green comet ever since its discovery by an amateur Japanese astronomer in mid-August. The Nishimura comet now bears his name.

It's unusual for an amateur to discover a comet these days, given all the professional sky surveys by powerful ground telescopes, Chodas said, adding, "this is his third find, so good for him."

The comet last visited about 430 years ago, Chodas said. That's about a decade or two before Galileo invented the telescope.


# Rare blue supermoon dazzles stargazers around the globe
By **MARCIA DUNN**
August 31, 2023. 9:07 AM EST

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A rare blue supermoon - the closest full moon of the year - dazzled stargazers Wednesday night.

Saturn joined the celestial spectacle, visible alongside the moon, at least where skies were clear.

It was the second full moon of August, thus the blue label. And it was unusually close to Earth, therefore a supermoon.

The moon appeared to be bigger and brighter than usual, given its close proximity to Earth: just 222,043 miles (357,344 kilometers) or so. The Aug. 1 supermoon was more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) farther away.

If you missed it, it will be a long wait: The next blue supermoon isn't until 2037. But another regular supermoon is on the horizon at the end of September, the last one of the year.


# Rare blue supermoon brightens the night sky this week in the closest full moon of the year
By **MARCIA DUNN**
August 29, 2023. 5:00 AM EST

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**CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP)** - Stargazers are in for a double treat this week: a rare blue supermoon with Saturn peeking from behind.

The cosmic curtain rises Wednesday night with the second full moon of the month, the reason it's considered blue. It's dubbed a supermoon because it's closer to Earth than usual, appearing especially big and bright.

This will be the closest full moon of the year, just 222,043 miles (357,344 kilometers) or so away. That's more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) closer than the Aug. 1 supermoon.

As a bonus, Saturn will be visible as a bright point 5 degrees to the upper right of the moon at sunset in the east-southeastern sky, according to NASA. The ringed planet will appear to circle clockwise around the moon as the night wears on.

If you missed the month's first spectacle, better catch this one. There won't be another blue supermoon until 2037, according to Italian astronomer Gianluca Masi, founder of the Virtual Telescope Project.

Clouds spoiled Masi's attempt to livestream the supermoon rising earlier this month. He's hoping for clearer skies this time so he can capture the blue supermoon shining above St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.

Weather permitting, observers don't need binoculars or telescopes - "just their own eyes." said Masi.

"I'm always excited to admire the beauty of the night sky," he said, especially when it features a blue supermoon.

The first supermoon of 2023 was in July. The fourth and last will be in September.


# The Perseid meteor shower peaks this weekend and it's even better this year
By **MADDIE BURAKOFF**
August 9, 2023. 12:46 PM EST

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**NEW YORK (AP)** - The annual Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak this weekend, sending bright trails of light streaking across the night sky.

With only a sliver of moon in the sky, conditions this year will be ideal for seeing lots of meteors.

"If you've got nice clear weather and a good dark sky, you go out just before dawn and you'll see a Perseid per minute or so," said NASA meteor scientist Bill Cooke. "That's a pretty good show."

Here's how to watch the meteor shower:

## WHAT ARE THE PERSEIDS?
The Perseids - one of the biggest meteor showers we can see - occur every year in the late summer. Meteor showers happen when the Earth moves through fields of debris floating around in space. The Perseids come from comet Swift-Tuttle, a big ball of ice and rock that sheds pieces of dusty debris as it orbits around the sun. When the Earth passes by, those bits get caught in our atmosphere and burn up, creating the streaking lights. The Perseids get their name from the constellation Perseus, because the meteors' paths appear to start out from this point in the sky.

## WHEN IS THE SHOWER?
This year's shower is already active, but the main event will be this weekend, when the shower reaches its peak from Saturday night into Sunday morning. Starting around 11 p.m. local time Saturday, a few meteors will start to show up - maybe one every 15 minutes, Cooke estimated. They'll keep picking up the pace until before dawn on Sunday, when "you'll see meteors appear all over the place," he said.

## HOW CAN I SEE THEM?
During this weekend's peak, the moon will be a waning crescent - just a small slice in the sky. That's good news because a bright moon can make it harder to spot the meteors. Last year, the moon was full during the peak. Anyone in the Northern Hemisphere will have a good view this year, as long as the sky is clear of light pollution and clouds. You don't need any equipment to see them, but you will need to give your eyes around half an hour to adjust to the dark. Avoid looking at your cellphone since that can ruin your night vision.

The Perseids can appear anywhere in the sky. So just "lie on your back, look away from the moon and take in as much sky as you can," Cooke said.


# NASA hears signal from Voyager 2 spacecraft after mistakenly cutting contact
By **MARCIA DUNN**
August 1, 2023. 9:25 AM EST

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**CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP)** - After days of silence, NASA has heard from Voyager 2 in interstellar space billions of miles away.

Flight controllers accidentally sent a wrong command nearly two weeks ago that tilted the spacecraft's antenna away from Earth and severed contact.

NASA's Deep Space Network, giant radio antennas across the globe, picked up a "heartbeat signal," meaning the 46-year-old craft is alive and operating, project manager Suzanne Dodd said in an email Tuesday.

The news "buoyed our spirits," Dodd said. Flight controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California will now try to turn Voyager 2's antenna back toward Earth.

If the command doesn't work - and controllers doubt it will - they'll have to wait until October for an automatic spacecraft reset. The antenna is only 2% off-kilter.

"That is a long time to wait, so we'll try sending up commands several times" before then, Dodd said.

Voyager 2 rocketed into space in 1977, along with its identical twin Voyager 1, on a quest to explore the outer planets.

Still communicating and working fine, Voyager 1 is now 15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) from Earth, making it the most distant spacecraft.

Voyager 2 trails its twin in interstellar space at more than 12 billion miles (19 billion kilometers) from Earth. At that distance, it takes more than 18 hours for a signal to travel one way.


# Two supermoons in August mean double the stargazing fun
By **MARCIA DUNN**
July 29, 2023. 5:46 PM EST

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**CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP)** - The cosmos is offering up a double feature in August: a pair of supermoons culminating in a rare blue moon.

Catch the first show Tuesday evening as the full moon rises in the southeast, appearing slightly brighter and bigger than normal. That's because it will be closer than usual, just 222,159 miles (357,530 kilometers) away, thus the supermoon label.

The moon will be even closer the night of Aug. 30 - a scant 222,043 miles (357,344 kilometers) distant. Because it's the second full moon in the same month, it will be what's called a blue moon.

"Warm summer nights are the ideal time to watch the full moon rise in the eastern sky within minutes of sunset. And it happens twice in August," said retired NASA astrophysicist Fred Espenak, dubbed Mr. Eclipse for his eclipse-chasing expertise.

The last time two full supermoons graced the sky in the same month was in 2018. It won't happen again until 2037, according to Italian astronomer Gianluca Masi, founder of the Virtual Telescope Project.

Masi will provide a live webcast of Tuesday evening's supermoon, as it rises over the Coliseum in Rome.

"My plans are to capture the beauty of this ... hopefully bringing the emotion of the show to our viewers," Masi said in an email.

"The supermoon offers us a great opportunity to look up and discover the sky," he added.

This year's first supermoon was in July. The fourth and last will be in September. The two in August will be closer than either of those.

Provided clear skies, binoculars or backyard telescopes can enhance the experience, Espenak said, revealing such features as lunar maria - the dark plains formed by ancient volcanic lava flows - and rays emanating from lunar craters.

According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, the August full moon is traditionally known as the sturgeon moon. That's because of the abundance of that fish in the Great Lakes in August, hundreds of years ago.


# Two planets sharing same orbit around their star? Astronomers find strongest evidence yet
By **MARCIA DUNN**
July 19, 2023. 1:13 PM EST

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**CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP)** - Astronomers reported Wednesday the discovery of what could be two planets sharing the same orbit around their star.

They said it's the strongest evidence yet of this bizarre cosmic pairing, long suspected but never proven.

Using a telescope in Chile, the Spanish-led team spotted a cloud of debris in the same orbit as an already confirmed planet circling this star, 370 light-years away in the constellation Centaurus. They suspect it's either a planet in formation or remnants of a planet that once was.

Asteroids are known to accompany planets around their star - for example, Jupiter and its so-called Trojan asteroids. But planets in the same orbit "have so far been like unicorns," noted study co-author Jorge Lillo-Box of Madrid's Center for Astrobiology.

"They are allowed to exist by theory, but no one has ever detected them," he said in a statement.

The scientists said they will need to wait until 2026 in order to properly track the two objects around the star known as PDS 70.

The confirmed planet with the suspected tagalong takes 119 years to complete a lap. A gas giant, it's three times the size of Jupiter. Another gas giant is known to circle this star, albeit from a much greater distance.

Lead author Olga Balsalobre-Ruza of the Center for Astrobiology in Madrid, said the findings, published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, are "the first evidence" that such double worlds might exist.

"We can imagine that a planet can share its orbit with thousands of asteroids as in the case of Jupiter, but it is mind-blowing to me that planets could share the same orbit," she said in a statement.