Latest news with #UrsaMajor
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Wyoming Skies: June brings summer solstice and constellations in every direction
June 20, 2025, brings us the summer solstice. Supposedly, that means warmer weather has finally arrived in Wyoming. This month, if you go out after it gets dark, you will see some wonderful stars and constellations in every direction. If you face north you will see a 'W' above the northern horizon; those five stars are the constellation Cassiopeia. The Little Dipper, also known as Ursa Minor, is halfway above the northern horizon. And almost overhead you can see the Big Dipper, the most well-known group of stars in Ursa Major. If you follow the arc of the handle of the Big Dipper you'll run into the brilliant star Arcturus. Arcturus marks the bottom of Boötes, a constellation that looks like a kite or ice cream cone. If you continue the arc from the handle of the Big Dipper, you'll hit another bright star, that is Spica in the constellation Virgo. And follow that curve to Corvus, a quadrilateral-shape group of stars. Facing west you'll see the twin stars of Gemini, Pollux and Castor, above the horizon. They'll slip toward the horizon more each day. And higher in the sky, you can see the spring constellation of Leo. It's easily picked out by locating the Sickle, a group of stars that look like a backward question mark. The bright star at the bottom of the Sickle is Regulus. If you look to the south, you can see two constellations very close to the horizon; Scorpius resembles a fishhook or the letter 'J,' and Sagittarius is obvious as a group of stars that resembles an old-fashioned teapot. And here's a fun fact, the spout of the Teapot it is pointing toward the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Finally, when you face east you will see a definite sign that summer is here because the Summer Triangle shines brightly in the sky. The Summer Triangle is made up of these three bright stars: Vega in Lyra, Deneb in Cygnus, and Altair in Aquila. Under dark skies, you'll see the Milky Way arching up from the northeast horizon, starting under Cassiopeia, passing overhead through Cygnus and Aquila, finally ending up in the south going through Sagittarius and Scorpius. What's cool about the Milky Way is that this glowing patch of stars, gas and dust is a spiral arm of our galaxy. In order of brightness in the evening sky you will find: Mercury, Arcturus, Vega, Capella, Altair, Antares, Spica, Pollux, Deneb, Regulus and Mars. Planets this month are split between the evening and morning sky. In the June evening sky, look for Mars as a steady red light slowly moving across the stars of Leo. Mars will be closest to the bright star Regulus on the evening of June 16. Jupiter has dominated the evening sky for months, but is challenging to spot in the bright western twilight and will slip away toward the beginning of the month. It's being replaced by Mercury emerging in the evening sky about 30-40 minutes after sunset. Mercury will reach its greatest distance from the sun on July 4. Morning observers can catch brilliant Venus before dawn; it reached its greatest distance from the sun at the end of May. Golden Saturn is higher in the sky than Venus and will move away from Venus each day. The moon is a great way to locate stars and planets. The moon is near Mars on the evening of June 1, and will float near Saturn on the mornings of June 18 and 19. Then it visits Venus on the mornings of June 21 and 22. Then it will move back to the evening sky, so the moon will float near Mercury on June 26 and will pay Mars another visit on the evening of June 29. The full moon of June occurs overnight on June 10-11. It's the Full Strawberry Moon — named to coincide with the abundance of strawberries harvested this month — and will lie near the bright star Antares in Scorpius the Scorpion. The full moon will be visible all night. A fun trio to look for on the evenings around June 24 is Mercury forming a line with Pollux and Castor in the evening twilight. Binoculars might help spot them. There is a meteor shower this month that might be worth watching for before dawn on the morning of June 7. It's the daytime Arietids. They are the most active daytime meteor shower, but how can you watch for them in the daytime? Its radiant — or point where the meteors seem to originate — rises before the sun. So you might catch meteors shooting up from the horizon before dawn. How fun would that be to see?
Free Malaysia Today
4 days ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Japan's reusable rocket startup ISC eyes December US test launch
The global race for commercial launch vehicles has been driven by SpaceX, which conducted a ninth test for its fully-reusable Starship. (EPA Images pic) YOKOHAMA : A Tokyo-based rocket startup said today it will test-launch a prototype in the US in December using an American engine, aiming to achieve the first US-Japan joint commercial launch and address Japan's rocket shortage. The global race for commercial launch vehicles has been driven by SpaceX, which on Tuesday conducted a ninth test for its fully-reusable Starship. US rivals including Blue Origin and companies in China and Europe also have reusable launcher plans. But Japan lacks cost-competitive launchers at home, which the government sees as a bottleneck in its efforts to double the domestic space industry's size to ¥8 trillion (US$55.4 billion) by the early 2030s. Innovative Space Carrier (ISC) said its Asca 1.0 reusable launcher will conduct a 100m flight and landing test in Spaceport America in New Mexico, using a Hadley rocket engine from US-manufacturer Ursa Major. Starting at a low altitude, ISC will repeat 'ninja training-like' tests towards the goal of building an orbital launch vehicle by 2028 to cater to emerging Japanese satellite makers, ISC chief executive Kojiro Hatada told a press conference. 'Japan's space industry needs its own space transportation services…but there's no need to do everything ourselves to achieve it,' he said at partner JFE Engineering's factory near Tokyo. Founded in 2022 by former government official Hatada, ISC has signed partnerships including with the British 3D printer firm WAAM3D to fast-track the launcher development. ISC has secured Japanese government's rocket development subsidies along with Space One and Toyota-backed Interstellar Technologies. It aims to lower the per-launch cost of a rocket capable of lifting a 100kg satellite to space to ¥500 million in the long run, Hatada said. Ursa Major's Hadley engine has been used by US company Stratolaunch for hypersonic vehicle tests and been granted a US export control permit so that it can be equipped on an ISC rocket. With ISC, 'we look forward to continuing the partnership to further safe, cost-effective access to space,' Ursa Major chief growth officer Ben Nicholson said in an emailed statement.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Japan's reusable rocket startup ISC eyes US test launch in December
A Tokyo-based rocket startup said on Wednesday it will test-launch a prototype in the United States in December using an American engine, aiming to achieve the first U.S.-Japan joint commercial launch and address Japan's rocket shortage. The global race for commercial launch vehicles has been driven by SpaceX, which on Tuesday conducted a ninth test for its fully-reusable Starship. U.S. rivals including Blue Origin and companies in China and Europe also have reusable launcher plans. But Japan lacks cost-competitive launchers at home, which the government sees as a bottleneck in its efforts to double the domestic space industry's size to 8 trillion yen ($55.4 billion by the early 2030s. Innovative Space Carrier (ISC) said its ASCA 1.0 reusable launcher will conduct a 100-metre (109-yard) flight and landing test in Spaceport America in New Mexico, using a Hadley rocket engine from U.S.-manufacturer Ursa Major. Starting at a low altitude, ISC will repeat "ninja training-like" tests towards the goal of building an orbital launch vehicle by 2028 to cater to emerging Japanese satellite makers, ISC chief executive Kojiro Hatada told a press conference. Live Events "Japan's space industry needs its own space transportation there's no need to do everything ourselves to achieve it," he said at partner JFE Engineering's factory near Tokyo. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories Founded in 2022 by former government official Hatada, ISC has signed partnerships including with the British 3D printer firm WAAM3D to fast-track the launcher development. ISC has secured Japanese government's rocket development subsidies along with Space One and Toyota-backed Interstellar Technologies. It aims to lower the per-launch cost of a rocket capable of lifting a 100kg (220.46 lb) satellite to space to 500 million yen in the long run, Hatada said. Ursa Major's Hadley engine has been used by U.S. company Stratolaunch for hypersonic vehicle tests and been granted a U.S. export control permit so that it can be equipped on an ISC rocket. With ISC, "we look forward to continuing the partnership to further safe, cost-effective access to space," Ursa Major Chief Growth Officer Ben Nicholson said in an emailed statement.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Japan's reusable rocket startup ISC eyes US test launch in December
By Kantaro Komiya YOKOHAMA (Reuters) -A Tokyo-based rocket startup said on Wednesday it will test-launch a prototype in the United States in December using an American engine, aiming to achieve the first U.S.-Japan joint commercial launch and address Japan's rocket shortage. The global race for commercial launch vehicles has been driven by SpaceX, which on Tuesday conducted a ninth test for its fully-reusable Starship. U.S. rivals including Blue Origin and companies in China and Europe also have reusable launcher plans. But Japan lacks cost-competitive launchers at home, which the government sees as a bottleneck in its efforts to double the domestic space industry's size to 8 trillion yen ($55.4 billion by the early 2030s. Innovative Space Carrier (ISC) said its ASCA 1.0 reusable launcher will conduct a 100-metre (109-yard) flight and landing test in Spaceport America in New Mexico, using a Hadley rocket engine from U.S.-manufacturer Ursa Major. Starting at a low altitude, ISC will repeat "ninja training-like" tests towards the goal of building an orbital launch vehicle by 2028 to cater to emerging Japanese satellite makers, ISC chief executive Kojiro Hatada told a press conference. "Japan's space industry needs its own space transportation there's no need to do everything ourselves to achieve it," he said at partner JFE Engineering's factory near Tokyo. Founded in 2022 by former government official Hatada, ISC has signed partnerships including with the British 3D printer firm WAAM3D to fast-track the launcher development. ISC has secured Japanese government's rocket development subsidies along with Space One and Toyota-backed Interstellar Technologies. It aims to lower the per-launch cost of a rocket capable of lifting a 100kg (220.46 lb) satellite to space to 500 million yen in the long run, Hatada said. Ursa Major's Hadley engine has been used by U.S. company Stratolaunch for hypersonic vehicle tests and been granted a U.S. export control permit so that it can be equipped on an ISC rocket. With ISC, "we look forward to continuing the partnership to further safe, cost-effective access to space," Ursa Major Chief Growth Officer Ben Nicholson said in an emailed statement. ($1 = 144.3400 yen)
Reuters
4 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Japan's reusable rocket startup ISC eyes US test launch in December
YOKOHAMA, May 28 (Reuters) - A Tokyo-based rocket startup said on Wednesday it will test-launch a prototype in the United States in December using an American engine, aiming to achieve the first U.S.-Japan joint commercial launch and address Japan's rocket shortage. The global race for commercial launch vehicles has been driven by SpaceX, which on Tuesday conducted a ninth test for its fully-reusable Starship. U.S. rivals including Blue Origin and companies in China and Europe also have reusable launcher plans. But Japan lacks cost-competitive launchers at home, which the government sees as a bottleneck in its efforts to double the domestic space industry's size to 8 trillion yen ($55.4 billion by the early 2030s. Innovative Space Carrier (ISC) said its ASCA 1.0 reusable launcher will conduct a 100-metre (109-yard) flight and landing test in Spaceport America in New Mexico, using a Hadley rocket engine from U.S.-manufacturer Ursa Major. Starting at a low altitude, ISC will repeat "ninja training-like" tests towards the goal of building an orbital launch vehicle by 2028 to cater to emerging Japanese satellite makers, ISC chief executive Kojiro Hatada told a press conference. "Japan's space industry needs its own space transportation there's no need to do everything ourselves to achieve it," he said at partner JFE (5411.T), opens new tab Engineering's factory near Tokyo. Founded in 2022 by former government official Hatada, ISC has signed partnerships including with the British 3D printer firm WAAM3D to fast-track the launcher development. ISC has secured Japanese government's rocket development subsidies along with Space One and Toyota-backed (7203.T), opens new tab Interstellar Technologies. It aims to lower the per-launch cost of a rocket capable of lifting a 100kg (220.46 lb) satellite to space to 500 million yen in the long run, Hatada said. Ursa Major's Hadley engine has been used by U.S. company Stratolaunch for hypersonic vehicle tests and been granted a U.S. export control permit so that it can be equipped on an ISC rocket. With ISC, "we look forward to continuing the partnership to further safe, cost-effective access to space," Ursa Major Chief Growth Officer Ben Nicholson said in an emailed statement. ($1 = 144.3400 yen)
