The Artemis II Orion spacecraft has launched, and the mission is underway!
There is also a livestream from Orion itself (claustrophobes need not apply), but availability is spotty due to bandwidth and popularity. Because space!
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Archive for the ‘Science!’ Category
We Have Liftoff!
Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, Artemis, NASA, space on April 2, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Fingers Crossed!
Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, Artemis, inspiration, NASA, science, space, space exploration on April 1, 2026| Leave a Comment »
NASA’s Artemis II mission is (as of right now!) still a go. Here’s a site with a countdown to launch and a tracker for when it happens.
Artemis II Mission Tracker | Live Orion 3D Timeline
And here’s a video on the mission in case you didn’t get enough background material yesterday.
And here are a couple of Artemis-themed games to play, just for fun: Artemis Game Hub
Just over six hours now if all goes well. Fingers crossed!
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Artemis II, Take II
Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, Artemis, moon, NASA, science, space, spaceflight on March 31, 2026| 1 Comment »
The countdown has begun! Tomorrow is the first April launch date for the Artemis II flight. (If the weather or tech doesn’t cooperate, the mission will be pushed forward, so the next couple of days could be interesting!)
NASA’s Artemis II Launch Mission Countdown Begins – NASA
The countdown for NASA’s Artemis II test flight is underway at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with members of the launch team arriving at their consoles inside the Rocco Petrone Launch Control Center. The onsite countdown clock started ticking down at 4:44 p.m. EDT to a targeted launch time of 6:24 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1.
Who will be in that shiny new rocket, you ask?
Meet the first Artemis crew flying to the moon since the Apollo era
The Americans who blazed the trail to the moon more than half a century ago were white men chosen for their military test pilot experience. This first Artemis crew includes a woman, a person of color and a Canadian, products of a more diversified astronaut corps.
Speaking of the comparison to Apollo, what else is different, how are they similar, is that an excellent graphic showing time and trajectory (yes!) and more:
Apollo vs. Artemis: What to know about NASA’s moon missions | AP News
Let’s revisit: Why are we doing this again?
Artemis II: Why is Nasa sending people back to the Moon?
There’s still prestige in being the first to plant your flag in the lunar dust. But now it really matters where you plant it.
(In short: resources, scientific and technological discovery, and did we mention resources?)
We can all follow NASA’s feed, but there’s another option for tracking the flight:
When Artemis II launches to the Moon, we’ll be able to track it on our smartphones. Here’s how
NASA has announced that Artemis II’s journey around the Moon will be available to track online and via a downloadable app called Artemis Real-time Orbit Website (AROW).
And here’s what it will be like inside Firing Room 1 a.k.a. Mission Control:
The NASA mission control masterminds who will keep the Artemis II astronauts safe
…who has the Artemis II astronauts’ backs as they make the 10-day, roughly 685,000-mile journey around the moon, aboard a rocket and spacecraft that haven’t carried humans before? And what does it take to work in the high-stakes, behind-the-scenes roles that keep astronauts safe and the mission on track?
Because astronauts are just the most visible part of what it takes to get a project like this off the ground. Here’s to the engineers, adventurers, and dreamers too!
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Via Fiction or Fact
Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, creativity, inspiration, invention, Thoughts, Writers, writing on March 26, 2026| Leave a Comment »
This is for all those who take the world and mold it, via fiction or fact, into something creative and new.
The most interesting inventions are those that haven’t worked yet. — Nathan Myhrvold
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Neurochemistry In Real Time
Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, reading, Thoughts, Writers, writing on March 10, 2026| 4 Comments »
Because it can sometimes be hard to keep a positive attitude with everything going on in the world, I thought I’d share this article. Also, books are just a good time.
How reading books regulates your nervous system – Big Think
Reading is relaxing, and many people do it as a counterbalance to our overstimulated age.
But what exactly is happening when we read? What’s going on beneath the surface that makes reading a book feel so restorative?
The answer lies in how reading changes our neurochemistry in real time. Reading isn’t just about decoding words on a page. It’s a complex neurochemical process that affects everything from our heart rate to our hormone levels.
Go ahead, change your neurochemistry for the better.
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Not Really, No
Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, entertaining absurdities, science, Writers on March 6, 2026| 1 Comment »
A critical writing question addressed by the good people over at xckd (home of “serious answers to absurd questions”):
Can you power your computer by typing?
I mean, the answer’s pretty obvious, but the details are interesting!
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Fish, Precious!
Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, citizen scientists, helping, inspiration, nature on March 3, 2026| 3 Comments »
Yes, the world is a dangerous mess right now but not everything is terrible. Exhibit A: The Fish Doorbell is back!
The Fish Doorbell — The Fish Doorbell
Every spring, thousands of fish swim through the Oudegracht in Utrecht, searching for a place upstream to lay their eggs. But the Weerdsluis is often closed. You can help the fish continue their journey! If you see a fish, press the doorbell. This alerts the lock operator to open the lock.
Love this!
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Worm Moon, Eclipsed
Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, astronomy, lunar eclipse on March 2, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Tomorrow morning very early, the last full moon of the winter season will coincide with a total lunar eclipse. When? Check the links below for precise times, but as an example, maximum eclipse in Ottawa will be at 6:33am ET.
The result? A blood moon.
We’ve talked about this phenomenon before, but this will be the last one for a couple of years.
Check here for timing and more info on the eclipse and how to view it: Total Lunar Eclipse on March 2–3, 2026 – Where and When to See
Visible from Asia, Australia, and North America, this is the last total lunar eclipse until the December 31, 2028–January 1, 2029 New Year’s Blood Moon Eclipse.
If your view is obstructed you can watch this livestream from the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.
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Sad but Happy
Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, astronomy, NASA, science, space on February 26, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Sadly, the Artemis II moon mission has been pushed back again, and the new launch window now won’t happen until April at the earliest. Pesky helium flow issues!
Happily, this week we can entertain ourselves with a planetary conjunction!
APOD: 2026 February 24 – Planet Parade over Sydney Opera House
Look up this week and see a whole bunch of planets. Just after sunset, looking west (mostly), planets Mercury, Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter will all be visible to the unaided eye simultaneously.
Mercury Completes the Planetary Parade at Dusk
Seeing all the naked eye planets at once is set to become a rarity in coming years.
Here’s hoping the skies are clear where you are!
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People, Making a Difference
Posted in Other, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, birds, broken isn't always forever, inspiration, nature, people power, volunteering on February 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »
This story is so encouraging:
The Ordinary People Who Saved the Bluebird
There was a time when seeing a bluebird felt less like spotting a bird and more like witnessing a small miracle. But then, the Eastern bluebird population made a comeback. The hero?
A lot of volunteers — and an ordinary box.
Sure, we broke it. But now we’re fixing it, and that’s a story I think we all could use.
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