Lunar science

In a remote area of China, the Chinese spacecraft Chang’e-6 landed smoothly on Tuesday, bringing back rock samples from the dark side of the Moon, also known as the far side of the Moon.

China's Chang'e-6 spacecraft successfully completed its groundbreaking mission to retrieve samples from the far side of the moon, returning to Earth after a challenging 53-day journey, as reported by AFP.

China has launched a lunar probe on May 3 that will land on the far side of the moon and return with samples that could provide insights into geological and other differences between the less-explored region and the better-known near side.

Beneath the Earth's surface, buried deep within the mantle, lies a long-standing enigma that might hold the key to unraveling the ancient secrets of our Moon's birth. For over half a century, seismologists have been tracking two massive, continent-sized anomalies concealed beneath Africa and the South Pacific region.

The supermoon rises behind the ancient Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounio, about 70 kilometers south of Athens, Greece on Wednesday. The cosmic curtain rose Wednesday night with the second full moon of the month. It is a supermoon because it's closer to Earth than usual, appearing especially big and bright.

The cosmos is offering up a double feature in August: A pair of supermoons culminating in a rare blue moon.

Catch the first show tomorrow evening as the full moon rises in the southeast, appearing slightly brighter and bigger than normal. That's because it will be closer than usual, just 222,159 miles (357,530 kilometers) away, thus the supermoon label.

When comets strike Earth they excavate & melt large portions of the mantle causing the molten rock to rise to the surface & float

NASA has said it aims to survey the crater formed when the remains of a SpaceX rocket are expected to crash into the Moon in early March, calling the event "an exciting research opportunity."

The next full moon, otherwise known as the Flower Moon, is set to grace our skies tonight, May 26, reaching its official peak at around 11:30 pm. It will also be the second supermoon of the year.

A full moon occurs every 29.5 days and happens when the Moon is completely illuminated by the Sun's rays. It occurs when the Earth is directly aligned between the Sun and the Moon. 

This month's full moon will appear bigger, brighter and redder than usual, as the rare simultaneous occurrence of a supermoon and a lunar eclipse takes place in some parts of the world on 26 May.

May's full moon is the second of two supermoons in 2021, with the previous one taking place in April over largely cloudy skies in the UK.