Space - FlipScience - Top Philippine science news and features for the inquisitive Filipino.

PhilSA provides SSTA learning kits to public schools, capacitates educators to integrate space science activities

Photo: PhilSA (Press release from the Philippine Space Agency) The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) turned over space science and technology applications (SSTA) learning kits to public schools and trained educators on equipment usage and integration into learning activities. Three (3) deployments were conducted in Quezon Province, Tarlac City, and the National ...

June 3, 2024 | 3 mins read

Space to lead: Fil-Am Engineer Josephine Santiago-Bond’s journey at NASA

Humanity loves stories, whether they're about wonders long gone, modern-day marvels, or the mysteries of the cosmos. Stories can excite, inform, entertain, inspire, and even enrage. And when a story is powerful enough, it can influence the way one makes choices—choices that eventually create equally powerful narratives themselves. Just ...

March 2, 2021 | 6 mins read

The Christmas Tree Cluster: Holiday cheers from the stars

ESO About 2,600 light-years away, in the constellation of the unicorn (Monoceros), is a section of space called the NGC 2264 region. Inside that cosmic patch is a bunch of bright lights that, because of their triangular formation, were gifted by astronomers with a truly festive name. Located just above the Cone ...

December 24, 2020 | 2 mins read

Pinoy ethnoastronomy: How the stars guided our ancestors

Felix Mittermeier/Pexels It was midnight. At this ungodly hour, my orgmates and I were sitting in an open terrace, attempting to settle internal matters via a lengthy meeting. Taking advantage of my peers’ unbelievable attentiveness during the discussion, I did what any bored and sleepy person would do: stare ...

December 18, 2020 | 4 mins read

‘The Blue Marble’: the story of Earth’s most iconic photo

Eugene Cernan, Ron Evans, and Harrisson Schmitt/NASA On December 7, 1972, a space shutterbug snapped a stolen shot that shocked science and stunned society. Astronaut Photo AS17-148-22727 is an image that pretty much everyone has seen at least once in their lifetime: an almost fully illuminated, glass-like sphere, with ...

December 7, 2020 | 2 mins read

Are we really made of cosmic dust?

NASA/ESA/HHT Our bodies are made up of atoms from stars formed billions of years ago. So yes - we are, indeed, stardust. Various elements such as oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and calcium comprise the human body. Most of these elements were formed from the first few generations of ...

November 5, 2020 | 2 mins read

Good girl, ‘Muttnik’: Laika, the first living animal to orbit Earth

NASA On November 3, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik 2 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The space vehicle had a very good passenger: a stray dog named Laika. Laika was neither the first animal nor the first dog in space. However, she was the first animal to be sent ...

November 3, 2020 | 1 min read

Diwata-2: The Pinoy-made, Sun-synchronous microsatellite

STAMINA4Space On October 29, 2018, Diwata-2, the second Pinoy-made microsatellite, made its way to outer space on October 29, 2018. Its launch took place at the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan, as part of the H-IIA F40 rocket’s secondary payload. Diwata-2 is capable of environmental monitoring because it follows a heliosynchronous (or ...

October 29, 2020 | 2 mins read

Why looking at the stars is like looking at the distant past

Yuting Gao/Pexels Did you know that when you look at the night sky, you're actually (sort of) looking at the past? Because of the speed at which light travels, the stars you see in the night sky aren't what they look like right now. Rather, you're looking at what ...

October 28, 2020 | 2 mins read

Astrology is hardly scientific—so why do many still believe it?

Getty Images/iStockphoto "Why do you still believe in astrology?" Puzzled (and with genuine curiosity), I posed this question to my colleagues. This ancient, elaborate system of interpreting celestial signs has seen a resurgence in popularity in recent times. Nowadays, though, it seems to be the younger generations who are ...

October 6, 2020 | 5 mins read

Pinoys can join this virtual COVID-19 hackathon by NASA, ESA, and JAXA

NASA Space Apps Philippines •Three of the world's top space agencies—NASA, ESA, and JAXA—are inviting tech enthusiasts to participate in a global 48-hour virtual hackathon. •The NASA Space Apps COVID-19 Challenge will take place on May 30-31, 2020, and will focus on developing solutions to pandemic-related problems. •Participants will ...

May 13, 2020 | 3 mins read

Pinoy-made dengue case forecasting system wins int’l NASA hackathon

•AEDES Project, a Pinoy-made information system that uses space data for dengue case forecasting, was one of six winners at the 2019 NASA International Space Apps Challenge. •The project won the Best Use of Data Award for being "the solution that best makes space data accessible, or leverages it to a ...

March 5, 2020 | 4 mins read

A different “TALA”: A hybrid rocket made by Pinoy high school students

•A team of high school students and mentors has been silently working on a special project: the Philippines' first civilian high-powered hybrid rocket. •Guided by DOST-PCIEERD, the team built the rocket to overcome current limitations of local space research involving can satellites (CanSats). •The results of their endeavor may prove ...

January 15, 2020 | 5 mins read

Space debris: What you gon’ do with all that [space] junk?

•In our never-ending quest to reach for the stars, we have left a trail of space debris in our wake. •Right now, no single international treaty or authority exists to provide guidelines on handling space debris. •If we don't act soon, space junk could seriously threaten future space missions, and ...

January 1, 2020 | 3 mins read

Meet the champs of the 2019 NASA Philippine Space Apps Challenge

•Two teams came out on top at the recently concluded NASA International Space Apps Challenge in Manila. •Project PaWiKAN and Project AEDES both utilized space technology to develop solutions to serious environmental and health issues, aligned with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. •Both projects will vie against other entries ...

November 14, 2019 | 3 mins read

Join the 2019 NASA International Space Apps Challenge

•Filipino innovators may now sign up for the 2019 NASA International Space Apps Challenge. •The Space Apps Challenge encourages scientists and creatives to utilize space technology in developing real-world solutions. •This year's Space Apps Challenge will take place over a 48-hour period, from October 18 to 20. 2019 marks the 8th iteration of the ...

August 20, 2019 | 2 mins read

Want to officially name an exoplanet AND its parent star? Here’s how

•The International Astronomical Union (IAU) is inviting Pinoys to submit their best naming suggestions for an exoplanet system. •The exoplanet and parent star in question are WASP-34b (larger than Jupiter, but only half as massive) and WASP-34, respectively. •If you win, you'll also receive a 3-inch reflector telescope from ...

August 6, 2019 | 4 mins read

5 interesting facts you didn’t know about the Apollo 11 mission

Neil Armstrong/NASA (Updated on July 17, 2020) Half a century ago, man literally took a bold step forward, in a way that had never been done before. Alighting from Apollo 11's Eagle Lunar Module, Neil Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the Moon. This milestone in space exploration ...

July 21, 2019 | 6 mins read

This is the first photograph of a black hole. Here’s the incredible story behind it

•On April 10, 2019, researchers revealed the first-ever photograph of a black hole. •The photograph was a product of the Event Horizon Telescope, a network of eight telescopes across five continents operated by a team of 200 scientists. •Far more than just a proof of capability, the historic image has wide-reaching implications for ...

April 10, 2019 | 5 mins read

“Space? So what?” 10 practical uses of space science in the Philippines

Space science in the Philippines is ready for liftoff. The Philippine Space Act has just been approved by the Senate. Soon, the Philippines will establish its own space agency and corresponding policies, allowing the local space industry to boom. Between this and the successful launches of Diwata-1, Maya-1, and Diwata-2, ...

February 1, 2019 | 4 mins read

Photos from space: the Moon’s far side and an object 4 billion miles away

• The United States and China rang in the New Year with new achievements in space exploration. • NASA's New Horizons spacecraft successfully completed its flyby of Ultima Thule, a mysterious object over 4 billion miles away. • Meanwhile, China's Chang'e-4 spacecraft landed on the far side of the moon, a milestone in lunar ...

January 4, 2019 | 3 mins read

A “Farout” discovery: the most distant Solar System body ever found

• The newly discovered dwarf planet 2018 VG18 (or "Farout") is currently the most distant body in the Solar System. • Farout's location is at roughly 120 times the distance between the Earth and the Sun. • This Solar System body takes about 1,000 years to make a full trip around the Sun. The International Astronomical ...

December 20, 2018 | 2 mins read

How I discovered new worlds (and how you can, too)

Have you ever wanted to become an astronaut? Have you ever fantasized about going out on a space adventure aboard the USS Enterprise or the Millenium Falcon? Ever wondered what it’s like to explore new worlds and experience new environments? Well, I have. I grew up dreaming of becoming ...

December 14, 2018 | 5 mins read

Check out Diwata-2’s first photos of the Philippines

• PHL-Microsat has released the first images captured by Diwata-2, approximately one month after the microsatellite's launch. • The images feature a shot of the Earth, as well as parts of Aurora and Kalinga. • These were products of the microsatellite's camera testing and calibration. On the official PHL-Microsat blog, the team has ...

December 10, 2018 | 2 mins read

Comet, asteroid, or alien ship? Pinoy experts weigh in on ‘Oumuamua

A ginormous "interstellar object" recently made headlines when Harvard researchers pondered the possibility that it was an alien spacecraft. FlipScience asked Pinoy space experts to share their thoughts. When it was first detected by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System-1 (Pan-STARRS-1) on October 19, 2017, 'Oumuamua (Hawaiian for "messenger from ...

November 9, 2018 | 4 mins read

Did NASA really give Godzilla, Hulk, and Mjolnir their own constellations?

Apart from curiosity and a sense of wonder, humanity has also always exhibited pareidolia, or the tendency to look for patterns in random, unrelated objects. Incidentally, the vastness of space, with its stars of varying sizes and brightness, has fascinated humans for centuries. Thus, it's not surprising how our ancestors ...

October 19, 2018 | 2 mins read

Trick or treat: Does “The Goblin” prove our Solar System has a 9th planet?

As children, many of us learned about the Solar System's nine planets from our science teachers and books. This, to us, was undeniable fact -- until Pluto's reclassification to "dwarf planet" in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), that is. Still, the idea that planets farther away than Neptune revolved ...

October 3, 2018 | 3 mins read

Lunar billionaire: First SpaceX moon tourist will take artists with him

"Finally, I can tell you that, 'I choose to go to the moon.'" Aerospace company SpaceX has revealed its first "Moon tourist": Japanese billionaire and art collector Yusaku Maezawa. Maezawa is the founder of Zozotown, Japan's largest online shopping mall, as well as clothing company ZoZo. Over the moon ...

September 20, 2018 | 2 mins read

Launch imminent: Philippine space agency rockets closer to reality

The latest in a series of small but significant steps puts the Philippines much closer to making a giant leap into the space age. National Space Development Program (NSDP) lead Dr. Rogel Mari Sese revealed that Senate Bill 1983, which aims to establish the country's very own space agency, was successfully ...

September 11, 2018 | 2 mins read

Why Pinoys sent a small bird into outer space

Minute, multi-colored, and most likely an entirely different species from the one you're picturing in your head right now, the chestnut munia (colloquially known as the maya bird) enjoyed an uncontested reign as the national bird of the Philippines until 1995, when the majestic Philippine eagle swooped down to take its ...

July 1, 2018 | 4 mins read

HAB LSS Karunungan: Taking Pinoy space science into the stratosphere

Three years ago, on an unremarkable day in September, Wilfredo Pardorla Jr. sat down for a quick breather. Pardorla took advantage of this temporary lull in his schedule as a physics teacher at St. Cecilia's College - Cebu to watch an episode of Bang Goes the Theory, BBC's defunct science ...

May 1, 2018 | 5 mins read

Chasing stars in the desert: The Pinoy behind Abu Dhabi’s first observatory

Behind the booming astronomy community in the United Arab Emirates’ capital is a Filipino overseas worker. He is Alejandro Palado, a 47-year-old native of San Juan, Ilocos Sur and the co-founder of Al Sadeem Observatory in Al Wathba, Abu Dhabi. Starry-eyed media darling Al Sadeem Observatory is the first observatory ...

February 22, 2018 | 4 mins read

7 reasons why we know Earth is NOT flat

If you can read this article, there’s a pretty decent chance that you’re reading it somewhere on Earth — that big, beautiful ball that we humans call home. Waitasecond, how do we know that the earth is actually ball-shaped? If we were to believe our senses, it wouldn’t ...

February 21, 2018 | 5 mins read

Geminid meteor shower to light up Philippine skies tonight

When it comes to perennial night sky treats, the month of December always saves the best for last. Beginning tonight, December 13, the much-awaited Geminid meteor shower will reach its peak. It will display its largest average number of meteors, at a rate of 40 meteors per hour. Understanding the Geminid phenomenon ...

December 13, 2017 | 2 mins read

This is where you’d want to live on the Moon

Have you ever felt so fascinated by the moon (or so disappointed in the human race) that you wished you could just leave Earth and live there? Well, scientists may have found the perfect spots to set up shop: giant underground caverns, visible as dark areas on the moon's surface. ...

November 18, 2017 | 2 mins read

Mysterious star’s secrets finally revealed: no aliens, sadly

Boyajian's Star, also known as Tabby's Star, caught astronomers' eyes due to a strange phenomenon -- one that many believed could be a sign of extraterrestrial life. NASA's Kepler space telescope has observed the light of this galactic object to dim by up to 20 percent over a matter of days. ...

October 25, 2017 | 3 mins read

Saturn impact: Cassini ends mission with planetary plunge and amazing photos

After 19 years, 11 months, 3 hours, 12 minutes, and 46 seconds, the Cassini spacecraft went down in a blaze of glory. Concluding a mission that began on October 15, 1997, Cassini used the last of its fuel to plunge into Saturn's thick atmosphere on September 15, 2017. Up to the very end, Cassini collected and transmitted data from ...

September 27, 2017 | 2 mins read

Solar flares: A hot topic

Did you know that we just dodged a cosmic storm this September? Yes, you read that right. There are storms brewing outside Earth, powerful enough to cripple our technology should they ever hit our planet. And while we were busy with our own tropical typhoons and escalating political climate over ...

September 21, 2017 | 3 mins read

Here’s the REAL way Mercury retrograde is affecting your life

(Updated on February 16, 2020) You’ve probably seen it on your news feed, or heard it from a friend or family member. It typically starts with a brief observation of whatever’s going wrong with that person’s life at the moment. “My gadgets are malfunctioning. Nothing I’m doing right ...

September 3, 2017 | 4 mins read

Will the next solar eclipse be visible from the Philippines?

On August 21, 2017, numerous spectators across the United States got the chance to watch the Moon obscure the Sun in the sky. Here in the Philippines, we weren't so fortunate. Feel like you missed out? You're certainly not alone. Much like comets, you can only see eclipses from specific areas of ...

August 27, 2017 | 2 mins read

Why you shouldn’t stare at a solar eclipse unprotected

Unless you were living under a rock during the past week, you've probably already heard about this. A rare and spectacular total solar eclipse (a.k.a the Great American Eclipse) swept across continental America for about an hour and a half - lucky, aren't they? - on August 21, 2017. This ...

August 27, 2017 | 3 mins read

10 things you need to know about the Diwata-1 Project

When Diwata-1 was successfully launched into space early last year, it certainly made headlines. The micro-satellite was built and designed by Filipinos, measuring 55 x 35 x 55 cm and weighing 50 kg. It's a tiny piece of technology, but with tremendous significance in Philippine history. Here are the 10 most important things to learn ...

August 24, 2017 | 4 mins read

Chicken sandwich on rocket balloon puts the “fast” in “fast food”

You will believe a chicken sandwich can fly. For the first time in human history, fast food broke through our planet’s atmosphere with the help of a high-altitude balloon. On June 29 at 9:11 a.m. EDT (1311 GMT), a Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) Zinger sandwich rocketed towards the sky on a ...

July 28, 2017 | 2 mins read

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