The Young Astronomers Newsletter

The Young Astronomers Newsletter Volume 26 Number 7 July 2018

By Bob Patsiga

In this month’s edition of the newsletter Bob discusses:

• The number of living APOLLO astronauts who walked on the Moon has dwindled from 12 to four. Most remained with the aero-space industry after retirement. However, Alan Bean took up painting and described his experiences in art form.
• Updates on the New Horizons space craft is heading for its next Kuiper Belt target: Ultima Thule.
• Some interesting results of mudstone samples at its Gale Crater location by the Curiosity Rover.
• Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity will be tested this summer as astronomers at UCLA will observe the movement of a star that travels ultra-fast near the center of the Milky Way galaxy.
• Recent measurements of over 4,600 stars in the disk of the Milky Way indicate that our
  galaxy’s diameter is about 200,000 light years, which is about twice what had been believed.
• Astronomical birthdays for the month of July and celestial happenings for the month.