All Stories

A moon is a planetary body that goes around another planetary body. Usually, this is one or more moons going around a planet, but it doesn’t have to be a planet. In Star Wars, the Death Star is not a moon because it isn’t a naturally occurring satellite: the International Space Station, the Juno spacecraft orbiting Jupiter, or any of the telecommunications satellites we rely on in low Earth orbit are satellites, but are not moons.

Humankind has known about them for thousands of years. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are all visible in the night sky with the unaided eye. As such, these planets have been known for thousands of years and there is no one person who can be credited with discovering these planets. These planets appear as bright objects that do not shimmer, like stars do. 

Ed Stone’s long and distinguished career in space science connects to many of the planetary exploration objects displayed in the galleries at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. That so many of the Museum’s objects have connections to his professional achievements illustrates Stone’s significant legacy in space science and exploration.

When the Chandra X-Ray Observatory launched 25 years ago, it showed us our universe in a whole new light (literally). 

For twenty years Mars Rovers and Orbiters have worked to unlock the secrets of the Red Planet. This excerpt from curator Matt Shindell's book For The Love of Mars tells the tale.

The Ingenuity prototype will join other robotic explorers on display at the National Air and Space Museum.

Astronomer Phil Plait recently published Under Alien Skies. We caught up with him in this interview.

Did you know that it takes the Earth 365-ish days to orbit the sun?

On September 18, 1941, the Brooklyn Dodgers were in Pittsburgh to play a game against the Pirates. In the fourth inning, with the score tied 0-0, announcer Red Barber’s radio broadcast was disrupted, and listeners suffered 15 minutes of silence. When the broadcast resumed, the Pirates had scored four runs.

Instruments in the Smithsonian collection trace the story of how humans have explored the universe for thousands of years. Join us in taking a look at just a few examples!