May 22, 2026

Astronomy News and Sky Watch — May 22, 2026

Astronomy News and Sky Watch — May 22, 2026

Rocket Lab Electron launch coming up. Plus space news and stargazing.

Portions of the podcast are made with the assistance of AI which helps us gather informaton from the NASA and other sources.

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Calorogashark Media. You're listening to space news and weather today.

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The moon is nearly full and quite bright Tonight early

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evening is your best bet for stargazing before moonlight takes over.

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It seems improbable that a satellite designed to monitor polar

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ice sheets and floating sea ice could accurately measure a

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disturbance in Earth's magnetic field, but that is just what

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the European Space Agency's Cryosat mission did earlier this year.

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Our tourist blazes overhead tonight an orange giant star about

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twenty five times larger than our sun. It's the bottom

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point of the kite shaped Boots constellation. Quick solar update.

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The sun is quite active with numerous sunspot groups visible.

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That means a moderate chance of northern lights tonight. For

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those in northern latitudes. Look north after dark if skies

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are clear. Venus dominates the western sky after sunset, while

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Saturn rises in the southeast after midnight, its rings tilted

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beautifully for telescope viewing. An Electron rocket is set to

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launch later today from Mahea Peninsula, New Zealand. Rocket Lab

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is behind this. One fun fact, the largest known star,

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uy Scootie, is so big that, if placed at the

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center of our Solar system, its surface would extend past

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Jupiter's orbit. This is space news and weather Today, your

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AI curated guide to the Cosmos. Sources include NASA and

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space news from around the world.