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Thanks to Gaia, we Now Know Exactly How Big Europa is The ESA’s Gaia mission recently allowed astronomers to catch a glimpse of Europa as it passed in front of a star, leading to new discoveries about this fascinating moon. The post Thanks to Gaia, we Now Know Exactly How Big Europa is appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Fossilized Clams Had Evidence of a Meteorite Impact Inside Them When an extraterrestrial object slams into the Earth, it sends molten rock high into the atmosphere. That debris cools and re-crystallizes and falls back down to Earth. Tiny glass beads that form in this process are called microtektites, and researchers in Florida have found microtektites inside fossilized clams. This story starts over 10 years ago … Continue reading “Fossilized Clams Had Evidence of a Meteorite Impact Inside Them” The post Fossilized Clams Had Evidence of a Meteorite Impact Inside Them appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
What Did the Early Milky Way Look Like? In the very early days of our Universe, just over 13 billion years ago, there was very little structure. There were stars, and they were forming at a rapid rate, kicking off what’s known as the Stelliferous Era. But the enormous, majestic galaxies that we see today, including our Milky Way galaxy, hadn’t formed yet. … Continue reading “What Did the Early Milky Way Look Like?” The post What Did the Early Milky Way Look Like? appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Planetary Society Deploys LightSail 2’s Solar Sail. What Does The Future Hold For Solar Sails? Where you can travel in space depends on how much propellant you’ve got on board your rocket and how efficiently you can use it. But there’s a source of free propellant right here in the Solar System – the Sun – which is streaming out photons in all directions. You just need to catch them. … Continue reading “Planetary Society Deploys LightSail 2’s Solar Sail. What Does The Future Hold For Solar Sails?” The post Planetary Society Deploys LightSail 2’s Solar Sail. What Does The Future Hold For Solar Sails?Read More →
Big News! SpaceX’s Starhopper Test Vehicle Completes First Free Flight! Last night, after multiple delays, SpaceX’s Starhopper test vehicle has completed its first untethered test flight. The post Big News! SpaceX’s Starhopper Test Vehicle Completes First Free Flight! appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
First Free Flight of SpaceX’s Starhopper Aborted After Engine Fire SpaceX was forced to abort its first free flight test of the Starhopper yesterday (and again today) due to fires breaking out. The post First Free Flight of SpaceX’s Starhopper Aborted After Engine Fire appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Toyota is Building a Pressurized Lunar Rover for Japan JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, is teaming up with the nation’s largest company to build a lunar rover. Toyota, the second largest automobile company in the world (only Volkswagen makes more cars) has signed a development deal with JAXA that will last three years. The goal? To design, build, test and evaluate prototypes for … Continue reading “Toyota is Building a Pressurized Lunar Rover for Japan” The post Toyota is Building a Pressurized Lunar Rover for Japan appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
India’s Chandrayaan-2 is Heading to the Moon ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) has successfully launched their Chandrayaan-2 mission to the Moon. The mission, which includes an orbiter, a lander, and a rover, was launched into space on a GSLV Mk III rocket on July 22nd, after a week-long delay. On September 7th it will perform a soft-landing on the Moon. The Chandrayaan-2 … Continue reading “India’s Chandrayaan-2 is Heading to the Moon” The post India’s Chandrayaan-2 is Heading to the Moon appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
China’s Tiangong 2 was Destroyed Last Week, Burning up in the Atmosphere Over the South Pacific Ocean China recently successfully conducted a controlled deorbit of its second orbital laboratory, Tiangong-2. The post China’s Tiangong 2 was Destroyed Last Week, Burning up in the Atmosphere Over the South Pacific Ocean appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Searching For The Red Edge: How The Earth’s Forests Are Telling The Aliens Where We Live People are always worried that alien civilizations will detect the transmissions from our old radio shows and television broadcasts, and send in the invasion fleet. But the reality is that life itself has been broadcasting the existence of life on Earth for 500 million years. Blame it on the plants. In addition to filling the … Continue reading “Searching For The Red Edge: How The Earth’s Forests Are Telling The Aliens Where We Live” The post Searching For The Red Edge: How The Earth’s Forests Are Telling The AliensRead More →
Drama In Low-Earth Orbit As LightSail2 Deploys Its Sails LightSail 2 has successfully deployed its solar sails. Shortly after 12:00 pm PST The Planetary Society tweeted that the sails were deployed, and that the spacecraft was sailing with sunlight. We can all enjoy their success and start to wonder how solar sails will fit into humanity’s plans for space exploration. This is a dramatic … Continue reading “Drama In Low-Earth Orbit As LightSail2 Deploys Its Sails” The post Drama In Low-Earth Orbit As LightSail2 Deploys Its Sails appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
