4th BRICS-AGAC Symposium to be Held at SGT University
4th Symposium of the BRICS Association on Gravity, Astrophysics and Cosmology (BRICS-AGAC) will take place in-person and online December 17-19 at Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary (SGT) University, about 30 km from Delhi, India, to explore cosmology, astrophysics, dark matter, black holes, Early Universe mysteries and Late-Time Universe phenomena. Cosmologist Alan Guth will present the first Starobinsky Memorial Lecture. Alexei Starobinsky received at least 6 prestigious awards, was instrumental in founding of BRICS-AGAC in 2016, and his eponymous model is currently the most accurate description of cosmological inflation in the early universe, encompassing modified theories of gravity, dark energy and particle creation. Alan Guth is the Victor Weisskopf Professor of Physics at MIT, is known for proposing cosmic inflation in 1981, describing a period of rapid exponential expansion in the early universe, and shared the 2014 Kavli Prize with Starobinsky as well as Andrei Linde. Title of his talk is Inflationary Cosmology: Is Our Universe Part of a Multiverse? and will be given online at 18:30 IST on December 18. The Symposium Conference Dinner is December 17, 18:00-21:00 at Guest House Ananda. Plenary speakers hail from 15 India institutions, 2 each in China, Russia and USA, 1 each from South Korea and South Africa. BRICS-AGAC International Advisory Committee includes members from China (chair), Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa and USA. In other news from India / ISRO, launch of the SPADEX autonomous docking payload is now set for December 30. (Image credits: SGT University) |
MONDAY☆ Dec 16 — International Space Station, ~415-km LEO: This week the Expedition 72 seven-member crew has Don Pettit speaking at 08:50 HST on Dec 17; Roscosmos Cosmonauts scheduled for EVA #63 on Dec 19. ☆ Dec 16 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: The Shenzhou 19 three-member crew studying growth, behavior, gene expression and molecular mechanisms of fruit flies to advance fields of genetics, neuroscience and magnetism. ☾ Dec 16 — Korean Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter ‘Danuri’, Moon Orbit: KARI first lunar spacecraft Danuri reaches 2nd full year / enters 3rd year in lunar orbit today. ☆ Dec 16 — CAST, Launch Long March 5B / Zhongguo Xingwang ‘SatNet’, Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Center, Hainan, China: Satellites to be launched under Guowang national constellation program to provide internet access to rural areas; launch window open midnight to 02:14 HST. ● Dec 16 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Boeing, RTX, Lockheed Martin, et al, Orlando FL: Early registration due for AIAA SciTech Forum; being held Jan 6-10, US$79-1,599. ● Dec 16-18 — Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, KSC FL: Meet Astronaut Barbara Morgan. ☾ Dec 16 — Moon: 5.3° S of Castor, 21:00. ☆ Dec 16 — Apollo Asteroid (2024 VE7): Near-Earth Flyby (0.018 AU) Ongoing… ★ NET Dec — Blue Origin, Launch New Glenn / Blue Ring, LC 36A, Cape Canaveral SFS FL: Maiden New Glenn flight, to carry Blue Origin Blue Ring payload tug; initial USSF National Security Space Launch certification flight. ☆ NET Dec — Isar Aerospace, Launch Spectrum / Maiden Flight Andøya Spaceport, Tromso, Norway: First test flight to SSO of Spectrum vehicle developed by Munich, Germany company founded in 2018; first launch from new spaceport. |
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● = Terrestrial and… o = International terrestrial events
☾ = Moon activity ★ = Space and… ☆ = International space / astro events; in Hawaii Standard Time unless noted. Add 10 hours to obtain UT (‘Universal Time’). |
Weekly Planet Watch – Evening Planets: Venus (SW), Mars (ENE), Jupiter (ENE), Saturn (SSW), Uranus (SE), Neptune (S). Morning planet: Mercury (E).
Unique Astro Outreach Events Invite Voyagers to Cruise to Antarctica and Meet Astronauts
The “Luxury Voyage To The Last Frontier – Antarctica” is set to launch December 19-29, featuring prominent space community experts William Shatner, Charlie Duke, Scott Kelly, José Hernández, Céline Cousteau and Neil deGrasse Tyson. Aboard the expedition vessel, Seabourn Venture, 260 guests will journey from Buenos Aires to Antarctica and return to port in Argentina. This Space2Sea voyage appeals to explorers, leaders, innovators and visionaries who will experience the great frontier of the 7th continent of Earth whilst discussing the Moon (sometimes referred to as Earth’s 8th continent), the complete Solar System and the Galaxy Stars. The creators of this event, Future of Space, state its mission is to foster “world-shaping debates as Space and Earth’s final frontiers converge.” Those desiring to meet Astronauts may also want to travel to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center in Florida, where each day an Astronaut gives a theater presentation, answers questions and signs autographs. In total, as of November 2024, there are 47 active NASA astronauts, 12 management Astronauts, and 332 former Astronauts / payload specialists. Featured at KSC, this week includes interactions with Barbara Morgan and John Bartoe, and José Hernández next month. The Visitor Center also offers a holiday program from December 20-30. (Image credits: FOS, Space2Sea, NASA, et al)
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TUESDAY☆ Dec 17 — Rocket Lab, Launch Electron / Owl The Way Up (StriX Launch 6), Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand: Satellite to SSO for Japanese Earth imaging company Synspective; launch cost ~US$6M, 04:00 HST, launch window open 75 minutes. ★ Dec 17 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / 4x Astranis MicroGEO, SLC 40, Cape Canaveral SFS FL: 4 communications satellites to custom geostationary orbit, then each maneuvers to reach different slot; launch window open 17:38-21:57 HST. ● Dec 17 — Academy for the Relentless Exploration of Space, ARES Learning, Online: Webinar for educators led by Kirby Runyon and Mark Wagner to discuss Earth and Space Experience for Educators planned for February 28 – March 2, 2025, New Mexico; participants receive the book Space Education: Preparing Students for Humanity’s Multi-Planet Future by Mark Wagner and a recommended reading list from Kirby Runyon. ● Dec 17 — The Space Show, Online / Las Vegas NV: Dr. David Livingston hosts author Bob Zimmerman, whose books include Leaving Earth: Space Stations, Rival Superpowers, and the Quest for Interplanetary Travel; Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8; and The Universe in a Mirror: The Saga of the Hubble Space Telescope and the Visionaries Who Built It; 17:00 HST. o Dec 17-19 — Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary (SGT) University, Budhera, India: 4th Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa Association on Gravity, Astrophysics and Cosmology (BRICS-AGAC) 2024 Symposium on Gravity, Astrophysics and Cosmology; program includes Early Universe, Dark Matter, Late-Time Universe, Black Holes, et al. ● Dec 17-19 — National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, Irvine CA: Steering Committee Meeting: A Science Strategy for the Human Exploration of Mars. ☾ Dec 17 — Moon: 2.02° S of Pollux, 03:00. ☆ Dec 17 — Apollo Asteroid (2022 YO1): Near-Earth Flyby (0.005 AU) |
WEDNESDAY
● Dec 18 — International Institute for Astronautical Sciences, Online: Information session for scientific payload consideration for IIAS-02 Research Mission, emphasis on neuroscience and women’s health, submissions will be due January 31, 2025; 07:00 HST.
☾ Dec 18 — Moon: 0.95° NE of Mars, occultation, 00:00 HST; with Mars and Beehive Cluster within circle of diameter 3.22°, 02:00 HST.
☆ Dec 18 — Apollo Asteroid (2024 XS3): Near-Earth Flyby (0.022 AU)
THURSDAY
☆ Dec 19 — International Space Station, ~415-km LEO: Roscosmos Cosmonauts Aleksey Nikolayevich Ovchinin and Ivan Viktorovich Vagner, both recipients of the Hero of Russia honorary title (Герой Российской Федерации), are scheduled for Extra-Vehicular Activity #63; 06:10 HST.
☆ Dec 19 — Gaia, Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange Point: ESA spacecraft reaches 11 full years / enters 12th year in space today; now in extended mission phase working to map more than 1 billion stars; launched in 2013.
☆ Dec 19 — Galactic Energy, Launch Ceres-1 (Gushenxing-1, GX-1) / “On Your Shoulders”, Yellow Sea Platform, China: Commercial company to perform next Sea Launch of its Ceres-1S rocket.
o Dec 19-29 — Space2Sea, Crown and Summit, Financial Times, Zero-G, ThinkTank, Peak Design, SanDisk, et al, Buenos Aires, Argentina / Antarctica: Luxury Voyage To The Last Frontier – Antarctica; with William Shatner, Charlie Duke, Scott Kelly, José Hernández, Céline Cousteau, Neil deGrasse Tyson, et al, hosts Future of Space co-founders Daniel Fox / Tristan Tanovan-Fox and Australian astronaut Chris Boshuizen; see krill swarms that are also visible from space; US$35,500-91,500.
☾ Dec 19 — Moon: 2.23° NE of Regulus, 23:00.
☆ Dec 19 — Aten Asteroid (2020 XY4): Near-Earth Flyby (0.032 AU)
FRIDAY
★ Dec 20 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Bandwagon 2 (Dedicated Mid-Inclination Rideshare), Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg SFB CA: Dozens of micro and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers including South Korean government’s 425 Project Flight 3; launch window open 01:53-02:33 HST.
★ Dec 20 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Thuraya 4-NGS, SLC 40, Cape Canaveral SFS FL: Communication satellite for UAE-based Yahsat; launch window open 15:26-19:53 HST.
★ Dec 20 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Starlink Group 12-2, Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center FL: launch window open 18:28-22:59 HST.
● Dec 20 — The Space Show, Online / Las Vegas NV: Dr. David Livingston hosts Tom Marotta, Founder and CEO of The Spaceport Company, which is developing commercial launch and reentry sites using mobile offshore platforms.
● Dec 20-30 — Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, KSC FL: Holidays in Space 2024; admission to visitor complex and nightly projected show: The Deep Space Launch Complex.
☆ Dec 20 — December Solstice: The Sun reaches the point where it is farthest South of the celestial equator, marking the shortest day and longest night of the year (opposite in Southern Hemisphere); 23:19.
SATURDAY
☆ Dec 21 — Ursid Meteor Shower Peak: Appearing to radiate from β star of Ursa Minor, Ursids are associated with comet 8P/Tuttle, they offer medium speed (33 km/sec), mostly faint with a few fireballs, 9-10 per hour, visible in northern Hemisphere 1 day before Last Quarter Moon.
☆ Dec 21 — Apollo Asteroid (2024 XQ4): Near-Earth Flyby (0.007 AU)
SUNDAY
☾ Dec 22 — Moon: At last quarter, 12:19.