Universe Today (Page 400)

InSight’s Rock-hammer is About Half a Meter Down and has Already Run into Rocks. NASA’s InSight lander is busy deploying its Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) into the Martian soil and has encountered some resistance. The German Aerospace Center (DLR), who designed and built the HP3 as part of the InSight mission, has announced that the instrument has hit not one, but two rocks in the sub-surface. … Continue reading “InSight’s Rock-hammer is About Half a Meter Down and has Already Run into Rocks.” The post InSight’s Rock-hammer is About Half a Meter Down and has Already Run into Rocks. appeared first onRead More →

Astronomy Cast Ep. 520: Transients: What They Are and Why They Matter Part 2 This is our second episode in a two part series where we look at Transients in astronomy. In last week’s episode, we talked about things that change here in our own Solar System. Now we’ll talk about everything else in the Milky Way and beyond. We usually record Astronomy Cast every Friday at 3:00 pm … Continue reading “Astronomy Cast Ep. 520: Transients: What They Are and Why They Matter Part 2” The post Astronomy Cast Ep. 520: Transients: What They Are and Why They Matter Part 2 appeared first onRead More →

Carnival of Space #601 Welcome to the 601st 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: Massive Volcanic Eruptions 66 Million Years Ago Happened … Continue reading “Carnival of Space #601” The post Carnival of Space #601 appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Hayabusa2 Left a Dark Spot Where it Touched Down on Ryugu. Engineers Aren’t Sure Why On June 27th, 2018, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency‘s (JAXA) Hayabusa2 spacecraft rendezvoused with the asteroid 162173 Ryugu. Carrying on in the same tradition as its predecessor, Hayabusa2 recently conducted landing operations on the asteroid’s surface as part of the agency’s second sample-return mission from an asteroid. The landing took place on February 22nd, 2019, … Continue reading “Hayabusa2 Left a Dark Spot Where it Touched Down on Ryugu. Engineers Aren’t Sure Why” The post Hayabusa2 Left a Dark Spot Where it Touched Down on Ryugu. Engineers Aren’t Sure WhyRead More →

Another Milestone for SpaceX as Crew Dragon Docks with ISS It’s another milestone for SpaceX as their Crew Dragon spacecraft successfully docked with the International Space Station. In the early morning of March 2nd, the unmanned Crew Dragon launched from complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Then on March 3, at approximately 6:00 AM, the spacecraft successfully docked with the space station. … Continue reading “Another Milestone for SpaceX as Crew Dragon Docks with ISS” The post Another Milestone for SpaceX as Crew Dragon Docks with ISS appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Astronomers are Using NASA’s Deep Space Network to Hunt for Magnetars Right, magnetars. Perhaps one of the most ferocious beasts to inhabit the cosmos. Loud, unruly, and temperamental, they blast their host galaxies with wave after wave of electromagnetic radiation, running the gamut from soft radio waves to hard X-rays. They are rare and poorly understood. Some of these magnetars spit out a lot of radio … Continue reading “Astronomers are Using NASA’s Deep Space Network to Hunt for Magnetars” The post Astronomers are Using NASA’s Deep Space Network to Hunt for Magnetars appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Complex Life Might Require a Very Narrow Habitable Zone A new study has placed new constraints on the emergence of complex life, which effectively narrows what what we would consider to be a star’s “habitable zone” The post Complex Life Might Require a Very Narrow Habitable Zone appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Curiosity Crashed, but it’s Working Fine Again. NASA Won’t Have to Send Astronauts to Turn it off and Back on Again. A few weeks after Curiosity suffered a glitch that put it in safe mode, the rover is once again operating normally. The post Curiosity Crashed, but it’s Working Fine Again. NASA Won’t Have to Send Astronauts to Turn it off and Back on Again. appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

More Evidence that Planet 9 is Really Out There What’s going on in the distant reaches of our Solar System? Is there a Planet 9 out there? Out in the frigid expanse of our System, there are bodies on orbital paths that don’t make sense in terms of our eight-planet Solar System. There seems to be an undiscovered body out there, several times more … Continue reading “More Evidence that Planet 9 is Really Out There” The post More Evidence that Planet 9 is Really Out There appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

The Record for the Most Distant Object in the Solar System has been Shattered. Introducing FarFarOut at 140 Astronomical Units Remember Far Out, the distant planet at the far reaches of the Solar System, that was discovered in December, 2018? Well, it has been kicked unceremoniously off its pedestal as the most distant object after a short, two-month reign. In its place is the very newly-discovered FarFarOut (FFO.) And if it weren’t for a heavy … Continue reading “The Record for the Most Distant Object in the Solar System has been Shattered. Introducing FarFarOut at 140 Astronomical Units” The post The Record for the MostRead More →

Virgin Galactic Sends Three People to the Edge of Space. Flights with Paying Customers Around the Corner Now Virgin Galactic has reached another milestone in their fight test program. The VSS Unity spacecraft carried a third crew member on board, in its fifth rocket-powered test flight. It was the second time that the spacecraft reached space. Virgin Galactic is developing the VSS Unity space flight system. Their goal is to make private spaceflight … Continue reading “Virgin Galactic Sends Three People to the Edge of Space. Flights with Paying Customers Around the Corner Now” The post Virgin Galactic Sends Three People to the Edge ofRead More →

NASA has Cleared Crew Dragon to Fly. Demo-1 Launches on March 2 NASA has announced that the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule is ready for its first demo flight. After discussions with SpaceX, both NASA and Elon Musk’s private space company determined that it was time for Dragon to fly. The date for the flight is March 2nd. The first flight will be un-crewed, and will travel to … Continue reading “NASA has Cleared Crew Dragon to Fly. Demo-1 Launches on March 2” The post NASA has Cleared Crew Dragon to Fly. Demo-1 Launches on March 2 appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go toRead More →

Weekly Space Hangout: Feb 27, 2019 – Dr. Ellen Stofan, Director of the National Air and Space Museum Hosts: Fraser Cain (universetoday.com / @fcain) Dr. Paul M. Sutter (pmsutter.com / @PaulMattSutter) Dr. Kimberly Cartier (KimberlyCartier.org / @AstroKimCartier ) Dr. Morgan Rehnberg (MorganRehnberg.com / @MorganRehnberg & ChartYourWorld.org) In April 2018, Dr. Ellen Stofan became the first woman appointed as the John and Adrienne Mars Director of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. From … Continue reading “Weekly Space Hangout: Feb 27, 2019 – Dr. Ellen Stofan, Director of the National Air and Space Museum” The post Weekly Space Hangout: Feb 27, 2019 – Dr. EllenRead More →

Carnival of Space #600 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 #600. 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 #600” The post Carnival of Space #600 appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Massive Volcanic Eruptions 66 Million Years Ago Happened Almost Exactly When the Dinosaurs Died Off Everyone knows an asteroid strike wiped out the dinosaurs, right? Lots of evidence shows that the Chicxulub impact event had terrible consequences for the dinosaurs. But the picture is a little more complicated than that. Extreme volcanic activity may have contributed to the extinction. At the end of the Cretaceous period, about 66 million years … Continue reading “Massive Volcanic Eruptions 66 Million Years Ago Happened Almost Exactly When the Dinosaurs Died Off” The post Massive Volcanic Eruptions 66 Million Years Ago Happened Almost Exactly When the Dinosaurs Died OffRead More →

Messier 79 – the NGC 1904 Globular Cluster Located 42,000 light-years from Earth is the globular cluster known as Messier 79, which may have originated outside of our galaxy. The post Messier 79 – the NGC 1904 Globular Cluster appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

The Latest Images of Ultima Thule are in, and they are the Sharpest Yet! The latest images taken by New Horizons of Ultima Thule are the most detailed to date, and are providing new clues about the objects origin and evolution. The post The Latest Images of Ultima Thule are in, and they are the Sharpest Yet! appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

X-rays Might be a Better Way to Communicate in Space In the coming years, NASA plans to test x-ray technology aboard the ISS as a way of creating more robust communication systems. The post X-rays Might be a Better Way to Communicate in Space appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Meet WFIRST, The Space Telescope with the Power of 100 Hubbles WFIRST ain’t your grandma’s space telescope. Despite having the same size mirror as the surprisingly reliable Hubble Space Telescope, clocking in at 2.4 meters across, this puppy will pack a punch with a gigantic 300 megapixel camera, enabling it to snap a single image with an area a hundred times greater than the Hubble. With … Continue reading “Meet WFIRST, The Space Telescope with the Power of 100 Hubbles” The post Meet WFIRST, The Space Telescope with the Power of 100 Hubbles appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Say Hello to Hippocamp! The New Moon Discovered at Neptune, Which Could Have Broken off from the Larger Moon Proteus Moons have the coolest names, don’t they? Proteus, Titan, and Callisto. Phobos, Deimos, and Encephalitis. But not Io. That’s a stupid name for a moon. There’s only two ways to pronounce it and we still get it wrong. Anyway, now we have another cool one: Hippocamp! Okay, maybe the new name isn’t that cool. It … Continue reading “Say Hello to Hippocamp! The New Moon Discovered at Neptune, Which Could Have Broken off from the Larger Moon Proteus” The post Say Hello to Hippocamp! TheRead More →