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Stargazers in for rare Strawberry moon treat

Stargazers in for rare Strawberry moon treat

eNCA2 days ago

JOHANNESBURG - Stargazers are in for a rare celestial treat as the Strawberry Moon graces the skies.
The moon will appear unusually low and radiant in a spectacle that won't repeat for another 18 years.
While the name 'Strawberry Moon' doesn't refer to colour, the moon does take on a golden or reddish hue as it rises and sets, especially when it's this close to the horizon.
If you miss it, you'll have to wait until 2043 to see the full moon hang this low again.
Look up tonight for something sweet!
The full Strawberry Moon, named by the Algonquin tribes for the time of year that berries ripen, will take to the night skies on June 10-11. pic.twitter.com/GKr41bGUUV
— NASA (@NASA) June 10, 2025

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Stargazers in for rare Strawberry moon treat
Stargazers in for rare Strawberry moon treat

eNCA

time2 days ago

  • eNCA

Stargazers in for rare Strawberry moon treat

JOHANNESBURG - Stargazers are in for a rare celestial treat as the Strawberry Moon graces the skies. The moon will appear unusually low and radiant in a spectacle that won't repeat for another 18 years. While the name 'Strawberry Moon' doesn't refer to colour, the moon does take on a golden or reddish hue as it rises and sets, especially when it's this close to the horizon. If you miss it, you'll have to wait until 2043 to see the full moon hang this low again. Look up tonight for something sweet! The full Strawberry Moon, named by the Algonquin tribes for the time of year that berries ripen, will take to the night skies on June 10-11. — NASA (@NASA) June 10, 2025

Strawberry Moon: When to view June's full moon
Strawberry Moon: When to view June's full moon

The South African

time4 days ago

  • The South African

Strawberry Moon: When to view June's full moon

Skywatchers are in for a treat on Tuesday, 10 June, as June's full moon – the Strawberry Moon – reaches peak illumination at on Wednesday, 11 June at 21:44 (SA time). However, despite the name, the moon won't appear pink. The 'Strawberry Moon' traces back to Native American tribes, who named it after the short, sweet wild strawberry harvest season. This year's Strawberry Moon is the lowest full moon in nearly 20 years, thanks to the moon's 18.6-year orbital cycle. Because it hovers low on the horizon, Earth's atmosphere filters the light, giving the moon a warmer, reddish-orange hue. How best to watch: Look to the eastern horizon on June 10 evening for moonrise on for moonrise Best viewed from dark, elevated spots away from city lights Expect the warmest glow just after moonrise when it's closest to the horizon Pro tip: Bring binoculars or a camera for this low-hanging lunar moment – it won't return until 2043. DATE NAME 13 January Wolf Moon 12 February Snow Moon 14 March Worm Moon 12 April Pink Moon 12 May Flower Moon 11 June Strawberry Moon 10 July Buck Moon 9 August Sturgeon Moon 7 September Corn Moon 6 October Harvest Moon 5 November Beaver Moon 4 December Cold Moon Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.

Trump-Musk showdown threatens US space plans
Trump-Musk showdown threatens US space plans

eNCA

time7 days ago

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Trump-Musk showdown threatens US space plans

WASHINGTON - SpaceX's rockets ferry US astronauts to the International Space Station. Its Starlink satellite constellation blankets the globe with broadband, and the company is embedded in some of the Pentagon's most sensitive projects, including tracking hypersonic missiles. So when President Donald Trump threatened on Thursday to cancel Elon Musk's federal contracts, space watchers snapped to attention. Musk, the world's richest person, shot back that he would mothball Dragon -- the capsule NASA relies on for crew flights -- before retracting the threat a few hours later. For now, experts say mutual dependence should keep a full-blown rupture at bay, but the episode exposes just how disruptive any break could be. Founded in 2002, SpaceX leapfrogged legacy contractors to become the world's dominant launch provider. Driven by Musk's ambition to make humanity multiplanetary, it is now NASA's sole means of sending astronauts to the ISS -- a symbol of post–Cold War cooperation and a testbed for deeper space missions. - Space monopoly? - The company has completed 10 regular crew rotations to the orbiting lab and is contracted for four more, under a deal worth nearly $5 billion. That's just part of a broader portfolio that includes $4 billion from NASA for developing Starship, the next-generation megarocket; nearly $6 billion from the Space Force for launch services; and a reported $1.8 billion for Starshield, a classified spy satellite network. Were Dragon grounded, the United States would again be forced to rely on Russian Soyuz rockets for ISS access -- as it did between 2011 and 2020, following the Space Shuttle's retirement and before Crew Dragon entered service. "Under the current geopolitical climate, that would not be optimal," space analyst Laura Forczyk told AFP. NASA had hoped Boeing's Starliner would provide redundancy, but persistent delays -- and a failed crewed test last year -- have kept it grounded. Even Northrop Grumman's cargo missions now rely on SpaceX's Falcon 9, the workhorse of its rocket fleet. The situation also casts a shadow over NASA's Artemis program. A lunar lander variant of Starship is slated for Artemis III and IV, the next US crewed Moon missions. If Starship were sidelined, rival Blue Origin could benefit -- but the timeline would almost certainly slip, giving China, which aims to land humans by 2030, a chance to get there first, Forczyk warned. "There are very few launch vehicles as capable as Falcon 9 -- it isn't feasible to walk away as easily as President Trump might assume," she said. NASA, meanwhile, appeared eager to show that it had options. "NASA is assessing the earliest potential for a Starliner flight to the International Space Station in early 2026, pending system certification and resolution of Starliner's technical issues," the agency said in a statement Friday to AFP. Still, the feud could sour Trump on space altogether, Forczyk cautioned, complicating NASA's long-term plans. SpaceX isn't entirely dependent on the US government. Starlink subscriptions and commercial launches account for a significant share of its revenue, and the company also flies private missions. The next, with partner Axiom Space, will carry astronauts from India, Poland, and Hungary, funded by their respective governments. - Private power, public risk - But losing US government contracts would still be a major blow. "It's such a doomsday scenario for both parties that it's hard to envision how US space efforts would fill the gap," Clayton Swope, deputy director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told AFP. "Both sides have every reason to bridge the disagreement and get back to business." Signs of a rift emerged last weekend, when the White House abruptly withdrew its nomination of e-payments billionaire Jared Isaacman -- a close Musk ally who has twice flown to space with SpaceX -- as NASA administrator. On a recent podcast, Isaacman said he believed he was dropped because "some people had some axes to grind, and I was a good, visible target." The broader episode could also reignite debate over Washington's reliance on commercial partners, particularly when one company holds such a dominant position. Swope noted that while the US government has long favoured buying services from industry, military leaders tend to prefer owning the systems they depend on. "This is just another data point that might bolster the case for why it can be risky," he said. "I think that seed has been planted in a lot of people's minds -- that it might not be worth the trust."

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