Categories: Astronomy

Send Your Sweetie An Out-Of-This-World Valentine

Happy Valentine’s Day from the Pluto New Horizon’s mission! Click to download a high resolution pdf file you can print out. Credit: NASA

Still looking for the right card for your sweetheart this Valentine’s Day? Why not do it in cosmic proportion by getting NASA on your side?  The tender-hearted folks at agency may have just what you’re looking for.

The staff at the New Horizons mission headquarters offers two valentines this season that play off Pluto’s heart-shaped, icy plain Tombaugh Regio. While the temperature there hovers around 400 below,  you’re guaranteed a 98.6° smile when your sweetie opens the card and sees your love reflected in glittering nitrogen ice.

Mars has a lot of heart (s)! Click to select and send your Valentine a Red Planet-themed e-card. Credit: NASA

Pluto not your thing? Select from 12 different Mars e-card love greetings at this NASA site and blow your partner away in a Martian dust devil of love. Many of the heart-shaped features depicted on the cards are genuine features and include collapse pits, craters and mesas.

Click to pick from 8 different valentines at the OSIRIS-Rex asteroid mission site. Credit: NASA

Even the asteroids send their saucy wishes. Check out the delightful series of valentines from the upcoming OSIRIS-Rex sample return mission to 101955 Bennu, slated to launch in September this year and return a sample of the carbonaceous asteroid to Earth in 2023. If you go this route, I’d complement the card with a meal heavy on edible carbonaceous material at your partner’s favorite restaurant.

Happy Valentine’s Day! Spread the love for a happier planet.

Bob King

I'm a long-time amateur astronomer and member of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO). My observing passions include everything from auroras to Z Cam stars. I also write a daily astronomy blog called Astro Bob. My new book, "Wonders of the Night Sky You Must See Before You Die", a bucket list of essential sky sights, will publish in April. It's currently available for pre-order at Amazon and BN.

Recent Posts

Solar Max is Coming. The Sun Just Released Three X-Class Flares

The Sun is increasing its intensity on schedule, continuing its approach to solar maximum. In…

2 hours ago

New Evidence for Our Solar System’s Ghost: Planet Nine

Does another undetected planet languish in our Solar System's distant reaches? Does it follow a…

13 hours ago

NASA Takes Six Advanced Tech Concepts to Phase II

It's that time again. NIAC (NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts) has announced six concepts that will…

16 hours ago

China is Going Back to the Moon Again With Chang'e-6

On Friday, May 3rd, the sixth mission in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (Chang'e-6) launched…

19 hours ago

What Can Early Earth Teach Us About the Search for Life?

Earth is the only life-supporting planet we know of, so it's tempting to use it…

19 hours ago

China Creates a High-Resolution Atlas of the Moon

Multiple space agencies are looking to send crewed missions to the Moon's southern polar region…

2 days ago