Universe Today (Page 412)

New Study Shows How Breaching “Carbon Threshold” Could Trigger Mass Extinction in Earth’s Oceans A NASA and NSF-supported study by an MIT geophysicist indicates that carbon emissions could push the Earth’s oceans past a “threshold”, leading to a possible mass extinction. The post New Study Shows How Breaching “Carbon Threshold” Could Trigger Mass Extinction in Earth’s Oceans appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Can We Use Special Sails To Bring Old Satellites Back Down To Earth? The growing problem of space debris in LEO (Low-Earth Orbit) is garnering more and more attention. With thousands of satellites in orbit, and thousands more on the way, our appetite for satellites seems boundless. But every satellite has a shelf-life. What do we do with them when they’ve outlived their usefulness and devolve into simple, … Continue reading “Can We Use Special Sails To Bring Old Satellites Back Down To Earth?” The post Can We Use Special Sails To Bring Old Satellites Back Down To Earth? appeared first on Universe Today. UniverseRead More →

Skywatcher and Satellite Tracker Photographs US Air Force’s Secret Space Plane in Orbit! A satellite tracker from The Netherlands recently spotted and photographed the USAF’s elusive and top-secret X-37B space plane. The post Skywatcher and Satellite Tracker Photographs US Air Force’s Secret Space Plane in Orbit! appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Mars’ North Pole is Doing the Dust Storms Thing Again It’s easy to take for granted the detailed, almost real-time knowledge of Mars that we have at our fingertips. After all, in the not-too-distant past, Mars was largely mysterious. All we had were ground-based images of the planet. Now? Now we have daily weather reports and images of dust storms. Martian dust storms are one … Continue reading “Mars’ North Pole is Doing the Dust Storms Thing Again” The post Mars’ North Pole is Doing the Dust Storms Thing Again appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

LightSail 2 Mission is Going Strong and Sending Mission Info Home! The Planetary Society recently launched its LightSail 2 technology demonstrator, which could prove to be an effective means of propulsion for CubeSats The post LightSail 2 Mission is Going Strong and Sending Mission Info Home! appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Our Guide to Saturn Opposition Season 2019 Saturn opposition season never disappoints. Slowly, one by one, the planets are returning to the dusk sky. In June, we had Jupiter reach opposition on June 10th. Now, although Mercury and Mars are fleeing the evening scene low to the west at dusk and Venus lingers low in the dawn, magnificent Saturn reaches opposition tonight … Continue reading “Our Guide to Saturn Opposition Season 2019” The post Our Guide to Saturn Opposition Season 2019 appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Is NASA Sacrificing Sending Astronauts to Mars in Order to Get to the Moon Sooner? By prioritizing speed over sustainability, the current US administration may be sacrificing NASA’s long-term goals of establishing a presence on the Moon and going to Mars. The post Is NASA Sacrificing Sending Astronauts to Mars in Order to Get to the Moon Sooner? appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

The ESA’s SpaceBok Robot Will Hop Its Way Around Low-Gravity Worlds The ESA is helping a group of students from Zurich test and develop their hopping exploration robot. Called SpaceBok, the robot is designed to operate on low-gravity bodies like the Moon or asteroids. It’s based on the concept of ‘dynamic walking’, something that animals on Earth use. Rovers like Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity have done … Continue reading “The ESA’s SpaceBok Robot Will Hop Its Way Around Low-Gravity Worlds” The post The ESA’s SpaceBok Robot Will Hop Its Way Around Low-Gravity Worlds appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

A Jarful of Titan Could Teach Us A Lot About Life There, and Here On Earth Titan is a distant, exotic, and dangerous world. It’s frigid temperatures and hydrocarbon chemistry is like nothing else in the Solar System. Now that NASA is heading there, some researchers are getting a jump on the mission by recreating Titan’s chemistry in jars. In June NASA announced their Dragonfly mission to Titan. Dragonfly is a … Continue reading “A Jarful of Titan Could Teach Us A Lot About Life There, and Here On Earth” The post A Jarful of Titan Could Teach Us A Lot About Life There, andRead More →

Carnival of Space #619 This week’s Carnival of Space is hosted by Allen Versfeld at his Urban Astronomer blog. Click here to read Carnival of Space #619. 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 #619” The post Carnival of Space #619 appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Fraser and John Michael Godier Debate the Fermi Paradox As many of you are no doubt aware, our noble publisher, Fraser Cain, occasionally has the opportunity to sit down with some fellow great minds and discussion/debate issues that are relevant to space, exploration, and astronomy today. Most recently, this included an extended debate with noted author, futurists and Youtube sensation John Michael Godier. The … Continue reading “Fraser and John Michael Godier Debate the Fermi Paradox” The post Fraser and John Michael Godier Debate the Fermi Paradox appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Orion Capsule Passes Key Launch Abort Test. Next Stop: The Moon! NASA recently conducted their second test of the Orion’s Abort Launch System (ALS), bringing them one step closer to returning to the Moon in 2024. The post Orion Capsule Passes Key Launch Abort Test. Next Stop: The Moon! appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Where Does Mars’ Methane Go? New Study Provides Possible Answer, with Implications in the Search for Life. A new study from Aarhus University offers new insight into what is making Mars’ methane “disappear” – with serious implications in the search for life. The post Where Does Mars’ Methane Go? New Study Provides Possible Answer, with Implications in the Search for Life. appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

The Planet-Hunting TESS Discovers Its Smallest Exoplanet to Date Thanks in large part to the Kepler Space Telescope, the number of confirmed extrasolar planets has grown exponentially in the last decade. And with next-generation missions like the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) already in orbit, more candidates and confirmed planets are being discovered all the time – many of them new and exciting ones … Continue reading “The Planet-Hunting TESS Discovers Its Smallest Exoplanet to Date” The post The Planet-Hunting TESS Discovers Its Smallest Exoplanet to Date appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

NASA’s Still Trying to Get InSight’s Mole Working Again. Progress is Slow. The InSight lander has been on Mars for 213 Sols on its mission to understand the interior of the red planet. It’s armed with a seismometer, a temperature and wind sensor, and other instruments. But it’s primary instrument, arguably, is the Mole, or the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3.) And the Mole has … Continue reading “NASA’s Still Trying to Get InSight’s Mole Working Again. Progress is Slow.” The post NASA’s Still Trying to Get InSight’s Mole Working Again. Progress is Slow. appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go toRead More →

NASA Telescopes Reveal the Atmosphere of A Strange Hybrid Exoplanet Out there in space is an unusual exoplanet name Gliese 3470 b (GJ 3470 b.) It’s a strange world, kind of like a hybrid between Earth and Neptune. It has a rocky core like Earth, but is surrounded by an atmosphere made of hydrogen and helium. That combination is unlike anything in our own Solar … Continue reading “NASA Telescopes Reveal the Atmosphere of A Strange Hybrid Exoplanet” The post NASA Telescopes Reveal the Atmosphere of A Strange Hybrid Exoplanet appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Hubble has a Brand New Picture of the Massive Star Eta Carinae. It Could Detonate as a Supernova Any Day Now 7500 light years away is an object that (almost) needs no introduction: Eta Carinae. If you haven’t heard of it you should be following Universe Today more. Eta Carinae is a well-known and often-studied object in astronomy, partly because it’s prone to the kind of violent outbursts that really grab your attention. Humanity started its … Continue reading “Hubble has a Brand New Picture of the Massive Star Eta Carinae. It Could Detonate as a Supernova Any Day Now” The post Hubble has aRead More →

Dr. Avi Loeb Thinks the Government Should set its Sights on Big Ideas in Space Exploration In honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing, a Harvard Professor and former White House science advisor recommend that the US government remain invested in research and space exploration. The post Dr. Avi Loeb Thinks the Government Should set its Sights on Big Ideas in Space Exploration appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

SpaceX has Lost Contact With 3 of its Starlink Satellites Back in May 23rd, 2019, SpaceX launched the first batch of its Starlink constellation, a fleet of satellites that will fulfill Elon Musk’s promise to provide broadband satellite-internet access to the entire planet. The deployment of these sixty satellites was the first in a series of six planned launches that would see around 720 satellites … Continue reading “SpaceX has Lost Contact With 3 of its Starlink Satellites” The post SpaceX has Lost Contact With 3 of its Starlink Satellites appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Carnival of Space #618 This week’s Carnival of Space is hosted by Brian Wang at his Next Big Future blog. Click here to read Carnival of Space #618 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 #618” The post Carnival of Space #618 appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →