Keep watch for the Perseid Meteor Shower visible this month
For any early risers, a beautiful pairing in the morning sky as Jupiter and Venus come together in a dazzling display before dawn on Tuesday, August 12.
Venus will be positioned below and to the right of Jupiter in this close conjunction. It will be an unmistakeable sight as both are very bright, Venus being the brighter of the two.
Switching to the evening of Tuesday, it's the height of one of the most bountiful of the annual meteor showers, the Perseids.
On the evening of the 12th into the morning of the 13th, the Earth will pass through the densest part of the debris left in the orbital path of Comet Swift-Tuttle.
From around 11pm onward, sand-size particles will strike our atmosphere at around 37 miles per second, and in doing so, burn up in a streak of light across the sky, appearing as 'shooting stars' .
The Moon, which will be around 84 per cent lit, will rise before 10pm on Tuesday evening and will reduce the amount of meteors that can be seen, but numbers should still come in at around 50 to 75 per hour after midnight. Without the moonlight, when you are able to spot the fainter meteors, that figure climbs to around 80.
If you can observe the Perseids, which radiate from the constellation of Perseus, (hence the name), remember that you are watching a shower that has been observed over a period of nearly 2,000 years, so there's an incredible history associated with it.
Also, a telescope is not required, as all the observing can be done with the naked eye while looking in a north-easterly direction. Please, if going out to observe alone, let someone know where you are.
Space news and the Earth has been at it again, spinning faster than it usually does.
Due to a change driven by the gravitational pull of the Moon, the planet spun a little faster during one day in the week, 1.25 milliseconds less than the usual 86,400 seconds.
The UK has its first female Astronomer Royal since the introduction of role back in 1675.
Professor Michele Dougherty, who became intrigued by the wonders of the night sky as a child, has forged a remarkable career with significant input into space missions including the exploration of Jupiter, which as a 10 year-old she had observed through a homemade telescope, sparking her enthusiasm for astronomy.
Most notably, Dougherty has been revered for her pioneering research into the possibility of extra-terrestrial life on one of Saturn's moons.
In an interview for the BBC, Dougherty said that she hoped her appointment as the official adviser to King Charles III on astronomical matters would inspire more women and girls to study science.
Send your astrophotography pictures to thenightsky@themoon.co.uk
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BBC News
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Debunking misleading claim about GMO food debate for Nigeria
Debate ontop use of genetically modified foods for Nigeria don come back for group chats and social media feeds afta one health influencer do video wey go viral. Di 14 minutes video wey Dr Chinonso Egemba do, explain some science wey dey behind Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and arguments wey follow am, gada millions of views across platforms and thousands of comments. Di response to di video show how di issues im raise for di video still dey cause confusion and dey show misleading claims of health risks wey dey with GM foods as e dey circulate for social media. For im reaction, Dr Egemba tell BBC say im believe say di way pipo react to di video fit be sake of long time conspiracy theories wey dem bin don believe. Some critics accuse am say dem pay am to promote genetically modified foods or im dey work secretly for foreign pipo including Bill Gates, im reject dose claims. "Pipo don already dey tink say I dey work for Bill Gates secretly", na so e tok. "Well for di record, I no dey work for any GMO corporation. My platform dey built on education, and I go continue to do di hard work wey be to educate Nigerians." Wetin be GM crops? For 2016, Nigeria start to sell im first genetically modified crop, BT cotton. Dis lead to approval of oda genetically modified crops, PBR Cowpae and TELA Maize for oda years to use address food insecurity. Across di world, GMO products don dey available since di 1990s. Di process of genetically modifying crops or plants dey defined as to change di genetic materials of organisms in ways wey no dey hapun naturally, dis dey hapun through introduction of gene from oda species of di plant. Dem dey use di technique to help growers to develop crops wey dey more resistant to tins like disease and drought. Scientists dey identify di organism wey get di trait dem dey look for, dem go copy di gene and den put am inside di DNA of di new plant. Why Nigeria dey grow GMO foods. Nigeria approve di sale and consumption of GM crops, like variants of maize and cowpeas, for pest control and to fight food crises wey dey come from harsh weather conditions wey dey fight harvesting, na so Dr Yemisi Asagbra, Director General of di National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) tell BBC. "Dem dey take di genes from organism for di soil and put am inside dis seeds for dem to dey able to withstand insect infestation and ready to fight drought", na so she tok. Nigeria Biosafety Regulations dey mandate make producers dey label modified products, so pipo fit choose. Health organizations like World Health Organization (WHO) say di evidence wey dey ground now, show say GMO foods no dey likely to cause risk and "e no ever show any effects on human health… sake of di consumption of such foods by di general population for di Monte wia dem bin don approve am". However, some uncertainty and scepticism dey about di technology wey dey behind di use of GMOs, na dis, pipo wey dey spread misinformation dey use. For Nigeria, social media influencers dey push misleading claim about GMO foods, including di one wey dem tok say GMO foods dey cause cancer. According to Cancer Research UK, no evidence dey wey show say if pesin eat GMO foods, e fit cause cancer. Dia website tok say, "we don dey change genes of living tins for hundreds of years by choosing specific plants and animals to get certain outcomes. Dis na wetin we dey call artificial selection. Modern genetic modification dey like na quicker version of artificial selection. Scientists agree say GM foods dey as safe as non GM foods". Meanwhile, one old video wey pipo dey share evritime for X and WhatsApp groups for Nigeria contain claim say Russia President Vladimir Putin ban GM foods and dey label any pesin wey grow am as "terrorist". Tight laws and restrictions dey against GMO-related technology and produce for Russia, but dem no completely ban am. For example, di kontri dey allow di cultivation and breeding of genetically engineered plants for scientific research. Opposition to GMO for Russia no plenti again. For April, President Putin give instructions to cabinet ministers make dem consider to develop fast growing GM-trees to increase Russia wood export, according to official report. Di video also tok say genetically modified foods fit damage pesin DNA. Deoxyribonucleic acid, DNA na molecule wey dey carry genetic instructions for development functioning, growth and reproduction of all known living organisms. "From all di research, I don consult, evidence no dey to show say GMOs dey change consumer DNA", na so Dr Olumide Adebesin tell BBC. Im dey teach cell biology and genetics for di Nigerian University of Lagos. Prof Cathie Martin, wey be group leader for independent research institute for plants, genetics and microbial science, John Innes Centre UK tok say, claims say GMOs dey cause cancer and dey change DNA dey unfounded and no get scientific evidence to support am. "Pesin no fit get chlorophyll sake of plant wey im eat", na so she tok. "We no be green." Prof Martin counter anoda viral claim wey tok say GMO seeds stop local seeds from growing: "I neva see such, as a farmer, I don grow plenti GM plants and plenti of non GM plants for same soil." Bill Gates agenda? Di online debate also tok about impact on farming and claims say dem dey force GMO products on farmers, e come be like na issue of corporate control. Ajisefinni Ayodeji, wey be smallholder farmer and president of farmers cooperative for Kwara state, western Nigeria, say farmers dey worried say GMOs fit comot power of Nigeria foods and marginalize local farmers. E dey see push for GMOs as something wey foreigners dey push for and ask weda agricultural workers get training to handle genetically engineered crops wella. Some critics dey tok say to add GMO products into Nigeria food system na part of agenda by international companies or specifically Bill Gates, di American businessman, to take control of Nigeria farming. Di Bill and Melinda Gates foundation don back agricultural research for Nigeria, including di production of genetically modified TELA maize wey dem develop and produce locally from di Institute for Agricultural Research for Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and involve di US Agency for International Development and di African Agricultural Technology Foundation. Kabir Ibrahim wey dey lead All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) one of di largest groups of her kind for di kontri, support di use of GM crops and say much of di alarm na result of targeted misinformation. E say no farmer dey forced to plant modified crops. 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The Independent
13 hours ago
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Experts sound off after Trump and NASA fast-track a nuclear reactor on the moon: ‘The whole proposal is cock-eyed'
Fast-tracking a NASA plan to build a nuclear reactor on the moon may sound dubious. Experts say that's because it is. 'The whole proposal is cock-eyed and runs against the sound management of a space program that is now being starved of money,' national security analyst, nuclear expert and author Joseph Cirincione told The Independent. Nuclear has been used in space since the 1960s. That's nothing new. The U.S. launched its first test reactor into orbit in 1965, and the former Soviet Union has sent up dozens more. NASA says that a new 100-kilowatt reactor could be used to power a future base at the lunar South Pole, and fuel prospective missions to Mars and beyond. Nuclear would help to fill gaps in solar energy that occur when that side of the moon is in darkness for two weeks. The majority of space experts have said that placing a reactor on the moon is possible, so, why is NASA's current plan 'cock-eyed?' The problem is the proposed timeline. Interim NASA Administrator Sean Duffy, who also serves as President Donald Trump's Secretary of Transportation, pushed to expedite the project, detailed in a memo this week. Duffy said the administration wanted to have a nuclear reactor ready to launch by 2030. Earlier this year, China and Russia announced a plan to build a nuclear reactor for a lunar base by 2035. 'The first country to do so could potentially declare a 'keep-out' zone which would significantly inhibit the United States from establishing a planned Artemis presence if not there first,' Duffy said. NASA first announced in 2021 that it would put a reactor on the moon 'within a decade.' In 2024, NASA then said that their target date for delivery a reactor to the Earth-based launchpad was the early 2030s. But, Cirincione says essentially no progress has been made. 'It was in the last Trump administration that NASA had put out a press release, they had a YouTube video, they had these announcements about how they're going to develop these small, modular nuclear reactors for use on the moon, and it was going to be ready by 2026,' said Cirincione, who is vice-chair of the Center for International Policy, a non-profit that advocates for a peaceful approach to foreign policy. 'Oh, really? So, where is it?' Ultimately, the expert believes a nuclear reactor on the moon could take up to 20 years to become a reality. NASA would need a working launch vehicle, a small and adaptable reactor, and the ability to land on the moon. Right now, the SpaceX Starship is the only vehicle option – but it has exploded during several of its test flights. 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Dr. Kathryn Huff, a former nuclear energy official at the U.S. Department of Energy, and professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, wrote in a Bluesky social media post that she's not 'bullish' on 'unrealistic timelines.' 'The 2030 target does not align well with recent budgetary trends…' she explained in a statement, shared by the university. 'Accelerating the FSP program could come at the expense of other critical priorities, including earth science, climate observation and space-based weather forecasting – all core elements of NASA's public-serving mission.' Dr. Alfredo Carpineti, an Italian astrophysicist, wrote in IFLScience this week that the proposal is 'unfeasible.' 'Even if we allow landing the nuclear reactor on December 31, 2030, the timing is really too short for something that must not have any faults if you want to operate it safely,' Carpineti wrote. Others were more optimistic about NASA's accelerated timeline. 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It's 'simply not grounded in science,' she said.
Rhyl Journal
14 hours ago
- Rhyl Journal
How to see 2025 August Sturgeon Moon in UK this weekend
From the rare planetary parade to the peak of the Perseids Meteor Shower on August 12 and 13, be sure to look up. This weekend, the Sturgeon Moon will light up the skies across the UK. Here is all to know about the spectacle and when and how to see it. The Sturgeon Moon is the name given to the final full moon of summer 2025, taking place in August. There are often many informal names given to monthly full moons. As explained by the BBC's Sky at Night Magazine, this moon takes its name from the fact that late summer is the time when sturgeon fish were most plentiful in the Great Lakes of North America. The 2025 Sturgeon Moon will be available to see this weekend, and it is the last full moon in summer this year. It will rise tonight, on Saturday, August 9 and Sunday, August 10, in the southeast between 8pm and 9pm, but timings vary depending on your exact location. According to the MoonPhases UK website, it is estimated that the Sturgeon Moon will start rising at 7.57pm in London. The moon is full on both Saturday and Sunday and rises at roughly the same time in roughly the same location on both evenings. The 2025 Sturgeon Moon in the UK will rise this weekend (Image: Getty Images) The best places to view it are any with low light pollution, such as a public park or nature reserve. The Sky at Night Magazine also says that if you view the Sturgeon Moon from its rise, then you will witness an optical effect called the "Moon Illusion". It says: "It happens when the Moon is low on the horizon and looks much bigger than normal. "It's likely caused by foreground objects like buildings and trees appearing tiny in comparison to the bright full Moon, thereby making the Moon itself look huge." The good news for anyone going out to view the Sturgeon Moon is that the weather appears to be mostly clear skies this weekend, although some cloud coverage may disrupt views. The Sturgeon Moon is not the only exciting sky event taking place this month. Next week, the Perseids Meteor Shower peaks, which could see more than 100 per hour, meaning August 12 and 13 are the best times to see it. It has been active since July 17 and will continue until August 24. Then, later in August, there will be a planetary parade with six planets visible in the night sky. Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn will be visible to the naked eye, while Uranus and Neptune can be spotted through binoculars or a small telescope. It will take place on the morning of August 18, with the alignment visible for about 45 minutes before sunrise at around 6am, according to The Farmers' Almanac. Recommended reading: It is not the first planetary parade event to take place in 2025. In January, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune could all be seen in the sky at once. Then, in February, Mercury joined the party to form a "grand planet parade" where all seven planets were pictured above the horizon at the same time.
