By:
On:
In: News, RSSfeeds, Universe Today

VP Pence Unveils the Spacecraft that will Take Astronauts Back to the Moon in 2024! To mark the 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing, VP Pence recently unveiled the the Orion capsule that will take astronauts back to the Moon in 2024. The post VP Pence Unveils the Spacecraft that will Take Astronauts Back to the Moon in 2024! appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

By:
On:
In: News, RSSfeeds

Study suggests much more water on the moon than thought A trio of researchers at the University of California has found evidence that suggests there is far more ice on the surface of the moon than has been thought. In their paper published in the journal Nature Geoscience, Lior Rubanenko, Jaahnavee Venkatraman and David Paige describe their study of similarities between ice on Mercury and shadowed regions on the moon and what they found. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

By:
On:
In: News, RSSfeeds, Universe Today

Chris Kraft, Legendary NASA Flight Director, Dies at 95 The man known as the ‘father of flight control’ – Christopher C. Kraft, Jr.  – has died at the age of 95. Kraft joined the NASA Space Task Group in November 1958 and became the first flight director. He created the concepts of mission planning, and real-time monitoring and control for the first U.S. crewed … Continue reading “Chris Kraft, Legendary NASA Flight Director, Dies at 95” The post Chris Kraft, Legendary NASA Flight Director, Dies at 95 appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

By:
On:
In: News, RSSfeeds

Chandra X-ray observatory celebrates its 20th anniversary On July 23, 1999, the Space Shuttle Columbia blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center carrying the Chandra X-ray Observatory. In the two decades that have passed, Chandra’s powerful and unique X-ray eyes have contributed to a revolution in our understanding of the cosmos. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

By:
On:
In: News, RSSfeeds

Warped diffusive radio halo detected around the galaxy NGC 4565 Using the LOw-Frequency ARray (LOFAR), astronomers have discovered a diffuse radio halo around the spiral galaxy NGC 4565. The finding, reported in a paper published July 16 on the arXiv pre-print server, could shed more light on the nature of NGC 4565, disclosing important insights about star-forming activity and the distribution of cosmic-ray electrons in this galaxy. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

By:
On:
In: News, RSSfeeds

Modeling exoplanet atmospheres All atoms and molecules emit distinctive spectral lines across the spectrum, the details of which depend on the internal structures of the species (for example, the vibration and rotation properties of molecules) and how they are excited by their environments. Measurements of the features’ brightnesses, relative intensities, and shapes enable astronomers, at least in principle, to reconstruct most of the essential properties of these environments, including species abundances, temperatures, densities, and motions. But in order to be successful, scientists need to know quantitatively exactly how the temperature, density, and so forth, affect the excitation of each atom or molecule, and then howRead More →

By:
On:
In: News, RSSfeeds, Universe Today

Meet Our Neighbour, The Local Void. Gaze Into It, Puny Humans. Our planet is part of the larger structure of the Solar System, shaped and made stable by the force of gravity. Our Solar System is gravitationally bound to the Milky Way galaxy, along with hundreds of millions of other solar systems. And our galaxy is also part of a larger structure, where not only gravity, … Continue reading “Meet Our Neighbour, The Local Void. Gaze Into It, Puny Humans.” The post Meet Our Neighbour, The Local Void. Gaze Into It, Puny Humans. appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

By:
On:
In: News, RSSfeeds, Universe Today

Messier 90 – the NGC 4569 Spiral Galaxy Welcome back to Messier Monday! Today, we continue in our tribute to our dear friend, Tammy Plotner, by looking at the approaching spiral galaxy known as Messier 90! During the 18th century, famed French astronomer Charles Messier noticed the presence of several “nebulous objects”  while surveying the night sky. Originally mistaking these objects for comets, … Continue reading “Messier 90 – the NGC 4569 Spiral Galaxy” The post Messier 90 – the NGC 4569 Spiral Galaxy appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

By:
On:
In: News, RSSfeeds, Universe Today

Carnival of Space #621 Welcome to the 621st Carnival of Space! The Carnival is a community of space science and astronomy writers and bloggers, who submit their best work each week for your benefit. We have a fantastic roundup today so now, on to this week’s worth of stories! Universe Today: Hubble Spots “Impossible” Debris Disk Around a Black … Continue reading “Carnival of Space #621” The post Carnival of Space #621 appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

By:
On:
In: News, RSSfeeds

Astronomers make first calculations of magnetic activity in ‘hot Jupiter’ exoplanets Gas-giant planets orbiting close to other stars have powerful magnetic fields, many times stronger than our own Jupiter, according to a new study by a team of astrophysicists. It is the first time the strength of these fields has been calculated from observations. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

By:
On:
In: News, RSSfeeds

Image: 10 million star puzzle When observed with the unaided eye, Omega Centauri, the object in this image, appears as a fuzzy, faint star. But the blue orb we see here is, in fact, a collection of stars—10 million of them. You cannot count them all, but in this sharp, beautiful image you can see a few of the numerous pinpoints of bright light that make up this unique cluster. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

By:
On:
In: News, RSSfeeds

New hard X-ray eclipsing polar identified Using ESA’s XMM-Newton and NASA’s Swift spacecraft, astronomers have found that a hard X-ray source known as 2PBCJ0658.0-1746 is an eclipsing magnetic cataclysmic variable of the polar type. The finding, presented in a paper published July 11 on arXiv.org, makes the object one of only a handful hard X-ray eclipsing polars known to date. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

By:
On:
In: News, RSSfeeds, Universe Today

Starship Prototype Catches Fire After a Recent Test, But Appears Undamaged Despite the fireball that engulfed the Starshopper this past week, both the vehicle and its Draco engine appear to be unscathed. The post Starship Prototype Catches Fire After a Recent Test, But Appears Undamaged appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

By:
On:
In: News, RSSfeeds, Universe Today

The Lunar Gateway Will be in a “Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit” After months of discussion, the space agencies behind the Lunar Gateway have decided how the space station will orbit the Moon. NASA and the ESA are developing the Lunar Gateway jointly, and the orbital path that it will follow around the Moon is a key part of mission design. It’ll affect all the vital aspects … Continue reading “The Lunar Gateway Will be in a “Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit”” The post The Lunar Gateway Will be in a “Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit” appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

By:
On:
In: News, RSSfeeds, Universe Today

There are Ring-Like Formations Around the Lakes on Titan Some lakes on Titan have ring-like shapes around them, and scientists are trying to find out how they formed. Understanding how they formed may tell us something about how the entire region they’re in, including the lakes, formed. The ring-shaped features are found around pools and lakes at Titan’s polar regions. Thanks to the Cassini … Continue reading “There are Ring-Like Formations Around the Lakes on Titan” The post There are Ring-Like Formations Around the Lakes on Titan appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

By:
On:
In: News, RSSfeeds, Universe Today

LightSail 2 is Sending Home New Pictures of Earth LightSail 2, the brainchild of The Planetary Society, has gifted us two new gorgeous images of Earth. The small spacecraft is currently in orbit at about 720 km, and the LightSail 2 mission team is putting it through its paces in preparation for solar sail deployment sometime on or after Sunday, July 21st. LightSail 2 … Continue reading “LightSail 2 is Sending Home New Pictures of Earth” The post LightSail 2 is Sending Home New Pictures of Earth appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

By:
On:
In: News, RSSfeeds, Universe Today

The Story of the Apollo Guidance Computer, Part 1 Dick Battin stood on his driveway in the New England frosty pre-dawn back in October 1957, straining his eyes to see Sputnik fly overhead. It was amazing. Watching that little point of light scoot silently across the sky made Battin’s heart pound. A human-made hunk of metal was actually orbiting Earth! Walking back to his … Continue reading “The Story of the Apollo Guidance Computer, Part 1” The post The Story of the Apollo Guidance Computer, Part 1 appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →