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Cosmic Curiosities

“It’s like winning a lottery. Although the odds are astronomical, most weeks, someone hits the jackpot.”
- Stephen Hawking, British Physicist

The Great 2020 Conjunction

Cosmic Curiosities

“It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.”
- Rainer Maria Rilke, Austrian Poet-Writer

The Universe, Us, and the Coronavirus

February 11 is International Day of Women and Girls in Science!

Join us as we highlight some of the amazing women in science right here at MPM. It is our hope that you will feel inspired to participate in science through many of the provided activities.

Mercury makes its best evening appearances in early March and late June/early July. For morning watchers, the best time to catch the smallest planet is mid-August.

Venus is crazy bright in the evening sky from the start of 2025 until mid-March. It quickly reappears in the morning sky by late March/early April. It remains easily visible in the pre-dawn sky until mid-November.

Mercury makes its best evening appearances in late February and all of June. For morning watchers, the best time to catch the smallest planet is late July/early August and mid-November.

Venus slowly becomes visible in the evening sky about mid-February. Look for the brightest planet all spring and summer as it fades back toward the sun in mid-September. Venus quickly returns to the morning sky in November and December.

Cosmic Curiosities

“I accept the universe.”
- Margaret Fuller, 19th-century USA Journalist

Subtle & Spectacular: A Total Lunar Eclipse

All eclipses are spectacular, but the total-lunar variety is slowly mesmerizing and subtle.