Universe Today (Page 249)

Another Reminder that Spaceflight is Difficult. Starship Prototype Explodes and Falls Over SpaceX suffered another setback when its Starship prototype SN1 exploded during a loading test – similar to what happened to the last prototype. The post Another Reminder that Spaceflight is Difficult. Starship Prototype Explodes and Falls Over appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Here’s a New Planetary Nebula for Your Collection: CVMP 1 Some stars die a beautiful death, ejecting their outer layers of gas into space, then lighting it all up with their waning energy. When that happens, we get a nebula. Astronomers working with the Gemini Observatory just shared a new image of one of these spectacular objects. It’s called CVMP 1 and it’s a planetary … Continue reading “Here’s a New Planetary Nebula for Your Collection: CVMP 1” The post Here’s a New Planetary Nebula for Your Collection: CVMP 1 appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

What is the Steady State Hypothesis? When it comes to cosmological theories, the Big Bang theory has historically had only one big contender – the Steady State Hypothesis The post What is the Steady State Hypothesis? appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

What is a Generation Ship? The concept of a Generation Ship is a time-honored one, but is it the best way to send an interstellar mission to colonize a distant planet? The post What is a Generation Ship? appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

A Picture of Earth’s New Temporary Moon With the excitement and interest in the newly discovered ‘mini-moon’ found orbiting Earth, astronomers quickly set their sights on trying to get more details, to determine what this object actually is. Using the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii, a group of astronomers captured a clearer view of this so-called Temporarily Captured Object (TCO), named 2020 CD3. … Continue reading “A Picture of Earth’s New Temporary Moon” The post A Picture of Earth’s New Temporary Moon appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Riding the Wave of a Supernova to Go Interstellar A new paper by two Harvard professors explores the idea of using supernova as a means of high-speed interstellar travel – something advanced alien species could be doing right now! The post Riding the Wave of a Supernova to Go Interstellar appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

A Commercial Satellite Just Docked with Another for the First Time, Opening Up a New Era in Orbital Maintenance SpaceLogistics LLC has achieved a first: it’s docked it’s maintenance satellite, called MEV-1, with another satellite in order to extend the life of the satellite. The docked pair will perform some check-ups, and if all goes well, MEV-1 will boost the client satellite to a higher orbit, extending its operational life-span by about five years. … Continue reading “A Commercial Satellite Just Docked with Another for the First Time, Opening Up a New Era in Orbital Maintenance” The post A Commercial Satellite Just Docked with AnotherRead More →

Astronomers Discover a Tiny New Temporary Moon for the Earth. Welcome to the Family 2020 CD3 Astronomers are increasingly interested in Near-Earth Objects, or NEOs. There are ongoing efforts to find them all and catalog them all, and to find out which ones might pose a collision threat. Now some astronomers with the NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey have found a new, tiny, temporary moon for Earth. On February 15th, astronomers Teddy … Continue reading “Astronomers Discover a Tiny New Temporary Moon for the Earth. Welcome to the Family 2020 CD3” The post Astronomers Discover a Tiny New Temporary Moon for the Earth. Welcome to theRead More →

Look down into a pit on Mars. The caved-in roof of a lava tube could be a good place to explore on the Red Planet Want to look inside a deep, dark pit on Mars? The scientists and engineers from the NASA’s HiRISE Camera on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have done just that. From its orbit about 260 km (160 miles) above the surface, HiRISE can this camera can spot something as small as a dinner table, about a … Continue reading “Look down into a pit on Mars. The caved-in roof of a lava tube could be a good place to explore onRead More →

Future Astronauts Could Enjoy Fresh Vegetables From an Autonomous Orbital Greenhouse A team from a Russian polytechnic university is working on an autonomous space module where fresh vegetables could be grown for astronauts. The post Future Astronauts Could Enjoy Fresh Vegetables From an Autonomous Orbital Greenhouse appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

The Life of Katherine Johnson Shows that ‘Hidden Figures’ Are Important to History NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson did more than just calculate rocket trajectories for early space missions. Her story, when it was finally told, completely changed people’s perceptions about who has been – and who can be — important in history. Margot Lee Shetterly, who wrote about Johnson’s life in the book “Hidden Figures: The American Dream … Continue reading “The Life of Katherine Johnson Shows that ‘Hidden Figures’ Are Important to History” The post The Life of Katherine Johnson Shows that ‘Hidden Figures’ Are Important to History appeared first on Universe Today. UniverseRead More →

Solar Storms Might Confuse Whale Navigation, and Make Them More Likely to Strand Themselves The Gray Whale is the 10th largest creature alive today, and the 9 creatures larger than it are all whales, too. Gray Whales are known for their epic migration routes, sometimes covering more than 16,000 km (10,000 miles) on their two-way trips between their feeding grounds and their breeding grounds. Researchers don’t have a complete … Continue reading “Solar Storms Might Confuse Whale Navigation, and Make Them More Likely to Strand Themselves” The post Solar Storms Might Confuse Whale Navigation, and Make Them More Likely to Strand Themselves appeared first onRead More →

Weekly Space Hangout: February 26, 2020 – Czarina Salido of Time In Cosmology is ‘Taking Up Space’ Hosts: Dr. Pamela Gay (Cosmoquest.org / @StarStryder ) Allen Versfeld (https://www.urban-astronomer.com/ / @uastronomer) Beth Johnson (@planetarypan) Moiya McTier (https://www.moiyamctier.com/ / @GoAstroMo) This week we welcome Czarina Salido to the Weekly Space Hangout. Czarina is the Executive Director of Time In Cosmology and the founder of the 501(3)(c) non-profit Taking Up Space. Taking Up Space is a program that sends Native … Continue reading “Weekly Space Hangout: February 26, 2020 – Czarina Salido of Time In Cosmology is ‘Taking Up Space’” The post Weekly Space Hangout: February 26, 2020 – Czarina Salido of TimeRead More →

Detecting Exoplanets Through Their Exoauroras A team of scientists from the Netherlands have proposed an exciting new approach for finding exoplanets: look for signs of auroras! The post Detecting Exoplanets Through Their Exoauroras appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

InSight has been Sensing Dust Devils Sweep Past its Landing Site The InSight lander has been on the surface of Mars for about a year, and a half dozen papers were just published outlining some results from the mission. Though InSight’s primary mission is to gather evidence on the interior of Mars—InSight stands for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy, and Heat Transport—the lander also keeps … Continue reading “InSight has been Sensing Dust Devils Sweep Past its Landing Site” The post InSight has been Sensing Dust Devils Sweep Past its Landing Site appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Carnival of Space #652 It’s that time again! This week’s Carnival of Space is hosted by Pamela Hoffman at the Everyday Spacer blog. Click here to read Carnival of Space #652. 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. … Continue reading “Carnival of Space #652” The post Carnival of Space #652 appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Betelgeuse Is Brightening Again After an usual period of dimming Betelgeuse is growing brighter. But no supernova yet. The post Betelgeuse Is Brightening Again appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

After a Challenging First Year on Mars, InSight Shows Us that Mars is Seismically Active The NASA and DLR InSight lander has been on Mars for over a year now. The mission has faced significant challenges getting its HP3 (Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package) into the subsurface, but the spacecraft’s other instruments are working as intended. Now, researchers have published six papers outlining some of the mission’s scientific results. … Continue reading “After a Challenging First Year on Mars, InSight Shows Us that Mars is Seismically Active” The post After a Challenging First Year on Mars, InSight Shows Us that Mars is Seismically ActiveRead More →

Comet Y4 Atlas in Outburst: First Good Comet for 2020? Good news: Though we’ve been going through a cometary dry spell as of late, we may have our first good naked eye comet for 2020: Comet C/2019 Y4 ATLAS. The post Comet Y4 Atlas in Outburst: First Good Comet for 2020? appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

A New Kind of Rocket that’s Lightweight and Easier to Construct: a Rotating Detonating Engine. Unfortunately, it’s Also Completely Unpredictable A new type of engine – known as the rotating detonation engine – could revolutionize rocketry and make space exploration more cost-effective The post A New Kind of Rocket that’s Lightweight and Easier to Construct: a Rotating Detonating Engine. Unfortunately, it’s Also Completely Unpredictable appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →