February

Astra traces February launch failure to issues with payload fairing, software

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Astra thinks it knows what went wrong during last month’s failed flight, which was the company’s first-ever mission with operational payloads onboard. Astra’s two-stage Launch Vehicle 0008 (LV0008) lifted off on Feb. 10 from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, carrying four tiny cubesats on a mission organized by NASA’s Educational Launch of Nanosatellites initiative, … Read more

Boris Johnson announces ‘living with covid’ plan for England – including the end of legal requirements to isolate from 24 February

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By Adam Vaughan A covid-19 vaccination site in London ANDY RAIN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock England is to end all of its remaining legal coronavirus rules – including the requirement for people with covid-19 to self-isolate – under a ‘living with covid’ plan announced today in parliament by UK prime minister Boris Johnson. The significant shift means the country … Read more

The Sun Has Erupted Non-Stop All Month, And There Are More Giant Flares Coming

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The past few weeks or so have been a very busy time for the Sun. Our star has undergone a series of giant eruptions that have sent plasma hurtling through space. Perhaps the most dramatic was a powerful coronal mass ejection and solar flare that erupted from the far side of the Sun on February … Read more

February full moon 2022: The ‘Snow Moon’ is accompanied by predawn planets

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The full moon of February, called the Snow Moon, will arrive Wednesday (Feb. 16) at 11:57 a.m. EST (0457 GMT). That same day, Mercury reaches its greatest distance west of the sun, making it a bright but challenging to observe “morning star” in mid-northern latitudes.  In New York City the full moon will rise at … Read more

50, 100 & 150 Years Ago: February 2022

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1972 Tectonic Dump “A speculative but intriguing scheme for disposing of man-made solid wastes has been put forward by two investigators at the University of Washington. The plan would take advantage of regions called subduction sinks, where sedimentary material is being drawn downward into the earth’s mantle as a consequence of seafloor spreading. A hypothetical … Read more

February new moon 2022: The moon swings by Jupiter while winter constellations shine

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The new moon occurs Tuesday (Feb. 1), at 12:46 a.m. EST (0546 GMT), a day before the moon makes a close approach to the planet Jupiter in the night sky.  New moons occur when the sun and moon share the same celestial longitude, a projection of the Earth’s own longitude lines on the celestial sphere. … Read more

Biggest science news of 2021: Three different missions land on Mars in one month

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Over the course of just 10 days in February, three missions arrived at Mars. Together, they are creating a clearer picture of our closest planetary neighbour Space 15 December 2021 By Leah Crane The Tianwen-1 mission Xinhua/Alamy OVER the course of just 10 days in February 2021, three missions arrived at Mars. The first was … Read more