Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency photographed the Rocky Mountains from his vantage point in low Earth orbit aboard the International Space Station. 

You might have heard of the very first steps on Moon taken by Neil Armstrong. But do you know about the first steps of mankind out in space. Well! We are talking about Space Walks?

Space walks are not as same as we walk on Earth. Spacewalk is when an Astronaut gets out of a vehicle in space. Spacewalks are also designated as EVA that stands for EXTRA VEHICULAR ACTIVITY. The first person to go on a spacewalk was Alexei Leonov, in 1965, March (five years before the first Moon Walks). He was a Russian Astronaut and the walk lasted for 10 minutes. The second Astronaut who went on a spacewalk of 23 minutes was Ed White.

Today, astronauts go on spacewalks outside the International Space Station (A Laboratory in Space continuously circling the Earth). Spacewalks usually last between five and eight hours, depending on the job. The world record for the most spacewalks is held by Russian astronaut Anatoly Solovyev. He has been on 16 spacewalks and has spent more than 82 hours outside in space. That's almost 3 ½ days of walking in space! NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria holds the U.S. record for the most spacewalks. He has done 10 spacewalks and spent more than 67 hours.

Astronauts go on spacewalks for many reasons. Spacewalks let astronauts work outside their spacecraft while still in space. Astronauts can do science experiments on a spacewalk. Experiments can be placed on the outside of a spacecraft. This lets scientists learn how being in space affects different things like gravity, air and other factors.

Spacewalks also let astronauts test new equipment. They can repair satellites or spacecraft that are in space. By going on spacewalks, astronauts can fix things instead of bringing them back to Earth to fix.

When astronauts go on spacewalks, they wear spacesuits to keep themselves safe. Inside spacesuits, astronauts have the oxygen they need to breathe. They have the water they need to drink.

Astronauts put on their spacesuits several hours before a spacewalk. The suits are pressurized. This means that the suits are filled with oxygen. Once in their suits; astronauts breathe pure oxygen for a few hours.

Astronauts are now ready to get out of their spacecraft. They leave the spacecraft through a special door called an airlock. The airlock has two doors. When astronauts are inside the spacecraft, the airlock is airtight so no air can get out. When astronauts get ready to go on a spacewalk, they go through the first door and lock it tight behind them. They can then open the second door without any air getting out of the spacecraft. After a spacewalk, astronauts go back inside through the airlock.

Are they safe outside?

When on a spacewalk, astronauts use safety ropes like Tethers to stay close to their spacecraft. One end is hooked to the spacewalker. The other end is connected to the vehicle. The safety tethers keep astronauts from floating away into space. Astronauts also use tethers to keep tools from floating away. They tether their tools to their spacesuits.

Another way astronauts stay safe during spacewalks is by wearing a SAFER. SAFER is worn like a backpack. It uses small jet thrusters to let an astronaut move around in space. If an astronaut is not connected to the vehicle and floats away, SAFER would help them fly back to the spacecraft. Astronauts control SAFER with a small joystick, like on a video game.

How Do Astronauts get trained for Spacewalks?

One way astronauts train for spacewalks is by going for a swim. Floating in space is a lot like floating in water. Astronauts practice spacewalks underwater in a large swimming pool. The pool is called the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, or NBL. It is near NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The pool holds 6.2 million gallons of water. Astronauts train seven hours in the pool for every one hour they will spend on a spacewalk.

Another way astronauts practice for a spacewalk is by using virtual reality. This is sort of like playing a video game. Astronauts wear a helmet with a video screen inside. They also wear special gloves. A video of what they will see during a spacewalk is shown on the screen inside the helmet. When the astronaut moves, the special gloves allow the movements to be shown with the video. The virtual reality simulation looks and feels just like a spacewalk.

An Artistic impression of Meteor Shower

The amazing light showers, produces about 60 meteors in an hour during these two days. Most of the Night show is seen in the Southern Locations. However in Northern locations, the count can be about 30 meteors in an hour. It is produced by the debris of the most famous comet Halley. The shower will be at its peaks on the night of May 6 and the morning of the May 7. It originates from the Aquarius constellation hence known as Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower.

Moon, on its circular path around the Earth is located on the same side, of where the Sun is located. And hence not visible under the bright light of the Sun. Making the Night, Moon less and best for viewing twinkling stars and observe faint objects like galaxies and star clusters as there will be no interference from the moon light.

 The Lyrids Meteor shower usually produce an about 20 meteors per hour. This shower continues from 16^th to 25^th but will be at peak on these two days. It is produced from the debris (grains) left by Comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher when the Earth passes through them on its journey around the Sun. This meteor shower is known as  Lyrids as originates from the constellation Lyra, the Harp. 

The moon will be just opposite to the sun on its circular path around the Earth, which makes it completely illuminated and is visible as a very bright white disk in our sky. This full moon was known by the Native American tribes as the Pink Moon as April used to bring the appearance of pink Moss.

Jupiter will be close to the Earth and located exactly opposite to the Sun, which says the Earth will be between the two. The giant planet will be brightly illuminated by the Sun’s light just like the full Moon. It will be brighter than any other time of the year. Opposition is actually same as elongation, just named differently. When the angle between the planet and the Sun, is 180 degrees which means completely opposite to the Sun as seen from an observer on the Earth (however because of the huge Earth we can’t actually see them opposite to each other). So, another way to understand this elongation is the brightness of the planet that tells the presence of the Sun just opposite, illuminating it. If you see through Binoculars, you cannot just observe Jupiter but also, its four largest moons, Ganymede, Io, Callisto and Europa.

Mercury will be at eastern elongation from the Sun, which suggests the planet is east to the sun as seen from an observer on Earth making the angle of elongation. The planet can be best observed after the Sun sets, in the West direction.   

Moon, on its circular path around the Earth is located on the same side, of where the Sun is located. And hence not visible under the bright light of the Sun. Making the Night, Moon less and best for viewing twinkling stars and observe faint objects like galaxies and star clusters as there will be no interference from the moon light.

March Equinox is the time when the sun shines on the Equator, directly overhead. This is the day of equal Day and equal night that is 12 hours of day and night at Equator locations. In Northern locations the March equinox signifies the beginning of spring season and also known as Vernal Equinox. However, in Southern locations the March equinox signifies the beginning of autumn season and is also known as Autumnal Equinox.

The moon will be just opposite to the sun on its circular path around the Earth, which makes it completely illuminated and is visible as a very bright white disk in our sky. This full moon was named Native American tribes as Worm Moon, as during this time the ground starts to soften and the earthworms would reappear. 

A Solar Eclipse, occurs when the Earth, The moon and the Sun are aligned in a straight line having the Moon between the two. The Moon, when at an accurate distance from the Earth covers the Sun completely. But there are Cases when the Moon is unable to completely do so as it too far from the Earth and hence the size of the moon as seen from the Earth is not enough to totally hide the large disc of the Sun.

Moon, on its circular path around the Earth is located on the same side, of where the Sun is located. And hence not visible under the bright light of the Sun. Making the Night, Moon less and best for viewing twinkling stars and observe faint objects like galaxies and star clusters as there will be no interference from the moon light.

We all quite know about the Eclipses through Newspapers, T.V or many other sources. But few of us know that Eclipses are not always considered with the disk of the Moon or the Sun, completely hidden by another one. There are times when the Sun or The Moon is not completely hidden by other either Sun or Moon. 

The word Eclipse means Hiding, blocking or covering something but that doesn’t mean completely like we usually think of Eclipses on hearing in News or reading in a paper that the Sun will be completely hiding the Moon or vice-versa.

There are types of Eclipses like Annular or Penumbral eclipses. On this date, there will be a penumbral lunar eclipse seen in the sky, which means the Earth’s shadow will partially cover the disc of the Moon. The event takes place when the moon is its Full Moon phase. So, as per its location the Moon has to be completely illuminated by the Sun but it doesn’t happen the same way on the event of Penumbral lunar eclipse.

 During this event, the Sun, the Moon and the Earth are in a straight line, so as to say. The earth is between the two. Sun being the largest, then the smaller Earth and then the smallest Moon. Sun’s light falls on the Earth and also on the Moon just like what happens every month on the day of the full Moon. But, now as the three are in a straight line the Sun can’t completely illuminate the Moon, as the Earth is obstructing the light of the Sun and making a Shadow on the Moon. This is similar to the shadows of our bodies that fall on the ground when we are standing in the Sunlight. Unknown of the fact that our Bodies actually obstructing the Sunlight causing a shadow on the ground. However, Penumbral Lunar Eclipse is the partial covering by Earth’s shadow on the Moon as they are in the straight line, but the Earth is quite far from the Moon to completely cover its disk. Just like the different sizes of shadows. When you are closer to the object on which your shadow is falling, the shadow seems to bigger and when you are quite far to the same object, the size of the shadow seems to have decreased.

This eclipse will be visible in most of the Eastern South America, Canada, Atlantic Ocean, Europe, Africa and Western Asia. And remember, the Lunar Eclipse always happen only on the Day of the Full Moon because on the full Moon day only, the Earth is exactly between the Sun and the Moon.

The moon will be in its Full moon phase. Which means the Moon and the Sun will be just opposite to each other having the Earth between them. This position of the Moon will make its surface fully illuminated by the Sun and will look like a white disk in the night sky as seen from the viewers on the Earth. The full moon usually rise after the Sun completely sets in the West direction as seen from the Earth. Native Americans used to call the full moon of February “The Snow Moon”. This was because of the heavy snow falls in this Month. The name given by them was an identification of the Month of the year as that time there were no calendars or mobile phones to check the month or date of the year. So, the heavy snow falls were a sign of the February Month.

The Moon will be in the New Moon phase. That means the Moon will be located at the side of the Sun on its orbit around the Earth. So, for a viewer on Earth, the Moon and Sun will seems to be very close to each other, however they can’t actually see the Moon because of the very bright light of the Sun. On this day, the Nights are Moonless, meaning there will be Moon to see in the Night sky because the Moon rises with the Sun and also sets with the Sun. Hence, not visible at all.

The Nights might look quite boring without the Moon but are best for viewing twinkling stars and observe faint objects like galaxies and star clusters as there will be no interference from the moon’s light.

Mercury will be at western elongation from the Sun, which suggests the planet is west to the sun as seen from an observer on Earth. Planet Mercury can be best observed before the Sun rises, in the East direction.   

Elongation is generally defined as the angle between the two planets, or a planet and the sun, or a planet and the moon or the moon and the sun as seen by an observer on the Earth. Venus at elongation suggests the angle between Venus and Sun, and eastern elongation concludes the position of Venus in East of the Sun. Which means the Planet Venus is clearly seen after the sunset in the evening sky in the direction in which the sun sets i.e. west as seen from the Earth. 

The moon will be in its Full moon phase. Which means the Moon and the Sun will be just opposite to each other having the Earth between them. This position of the Moon will make its surface fully illuminated by the Sun and will look like a white disk in the night sky as seen from the viewers on the Earth. The full moon usually rise after the Sun completely sets in the West direction as seen from the Earth. Native Americans used to call the full moon of January “The Wolf Moon”. Because in this month a pack of wolves used to howl outside their camps. The name given by them was an identification of the Month of the year as that time there were no calendars or mobile phones to check the month or date of the year. So, when Wolves used to howl they could judge the Month of the year.

An Artistic impression of Meteor Showers

Quadrantids is amongst the strongest meteor showers that produces about 40 meteor in an hour. Unfortunately it is visible only from the high northern latitudes i.e locations above the equator line on the globe however, not at all visible from the southern locations. The meteor shower is believed to consist of the leftover debris (grains) of the Comet named 2003 EH1. It is named Quadrantids as the meteor shower seems to originate from the constellation Quadrans Muralis near the Bootes, the Herdsman constellation in our sky. The meteor shower repeats annually when the Earth comes in contact with debris of the comet while completing another circle around the Sun.