Universe Today (Page 391)

LEGO’s New Apollo 11 Lunar Lander has been Released The 50th anniversary of You-Know-What is coming up and LEGO is getting in on the celebration. The much-beloved company has released a replica of the Apollo 11 Eagle Lunar Lander. The new lander is part of LEGO’s Creator Expert collection. LEGO teamed up with NASA on this effort, and the model boasts quite a few … Continue reading “LEGO’s New Apollo 11 Lunar Lander has been Released” The post LEGO’s New Apollo 11 Lunar Lander has been Released appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Phew! James Webb passes its final thermal vacuum test. Still on track for 2021 The James Webb Space Telescope recently completed vacuum chamber testing, and is good to go for its 2021 launch date! The post Phew! James Webb passes its final thermal vacuum test. Still on track for 2021 appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

MOONRISE: Melting lunar regolith with lasers to build structures on the Moon A team of German scientists have invented a new laser system that could be used to build a lunar base in the near-future. The post MOONRISE: Melting lunar regolith with lasers to build structures on the Moon appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

The First-Ever Film of a Total Solar Eclipse – in 1900 – was Just Discovered and Restored The first film of a total solar eclipse has been restored by specialists at the British Film Institute (BFI) and made available for viewing. The film was taken in North Caroline in 1900 by Nevil Maskelyne. Maskelyne was a British man who was a magician turned film-maker. He took the film as part of a … Continue reading “The First-Ever Film of a Total Solar Eclipse – in 1900 – was Just Discovered and Restored” The post The First-Ever Film of a Total Solar Eclipse – in 1900Read More →

Curiosity has Found the Mother Lode of Clay on the Surface of Mars Clay is a big deal on Mars because it often forms in contact with water. Find clay, and you’ve usually found evidence of water. And the nature, history, and current water budget on Mars are all important to understanding that planet, and if it ever supported life. Right now, MSL Curiosity is at Mt. Sharp … Continue reading “Curiosity has Found the Mother Lode of Clay on the Surface of Mars” The post Curiosity has Found the Mother Lode of Clay on the Surface of Mars appeared first on Universe Today. UniverseRead More →

Why do Some Hubble Images Have That Chunk Taken Out of the Corner? Great question! The answer has to do with Hubble’s history. It’s easy to forget that the Hubble has been in space since 1990. That’s going on 30 years now. And during that time, it’s been serviced and had its cameras upgraded. The camera responsible for these “staircase” images is the Wide Field and Planetary Camera … Continue reading “Why do Some Hubble Images Have That Chunk Taken Out of the Corner?” The post Why do Some Hubble Images Have That Chunk Taken Out of the Corner? appeared first on Universe Today. UniverseRead More →

A Very Rare Planet Discovered. Less Massive than Neptune, Hotter than Mercury. Very Few Should Exist Astronomers have discovered a very rare, very unusual planet in a distant solar system. The planet, called NGTS-4b, is three times the size of Earth, and about 20% smaller than Neptune. It’s hotter than our very own Mercury. At about 1,000 degrees Celsius, it would be the hottest planet if it were in our Solar … Continue reading “A Very Rare Planet Discovered. Less Massive than Neptune, Hotter than Mercury. Very Few Should Exist” The post A Very Rare Planet Discovered. Less Massive than Neptune, Hotter than Mercury. VeryRead More →

This is Where Mars 2020 Rover is Heading. From this Picture, I Think You Can Guess Why Get used to hearing the name “Jezero Crater.” It’s the landing site for NASA’s Mars 2020 rover. The 2020 rover is slated to launch in July 2020, and will land at Jezero Crater in February, 2021. It’s pretty easy to see why NASA chose Jezero Crater for the next rover in their Mars Exploration Program … Continue reading “This is Where Mars 2020 Rover is Heading. From this Picture, I Think You Can Guess Why” The post This is Where Mars 2020 Rover is Heading. From this Picture,Read More →

Astronomers are Finding Binary Pairs of Stars Thrown out of Galaxies Together A rogue star is one that has escaped the gravitational pull of its home galaxy. These stars drift through intergalactic space, and so are sometimes called intergalactic stars. Sometimes, when a rogue star is ejected from its galaxy, it drags its binary pair along for the ride. Astronomers think that most stars live in binary … Continue reading “Astronomers are Finding Binary Pairs of Stars Thrown out of Galaxies Together” The post Astronomers are Finding Binary Pairs of Stars Thrown out of Galaxies Together appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go toRead More →

Different Conditions From Earth Drive the Movement of Sand Dunes on Mars Mars is a sandy planet and the HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has given us tons of beautiful pictures of Martian sand dunes. But Mars’ dunes are much different than dunes here on Earth. Their movement is governed by different factors than Earth dunes. The movement of sand dunes on Mars is … Continue reading “Different Conditions From Earth Drive the Movement of Sand Dunes on Mars” The post Different Conditions From Earth Drive the Movement of Sand Dunes on Mars appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go toRead More →

Weekly Space Hangout: May 29, 2019 – Dr. Molly Peeples of the Space Telescope Science Institute 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) Dr. Molly Peeples is a theorist at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) studying how galaxies evolve with a focus on the origin and fate of the … Continue reading “Weekly Space Hangout: May 29, 2019 – Dr. Molly Peeples of the Space Telescope Science Institute” The post Weekly Space Hangout: May 29, 2019 – Dr. Molly Peeples of the SpaceRead More →

This Strange Feature on Mars was Probably the Result of an Ancient Volcanic Explosion A strange feature on the surface of Mars has kept scientists guessing about its origin. It’s a surface deposit of a mineral which is more common in the interiors of planets. A new study shows that this interior mineral was probably brought to the surface by an ancient explosive volcano. Nili Fossae is located in … Continue reading “This Strange Feature on Mars was Probably the Result of an Ancient Volcanic Explosion” The post This Strange Feature on Mars was Probably the Result of an Ancient Volcanic Explosion appeared first onRead More →

NASA’s Long-Term Climate Predictions have Proven to be Very Accurate, Within 1/20th of a Degree Celsius There are a handful of major science institutions around the world that keep track of the Earth’s temperature. They all clearly show that the world’s temperature has risen in the past few decades. One of those institutions is NASA. NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Science Studies (GISS) is located in New York City. Recently, they … Continue reading “NASA’s Long-Term Climate Predictions have Proven to be Very Accurate, Within 1/20th of a Degree Celsius” The post NASA’s Long-Term Climate Predictions have Proven to be Very Accurate, Within 1/20th ofRead More →

New layers of water ice have been found beneath Mars’ North Pole A new study has found evidence of glacier of water ice beneath Mars’ north pole, enough to cover the entire planet in an ocean. The post New layers of water ice have been found beneath Mars’ North Pole appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

18 – Yes, 18 – New Earth-sized Exoplanets have been Found in Kepler’s Data Scientists working with data from the Kepler mission have discovered an additional 18 Earth-sized worlds. The team used a newer, more stringent method of combing through the data to find these planets. Among the 18 is the smallest exoplanet ever found. The Kepler mission was very successful and we now know of more than 4,000 … Continue reading “18 – Yes, 18 – New Earth-sized Exoplanets have been Found in Kepler’s Data” The post 18 – Yes, 18 – New Earth-sized Exoplanets have been Found in Kepler’s Data appeared first onRead More →

Catching a Ride on the Starlink Satellite Train: Midnight Marvel, or Night Sky Menace? Have you seen Starlink? It all started, as all good breaking astronomical events seem to do, late on a Friday night. We got the notification first from veteran satellite tracker Dr. Marco Langbroek over in the Netherlands via the venerable See-Sat-L message board, and on Twitter soon after: “I could not help shouting ‘OAAAAH!!!’” says … Continue reading “Catching a Ride on the Starlink Satellite Train: Midnight Marvel, or Night Sky Menace?” The post Catching a Ride on the Starlink Satellite Train: Midnight Marvel, or Night Sky Menace? appeared first onRead More →

Theory proposes that Venus could have been habitable, but a large ocean slowed down its rotation, killing it A new study supported by NASA has revealed that an ancient ocean on Venus might have been what slowed down its rotation, thus causing the runaway greenhouse effect that made it what it is today. The post Theory proposes that Venus could have been habitable, but a large ocean slowed down its rotation, killing it appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Sen has Launched a 4K Video Stream to Space In their drive towards “democratizing space”, the private aerospace company Sen recently demonstrated the capabilities of their 4K video streaming satellite. The post Sen has Launched a 4K Video Stream to Space appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

SpaceX just launched 60 satellites for its Starlink Constellation. Internet service providers should be very worried. SpaceX just launched the first 60 satellites that will make up their Starlink broadband internet service provider. The post SpaceX just launched 60 satellites for its Starlink Constellation. Internet service providers should be very worried. appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

An Insulating Layer of Gas Could Keep a Liquid Ocean Inside Pluto A new study led by Japanese researchers indicates that Pluto could have a subsurface ocean, provided there is an “insulating layer” beneath the ice. The post An Insulating Layer of Gas Could Keep a Liquid Ocean Inside Pluto appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →