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The American (NASA) and European (ESA) space agency have teamed up to create a new spacecraft that will hold a groundbreaking telescope. The mission, Euclid, will look at billions of galaxies, create a more accurate map of the Universe, and also map out the mysterious dark matter and dark energy. Dark Matter and Dark Energy […]
A historic expedition that took over 10 years of planning and 3 years of preparation, a national effort from both researchers and students, finally concluded today. The team from Montana State University managed to drill into a lake that has been frozen for hundreds of thousands of years. After hauling equipment hundreds of miles across […]
Presumably, of course, since this news piece has only been delivered by an Iranian state-owned and controlled news outlet, and has yet to be confirmed by an independent source. Apparently, the Iranian space program successfully launched a live monkey into space, after the capsule in which the animal was housed reached an altitude of 75 miles, […]
Astronomers are baffled by a pulsar heavier than the Sun and smaller than New York which alternatively switches on and off between radio and X-ray emissions. Small and heavy Pulsars are highly magnetized, rotating neutron stars, with a radius in the order of about 10 km, made up of neutrons. It is the result of […]
Deep Space Industries (DSI), a private space ventures company, has recently announced plans of launching a fleet of asteroid-prospecting spacecraft set to touch base with near-Earth space rocks. The small sized, light weight spacecraft would analyze and sample asteroids for those rich enough in resources like fuel, water and rare minerals. The first launch is scheduled […]
The Very Large Array radio telescope network in New Mexico recently captured this amazing view of a 20,000 year old nebula that intriguing enough is shaped like a manatee – the famous and adorable sea cow native to the greater Gulf of Mexico – in its favorite position: floating on its back with its fins across […]
Researchers from Leicester University have shown that auroras (similar to Earth’s aurora borealis) occur on other bodies outside our solar system. Aurora borealis Aurora borealis is a natural light display occuring in high latitude areas (both north and south), caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere. Here’s […]
The cold, lifeless Vesta asteroid might be a lot more like our planet than astronomers believed – having a very active life in the early stages of the solar system evolution, a study of a Saharan meteorite shows. The planet that wasn’t Vesta might host a magmatic layer under its rocky exterior, allowing minerals to […]
Exobiologists have found what they believe to be the clearest evidence that Mars supported life – though it may not seem obvious at a first glance. The research published in Nature Geoscience shows all the needed ingredients for life in a huge crater that goes up to 5km below the planet’s surface. The McLaughlin crater, […]
The most powerful explosion in the Universe – a gamma-ray burst– might have hit Earth during the middle ages. Luckily enough for our ancestors the event had its origin thousands of light years away and its effects went by unnoticed. Last year, scientists found unusual levels of radioactive carbon-14 in cedar trees in Japan and spikes […]
Using combined imagery delivered by the High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) and recent color channel data, the European Space Agency has recently discovered the vestiges of an ancient river that used to flow through Mars’ highlands. The river is 1,000 miles long and at some points 4 miles wide and 1,000 feet deep. The images are simply […]
NASA announced in a recent statement that they have beamed an image of the legendary painting to the Lunar Reconaissance Orbiter, a spacecraft currently orbiting the Moon, to test communication abilities with the satellite, using laser technology. The image was first converted to a suitable digital format, after which it traveled just less than 400.000 […]
Space exploration is nowadays most often an international affair, and NASA‘s Orion project is not an exception. NASA signed an agreement in mid-December for the European Space Agency (ESA) to provide a service module for the Orion spacecraft’s Exploration Mission-1 in 2017. When the spacecraft will be launched, it will have attached the ESA-provided service […]
The first sample from underground Mars will come from a rockbed that showcases unexpected mineral veins of gypsum. A Martian candy store Astronomers and geologists are now in the equivalent of a Martian candy store of scientific objectives: the lowest point of Gale crater, called Yellowknife Bay is literally teeming with minerals that could only […]
At the end of last year, NASA permanently decommissioned the spacecrafts Ebb and Flow after engineers intentionally crashed them on the moon’s surface. Now, the space agency has released video footage from the last moments of spacecraft Ebb just before it hit, which can watch just below. Prepare for some goosebumps. The two spacecraft were part of a mission known as GRAIL, tasked […]
Recently, NASA announced in a press release that it has awarded $17.8 million to Bigelow Aerospace, a private aerospace contractor, to install a new habitat module to the International Space Station. The module is atypical of the current “tin can” modules, as it’s essentially an inflatable living quarters. Details are still scarce, however, according to Bigelow the […]
Discovered last year by Russian astronomers Vitaly Nevsky and Artyom Novichonok, the gigantic ISON comet is set to make its appearance later this year as it approaches the sun when it will become visible to the naked eye during the day, and as bright as a full moon during the night. Astronomers estimate the comet […]
Astronomers from Britain’s University of Central Lancashire have recently published a landmark paper that describes the largest known structure in the Universe, a group of quasars so large it spans 4 billion light-years across at its longest end. The study holds broader consequences, not just because of the encountered astronomical milestone, since it challenges Albert Einstein’s Cosmological […]
The ultimate goal of all current Mars missions and observations is that of finding evidence of life or, on the contrary, collect data that would once and for all flag the planet as barren and devoid of life. Recent findings from scientists at University of Florida both help ease and complicate this quest after it’s […]
Astronomers have just spotted the biggest known spiral galaxy – by accident. A team was looking through data from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (Galex) satellite for star-forming regions around a galaxy called NGC 6872, only to be shocked noticing a vast swathe of ultraviolet light from young stars, indiacting that it also contains remnants of […]
If you’re like most people, the possibility of a colony on Mars seems a little far-fetched; but now, a nonprofit Dutch company plans to establish a colony on Mars by 2023 – and they’re looking for volunteers. Mars One, as they are called, have already release an advertisement announcing they are searching for pioneers, and […]
Due to a “closer” approach of asteroid Apophis this month of just 40 Earth-Moon distances, astronomers were able to get a better glimpse of the much talked about asteroid in order to better understand it. Thomas Müller of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, Germany, who is leading the analysis of the […]
A possible Earth-like planet was found by the Kepler Telescope; if the data is correct, then this would make it the most Earth-like world yet detected beyond our solar system. Unglamorously named KOI 172.02 (Kepler Object of Interest), the planet is some 50% larger than Earth, orbiting its star on an orbit which would make […]
Back in 2008, Hubble released a stunning image of a very bright star called Fomalhaut which spanned a huge disk of matter around it. The whole picture bared an uncanny resemblance to the eye of Sauron from the Lord of the Rings movies. Also at the time, scientists caught the glimpse of a tiny speck of light […]
The Apophis meteorite was named after an Egyptian demon of destruction, and for good reason – every now and then, it keeps buzzing our planet, a little to close for comfort. The 275 meter object will pass at about 15 million km away from the Earth – the Moon, for example is much closer, at […]
Another instrument was been successfully tested and used by the Curiosity rover: the dust sweeper. The mission team has successfully cleared a five-centimeter patch from a flat rock to give a clearer view of its texture and chemistry and to avoid additional sample contaminants. The tool is relatively simple, consisting of a motorized, wire-bristle brush […]
After almost ten years, the team of astronomers at NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory have released a second video featuring the Vela pulsar – a neutron star that was formed when a massive star collapsed – complete with its fast swirling jet of matter. The Vela pulsar is about 1,000 light-years from Earth, about 12 miles in diameter, […]
Launched just last year, NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) is almost fully tweaked and ready to supply mankind with valuable scientific insight. Recently, NASA showcased a few finds made with the NuSTAR including this stunning imagery of a far away galaxy that showcases two unusually bright black holes. NuSTAR is the first orbiting telescope with […]
An ambitious project is currently being considered by NASA consisting of capturing and dragging a small-scale asteroid into the moon’s orbit. This would allow for a valuable footing where asteroid research might become a lot more accessible, one of NASA’s main objectives for the upcoming decades. The proposition has been made by the Keck Institute for […]
In case you didn’t know, there was a big pretend manned mission to Mars going on in 2010 and 2011, organized by the Russian Academy of Science in conjunction with the European and Chinese space agencies. The experiment, Mars500, placed six people in a simulated spaceship en route to Mars for 520 days, in order […]
Astronomers working on the Kepler telescope believe that every 1 in 6 stars hosts at least an Earth-sized planet in a close orbit, raising the number of such planets in our galaxy to 17 billion. Finding planets Astrophysicists also announced 461 new planet candidates discovered by the telescope; this raises the number of planets discovered […]
While important scientific experiments, studies and research are conducted on a daily basis on-board the International Space Station, the astronauts stationed there sometimes have to unwind. Microgravity, radiation, upside down exercising, the constant racket from air pumps and fans …well they all take a toll. Sure the view helps, but sometimes people feel the need to […]
Alien planets located in binary star systems are at the risk of being ejected into interstellar space, an international team of astrophysicists concluded. The orbits of binary stars can potentially cause violent disruptions in their planetary systems, potentially ejecting the planets out of the system. All planets in such systems are subjected to gravitational shifts […]
There seems to be consisting evidence supplied both by past and recent rover missions – like the ever sturdy Opportunity, the eager newcomer Curiosity – and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter – a spacecraft currently hovering over Mars – that our neighboring red planet was once most likely covered by oceans and lakes and was layered by a thick […]
Astronomers have discovered five planets orbiting Tau Ceti, the closest single star that resembles our Sun in terms of temperature and luminosity. Finding our cosmic neighbors If the planets are indeed there and no error was involved in the study, then there’s a good chance one of them is the right distance from the star […]
In a novel and highly praised research, a team of astronomers have managed to estimate the mass of our host galaxy with unprecedented accuracy, findings suggesting it is in the order of 1,6 trillion suns. Astronomers estimate there are between 200 and 400 billion stars in the milky way. Estimating the mass of the Milky […]
I have to say I’m a little sad writing this – engineers working at NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have received confirmation that the twin probes used to create the most accurate and detailed gravity map of the Moon have successfully crashed into the surface of our planet’s satellite. I say successfully because this is […]
A rather frustrating issue for astronomers and astrophysicists is space turbulence. Like in the air, when for instance an airplane meets unfavorable jets of wind, so too a spacecraft or satellite can be jolted a bit by the high energy of gusty winds in space. What’s aggravating however is that while in the first case […]
Space flight insomnia is quite a common issue, one for which space agencies don’t have a definite answer yet – but they’re working on it; one thing NASA plans to do is swap a fluorescent panel with a solid-state lighting module (SSLM) containing LEDs which produces a blue, whitish or red-coloured light depending on the […]
As I was telling you in a previous article, researchers from NASA have created a high-res gravity map for the Moon, using two twin man-made satellites – Ebb and Flow. The satellites have done their mission well, shedding light on many of the Moon’s features, but NASA isn’t planning a safe return for them: they […]
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away… at about 2 billion light years away from Earth lies radio-galaxy Hercules A, also known as 3C 348. At a first glance it looks just like another massive galaxy out there – at least when looking in the visible spectrum. In the radio wavelengths however, […]
Scientists operating the Cassini spacecraft have observed what seems to be a miniature, extraterrestrial replica of the Nile river on the surface of Titan, one of Saturn’s many moons. An extraterrestrial hydrocarbon river The valley stretches more than 400 kilometers from it’s “spring” to a large sea; this is the first time such a system […]
The Mars Curiosity rover is preparing to use its drilling tool for the first time, however as preparations for the operation are being carefully made, NASA engineers are frightened that a potential malfunction of the boring drill might cause an entire electrical disaster. This might mean that the entire rover could get irrecoverably fried. The issue lies […]
Determining when stars first started to form through out the early Universe is a matter of great importance for astronomers and astrophysicists looking to understand how the cosmos evolved from its incipient point of origin. Recently, researchers at MIT who have been studying the most distant quasar observed so far found no discernible trace of heavy […]
After a busy November in which both the Taurid and Leonid meteor showers graced star gazers from the around the world, this weekend’s night sky is set to become ablaze with one of the most spectacular meteor showers of the year – the Geminids. Like every year when Earth travels past the constellation of Gemini, […]
After the thrilling success of SpaceX, which is currently the best option to ship equipment and supplies in and out of the International Space Station, another company tries to fill in some big shoes: Golden Spike announces plans to offer manned space flights to the surface of the moon by 2020. The private US company […]
Astronomers have come across something truly amazing. Observations have surprised a protostar – a star in the making – in its earliest stage ever witnessed. The stellar fetus has only accreted about 20 percent of the matter surrounding it and has yet to begin nuclear fusion. Theories regarding star formation are rather well established, however […]
Scientists working at NASA and NOAA have released an unprecedented new look at our planet at night. A global composite image, constructed using cloud-free night images from a new NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite shows the firefly-like glow of the human built establishments across the planet in greater detail than ever before. […]
The Ebb and Flow satellites, known together as the Grail mission are mapping the slight differences in gravity across the Moon. The results show that the Moon received a much bigger battering than previous expected. A troubled past Beneath its surface, the Moon’s interior bears clues from the very early solar system – unlike the […]
The North Star (or Pole Star) has been a guiding light for generations of navigators. But a new study conducted on it claims that the distance from the star to Earth has been grossly overestimated – by 30 percent, actually. Polaris is about 323 light-years away from our solar system, an international team explained, 30 […]
