During March and April, those of us given to gazing at the heavens found the universe grinning back at us. That won’t be the case this month, but that doesn’t mean that the cosmos has nothing to show us: May brings the spectacular delights of the annual Eta Aquarid meteor shower, along with seasonal delights like a floral full moon and a celestial beehive. And for anyone in Hawai’i, there’s also the first Lāhaina Noon of the year–the phenomenon whereby, just for a moment, all shadows are banished from the world.

May 1– Mars Visits the Beehive

The first week of May will find the Red Planet drifting slowly across the face of the cluster of stars that go by the official designation M44 and the unofficial nickname “The Beehive.” M44 is visible to the naked eye on a dark night, and has been studied since ancient times, with its diaphanous appearance attracting names like “Little Cloud,” “Star Cloud” and “The Ghost”. Less poetically, Ptolemy called it “a nebulous mass in the breast of [the constellation] Cancer.

Today, we know that M44 contains about 1,000 gravitationally bound stars, and that it’s about 577 light-years away from Earth. Mars will appear in front of M44 throughout the first week of May, and the Farmer’s Almanac suggests that May Day will offer the best view.

May 5 through 6- Eta Aquarids Predicted Peak

May is a reasonably quiet month as far as celestial pyrotechnics go, but there’s one exception: the Eta Aquarids.This springtime meteor shower is  predicted to peak on the evening of May 5 and early hours of May 6. As per NASA, stargazers can expect to see about 10 meteors per hour, but up to 50 per hour at the shower’s peak, all rocketing through the sky at 40 miles per second.

But, you might ask, these fiery interlopers: where do they come from? Oh boy, do we have answers for you.

[ Related: Halley’s comet is on its way back towards Earth. ]

May 12– Full Flower Moon

May’s full moon is the Flower Moon, a name that alludes to the flowers that burst into bloom throughout the northern hemisphere as spring arrives in earnest. As per the Farmer’s Almanac, the moon will reach peak brightness at 12:56 p.m. EDT. You can also consult their handy moonrise and moonset calculator to figure out the best viewing times near you.

There are many other native American names for this month’s moon, a large number of which also allude to the arrival of spring: in the Anishinaabemowin language of the Ojibwe, it’s the “Flowering Moon”; in both Cherokee and the Mahican Dialect of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Wisconsin May’s full moon is  the “Planting Moon”; and to the Tunica-Biloxi of Louisiana and the Seneca, it’s the “Dancing Moon.”

However, the Catawba nation of South Carolina uses a slightly more ominous name:  the “Snake Moon.” Interestingly, in the language of the Inupiat tribe of Alaska’s north slope, there’s no messing around with spring. They call this month’s moon the “Summer Moon.”

May 14 through 30– Lāhaina Noon

We often talk about the sun being “overhead” during the day, but in fact, this is almost never the case. At any given moment, there will be one and only one point on the planet where the sun is directly overhead, so that its rays strike this point at a perfect 90° angle. At this point, objects cast no shadow; for a moment; the world looks like it’s been lit by an immense flash bulb.

The point always falls between the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer, and for two fortnight-long periods each year, it traces a path across Hawai’i. These periods are referred to as “Lāhaina Noon,” and the first one of 2025 begins on May 14. The Bishop Museum publishes a helpful guide of where and when the sun will pass directly overhead, letting you know exactly where and when to be if you want to bear witness to this rather eerie phenomenon.

It should go without saying, but don’t look at the sun during Lāhaina Noon (or, indeed, at any other time.) And as far as looking at the night sky goes, you’ll get the best experience if you get away from any sources of light pollution—and make sure to check out our stargazing tips before you head off into the darkness.

Until next month!

The post May skygazing: Meteors, a floral moon, and cosmic beehive appeared first on Popular Science.

You think Batman only fights crime when the lights are on? Of course not. Now, you may not be duking it out with Gotham’s underbelly, but you’d have to be a real joker to think that’s the only reason to see at night. So how do you do it? Night vision binoculars.  

These binoculars have 4K resolution and 8X digital zoom, letting you see nature’s finest in complete clarity, even in total darkness. Whether you’re a camper, hunter, or bird-watching enthusiast, you’ll want to grab these while they’re price-dropped to $89.97 (reg. $169).

Night vision binoculars you can take anywhere

Imagine being able to track and spy on your favorite nocturnal animals without hurting your eyes. You’ll be able to see deer and owls while trekking through the woods at night. More of an astronomy lover? Use these night vision binoculars to look for stars and constellations like Orion’s Belt.

Everyone knows it didn’t happen unless you took a picture, which is why you’ll love how these binoculars can capture high-quality photos and videos. You can preserve every epic moment—from eagles taking flight to potential UFOs, with just a click of a button. Post your nature or sci-fi discoveries after snapping them!

And just like your favorite hiking boots or camping gear, these digital binoculars are designed to withstand wear and tear, all without adding too much weight to your bag. They’ll withstand the elements and even come with a neck strap so you can bring them along on every hunting trip or hike.

Get a pair of 4K Night Vision Binoculars for $89.97. 

Sale ends June 1 at 11:59 p.m. PT. 

StackSocial prices subject to change.

 

4K Night Vision Digital Binoculars with 8x Digital Zoom – $89.97

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The post There’s one gadget that makes you at least 50 percent more like Batman appeared first on Popular Science.

To avoid being poisoned by their own prey, some animals must rely on visual cues. However,  the frog-eating fringe-lipped bat (Trachops cirrhosus) uses sound instead of looking out for bright colors. The species is known to eavesdrop on frog and toad mating calls to locate its prey and also learns how to tell the difference between unpalatable frogs and toads. The discovery provides the first evidence that eavesdropping predators like bats can fine-tune their hunting cues as they learn. The findings are detailed in a study published April 29 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Fringe-lipped bats are a carnivorous species that range from Panama to Brazil. According to Bat Conservation International, they are named for the wart-like bumps that dot its lips and muzzle, which may secrete toxin-neutralizing factors from the skin of the frogs they eat. 

These bats are some of the most skilled eavesdroppers in the wild. Studies have shown that the bats are attuned to the sexual advertisement calls of more than 12 frog and toad species. If a fringe-lipped bat hears a call, it will fly toward the sound within only a few seconds. However, not every frog or toad call guarantees a safe and healthy meal. An amphibian could be too large or emit a toxin that poses danger to the bat. 

As a way to adapt to this risk, fringe-lipped bats have developed a system similar to caller ID on phones. If they hear a call from an unpalatable frog or toad, the bats can save their time and energy by ignoring and not responding. Unlike our phone calls, frog and toad calls do not come with automatic “spam” warnings, so scientists did not know where the bats ability to distinguish between palatable and unpalatable frogs came from. 

[ Related: How bats avoid crashing into one another. ]

“It’s truly remarkable that these bats hunt using the calls of an entirely different group of animals in the first place, and we have wondered for a long time how these bats acquire this unusual skill,” Logan James, a study co-author and postdoctoral researcher at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), said in a statement. “We knew from previous research that these bats are very clever and can learn during experiments, but we had not tested whether their aptitude for learning had a role in fine-tuning their responses to sound cues from their natural prey.”

In the new study, the team tested how individual, wild-caught adult and juvenile fringe-lipped bats responded to mating call recordings of 15 local frog and toad species. The frogs were a mix of species known to be palatable, toxic, or too large to handle. 

The team first confirmed previous studies showing that adult bats responded more strongly to palatable versus unpalatable animals. However, the team found that juvenile bats did not make the same distinctions. On average, the younger bats did not respond differently to the frog and toads calls based on palatability. 

When they took a closer look, the team saw that the juveniles could identify the larger prey by their calls, but not the calls of toxic species. This indicates that juveniles tend to respond to body size earlier in their development, but likely learn to pinpoint the toxic species over time. 

“We have studied this fascinating species for years, and in many aspects, we understand its behavior very well,” study co-author and STRI staff scientist Rachel Page said in a statement. “But this was the first time we had ever tested juvenile bats. It was so interesting to see that, like human children, young bats needed time and experience to hone their discrimination skills.” 

The team believes that this listening and learning strategy is widespread across the animal kingdom. Fringe-lipped bats are not the only predators to learn how to eavesdrop and use sound to distinguish palatable prey. According to the team, this study does show how critical getting this kind of experience early in life is to shaping predatory behaviors in the wild. 

“This study highlights the power of development and learning to shape eavesdropping behavior, an insight that may extend far beyond bats to other predators also navigating complex sensory environments,” Ximena Bernal, a study co-author, research associate at STRI, and ecologist at Purdue University, said in a statement. “We hope it will inspire other scientists to examine how early experience modulates predator-foraging decisions.”

The post Young bats develop a ‘caller ID’ to avoid poisonous prey appeared first on Popular Science.

Mosasaurs were some of the most fearsome apex predators to ever stalk the Cretaceous era’s oceans. And according to Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) geologist James Starnes, a recent vertebrae fossil find belonged to “about as big” a mosasaur specimen as one could get.

“This is a true, true sea monster,” Starnes recently told the local news outlet Hattiesburg American. “This [was] bigger than most dinosaurs walking around on land.”

Multiple mosasaur species swam Earth’s prehistoric waters as recently as 66 million years ago, but the over seven-inch-wide fossil found on April 15 came from Mosasaurus hoffmanii—by far one of the family’s largest species.

“This is a big animal. The maximum [weight] is about 20,000 pounds,” explained Starnes.

Although M. hoffmanii likely grew over 50-feet-long, Starnes and the MDEQ team estimates the vertebrae originated from a creature that was probably more like 30-feet-long. Still, that’s pretty big.

“[B]ig enough to keep most people out of the water if it was swimming around today,” added Mississippi Museum of Natural Science paleontology curator George Phillips.

“People,” however, luckily didn’t enter the evolutionary picture until Homo sapiens arrived roughly 300,000 years ago. As for a mosasaur’s contemporary prey—they rarely stood a chance against the ocean reptile.

While previous theories likened the mosasaur’s underwater maneuvers to present-day sea snakes, recent evidence indicates many of the predators featured large, crescent-shaped tailfin flukes similar to a shark. These would have allowed mosasaurs to quickly ambush their targets instead of chasing them over long distances. Any prey that couldn’t escape were ensnared by their 60-or-so daggerlike teeth, including an extra set on the roofs of their mouths.

Starnes and colleagues found their latest discovery by complete accident. The team was out in the field near Starkville’s Mississippi State University to create a 3D map of local geologic layers when fellow geologist Jonathan Leard realized he misplaced a pile of ancient seashells he had collected. While searching for the missing shells, Starnes noticed a partially exposed bone in the muck. It didn’t take long before it became clear this was something much larger than any seashell. That said, mosasaur didn’t immediately come to mind.

“It was so big, we didn’t think it was a mosasaur,” said Leard. “It might be the biggest one ever collected in Mississippi.”

The post Geologists accidentally found a monstrous mosasaur fossil in Mississippi mud appeared first on Popular Science.

It was a rough start to the week for the Department of Defense. On April 29, sailors aboard the USS Harry S. Truman witnessed a $60-70 million fighter jet vanish into the Red Sea after they “lost control” of the F/A-18E Super Hornet and its towing tractor. The incident occurred as personnel were moving the aircraft into the carrier’s hangar bay, with initial reports indicating the mishap began after the Truman took an unexpectedly hard turn to avoid drone and missile attacks from Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The US Navy reported only one minor injury in a statement.

“Sailors towing the aircraft took immediate action to move clear of the aircraft before it fell overboard,” the Navy explains, before adding that “an investigation is underway.”

Super Hornets (often referred to in the military as “Rhinos”) come in two variants: the F/A-18E and F/A-18F. The F/A-18E involved in Monday’s costly debacle is a single-seat aircraft primarily used in air-to-air combat and air-to-ground missile strike missions. This enables its pilot to operate weapons and flight systems simultaneously, offering a massive logistical upgrade to the US military’s previous generation of Tomcat fighter jets. Super Hornets are substantially bigger than their Hornet predecessor. At 20 percent larger and roughly 7,000 lbs heavier, Super Hornets carry 33 percent more fuel to enable an increased mission range of around 41 percent.

Those souped-up stats make for one of the most powerful and versatile fighter jets in the world. An F/A-18E’s cruising speed is around 555 mph, but the aircraft can top out at 1,190 mph at 40,000 ft if needed. Its maximum speed is about 806 mph (Mach 1.06) at sea level with a range of 1,458 miles while armed with its two AIM-9 missiles.

The (now one Super Hornet-short) USS Truman has been deployed in the Middle East for months, and was most recently directed to assist in increased military operations against Houthi rebel forces. US Central Command previously stated the military is conducting daily strikes against Houthi targets using a combination of bombers, ships, drones, and fighter jets. The USS Truman was initially slated to return to port earlier this year before Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a one-month extension of duty.

The post US Navy loses $60 million fighter jet after it falls into Red Sea appeared first on Popular Science.

My kids are in high school and college now, so they’re not big on swingsets and jungle gyms. When they were small, though, they spent hours at a time on their wooden play set. Right now, Wayfair has a ton of serious deals as part of its extended Way Day sales event. That includes this Gorilla Playsets Basic Swing Set for just $209 including free delivery. It’s typically not cheap to get something this huge and heavy delivered, so that alone is worth the purchase.

There are a ton more Wayfair deals going on, so keep scrolling past the swing set for more of our top picks.

Gorilla Basic Swing Set — $209 $399

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This kit includes everything you need to construct a basic A-frame swing set with a total of three swings. You get the wood, the hardware, and the instructions. The wood itself consists of several long beams, which typically drive up the delivery price on an item like this. Wayfair is offering free shipping on everything for its Way Day sale, so you’re saving a decent chuck of cash there.

Don’t let the “basic” in the name of this product fool you. It comes with some upgrades you wouldn’t expect from a value-oriented model. The chains are coated so they won’t rust or pinch fingers. The whole package has a one-year warranty, but the wood is warrantied for 10 years. Plus, it’s easy to put together in just a few hours with some simple tools. Your kids will be stoked.

Sportspower Mountain View Metal Swing Set with Glide Ride, Saucer, Trampoline, and Lifetime Warranty — $348 (was $603)

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If you want something more elaborate, this metal set adds a ton of extra playthings to the party. You get a trampoline, three swings, a basket-style swing, and a slide. It’s all tethered to a frame made of sturdy metal tubing. This one will take you a little longer to assemble (figure four hours for two people) and it takes up a full 19-feet of horizontal space. But, it’s built tough and offers tons of play options.

More play set deals from Wayfair

• 13.4′ x 6.8′ Inflatable Bounce House for Kid w/ Ball Pit,Slide,Air Blower,50 Ocean Balls,Basketball,Indoor/Outdoor, Dry/Wet Use $168 (was $389)
• Jumbo 4-to-score Giant Game Set $139 (was $428)
• Sportspower Outdoor Rosemead Metal Swing Set with Lifetime Warranty on 6′ Double Wall Slide $278 (was $525)
• Sportspower Everest 9.5′ Metal Swing Set $253 (was $446)
• 11′ x 11′ Bounce House with Water Slide and Air Blower $273 (was $325)
• Treasure Cove Wooden Swing Set with Slides and Rock Wall $714 (was $896)
• Yard Games Giant Tumbling Timbers Wood Stacking Party Tailgate Backyard Game Indoor Outdoor with Carrying Case $76 (was $102)

The post Get a full-sized wooden swing set for $209 delivered during Wayfair’s extended Way Day sale appeared first on Popular Science.

Between necklaces of cheese being placed with the dead for the afterlife, the United States’ government renting caves to stockpile it, and cheese remnants showing up in ancient poop, the dairy product is intimately woven in human history. Now, a new transcription of the earliest-known English book on cheese is available to read online for the first time–nauseating details and all. 

The book titled A pamflyt compiled of Cheese, contayninge the differences, nature, qualities, and goodnes, of the same was unpublished and unknown to archivists until it surfaced at auction in 2023. The University of Leeds acquired the 112-page manuscript, bound in velum– animal skin used to hold together books and significant documents. It’s believed to date to the 1580s. 

“I’ve never seen anything like it: it’s probably the first comprehensive academic study of a single foodstuff to be written in the English language,” food historian Peter Brears said in a statement. “Although cheese has formed part of our diets since prehistoric times, there was still little evidence of its character and places of production by the Tudor era. The Pamflyt shows that cheeses of different kinds were being considered, and also studied from a dietary point of view.”

The text weaves together a combination of ancient knowledge, with the writer’s own experiences with cheese and research. According to historians, it opens up a window into how people at the time understood the role diet played in health. Food was viewed as a way to both prevent and respond to various illnesses and everyday people appear to have had a complex understanding of how.

[ Related: World’s oldest cheese found in necklaces on mummies in China. ]

University of Leeds Early Modern historian Alex Bamji points to one passage that could particularly speak to modern readers:

“He that will judge whether cheese be a convenyent foode for him, must consider the nature of the body, and the temperamente of the cheese and both considered he shalbe hable to judge whether he is like to take harme be cheese or not.”

“The term ‘dairy intolerant’ might not have been used then, but there’s certainly an understanding here that cheese works better in some people’s bodies than others–although the author explains this through the system of the ‘humors’, and the idea that your body will be either hotter or colder and dryer or more moist,” Bamji said in a statement.

The book also includes discussion about when cheese should be eaten. It’s widely considered best towards the end of a meal, primarily when the digestion is best. 

“Cheese doth presse downe the meate to the botome of the stomake.”

Another claim includes a warning that consuming a dog’s milk can cause premature birth. While the author reassures that he has never heard of a woman’s breastmilk being used in cheesemaking, they have heard of a camel, donkey, and mare’s milk used in some places. 

It also references Ancient Greek physician Galen smearing a concoction of rancid cheese and bacon fat on the ‘knotted joyntes’ of ‘a man greatly troubled with the gowte’ until ‘the skynne breake of hit selfe withowt any incisyon, and much of the cause of those harde knobs did runne owt.’ Historians believe that this historic antidote likely would have been appreciated for both its medical efficacy and comic value.

Sources were not limited to the remedies of the Ancient Greeks. The author stresses that they turned to contemporaries and sources who knew their cheese craft well, writing that they “diligently inquyred of countrey folke, who have experience in theis matters.”

This new transcription was made by Ruth Bramley. Bramley is a spinning and weaving expert, but also has experience in transcribing old documents like this one and is part of a team of re-enactors at Kentwell Hall. The 16th century manor house in Suffolk, England hosts immersive historical events.

“The debate about whether one can eat cheese on certain religious fasting days because of the animal element in the rennet feels surprisingly modern,” added Tamsin Bacchus, a re-enactor who works in the Tudor Dairy at Kentwell. “An alternative suggested was to use fish guts to curdle the milk! It’s also reassuring to find written down what we know from our actual practice in the Kentwell Dairy: that to make a really hard cheese to keep indefinitely (‘Suffolk Thump’) you skim off all the cream. He’s a bit scathing about it, though, calling it ‘the worste kind of cheese, accordinge to our Englishe proverbe, hit is badde cheese when the butter is gone to the market.’”

The identity of the book’s author remains unclear. However, three owners’ names show that it was passed around the Dudley family, a group of Tudor courtiers. A note on the flyleaf also asks that it be returned to him after a man named Walter Bayley has “perused” it. Bayley was a physician to Elizabeth I.

“There are a number of names in the running,” says Brears. “I look forward to somebody undertaking a PhD on it, because there are clues to its author that demand study in depth: handwriting style; evidence of regional dialects; which modern locations are actually being referred to… There’s so much more to be learnt from this manuscript”.

You can read the manuscript online in its original form and Bramley’s new transcription. You can also listen to a feature on the cheese book on BBC Radio 4’s Food Programme via BBC Sounds.

The post Oldest known English book on cheese advises against drinking dog milk appeared first on Popular Science.

On most Android phones, you’ll find Google Messages installed as the default app for texting. Messages handles all your SMS, MMS, and RCS needs, with RCS (Rich Communication Services) the newest and most capable of those messaging technologies. RCS has now superseded SMS and MMS to such an extent that it’s even supported on the iPhone.

Whether you’re just getting started with Google Messages, or you’ve been texting with it for years, you should find at least some of the tips below useful—and you might discover one or two new tricks.

1. Turn on RCS chats

This is a big one, if you haven’t done it already. RCS offers you modern day messaging features such as read receipts, group chats, and high resolution photo and video support. It’s now supported on most carriers in most countries, and even works with iPhones.

Your phone might have turned RCS on inside Google Messages when you first turned it on, but you can find the setting from the conversation screen by tapping your profile picture (top right), then choosing Messages settings, RCS chats, and Turn on RCS chats.

2. Change the colors of a chat

Pick out special conversations in Google Messages by changing message and background colors: Inside a conversation, tap the three dots (top right), then Change colors. Make your choice from the thumbnails shown on screen, then tap on Confirm to save the changes.

3. Check your messages on the web

Load up the Google Messages web interface on your computer, and you don’t have to fish around for your phone every time you want to read or compose a text. Plus, you’ve got the convenience of a full keyboard for writing out your replies, rather than a touchscreen.

To set this up on a laptop or desktop, head to Google Messages on the web: You can either sign in with a Google account, or display a QR code to scan with your phone. Then, from Google Messages on your phone, tap your profile picture (top right), and Device pairing.

4. Maintain your profile

Did you know you have a profile on Google Messages? It determines what other people see in the app when they’re chatting with you. To make changes to the profile information you’re displaying, tap your profile picture (top right) from the chat view, then Your profile.

5. Send full-screen effects

Certain words and phrases inside the Google Messages app trigger full-screen animation effects. Perhaps the easiest one to try is “congratulations”—try sending this in a message to someone and watch the screen light up as if there’s a party happening on your handset.

Sadly, Google doesn’t offer a full and definitive list of the messages and the emojis that trigger these reactions, so it’s a case of trying to discover them for yourself. Some Google Messages detectives over on Reddit have compiled a partial list you can refer to though.

6. Schedule a text for later

You don’t necessarily always want to send a text straight away, and Google Messages lets you schedule them to be delivered later. After you’ve written out your text, press and hold on the send button on the right, then make your choice from the dialog that pops up.

7. Pin conversations and star messages

Some messages (and contacts) are more important than others of course, and Google Messages gives you a couple of ways to track VIP texts. The first is to pin chats to the top of the conversation list: To do this, just long press on a chat and tap the pin icon at the top.

Another option is to star individual messages in chats, which you can do by long pressing on them, and tapping the star icon at the top (the app will sometimes suggest messages to star). Tap the three dots (top left), then Starred to see all the starred messages together.

The post 7 helpful Google Messages tips you need to know appeared first on Popular Science.

Already planning your next globetrotting adventure? We’re a little jealous, but we’re not so jealous of how much your international phone plan will be when you get the bill in the mail.

Instead of getting the usual physical SIM card from your provider (we’re looking at you, Verizon) and paying an arm and a leg to stay connected while you’re traipsing through Paris or Tokyo, why not try aloSIM? This digital SIM card comes with $50 to spend on mobile data, and right now, it’s only $24.97 (reg. $50).

The most affordable way to stay connected

A digital SIM card is essentially mobile data, so you don’t have to worry about getting a physical SIM card through your mobile carrier, or deal with overpriced roaming charges when you return. Check out how easy it is to use aloSIM:

1. Download aloSIM to your phone, tablet, or computer. You can only use this eSIM on one device
2. Select a data package for the location and duration of your trip. aloSIM works in over 175 countries and has plans starting as low as $4.50 and as short as a week or as long as a month.
3. Activate the data package when you arrive at your destination. We recommend setting up your eSIM before you even arrive at the airport so you don’t have to deal with extra stress or spotty Wi-Fi.

You’ll get a free Hushed phone number along with your eSIM and data credits. This second phone line is perfect if you need to leave a number for your dinner or tour reservation but don’t want to put down your actual number.

One important thing to keep in mind is that data packages expire at the length of time stated at redemption, even if you have remaining data. This means leftover data from your trip to France or Japan will not carry over for future use.

Save on international data for life and get aloSIM and $50 of data credits for just $24.97.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

 

aloSIM Traveler’s Mobile Data Plan: Pay $24.97 for $50 Credit – $24.97

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The post Before you travel, make sure you do this to avoid roaming fees appeared first on Popular Science.

In 1972, the Soviet Union launched a pair of space probes destined for Venus. While the USSR’s Venera 8 successfully reached its destination, a malfunctioning Soyuz rocket ensured its sibling Kosmos 482 craft never made it past Earth’s orbit. The long-dead probe’s remains have subsequently circled the planet for over 53 years—but according to a Dutch satellite tracker, its fiery (and uncontrolled) demise is finally on the horizon.

Marco Langbroek posted about the impending reentry to his blog SatTrackCam Leiden on April 24. Based on calculation models co-designed by space engineer Dominic Dirkx, Kosmos 482 is due to begin its descent on or around May 10. However, it’s difficult to pinpoint where it might happen at the moment, thanks to the sun’s ongoing active phase and its influence on atmospheric conditions.

That said, Langbroek believes Kosmos 482’s orbital inclination of 51.7 degrees means it could reentry between the 52N and 52S latitudes (basically anywhere as far north as the United Kingdom and as far south as New Zealand). It will also achieve a velocity of around 150 miles per hour in the moments before impact.

“With a mass of just under 500 kg [1,102 pounds] and [its] 1-meter size, risks are similar to that of a meteorite impact,” explained Langbroek, although this likely isn’t cause for much concern.

“The risks involved are not particularly high, but not zero,” Langbroek added.

It’s also possible that the Soviet space probe debris could burn up during atmospheric reentry, but that’s not entirely a given thanks to the probe’s  original mission goals.

“As this is a lander that was designed to survive passage through the Venus atmosphere, it is possible that it will survive reentry through the Earth atmosphere intact, and impact intact,” Langbroek said.

There’s also an (extremely) small chance that Kosmos 482’s landing parachute may somehow still deploy during its last moments.

“I wouldn’t bet on that working now,” Langbroek cautioned. “[I] would assume that, if it survives reentry, it would come down hard.”

The satellite tracker and his colleagues plan to continue gathering data and observations during the final days of Kosmos 482 to better pinpoint a date, time, and region of reentry.

The post A dead Soviet space probe from 1972 is falling back to Earth appeared first on Popular Science.