This submillimetre-wavelength image of the region surrounding the reflection nebula M78 made with the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) telescope (overlaid on a view of the same region in visible light) shows the position of interstellar dust grains (orange) to show where new stars are being formed.(Image credit:ESO/APEX (MPIfR/ESO/OSO)/T.Stanke et al./Igor Chekalin/Digitized Sky Survey 2)

M78 is found in Orion, and appropriately this image reminds me of Roy Batty’s last worlds from Blade Runner (directed by Ridley Scott, written by Philip K. Dick and Hampton Francher)

 I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched c-beams glitter in the dark near Tanhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.

Note though that the glowing orange dust is only relatively warm (in fact its temperature is only just above absolute zero) and appears completely black in visible wavelengths.

(Article by Colin Johnston, science Communicator)

Inside the X-37:JP-8 is jet fuel, H2O2 is hydrazine.RCS stands for Reaction Control System.(image credit:Boeing)

If you would like to read more into the beginnings of X-37 then please click here. But I will look at the conspiracy theories and future uses for the X-37.

The USAF revealed that the mission of the X-37 was to test new space technologies, but with few details released on the mission the conspiracy theorists have began to speculate.  The main theory is that it has been sent up to spy on the Chinese.  The China Space Program has really picked up momentum.  They launched a spacelab called Tiangong-1 in September 2011 and expect to send a crew there this year.  Of course the Americans are wary at the pace of developments especially as China plans to send another probe to the Moon within the next three years and send a manned lunar mission by 2020.  This will significantly close the gap between the two superpowers.  So, although the Chinese spacelab is unmanned at the moment, the theory is that the X-37 is spying on it.

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It is true that it looks like the X-37 does share a similar path around the globe as the spacelab Tiangong-1 and it has been tracked from the ground by those intrigued by its purpose as being on the same route.  But although similar in that they are both about 300km (180 miles) above Earth with roughly a 43 degree inclination, their orbit is vastly different by some 100 degrees, meaning that they intersect just twice per orbit.  So, would it be correct to say that when the two vehicles pass each other the USA must be gaining very detailed results from their espionage?  Wrong, when they pass each other it is at speeds up to 8000 meters per second so gaining any valuable data would be near impossible!

Another important point to note is the dates when Tiangong-1 was launched and when X-37 was sent into orbit.  If X-37 was a spying mission then surely the launch of Tiangong-1 preceded it?  No, X-37 was sent up in March 2011 with the Chinese Spacelab launched in September 2011.  So if the Americans were sending their craft up to spy on a lab that was not yet in space, then it would have been a guessing game to decipher when Tiangong-1 would be launched and the orbit it would take! So is it a spying spacecraft?

In my opinion most likely it is not, if the USA wanted to listen in on Tiangong-1 they could do it probably without the effort of sending a craft into space, but everyone loves a conspiracy theory!

Another line of thought is that it has been sent up to tamper with enemy satellites as the X-37 has the capability to manoeuvre and change its orbit.

To me this sounds like something out of a James Bond movie and reminds me of one of the earlier Bond films starring Sean Connery, You only live Twice.  In this film an American space craft is swallowed up by a mysterious enemy capsule in what can only be described as a “Spacejacking”.  This almost starts all out nuclear war, well that is before 007 saves the day!  Fact or fiction, some people still believe that the X-37 could serve as an orbital bombing machine and that the secret payload onboard is munitions!A scary thought which I hope is not true.

Spacejacking Bond style.The Gemini mockup seen here was once an attraction here at Armagh Planetarium.(Image credit:United Artists)

What interests me more is the capability of one day having a manned X-37 flight.

The X-37 is thirty feet in length and approximately nine feet high, so too small to have astronauts onboard.  But, Boeing has plans to build an X-37C spacecraft which would be a 165% scale up on the one being utilised now.  This could allow both cargo and passengers to orbit in space and even travel to the International Space Station.  This could allow America to once again have their own space transport vehicle and not be reliant on the Russian Soyuz rocket as they are at the moment.

The X-37B drawn to scale with the proposed X-37C and a Shuttle Orbiter.To the right are Atlas V rockets with X-37s in launch configuration.The heavier X-37C requires the addition of strap on boosters to the Atlas.(Image credit:Boeing via up-ship.com)

Perhaps the secrecy surrounding X-37 stems from the fact that commercial companies are developing spacecrafts that they hope can replace the shuttle.  One such craft being developed by the company SpaceX is called the Dragon.  So perhaps secrecy is the best policy to hid potential data that competitors could steal.

USAT techicians check out an X-37 after its return.The protective clothing is in case of leaks of toxic hydrazine from the vehicle's propulsion system.(Image credit:USAF)

Another use for the X-37 would be as a transport vehicle for satellites that are facilitating experiments in orbit.  The X-37 could bring the satellite up into orbit and once the experiment has been completed, recollect it and bring it back down for the results to be analysed and of course the satellite can be reused again.

So in conclusion, the X-37 is a bit of a mystery.  It was designed to spend around nine months in orbit, but the second mission has endured over a year in space with no plans released for its return yet.  We still don’t know what exactly the craft is doing up there and what the payload is.  But, it has proven to be durable and reliable (the top brass seem pleased with it) which is great news for the Americans given the cutbacks in the space program by President Obama.  Watch this space for further details on X-37, who knows one day it could be taking astronauts into space and could become the permanent replacement for the Space Shuttle.  Or perhaps you think that it is indeed a vehicle used in some sort of espionage plot.

Either way I would love to hear your comments on it!

(Article by Sinead McNicholl)

This stunning view of the globular star cluster Messier 55 in the constellation of Sagittarius was obtained in infrared light with the VISTA 4.1 m survey telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile.(Image credit:ESO/J.Emerson/VISTA.Acknowledgment:Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit)

This new image of the globular cluster Messier 55 (also known as NGC 6809) from the European Southern Observatory’s VISTA infrared survey telescope shows hundreds of thousands of stars crammed together in a sphere a mere fifty or so light years across. The stars in there are practically in shouting distance of each other! M55 lies in the constellation of Sagittarius (The Archer) and is about 17 000 light years from Earth but can be seen in a modest telescope by southerly observers.

Nobody’s quite sure about how globular clusters came to be.They formed a long time ago (about 10 billion years ago), but are not quite as old as our galaxy.They may be stuff that never got incorporated into the galaxy proper, or a newer theory, which is rapidly gaining ground, says they are the cores of small galaxies absorbed by the Milky Way over the aeons. Globular clusters may in fact be our greedy galaxy’s left-overs! There are at least 150 of them around the Milky Way but some other galaxies have thousands!

If we lived in a globular cluster after sunset the sky would be so full of bright stars that there wouldn’t be any night as we know it! It would be glorious, but sadly the radiation levels from all the stars inside a globular cluster are likely to be high, and perhaps fatal to beings like us. Probably there no habitable planets in them, so the only people to enjoy them are ourselves!  (Two interesting SF tales featuring the worlds that could exist in globular clusters are Poul Anderson’s Starfog and David Brin’s Startide Rising).

(Article by Colin Johnston, Science Communicator)

Also the month of May is an exciting stage for the Moon as it glides its way across the sky and offering a particularly spectacular treat for a select few countries towards the end of the month.

Great Snake with a hidden treasure:M68 is gem of a cluster in Hydra (Image credit:Kerry Scullion / Armagh Planetarium)

Last month was the perfect setting for the Lyrids meteor shower with a serene, dark, new moon night sky and this month the Eta Aquarids meteor shower steps up to the plate. Unfortunately the Eta Aquarids will more than likely be washed out by the brightest and closest full moon of the year so all but the brightest meteors will be hidden but for all those die hard meteor fans, the optimal time to watch for the meteors will be on the early hours of the morning, around 4 am on the 5 and 6 May, and watch low to the North horizon radiating from one of the oldest recognised constellations, Aquarius.

Both the southern and Northern Hemispheres will be able to witness this overshadowed meteor shower only the Southern Hemisphere may get to grace their beds that bit earlier.

Take that!Hercules shows the Hydra who's boss!(Image credit:Getty Museum)

The first constellation we will begin with for the month of May follows the pattern of difficult to spot yet it offers some very fascinating and wonderful gifts.It is the colossal Hydra the Water Snake! Hydra is not the most well-known of the 88 constellations but it is none the less impressive! Stealing 1303 square degrees of night sky it is the largest of all the constellations but despite its size, it is not very bright so may be that bit difficult to spot. But do not give up, a great way to find this monstrous beast early in the month is to find Mars who has been sailing through the sky under Leo from April, look for a bright object with a slightly orange glow. Once you’ve found the Rusty Red Planet, travel slightly to the right towards the horizon and you should arrive at a bright object that seems quite alone. This is Alphard, the brightest star in the water snake. This is actually the only bright star in the constellation and nicely enough, Alphard is an Arabic term meaning ‘Solitary one’ for there is not many stars in this patch of the sky.  It has an impressive absolute magnitude of -1.69 but due to it being situated 177 light years away it only appears to have a duller apparent magnitude of 1.99. Within the water snake Alphard marks the orange heart of the beast and is sometimes referred to as Cor Hydrae or Hydra’s Heart. Alphard rises above the horizon before the body of the snake so it acts as a Herald, announcing the snake’s ascension to the sky.  Greek mythology states that the Hydra lived in a swamp near the small Greek town of Lerna and it devastated the countryside, killing people’s cattle and destroying their land. It was believed to be extremely poisonous, so much so that even the smell of its tracks would kill a man. The Hydra was eventually slain by the mighty Hercules in an epic battle.

If you enjoy searching the sky for the more difficult objects to find, you can travel down Hydras body and rest towards the tail, just below the constellation of Corvus and just above the water snakes body is the faint globular cluster M68. You will need binoculars or a telescope to view these beautiful universal ‘artworks’ but they are worth the hard work.  To the name eye on a dark clear night it look like an extremely smudgy faint star with an apparent magnitude of 7.8, very dull indeed but that is only due to the fact it is a whopping 40,000 light years away from us. When you see a globular cluster you are witnessing a very beautiful object in the night sky. They are spherical collections of thousands of stars, in this case roughly 2000, who orbit a former galactic core and are tightly bound together by gravity, truly a marvel to witness.

Where to find the Beehive. To misquote Austin Powers, "Oh Beehive!" (Image credit: Kerry Scullion/ Armagh Planetarium)

To continue our expedition in the sky towards the more elusive treats it has to offer, look above and to the west of Hydras head there is the faintest of all 13 constellations in the Zodiac that is the constellation of Cancer the Crab.  What story could there possible be to have a crab immortalised in the sky I hear to ask? It was actually quite a brave little crab. Myth has it said that this was the little crab that attacked the feet of Hercules during his mighty battle with the Hydra, in service of Zeus wife, Hera, Hercules sworn enemy. Unfortunately Hercules stamped on the poor crab and Hera placed it into the sky for all his efforts. This faint little crab in the sky amplifies it’s myth by surprising all star gazers with its offerings. Firstly whilst looking at this little crab in the sky you can look with wonder that two of its few stars have been found to have exoplanets, planets found outside our solar system, but unfortunately our basic telescopes would not be enough to view these celestial wonders, like the colossal constellation of Virgo, we can only look up in awe.  But it has some treats to curb the stargazer’s appetite. It has the wonderful specimen of an open cluster called the M44 or the Beehive Cluster.  It is found in the centre of Cancer, half way between the brightest star in Leo, Regulus and one of the heads of the twins in Gemini, Pollux. Big Binoculars or a telescope will be needed to see this beautiful celestial object. This hazy patch is much more visible that the globular cluster of M68 but contains much less stars, roughly 350 in fact. It is located a huge 577 light years away. Open Clusters are obviously much different to a globular cluster; these are actually stars that have been formed in the same molecular cloud, so in essence they are all roughly the same age. Unlike a globular cluster they are only loosely bound by mutual gravitational attraction and an open cluster eventually disperses after a few hundred million years. This Beehive Cluster is 400 million years old, four times the age of the more famous Pleiades star cluster and it is definitely worth the effort to gaze upon.

The constant name dropping of this next constellation in the aforementioned patterns should encourage your eyes to wonder in his direction, and at this time of the year this is a great time to see him.If you look high in the sky to the east, just to the left of Boӧtes, you will find the famous, mighty Hercules! The myths behind Hercules are quite long and you can find he has a part in many of the surrounding patterns in the sky. He was believed to be to be the son of Zeus and Alcmene, the wisest and most beautiful woman in the world. He was driven mad by the vengeful Hera, Zeus wife, and murdered his wife and children. Realising what he did he tried to make up for his crimes under the command of King Eurysteus, who set Hercules 12, seemingly impossible tasks known as the Labours of Hercules, one of these being the slaying of Hydra the water snake.  The constellation is the fifth largest in the night sky but it does not possess many bright stars but it does not make it any less interesting. There are 4 stars in the centre of Hercules that make his torso and this shape is known as the asterism of the Keystone. These four stars look slightly like an out of shape square but located on the right hand side of this asterism is one of the most famous globular clusters, the M13. It can be found between the two brightest stars in the Northern hemisphere, Vega in Lyra and Arcturus in Boӧtes. Located on the right side of the Keystone facing the direction of Arcturus is this amazingly beautiful Globular Cluster.  To the naked eye it looks like a hazy comet and it can be easily spotted by binoculars or a telescope. It was discovered in 1714 by Edmund Halley and with roughly half a million suns inside it, it is 12-13 billion years old, almost as old as the Universe itself. It is definitely a celestial object you do not want to ignore.

For all those Moon chasers out there this is a fantastic month for lunar gazing.Early in the month we have the Full Moon, 5May, also known as the “Flower Moon”, which will be the closest full moon of the year, with it reaching perigee (shortest distance between the earth and the moon) at 221,000 miles from the earth. So expect a very large and bright moon on the 5^th. The moon will also visit a few planets during the end of the month including a silvery crescent moon gliding close to Venus after sunset on 22 May and on 28 May it will slide below the bright orange Mars.It will finish off the month below Spica, Virgo’s brightest star, with Saturn hovering above them.

But a lucky few will get to see a much more special occurrence this month with regards to the Moon.

Solar annular eclipse of 15 January 2010 from Jinan, Republic of China.Image credit: A013231 via Wikimedia.org)

For those select few who will be in either China, Japan or the United States on 20-21May,  you will be able to witness an Annular Solar eclipse! Now an annular eclipse, you may have guessed is not a total eclipse, it is only a partial eclipse. To explain this we need to understand the path the Moon orbits the Earth. The Moon’s orbit is not perfectly elliptical so when it is at its closest to the earth or at perigee it is 221 000 miles from us, therefore appearing bigger in appearance and able to cover the Sun, but when it is at its most distant from the Earth, at apogee, 252 000 miles, it appears smaller and it is not able to fully cover the Sun. So when it is closer and it aligns with the Sun and Earth we have a total eclipse and when it is further we have an annular eclipse. An annular eclipse is quite dangerous to look directly at as there is still harmful bright rays coming from the eclipse and normal precautions regarding telescopes and day time viewing should be adhered to but, if you are lucky enough to be residing in these countries on these dates you are very lucky indeed to see such a beautiful natural occurrence.

The next total eclipse will be in 2015 and will be visible in Asia, parts of Europe, North Africa and Iceland, including the famous Svalbard, known for having some of the most distinctive and beautiful Aurorae.

(Article by Kerry Scullion, Education Support Officer)

The 2004 transit was captured from the unique perspective of NASA's Sun-observing TRACE spacecraft in ultraviolet light.(Image credit:NASA/LMSAL)

1.Why is this transit happening?When the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and Earth, becoming visible against the Sun’s face, the planet is said to be transiting the Sun.During the transit, Venus is seen from Earth as a small disc of darkness moving across the blazing disc of the Sun.Venus is just a little smaller than the Earth but is far away, so it appears to travel slowly over the face of the Sun.Transits of Venus are events which last for hours (the last transit back in 2004 lasted six hours)

2.When does a transit of Venus happen?Transits of Venus are among the rarest regular astronomical phenomena, occurring in a pair separated by eight years, then another pair of transits 121.5 years later and another pair 105.5 years after that, then the pattern repeats.  The last transit of Venus took place on 8 June 2004.  Before that, the previous pair of transits were in December 1874 and December 1882 (this transit was observed from Armagh by John Dreyer and inspired a Sousa march which was lost for a century but rediscovered in time for the 2004 transit).

The path of Venus across the Sun in 2004 as seen from Slovakia (image credit:VT-2004 Team, Slovak Union of Amateur Astronomers Observatory Rimavska Subota via ESO)

3.Since Venus orbits between Earth and the Sun, it ought to pass in front of us regularly, why don’t we get a transit of Venus every few years?That’s a good point but it’s not quite so simple.The orbit of Venus around the Sun is slightly inclined to that of the Earth.Every 1.6 years Venus does indeed come between the Sun and the Earth but from our perspective it is usually “above” or “below” the Sun at these times.Transits happen when the geometry is just right for Venus and the Sun to be perfectly lined up from our point of view.

4.When exactly is the next transit of Venus?The 2012 transit begins on 5 June at 22:10 UT (Universal time, 11.10pm BST) and ends on 6 June at 04:50 UT (5.50 am BST) .The total duration will be about 6 hours 40 minutes but the exact duration varies by ± 7 minutes depending upon your location on Earth.For observers in the UK, Her Majesty’s Nautical Almanac Office (what a splendidly archaic name!) has a useful page with a guide to the transit with timings for selected UK cities including Belfast. If you live elsewhere, the US Naval Observatory has a page which can calculate the timings for your geographical location.

Geographic visibility of the June 2012 transit (image credit:Fred Espenak/ NASA GSFC)

5.Where can I see it?The best views will be from the Pacific Ocean. North Americans will be able to see the start of the transit, while the inhabitants of South Asia, the Middle East, and most of Europe will catch the end of it. The transit will not be visible in most of South America or western Africa. Alas the transit will not be visible in its entirety from the British Isles as they are rather too far west, making the time interval between sunrise and the end of the transit rather short.  Here, the Sun will only be rising through the latter stages of the transit.

6.How can I see it safely?Staring directly at the Sun with the unprotected eye will lead to serious and probably permanent eye damage.The safest way to observe the transit is to project the image of the Sun onto a screen through a telescope, binoculars or even just a pinhole in a card, but if you must look at it use filters specifically designed for solar viewing, such as an astronomical solar filter or eclipse viewing glasses.

The Venusian atmosphere is refracted into a ring of light in this image from 2004.(Image credit:Lorenzo Comolli via ESO)

7.What is the scientific significance of a transit of Venus?In the past accurately observing a transit was vital for establishing the scale of the Solar System.The only way to measure the distance from Earth to the Sun (the Astronomical Unit) was by making precise observations of the tiny difference in the start and end times of the transit from widely separated points from across the Earth’s surface.The distance between the observing locations on the Earth was then used as a triangulation baseline to calculate the distance to Venus and the Sun.In the 17^th century European astronomers made some epic journeys to make these observations.

Nowadays transits of Venus are less fundamentally important but some astronomers still find them useful.This time astronomers are planning to use this rare event to test techniques for studying  the atmospheres of exoplanets (planets orbiting other stars .Astronomers can already observe exoplanets transiting their stars (in fact this how many of these distant worlds are discovered).The researchers are confident they could observe telltale signatures of atmospheres containing life-supporting gases such as oxygen and water vapour in these transiting exoplanets but to be sure the plan is to calibrate their methods as Venus transits the Sun (since we already know what is in the Venusian atmosphere).

8.If I miss it when do I get another chance?After 2012, the next transits of Venus will be in December 2117 and December 2125, so set your alarm clock for the big morning!

I have come to the conclusion that Sirius was never red, based on

(a) what I consider to be unreliable use of the ancient sources,

(b) the evidence from Chinese records that unfailingly refer to the star as white and

(c) the fact that if we accept that Sirius was red roughly 2000 years ago then we have to seriously question modern accepted thinking on the life cycle of star

Claudius Ptolemy probably didn't look much like this depiction from 1400 years after his death (image credit: via wikimedia.org)

One of the most oft quoted sources of this alleged red colour of Sirius is the ancient Greek astronomer Claudius Ptolemy (A.D. 90 to 168). Around 150 AD, in his famous Almagest, he described Sirius as reddish, along with five other stars, Betelgeuse, Antares, Aldebaran, Arcturus, and Pollux, all of which are clearly of orange or reddish hue. So he was 60 years old and could have had cataracts or been colour blind!  Or, as we only have copies of what Ptolemy wrote there is room for error in copying. A sleepy and overworked scribe might easily have made a slip of the quill (pen) which then got carried into all future copies.  Also apparently there is a version of Ptolemy that does not include Sirius in that list of red stars. Maybe a scribe added it in as a joke; an April Fool’s joke that has lasted almost 2000 years!! But the problem is, according to much of the literature on this subject, Ptolemy (and I will return to him later) was not on his own; many other ancient writers also described Sirius as red, some even writing prior to Ptolemy.

The Greek poet Aratos (3^rd century BC) is often listed in support of the ancient red hue of Sirius.  In his poem Phaenomena (326-34), Aratos uses the term poikilos when describing Sirius. This word can be translated as ‘many coloured’.  Where is red coming from? In translating the said poem into Latin Cicero (106-43 BC), the famous Roman orator used the words’ rutilo cum lumine claret fervidus ille Canis’,  which translate to English as ‘with ruddy light fervidly glows that dog’. We must remember that neither Aratos or Cicero were astronomers and true meaning can be lost in translation especially when poetry is the subject matter.

Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) writing in his monumental work Natural History highlights many astronomical facts. He is often quoted as describing Sirius as reddish. He cites three heavenly bodies as ardens or igneus: the rising Sun, Mars, and Sirius. (Nat. Hist. II 18 47.)  A quick look at a translation (etymology) of these words reveals several meanings including burning, shinning, brilliant and fiery. I do not see that we can rely on this source for the actual colour of Sirius. Pliny could have been referring to the undisputed brightness and brilliance of Sirius.

The narural philosopher Columella (4-70 AD) is invoked as support for the ‘red’ Sirius theory.  Writing about roses he likens their hue to Tyrian purple, the rising Sun, Sirius, and Mars. (De Cultu Hortorum X 286.) He could well be referring to different varities of  roses. And there are all manner of colour of roses. I am not convinced that Columella really intended to tell us anything about the colour of the Dog Star.

An artist's impression showing how the binary star system of Sirius A and its diminutive white dwarf companion, Sirius B, might appear to interstellar travellers. (Image credit: NASA, ESA, G. Bacon (STScI) )

Returning to Ptolemy, his evidence is the big hurtle to overcome in this debate.He is of course a formidable ally quoted by many in support of the ancient red colour of Sirius.If Ptolemy said it was red then it must have been so.It would be difficult to argue with an intellect as great as Ptolemy’s.I do not argue with Ptolemy but I do take issue with how he is invoked/used to lend credence to the red theory.

In a very interesting article Lynn, W. T. (1887) suggests that Sirius was never red; the whole notion was founded on a mistake. He calls attention to Professior Schjellerup’s detailed translation of Al Sûfi’s account of the heavens in which the famous Arab astronomer used Ptolemy’s Almagest , but doesn’t render Sirius ‘red’.  There is reference here also to the idea that Ptolemy only named five stars as being red, the addition of Sirius to the list being based on a transcription error. I am convinced by the argument and information in this article that the origin of ‘red’ Sirius hypothesis is indeed a red herring. This article is well worth a read; don’t be put off by the French, it is not essential to the basic argument. With Ptolemy discredited as a reliable source for the ‘red’ colour of Sirius I think we should but this debate to bed.

But let’s not be too hasty, there is further support for a white Sirius in Chinese records. Jiang Xiao-yuan of Shanghai Observatory gives an excellent overview and argument on the Chinese perspective.

The Heavenly Wolf as it was known to the Chinese was actually used as a benchmark for the colour white.It is consistently referred to as being white by ancient Chinese writers.No records claim any redness whatsoever. Jiang Xiao-yuan concludes that Ptolemy was simply wrong (… it may be noted that SIMA Qian predated Ptolemy by some two hundred years and since Sima Qian took Sirius as standard for white star, it is quite impossible for the star to have changed into red in the interim. It is therefore obvious that Ptolemy’s statement that Sirius is red cannot be given credence.)  whereas I think that it is more likely that there has been a mistake which has been perpetuated. In other words though I agree with his conclusion, I favour the explaination put forward in W.T. Lynn’s article.

Ancient Chinese sources stating unequivocally that Sirius was all the time white  combined with the toppling of Ptolemy as a proponent of ‘red Sirius’ by Prof Schjellerup really weakens the ‘red’  Sirius theory. It is further undermined by the fact that it is  inconsistent with current  stellar evolutionary theory.

This Hubble Space Telescope image shows Sirius A along with its faint, tiny stellar companion, Sirius B. The cross-shaped diffraction spikes and concentric rings around Sirius A, and the small ring around Sirius B, are artifacts produced within the telescope's imaging system. ( Image credit: NASA, ESA,H. Bond (STScI) and M. Barstow (University of Leicester))

Let’s consider if Sirius maybe was red in colour 2000 odd years ago. What we see as the brightest star in the night sky is actually a binary star comprising Sirius A, a main sequence star and Sirius B, a white dwarf. The red giant phase of a star, when a star does actually appear red, is a prerequisite to becoming a white dwarf.The possibility that Sirius B could be responsible for ‘red Sirius’ has been rejected by astronomers on the grounds that the timescale of thousands of years is too short and there is no sign of the expected nebulae. A more detailed account of Sirius can be found here . While we always have to keep an open mind I think that the current theory of stellar evolution is safe.

(Aerticle by Mary Bulman, Education Support Officer)

Tides of Light. This image of the Tarantula Nebula comprises one of the largest mosaics ever assembled from Hubble photos and includes observations taken by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys, combined with observations from the European Southern Observatory’s MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope which trace the location of glowing hydrogen and oxygen. (Image credit: NASA, ESA, ESO, D. Lennon and E. Sabbi (ESA/STScI), J. Anderson, S. E. de Mink, R. van der Marel, T. Sohn, and N. Walborn (STScI), N. Bastian (Excellence Cluster, Munich), L. Bedin (INAF, Padua), E. Bressert (ESO), P. Crowther (Sheffield), A. de Koter (Amsterdam), C. Evans (UKATC/STFC, Edinburgh), A. Herrero (IAC, Tenerife), N. Langer (AifA, Bonn), I. Platais (JHU) and H. Sana (Amsterdam))

The small southern hemisphere constellation Dorado represents the oddly dome-headed dolphinfish (not a swordfish as sometimes claimed). Most of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a small galaxy lying close (about 160 000 light years distant) to the Milky Way can be seen in Dorado.

The LMC is home to several significant stellar nurseries such as the Tarantula Nebula (also known as 30 Doradus), the largest, brightest and most active star-forming region in the Local Group of galaxies and home to the most massive stars ever seen. This nebula blazes with light as it is crammed with young, bright and heavy O and B type stars, these stars spray out ultra-violet radiation and fiercely-blowing stellar winds which not only makes their surrounding gases glow but push the gases away in great expanding hollow shells. These shells collide, forming hotly-glowly cosmic fog banks.

It is clear from this image which spans about 650 light years across that we are looking into a dynamic and chaotic region of space: clustered supernova explosions of massive stars blow away vast billows of dust and gas, and in turn trigger further episodes of star formation. (This nebula is a scene of violence in fiction too: old-time fans of 2000AD comic will remember how Halo Jones’ miserable military career was spent in this region of space.) The image also contains the fastest moving and most massive stars known: it’s all action in the Tarantula Nebula!

Once again, the Hubble Space Telescopes proves itself one of the best uses of taxpayers’ money ever!

(Article  by Colin Johnston, Science Communicator)

Predictions of the end of the world have often been made throughout history.  However, few have captured the attention of so many such as the 2012 end of the world saga; brought to the forefront of consciousness by the Hollywood depiction 2012 and of the course through the internet. Doomsayers have been predicting that the world will end this year, some even suggest 21 December 2012 as the specific date for Armageddon, but what has triggered these prophesies and is there any truth to them?

This is probably not how 21 December 2012 will go down.(Image credit:"The Great Day of His Wrath" by John Martin (1789-1854))

One such claim is based on the fact that the Mayan calendar ends on 21 December of this year.The Mayan people were an ancient civilization based in Mesoamerica, modern day Central America.They were an advanced nation in mathematics, astronomy, art and architecture, with many stone tablets found with Mayan writings and hieroglyphics.The Mayans had skillful mathematicians, and used the number zero before many other civilizations.The Maya also measured time passing using different calendars simultaneously.They had a Venus calendar for example. They also noted days, months and years in units called Kin, Uinal and Tun. The Maya counted Katuns which is around 20 years, and Baktuns which last 400 years. The Mayan long count calendar lasts for 5126 years to count the days from a start date set by the Maya corresponding in our Georgian calendar to 13 August  3114 BC (their mythical creation date), running through to 21 December 2012.

The Mayan calendar components (Image credit:Wikimedia.org)

The Mayan population began to decline in the 9^th century AD most likely due to drought and its effects. With the colonization by the Spanish, many remnants of the culture were destroyed. The Maya did not actually predict that the world will end this year. Instead their Long Count calendar ends. This happens at the end of each year with our very own Georgian calendar. Every 31 December we start a new year and a new calendar. December 22^nd 2012 marks the beginning of a new Baktun in the Maya long term calendar, and marks three days left for any last minute Christmas shopping. To be totally clear, the Mayans did not predict a cataclysm for 21 December 2012.

Other theories suggesting a potential doomsday lie in the thought that lurking behind the Sun is a mysterious planet called Nibiru or Planet X which is going to collide with the Earth causing catastrophic effects for us all. Conspiracy theorists claim that this planet has a 3600 year orbit and was known to the Mayan people, they also claim that many astronomers and space scientists are tracking and monitoring this rogue body and are part of a worldwide conspiracy of keeping an official silence policy.Turning the clock back to May 2003, accounting to many of the same conspiracy theorists a very similar fate was to be had then by the Earth when Nibiru was due to make its way into the inner Solar System.Needless to say this never happened and now 2012 is the new Doomsday date.

Image captured by Hubble Space telescope of the red supergiant star V838 Monocerotis in the constellation of Monoceros the Unicorn.This is neither an image of Nibiru nor an artist’s impression of the fictional planet.(Image credit:NASA)

Some claims suggest that this ‘planet’ is three times the size of Earth, others even suggest it could be as large as Jupiter.For something of this size to exist in our Solar System but to remain hidden behind the Sun all the time is impossible.The multitude of satellites in orbit around the Earth studying the Sun, Earth and planets would detect such a body.Scientists are also aware of exoplanets around other stars and have discovered hundreds of planets orbiting other stars outside of our own solar system so for an object such as a killer planet to be so close to us it would surely be visible through a telescope if not by the naked eye.It seems very unlikely every possible astronomer both amateur and professional was lying and part of some official silence!Many online videos claiming that Nibiru has been discovered have in actual fact clipped up pieces of media coverage from 2003 when dwarf planet Eris was discovered, located in the Kuiper Belt of our Solar System.

Could this be Nibiru passing by our moon?No, not at all!This is an artist’s impression of dwarf planet Eris with its moon Dysnomia.(Image credit:Wikimedia.org)

By coincidence, other disastrous events are due also on 21 December ( “I suddenly find myself needing to know the plural of apocalypse” ) if we are to believe this hoax and accompanying online tirade of doomsday approaching.  One such theory is that the Earth’s poles are going to reverse, north will become south and vice versa caused perhaps by the impact of previously mentioned planet Nibiru. Even Einstein apparently predicted this demise of the Earth. In reality Albert Einstein, wrote a foreword to a book, Earth’s Shifting Crust by Charles Hapgood, about Earth’s crust displacement, which suggests every 20-30 thousand years the Earth’s poles move gradually taking around 5000 years to occur for the pole to shift a massive 40⁰ (this theory is not taken seriously today, Einstein was outside of his own field and failed to see the book’s failings).

The Earth’s magnetic poles are indeed moving and are not constant.There is however no reason to suggest that this signals the end of the world. The magnetic north pole has been moving since first discovered in the 19^th century up to 40 miles per year, but this has and will not cause us any harm.   Also the Earth’s magnetic field strength will not disappear totally leaving us to the mercy of huge solar flares that will wipe out all electrical communications. It is declining slightly which may perhaps just mean that the aurora borealis may be more visible further south than usual but again not a sign of the End Of All Things.

If in doubt check out this video from NASA:

With the internet it is becoming increasingly easier for little ideas to blow up into huge conspiracies.It seems mankind has a fascination with conspiracy and predictions of terrible events, anybody remember the Y2K scare?  The fear that seems to be spreading that we have just months left on this Earth is nothing more than an internet hoax, despite the videos and the various scientific claims, December 21^st 2012 is set to just another day, so no need to stockpile your cupboards or build a bunker in the garden anytime soon.

(Article by Martina Redpath, Education Support Officer)

DragonLab in Orbit (Image credit: SpaceX

The Dragon is a spacecraft developed by a company called the Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, or SpaceX for short.  The company, established by PayPal founder Elon Musk in 2002, has made history already by becoming the first private company to send a spacecraft into orbit and return back to Earth.  This revolutionary spacecraft is called Dragon, and it now it looks like Dragon could be ready for a trip to the International Space Station (ISS) in April of this year.  This will mark the first flight of a commercial vehicle to the ISS and many see it as a stepping stone to open up space tourism.  After a successful flight readiness review, 30 April 2012 has been set aside as the first planned launch date from Cape Canaveral, Florida to the ISS some 390 km overhead.

A Dragon Capsule under prepation for flight (image credit: SpaceX via Wikipedia)

Development on Dragon began in 2005 under NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program.  Knowing that the Shuttles were going to be retired, NASA wanted an alternative method of space travel developed and SpaceX took the mantle.  However with the last Shuttle mission taking place in July 2011 the race is now on to get another reliable craft ready.  At the moment NASA astronauts are reliant on the Russian Soyuz craft to take them to the ISS with the US having to pay Russia for this facility, so to have their own spacecraft again would in the long term save America money.

The SpaceX dream of having a space vehicle was realised on 8 December 2010 when an uncrewed SpaceX Dragon craft began its maiden voyage from Cape Canaveral on a Falcon 9 rocket.  The successful launch saw the Falcon separate approximately ten minutes after lift-off followed by a successful orbit 300km (190 miles) above the Earth. It was later revealed that there had been a payload onboard the craft in the form of a wheel of Le Brouére cheese.  This was a fromage… I mean homage to Monty Pythons Cheese-shop sketch, a particular favourite of Elon Musk’s where John Cleese tries to order cheese from a cheese-shop that has no cheese.  This strange payload was bolted down to the floor of the craft in a circular drum with a picture of a cow and the words “Top Secret” engraved on it, again another comedy reference, this time to a 1984 comedy film from the creators of the better-known Airplane.

The top secret Payload onboard Dragon’s maiden flight. Image credit: Chris Thompson/SpaceX)

So, what have SpaceX designed?

Technical details of the Dragon spacecraft (Image Credit: SpaceX)

Dragon is a reusable craft which can carry up to seven passengers.  It has 18 Draco thrusters which are dual-redundant on all axes and if any two fail it won’t compromise control over the craft.  It also boasts a PICA-X heat shield which is designed to withstand re-entry to Earth’s atmosphere at high velocities implying the vehicle is suitable for potential Lunar or even Martian missions.  On re-entry Dragon will land in the Pacific Ocean and will be air-lifted by helicopter to shore, however SpaceX plan to eventually have a deployable landing gear system that can perform a land-based decent.

It has three main components; its nosecone, the spacecraft and the trunk.  The nosecone protects the vehicle and its docking adapter during an assent as it makes its way through Earth’s atmosphere and is jettisoned after stage separation.  Once it separates a standard ISS Common Berthing Mechanism is revealed which allows Dragon to be captured and docked to the ISS.  The spacecraft element houses the crew and/or the cargo along with the support infrastructure such as the parachutes and avionics.  Finally the trunk section is used for unpressurised cargo and contains the solar arrays and thermal radiators which is jettisoned before re-entry.

The Dragon in the Sea: the capsule floats in the Pacific Ocean after a successful maiden voyage in to space (Image credit: Wikipedia)

Dragon will also lay claim to being the first American transport space vehicle to use solar arrays (following the forty year lead of the Russian Soyuz).  Whilst many satellites such as the Hubble Space Telescope use solar power, the use of them in a transport vehicle paves the way for using a long-term renewable power source.  The solar arrays on Dragon will recharge the battery pack when in the Sun’s light and the charged batteries provide power when the craft passes through the Earth’s shadow and is in darkness.  This is of particular benefit when thinking about future missions, not just to the space station, but beyond even perhaps to Mars some day!

An artist's impression of the Dragon docking with the ISS (image credit: Wikipedia)

When the spacecraft is used to carry cargo to and from the ISS and is uncrewed it is referred to as the DragonCargo.  At time of writing (March 2012) NASA have scheduled twelve DragonCargo missions to resupply the ISS.  They have scheduled two in 2012, two for 2013, three in 2014 and five during 2015.  When the craft is used for non-NASA, non-ISS commercial flights and is uncrewed it is called DragonLab.  As of March 2012 there are two DragonLab missions planned.  One mission is planned for 2014 and a second during 2015.  DragonLab offers a new capability for commercial in-space experimentation (see SpaceX’s corporate videos).

Space travel is one of the most difficult of all human endeavours, and success is never guaranteed.  But the SpaceX dream is almost complete and it will no doubt launch the space-dream for non-astronauts around the world.  Over the next several decades space tourism will grow with entrepreneurs such as Richard Branson already on the wagon!  In fact Virgin Galactic, which is owned by Branson, has been selling trips to space for the mere sum of $200,000.  This month American actor Ashton Kutcher became the 500^th customer following in fellow celebrities, Tom Hanks, Katy Perry, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s footsteps who have already secured their seat.

So, who knows, perhaps one day we will all experience a trip into space, but for now SpaceX are concerned with their upcoming flight bringing 400kg of dried food to the ISS whilst still holding the dream of one day visiting the Red Planet.  So 2012 will be an important year for space travel.  In Chinese astrology this year marks the year of the Dragon, SpaceX will be hoping that it is a year of the Dragon for them as well!

(Article by Sinead McNiicholl, Education Support Officer)

John Young working by the Lunar Roving Vehicle (Image credit: NASA)

The Apollo Program was born after President John F. Kennedy famously declared to Congress in 1961: “landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth” –was to be a major goal for the United States of America. Before the potentially hazardous task of sending humans to the Moon could be attempted however, a number of unmanned experimental missions had to be executed to test the intended spacecraft and to look for possible landing sites on earth’s nearest celestial neighbour. These included the Apollo 2-6 missions. With the launch of the 1966-1968 unmanned Surveyor program, the American unmanned ‘soft landings’ aided the Apollo effort with complete robotic mission rehearsals of actual lunar touchdown. Since President Nixon requested a speechwriter to prepare a condolence speech for use should the first landing astronauts Neil Armstrong and “Buzz” Aldrin become stranded on the Moon however, lunar missions had come a long way.

Of the manned Apollo Moon missions, the term ‘J’-mission referred to longer-stay lunar visits during which a greater number of scientific experiments could be undertaken. Apollo 15 was the first mission of this type, with astronauts remaining on the Moon for just over 2 days. Although the Apollo 16 overall mission duration was 11 days (i.e. 256 hours in space), this ‘J’-Mission’s actual stay on the Moon lasted 71 hours 2 mins.

The landing site selected was the Descartes Highlands region,  a mountainous area west of the ‘Nectaris Sea’ or Mare Nectaris. Although the Alphonsus crater was also initially considered as a possible landing site for the Apollo 16 mission, the Moon’s hilly region around the Descartes crater was finally selected. The highlands were chosen for the landing craft because this terrain had yet to be explored by any of the Apollo missions to date. The final incentive in visiting the Descartes was provided with the prospect of gathering rock and surface samples thus far unstudied, and of which type the majority of the rest of the Moon’s surface was thought to be composed.

Apollo 16 mission crew from left to right: Thomas K. Mattingly II; John W. Young; and Charles M. Duke Jr. (Image credit: NASA)

All American pilot astronauts, the primary crew were: John Watts Young, mission commander; Thomas Kenneth Mattingly II, as Command Module pilot; Charles Moss Duke Jr, as Lunar Module pilot. The backup crew were: Fred Wallace ‘Pecky’ Haise Jr (commander); Edgar Dean Mitchell (Lunar Module pilot); Stuart Allen Roosa (Command Module pilot).

Young was lead pilot of the Apollo 16 spacecraft and was responsible for ensuring overall completion of the mission. Mattingly was responsible for piloting the CM 113 lunar spacecraft in orbit around the Moon, all the while carrying out extensive geochemical and photographic mapping around the lunar equator. Duke assisted Young with the flight and landing of LM-11 as well as extra-vehicular activities in and around the landing site.

John W. Young operated a flight computer on Gemini 3 in March 1965, was commander on Gemini 10, and was Command Module pilot of the Apollo 10 Mission.  He was also on the backup space flight crews of Gemini 6, the second Apollo mission and Apollo 7. Thomas K. Mattingly II served on the Apollo 8 and 11 astronaut support crews, was involved in the development and testing of the Apollo spacesuit and backpacks and was the originally selected Command Module pilot for the Apollo 13 flight. Charles M. Duke Jr was a support crew member for the Apollo 10 mission. He was CAPCOM for Apollo 11, and on Apollo 13 he served as backup Lunar Module pilot.

Apollo 16 and its crew were launched from Pad 39A into space in the huge Saturn V SA-511 rocket at the Kennedy Space Centeron on 16April 1972. CSM 113 Casper was the name of the Command (Service) Module on the Apollo 16 mission. LM-11  Orion was the name of the Lunar Module that landed the two landing-astronauts, Duke and Young, on the Moon. The Command Module also housed the scientific instrument module (SIM) bay where inflight experiments were carried out.

During the coast to the Moon a light-coloured jet was observed coming from the Lunar Module. A subsequent investigation however identified it to only be white particles of shredded thermal paint. The S-IVB stage was found to have a propulsion system leak which produced an unpredictable thrust. This prohibited a concluding targeting manoeuver after it was separated from the CSM. Ultimately this failure resulted in the stage not reaching its intended target location on the Moon. Contact was lost with the instrument by 4:04pm EST on 17 April. Seismometers left on the Moon from previous Apollo missions eventually detected its crash impact 260km northeast of the arranged target point at 4:02pm 19 April. On entering a lunar orbit and after Orion’s attempted separation from Casper, a propulsion irregularity was discovered. Spacecraft separation was delayed 5 3/4hrs until test analyses revealed the system was still safe to use if required.

The Command Service Module Casper in orbit around the Moon. Note the open SIM bay. (Image credit: NASA)

With an astronaut steering the Lunar Roving Vehicle or LRV, two main terrains were traversed within the lunar highlands. The first was the Cayley Plains, a geological formation which had smooth undulations. The second and the most uneven lunar surface ever to be driven over, was the furrowed highland plateau of  Descartes. In total, the Apollo 16 Rover covered 27 kilometres (16.6 miles) of lunar terrain.

The Duke Family on the Moon (Image credit: Charles Duke/NASA)

Astronaut Charles Duke’s personal response to the lunar visit was to leave a family photograph in a plastic cover on the Moon’s surface. In response to the accusations that the Apollo landings were a fake, Duke is known for having rebuffed such notions by saying: “We’ve been to the Moon nine times. Why would we fake it nine times, if we faked it?”

: On the rim of the 40m deep Plum crater: Charles M. Duke Jr, Apollo 16 Lunar Module pilot engaged in collecting lunar sample during first EVA. (Image credit: NASA/John Young)

After landing LM-11 Orion on the Moon’s Cayley Plains, Duke and Young commenced three Extra-Vehicular Activities or EVA excursions. They explored lunar features and collected a total of 95.8kg of surface material samples. They also set up and put in motion a number of automated experiments on the lunar surface that would continue to send data after Young, Mattingly and Duke had returned to Earth. On the Moon’s surface astronaut Young tripped over and broke a cable to some heat-flow sensors effectively disabling a lunar experiment. On-board, the crew: took photographs while their spacecraft orbited the Moon; carried out further ‘inflight’ experiments; conducted electrophoresis experiments requiring micro-gravity; completed engineering evaluations of spacecraft and equipment.

A UFO? Although the bright corner shapes are only window reflections, a flying saucer-like object was captured on a few seconds of film above the Moon as the Apollo 16 crew were commencing their flight home on the Command Module. (Image credit: NASA)

Appearing to be a saucer shape with a dome on top, an UFO above the Moon received no less interest than the attention of an entire analysis team back at NASA when Apollo 16 was complete. Verdict: the mysterious object that briefly swung into the field of view was discovered to be none other than a floodlight jutting out on the end of a boom from the bottom of the crew’s own Command Module.

With Duke and Yound onboard, the Ascent Module blasts off throwing debris everywhere. (Image credit: NASA)

Apollo 16's Ascent stage looks a bit the worst for wear during its rendezvous with the CSM (Image credit: NASA)

Orion commenced lunar lift-off at 8:26pm EST on 23 April, and docked with the CSM as it continued to orbit the Moon. The landing astronauts transferred themselves, equipment, film, and lunar samples to the Command Module before jettisoning Orion the next day. Just before the concluding phase of the Apollo 16 mission commenced, a faulty engine was discovered on the CM-113 spacecraft. The crew took it around the far side of the Moon and to everyone’s relief succeeded in firing it. After re-establishing radio contact with Earth, Young and Mattingly set Casper on a course for home. Mattingly ventured out of the Command Module while it was in its trans-earth coast to collect tapes from the panoramic and mapping cameras in Casper’s SIM-bay. The 1hr 13min Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) put this aspect of the Apollo 16 mission into the record books. Apart from an initial engine glitch, the Apollo 16 journey home ran smoothly and without incident. ‘Splashdown’ was in the Pacific Ocean, north of Christmas Island at 1945 (Universal Time/GMT) 27 April 1972. Young, Mattingly and Duke were picked up by the USS Ticonderoga.

Apollo 16 patch: the yellow chevron is a design element borrowed from the NASA insignia, which itself was derived from the official NASA seal designed in 1959. The chevron itself is based on a windtunnel model of a high-speed bomber concept (and not a lot of people know that!) (Image credit: NASA)

In 1981 Young flew into space for the fifth time as commander of the first space shuttle mission, STS-1 and so became the only astronaut who would have flown Gemini, Apollo and Shuttle spacecraft. In 1983 he was again placed in the command seat of the first Spacelab mission, STS-9 and was on the backup crew of Apollo 17. Between the years 1974 and 2004 Young served as: Chief of the Astronaut Office, Special Assistant to the Director for Engineering, Operations, and Safety of the Johnson Space Centre; Associate Director (Technical). After a long and distinguished career at the helm of mankind’s exploration of space and having set a space speed record for flying at 11 107 metres per second, Young retired from NASA in 2004. From 1973 Mattingly fulfilled a number of roles within the astronaut office before becoming head of Astronaut Office DOD Support Group in 1983. He was appointed backup commander for the second and third test flights of the Columbia shuttle STS-2 and STS-3, and was spacecraft commander for the final orbital test flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-4) in 1982. In 1985 Mattingly was commander of the STS-51C Discovery. He resigned from NASA the same year and served as Chief of US Navy Space Command (NAVSPACECOM) before retiring at the rank of Rear Admiral, U.S.N. in 1986. Mattingly became Director of Utilization and Operations at Grumman Space Station Office and then of the X-33 program with Lockheed-Martin. Admiral Mattingly was also Chairman of Universal Space Network, Universal Space Lines, Inc. until 1999 and subsequently headed the Atlas booster program for General Dynamics, Inc. in California. Duke again fulfilled the role of lunar module backup pilot for the Apollo 17 mission. In 1975 he retired from the astronaut program to pursue private business. He owns Duke Investments, is President of Charlie Duke Enterprises and Duke Ministry for Christ. He is an active speaker, Christian lay witness and is chairman of the board of directors of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation.

Bar one, the 11 day Apollo 16 space mission was the final mission to land men on the Moon but the first to land in the lunar highlands. Likewise it was the first Apollo mission to see an ultraviolet camera or spectrograph used on the Moon, this ‘J’-Mission succeeded in its objective, attaining surface samples that completed a large part of man’s exploratory lunar jigsaw. Apollo 16 is notable for: having placed the heaviest total spacecraft load in lunar orbit, 34 522kg; having driven the Lunar Rover over the roughest terrain discovered on the Moon; the longest space activity (Extra-Vehicular Activity) by an astronaut outside a Command Module while the spacecraft was on its return flight to Earth; first Cosmic Ray Detector deployed on Moon and to use the Moon as an astronomical observatory. .

The landing site imaged recently by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The RTG is a radioisotope thermoelectric generator used to power the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP). (Image credit: NASA)

The next mission would be Apollo 17, the final planned mission to land men on the Moon followed a pause in lunar exploration for a few years (or so everyone at the time thought) .

(Article by Nick Parke, Education Support Officer)

Apollo 16: Nothing So Hidden… from NASA Lunar Science Institute on Vimeo.