Babe Among the Stars: First Honour in Space

1 Conversation

Galaxy Babe's column banner, showing a full moon and some little folk looking up at the sky

Mortal as I am, I know that I am born for a day. But when I follow at my pleasure the serried multitude of the stars in their circular course, my feet no longer touch the earth - Ptolemy

First Honour in Space

British astronaut Major Tim Peake was on the International Space Station when he received the news that he was being honoured in the Queen's Birthday Honours list. Major Peake becomes a Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George, so he is now entitled to use the letters CMG after his name and rank. This honour is normally bestowed upon people serving the UK overseas, but it is the first time it has been conferred for 'extraordinary service beyond our planet'. It's also the first time an honour has been awarded whilst the recipient was off-world. Way to go Major Tim!

July 2016 Diary Dates

NASA's Juno orbiter should arrive at Jupiter on 4 July. Launched on 5 August, 2011, Juno is expected to orbit Jupiter 37 times over the next two years, gathering and storing information about the Solar System's largest planet. For more information on the Juno mission, check out the NASA: Juno mission homepage for live updates.

  • 01: The Moon is at perigee
  • 02: The Moon passes 0.4° north of Aldebaran (alpha Tauri)
  • 04: Juno orbiter arrives at Jupiter
  • 04: New Moon
  • 04: Earth is at aphelion (94.5 million miles from the Sun)
  • 05: All four Galilean moons will be on one side of Jupiter
  • 06: The 15m-asteroid 2016 NM15 will pass Earth beyond the orbit of the Moon
  • 07: The 45m-asteroid 2016 MO will pass Earth beyond the orbit of the Moon
  • 07: Pluto reaches peak visibility (+14 mag)
  • 08: All four Galilean moons will be on one side of Jupiter
  • 08: The 20m-asteroid 2016 NN15 will pass Earth beyond the orbit of the Moon
  • 09: The Moon passes within a degree of Jupiter
  • 10: The 38m-asteroid 2016 ND1 will pass Earth beyond the orbit of the Moon
  • 13: The Moon is at apogee
  • 13: The 34m-asteroid 2016 NC1 will pass Earth beyond the orbit of the Moon
  • 14: The Moon passes 8° north of Mars
  • 16: The Moon passes 3° north of Saturn
  • 16: Mercury passes 0.5° north of Venus
  • 18: All four Galilean moons will be on one side of Jupiter
  • 19: Full Moon, the Buck, Hay, Crane or the Summer Moon
  • 20: The 34m-asteroid 2016 NS will pass Earth beyond the orbit of the Moon
  • 22: The 1.4km-asteroid 2002 KL6 will pass Earth beyond the orbit of the Moon
  • 23: The Moon passes 1.1° north of Neptune
  • 25: The 1.1km-asteroid 2011 BX18 will pass Earth beyond the orbit of the Moon
  • 25: The Moon passes 3° south of Uranus
  • 26: The 35m-asteroid 2016 NW15 will pass Earth beyond the orbit of the Moon
  • 27: Furthest lunar perigee of 2016 at 369,658km (229,698 miles) distance
  • 28/29: Delta Aquarids meteor shower peaks
  • 29: The Moon passes 0.3° north of Aldebaran
  • 30: Mercury passes 0.3° north of Regulus (alpha Leonis)

  • Chat about your celestial observances at the H2G2 Astronomy Society. Comment on anything in this edition of Babe Among the Stars by starting a new conversation below.

Babe Among the Stars Archive

Galaxy Babe

27.06.16 Front Page

Back Issue Page


Bookmark on your Personal Space


Entry

A87874186

Infinite Improbability Drive

Infinite Improbability Drive

Read a random Edited Entry


Disclaimer

h2g2 is created by h2g2's users, who are members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of the Not Panicking Ltd. Unlike Edited Entries, Entries have not been checked by an Editor. If you consider any Entry to be in breach of the site's House Rules, please register a complaint. For any other comments, please visit the Feedback page.

Write an Entry

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a wholly remarkable book. It has been compiled and recompiled many times and under many different editorships. It contains contributions from countless numbers of travellers and researchers."

Write an entry
Read more