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Cosmic Strings

Cosmic Strings
My name is Kelly Herbst and I control the universe...well, at least in the Abbitt Planetarium at the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News, Virginia. View Original Blog

Fire in the Sky

Have you ever seen a shooting star?  Most of us have at one time or another.  But did you know that mid-August is the best time of year to see shooting stars? First of all, let me reassure you that the stars are not falling…

Walking on the Moon

It’s hard to believe it’s been 50 years.  Fifty years since a man first placed his foot on the surface of a world that was not the Earth. On July 20th, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took some amazing small steps and made some…

Blinded by the Light

Have you ever seen a satellite crossing the sky?  It’s kind of cool.  Satellites become visible because their solar panels and other reflective surfaces catch the light of the Sun and then reflect that light back down to Earth at night.  How can they reflect…

Look Up! Look Up at Night!

Hey folks!  Just wanted to let everyone know that Astronomy Day is coming up this weekend!  May 11 is Astronomy Day, and of course, we will be hosting our monthly Stargazing and Laser Light Night to celebrate. Besides the usual night sky viewing with telescopes…

You Say It’s Your Birthday!

Hey there Space Science fans!  I just wanted to post a quick update to wish the Hubble Space Telescope a happy 29th birthday!  This amazing spacecraft and telescope is one of the great triumphs of 20th century NASA and continues to provide incredible images as…

Black Hole, Son

So April 10 will be quite the monumental day in astronomical history.  It will be the day we get to see our first real picture of a black hole. Every image you’ve ever seen of a black hole, including the one below, is not an…

What’s Up?

Hey…what’s going on? I thought maybe it was time for a little sky update.  Let’s talk about things happening in the early evening sky right now. Winter is nearly over, but the sky isn’t quite done with the brilliant stars of winter just yet.  The…

Black Hole Sun

I get this question a lot. What would happen to the Earth if the Sun became a black hole? I think most people hope the answer will involve cosmic disaster…the Earth would be torn apart and shredded in a giant cataclysm!  Let’s face it, we…