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ESA Astronaut Luca Parmitano will be Controlling a Rover From Space The ESA has begun conducting experiments as part of their Analog project, which will allow human operators to control robotic rovers from orbit. The post ESA Astronaut Luca Parmitano will be Controlling a Rover From Space appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Water Vapor Was Just Found on Europa, More Evidence There’s Liquid Water Beneath All that Ice What’s been long-suspected has now been confirmed: Jupiter’s moon Europa has water. As we’ve learned more about the outer Solar System in recent years, Europa has become a high-priority target in the search for life. With this discovery, NASA has just painted a big red bulls-eye on Jupiter’s smallest Galilean moon. “While scientists have not … Continue reading “Water Vapor Was Just Found on Europa, More Evidence There’s Liquid Water Beneath All that Ice” The post Water Vapor Was Just Found on Europa, More Evidence There’s Liquid Water BeneathRead More →
The Impact Site of China’s Longjiang-2 Spacecraft has Been Found on the Moon Thanks to an amateur tracker, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera team found the lunar impact site of China’s Longjiang-2 satellite. The post The Impact Site of China’s Longjiang-2 Spacecraft has Been Found on the Moon appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Carnival of Space #638 This week’s Carnival of Space is hosted by Brian Wang at his Next Big Future blog. Click here to read Carnival of Space #638 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 #638” The post Carnival of Space #638 appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope Could Find More of Earth’s Transient Moons A team of astronomers estimates that the LSST (which will be operational in 2020) will allow us to learn more about Earths’ “transient moons”. The post The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope Could Find More of Earth’s Transient Moons appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
If Astronauts Hibernated on Long Journeys, They’d Need Smaller Spacecraft There’s a disturbing lack of hibernation in our space-faring plans. In movies and books, astronauts pop in and out of hibernation—or stasis, or cryogenic sleep, or suspended animation, or something like it—on a regular basis. If we ever figure out some kind of hibernation, can we take advantage of it to get by with smaller … Continue reading “If Astronauts Hibernated on Long Journeys, They’d Need Smaller Spacecraft” The post If Astronauts Hibernated on Long Journeys, They’d Need Smaller Spacecraft appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Scientists Construct a Global Map of Titan’s Geology Titan’s methane-based hydrologic cycle makes it one of the Solar System’s most geologically diverse bodies. There are lakes of methane, methane rainfall, and even “snow” made of complex organic molecules. But all of that detail is hidden under the moon’s dense, hazy atmosphere. Now a team of scientists have used data from the Cassini mission … Continue reading “Scientists Construct a Global Map of Titan’s Geology” The post Scientists Construct a Global Map of Titan’s Geology appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
How Large Can A Planet Be? When it comes to planets, the largest planet in the universe probably isn’t the most massive. The post How Large Can A Planet Be? appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Stingray Glider to Explore the Cloudtops of Venus Researchers at the University of Buffalo’s CASH Lab are working on a glider inspired by the stingray to explore Venus. The post Stingray Glider to Explore the Cloudtops of Venus appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Two of Neptune’s Moons Dance Around Each Other as they Orbit Like a long-married couple accustomed to each other’s kitchen habits, two of Neptune’s moons are masters at sharing space without colliding. And though both situations may appear odd to an observer, there’s a certain dance-like quality to them both. We’re talking about Thalassa and Naiad, two Neptunian moons discovered by Voyager 2 in 1989. The … Continue reading “Two of Neptune’s Moons Dance Around Each Other as they Orbit” The post Two of Neptune’s Moons Dance Around Each Other as they Orbit appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
New Horizon’s Flyby Target 2014 MU69 Gets its Official Name: Arrokoth The KBO formerly known as Ultima Thule (2014 MU69) has officially been named “Arrokoth”, the traditional Powhatan-Algonquin language. The post New Horizon’s Flyby Target 2014 MU69 Gets its Official Name: Arrokoth appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Tatooines everywhere? Many of the Exoplanets Already Discovered are in Multi-Star Systems Right now, we know of about 4,000 confirmed exoplanets, mostly thanks to the Kepler mission. TESS, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, will likely raise that 4000 by a lot. But what about the stars that all of these planets orbit? A new study from the Astrophysical Institute and University Observatory of the University of Jena … Continue reading “Tatooines everywhere? Many of the Exoplanets Already Discovered are in Multi-Star Systems” The post Tatooines everywhere? Many of the Exoplanets Already Discovered are in Multi-Star Systems appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go toRead More →
It’s Time for Hayabusa-2 to Come Home Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft is on its way home. The asteroid-visiting, sample-return mission departed asteroid Ryugu (162173 Ryugu) on Wednesday, beginning its year-long journey back to Earth. And it’s carrying some precious cargo. Hayabusa 2 launched in December 2014, and arrived at Ryugu near the end of June, 2018. Ryugu is a carbonaceous near-Earth asteroid. … Continue reading “It’s Time for Hayabusa-2 to Come Home” The post It’s Time for Hayabusa-2 to Come Home appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Apollo 12 Launched 50 Years Ago Today The 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 was a huge celebration, and Apollo 13 may be an equally big commotion. Apollo 12 is tough sell in the middle. Even the Virginia Air & Space Center, which houses the Apollo 12 capsule, uses photographs of Apollo 11 to advertise. Ouch. This unique mission and its important contribution … Continue reading “Apollo 12 Launched 50 Years Ago Today” The post Apollo 12 Launched 50 Years Ago Today appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Molecular Oxygen on Mars is Behaving Unusually Through the Seasons. A Sign of Life? An atmospheric drama has been playing out on Mars lately. Up until now, the main actor has been methane, and its unusual, spiking behaviour. But now Oxygen is taking the stage, and performing some theatrics of its own. NASA’s Curiosity rover is busy examining Mars to see if it could have supported microbial life in … Continue reading “Molecular Oxygen on Mars is Behaving Unusually Through the Seasons. A Sign of Life?” The post Molecular Oxygen on Mars is Behaving Unusually Through the Seasons. A Sign of Life? appeared first onRead More →
What’s the Best Way to Sail From World to World? Electric Sails or Solar Sails? A new study compares two potential means of interstellar exploration, which could have implications for both space exploration and the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence. The post What’s the Best Way to Sail From World to World? Electric Sails or Solar Sails? appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Mars 2020 Rover is Going to a Place on Mars That’s Perfect for Preserving Fossils Back in November 2018, NASA announced that the Mars 2020 rover would land in the Jezero Crater. Jezero Crater is a geologically diverse area, with an alluvial fan of sediment deposited by an incoming river. That sediment may contain preserved ancient organic molecules, and the deposit is clearly visible in satellite images of the Crater. … Continue reading “Mars 2020 Rover is Going to a Place on Mars That’s Perfect for Preserving Fossils” The post Mars 2020 Rover is Going to a Place on Mars That’s Perfect for Preserving FossilsRead More →
Weekly Space Hangout: November 13, 2019 – Dr. Rory Barnes talks VPLanet Hosts: Fraser Cain (universetoday.com / @fcain) Sondy Springmann (@sondy) Carolyn Collins Petersen (TheSpaceWriter.com / @spacewriter) Veranika Klimovich ( @VeronikaSpace) This week we welcome Dr. Rory Barnes to the Weekly Space Hangout. Rory is an assistant professor in the Department of Astronomy and Astrobiology Program at the University of Washington. He is also a member of … Continue reading “Weekly Space Hangout: November 13, 2019 – Dr. Rory Barnes talks VPLanet” The post Weekly Space Hangout: November 13, 2019 – Dr. Rory Barnes talks VPLanet appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go toRead More →
Satellites Watched Mercury’s Transit From Space, Confirming That Yes, the Sun Has At Least One Planet Do you wonder how astronomers find all those exoplanets orbiting stars in distant solar systems? Mostly they use the transit method. When a planet travels in between its star and an observer, the light from the star dims. That’s called a transit. If astronomers watch a planet transit its star a few times, they can … Continue reading “Satellites Watched Mercury’s Transit From Space, Confirming That Yes, the Sun Has At Least One Planet” The post Satellites Watched Mercury’s Transit From Space, Confirming That Yes, the Sun Has AtRead More →
Carnival of Space #637 Welcome to the 637th 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: Our Guide to the November 11th, 2019 Transit … Continue reading “Carnival of Space #637” The post Carnival of Space #637 appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
