It’s been a giant 12 months right here at The Planetary Society. To recap the highlights, take heed to this week’s Planetary Radio for interviews with a number of members of our group as we revisit a few of 2023’s groundbreaking discoveries, Society achievements, and favourite area exploration moments. Pictured: A spotlight of the 12 months was the Lucy spacecraft’s discovery of a pair of tiny asteroid moonlets orbiting a bigger asteroid. Picture credit score: NASA/Goddard/SwRI/Johns Hopkins APL.
Is one in all your New 12 months’s resolutions to learn extra? If that’s the case, you should definitely be part of The Planetary Society’s e-book membership. We meet just about each month to debate a brand new space-related e-book with the creator or a associated knowledgeable. This month’s book is “A Metropolis on Mars” by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith, which explores what it will actually take to decide on one other world. The authors will be part of host Mat Kaplan for a live Q&A on Jan. 4. All of it occurs in our members-only digital neighborhood. Should you aren’t already a member, be part of in the present day!
The Galilean moons had been found nearly precisely 414 years in the past. The Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei first noticed these 4 moons by a telescope in early January 1610, perpetually altering our understanding of the Cosmos. Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, collectively referred to as the Galilean moons, are Jupiter’s 4 largest moons, and had been the primary moons aside from Earth’s to be found. Be taught extra about why that made such a big effect, and what we find out about these fascinating worlds.