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Europe is Working On a Reusable Space Transport System: Space Rider The ESA is developing its own spacecraft capable of re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. The reusable spacecraft is called the Space RIDER (Reusable Integrated Demonstrator for Europe Return), and the ESA says that the Space Rider will be ready for launch by 2022. It’s being designed to launch on the Vega-C rocket from Europe’s spaceport in … Continue reading “Europe is Working On a Reusable Space Transport System: Space Rider” The post Europe is Working On a Reusable Space Transport System: Space Rider appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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Image: Mature galaxy mesmerizes in new Hubble view This striking image was taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), a powerful instrument installed on the telescope in 2009. WFC3 is responsible for many of Hubble’s most breathtaking and iconic photographs. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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Detection of powerful winds driven by a supermassive black hole from La Palma The supermassive black holes in the centres of many galaxies seem to have a major influence on their evolution. This happens during a phase in which the black hole is consuming the material of the galaxy in which it resides at a very high rate, growing in mass as it does so. During this phase, the galaxy has an active galactic nucleus (AGN). phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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There’s a Ring of Cool Gas Wrapped Around the Milky Way’s Supermassive Black Hole There’s a lot going on at the center of our galaxy. A supermassive black hole named Sagittarius A-Star resides there, drawing material in with its inexorable gravitational attraction. In that mind-bending neighbourhood, where the laws of physics are stretched beyond comprehension, astronomers have detected a ring of cool gas. Sagittarius A-Star, or Sag. A* for … Continue reading “There’s a Ring of Cool Gas Wrapped Around the Milky Way’s Supermassive Black Hole” The post There’s a Ring of Cool Gas Wrapped Around the Milky Way’s Supermassive Black Hole appeared first onRead More →

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Planck finds no new evidence for cosmic anomalies ESA’s Planck satellite has found no new evidence for the puzzling cosmic anomalies that appeared in its temperature map of the Universe. The latest study does not rule out the potential relevance of the anomalies but they do mean astronomers must work even harder to understand the origin of these puzzling features. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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Name an exoplanet In recent years, astronomers have discovered thousands of planets and planetary systems orbiting around nearby stars. Some are small and rocky like the Earth, whilst others are gas giants like Jupiter. It is now believed that most stars in the Universe could have planets orbiting them and that some of them may have physical characteristics that resemble those of the Earth. The sheer number of stars in the Universe, each potentially with orbiting planets, along with the ubiquity of pre-biotic compounds, suggests that extraterrestrial life may be likely. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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Most-detailed-ever simulations of black hole solve longstanding mystery An international team has constructed the most detailed, highest resolution simulation of a black hole to date. The simulation proves theoretical predictions about the nature of accretion disks—the matter that orbits and eventually falls into a black hole—that have never before been seen. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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A double asteroid came uncomfortably close this weekend. Here’s what astronomers saw Using the Very Large Telescope, a team of ESO scientists took some stunningly clear images of a double asteroid that recently swung by Earth. The post A double asteroid came uncomfortably close this weekend. Here’s what astronomers saw appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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Engineers are Still Troubleshooting Why Mars InSight’s Mole is Stuck and Won’t Go Any Deeper NASA’s Mars InSight Lander was always a bit of a tricky endeavour. The stationary lander has one chance to get things right, since it can’t move. While initially the mission went well, and the landing site looked good, the Mole is having trouble penetrating deep enough to fulfill its mission. InSight landed on Mars on … Continue reading “Engineers are Still Troubleshooting Why Mars InSight’s Mole is Stuck and Won’t Go Any Deeper” The post Engineers are Still Troubleshooting Why Mars InSight’s Mole is Stuck and Won’t Go Any DeeperRead More →

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Astronomers See an Enormous Coronal Mass Ejection… On Another Star! For the first time ever, astronomers have witnessed a coronal mass ejection (CME) on a star other than our very own Sun. The star, named HR 9024 (and also known as OU Andromeda,) is about 455 light years away, in the constellation Andromeda. It’s an active, variable star with a strong magnetic field, which astronomers … Continue reading “Astronomers See an Enormous Coronal Mass Ejection… On Another Star!” The post Astronomers See an Enormous Coronal Mass Ejection… On Another Star! appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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Cool, nebulous ring around Milky Way’s supermassive black hole New ALMA observations reveal a never-before-seen disk of cool, interstellar gas wrapped around the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. This nebulous disk gives astronomers new insights into the workings of accretion: the siphoning of material onto the surface of a black hole. The results are published in the journal Nature. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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Astronomers See Adorable Baby Planets Forming Around a Young Star 370 light years away from us, a solar system is making baby planets. The star at the center of it all is young, only about 6 million years old. And its babies are two enormous planets, likely both gas giants, nursing on gaseous matter from the star’s circumsolar disk. The host star in this system … Continue reading “Astronomers See Adorable Baby Planets Forming Around a Young Star” The post Astronomers See Adorable Baby Planets Forming Around a Young Star appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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Astronomers take a closer look at emission from the supernova remnant MSH 15−56 By analyzing archival data from the Suzaku X-ray satellite, astronomers have learned important information regarding thermal and non-thermal emission from the composite supernova remnant (SNR) designated MSH 15-56. Results of the study, available in a paper published May 29 on arXiv.org, could be helpful in advancing the knowledge about composite SNRs residing in the Milky Way galaxy. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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TESS first light on stellar physics Using asteroseismic techniques, an international team searched for pulsations in a subsample of five thousand stars, from the 32 thousand observed in short cadence in the first two sectors (roughly the first two months of science operations) of NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), and found five rare rapidly oscillating Ap (roAp) stars. These results were accepted for publication in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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Weekly Space Hangout: June 5, 2019 – Jean Wright, NASA’s Seamstress to the Stars Hosts: Fraser Cain (universetoday.com / @fcain) Dr. Kimberly Cartier (KimberlyCartier.org / @AstroKimCartier ) Dr. Morgan Rehnberg (MorganRehnberg.com / @MorganRehnberg & ChartYourWorld.org) Dr. Paul M. Sutter (pmsutter.com / @PaulMattSutter) This week, we welcome Jean Wright to the show. Jean is one of 18 seamstresses in the crucial role of Space Shuttle Thermal Protection Specialist. Jean and … Continue reading “Weekly Space Hangout: June 5, 2019 – Jean Wright, NASA’s Seamstress to the Stars” The post Weekly Space Hangout: June 5, 2019 – Jean Wright, NASA’s Seamstress to the Stars appeared first onRead More →

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How Will NASA and ESA Handle Mars Samples When They Get Them Back to Earth? We’ve learned a lot about Mars in recent years. Multiple orbiters and hugely-successful rover missions have delivered a cascade of discoveries about our neighbouring planet. But to take the next step in unlocking Mars’ secrets, we need to get Martian samples back to Earth. Both the ESA and NASA plan to get samples from Mars … Continue reading “How Will NASA and ESA Handle Mars Samples When They Get Them Back to Earth?” The post How Will NASA and ESA Handle Mars Samples When They Get Them Back to Earth?Read More →

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Carnival of Space #614 This week’s Carnival of Space is hosted by Brian Wang at his Next Big Future blog. Click here to read Carnival of Space #614 And if you’re interested in looking back, here’s an archive to all the past Carnivals of Space. If you’ve got a space-related blog, you should really join the carnival. Just email an entry … Continue reading “Carnival of Space #614” The post Carnival of Space #614 appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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Exomoons may be home to extra-terrestrial life Moons orbiting planets outside our solar system could offer another clue about the pool of worlds that may be home to extra-terrestrial life, according to an astrophysicist at the University of Lincoln. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →