2016 starts off with a (big) bang

Listen 00:05:05

This is a big week astronomically speaking…- Saturday we arrived at perihelion, yesterday was Summer solstice on Mars, tomorrow we enjoy the latest sunrise of the year, Thursday is Eastern Orthodox Christmas and the moon, Venus and Saturn are closely positioned in the pre-dawn sky (closest on Saturday morning) and next Sunday is New Moon.

2015 was a remarkable year in astronomy and space science highlighted by; the Mars Curiosity mission, New Horizons to Pluto, space movies released last year, talk about earth-like planets orbiting other stars, all playing a major role in rekindling public interest in space exploration.

WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.

Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal