If you think winter lasts too long where you live, be thankful that you don’t live on Uranus. The seventh planet in our solar system only has two seasons: winter and summer. […]
42 Years of Nonstop Winter
Outer Space: Closer Than You Might Think
Is outer space a distant, mysterious place? Mysterious, perhaps, but it is a lot closer than you might suspect. Depending on just how you define “outer space,” it could be as close […]
Who Wins in the Competition Between Pluto and Russia?
NASA’s New Horizons zoomed past Pluto in July 2015. It not only captured some stunning pictures of the planet, (Yes, we at Commonplace still hold to the notion that it is, indeed, […]
The Planet of Robotic Inhabitants
A planet inhabited solely by robots might sound like something out of science fiction, but it is all too real and much closer than you might imagine. Our nearest planetary neighbor, Mars, […]
The Wright Brothers Fly to the Moon
The first airplane flight covered a mere 852 feet, but a part of that plane ultimately flew nearly half a million miles.
Like Sand Through the Hourglass, So Go the Galaxies
If you want to obscure your view of something, a grain of sand is probably not the first thing that you would choose. It is so small that it is hard to […]
Consider All the Empty Space Out There
As documented here, all of the people on planet earth could be relocated comfortably to any one of several U.S. states. What if you wanted to fit everyone into an even smaller […]
No New Year’s Party in Orbit
Prior to 2007, Space Shuttles were not allowed to remain in orbit on New Year’s Day, due to concerns about whether the software would properly handle the rollover of dates. source
One Small Step for Man… One Giant Leap for Deadlines
Neil Armstrong’s footprints narrowly avoided being rejected as an astronaut. His application to NASA was one week late. Fortunately, Armstrong’s friend, Dick Day, worked at NASA’s Manned Spacecraft Center and happened to notice the […]
Go Ahead and Sleep In … You Have Extra Time
Does it feel as if time moves more rapidly as you get older? Cheer up, because that is a scientifically-proven myth. In reality, the days are getting longer. Due to the slowing […]
Now Free to Pursue E.T.
As of 1991, U.S. citizens are free to pursue contact with extraterrestrial beings or their vehicles without legal repercussions. On July 16, 1969 — the same day Apollo 11 departed for the […]
Looking for a Hot Deal on Some Real Estate?
When Maria Angeles Duran of Vigo, Spain started her real estate venture, she knew there was great demand to purchase property that gets plenty of sunlight. What better place than the source […]
Another First for the American Space Program
On December 16, 1965, astronauts Tom Stafford and Wally Schirra were on Gemini 6 when they transmitted the following message: “Gemini VII, this is Gemini VI. We have an object, looks like […]
“State of the Art” From a 21st Century Vantage Point
The super-sophisticated, miracle machine of the 20th century was the guidance computer for the Apollo rockets. This technological marvel made it possible for manned flight to and from the moon. Developed by […]
The Unlucky Adventures of Astronaut Alberts
Six monkeys named Albert were among earth’s first astronauts. Albert I, a rhesus monkey, rode to over 63 km (39 mi) on a V2 rocket on June 11, 1948 . Albert died […]
Commonplace Fun Facts 