Universe Today (Page 420)

Antarctica is About to Unleash an Iceberg Twice the Size of New York City An ice shelf in Antarctica is about to give birth to a baby. This baby is a giant, spawned by growing cracks in the Brunt Ice Shelf. It’s not clear what this’ll mean to the scientific infrastructure in the area, and to the human presence, which were both established in the 1950s. The Brunt Ice … Continue reading “Antarctica is About to Unleash an Iceberg Twice the Size of New York City” The post Antarctica is About to Unleash an Iceberg Twice the Size of New York City appeared first onRead More →

Japan’s Hayabusa2 is About to Shoot Up the Surface of Ryugu with Tiny Impactors so they can Collect a Sample Japan’s Hayabusa2 mission is about to get down to business. After arriving at asteroid Ryugu at the end of June 2018, and dispatching its tiny rovers to the surface, the spacecraft is about to approach the surface of the asteroid and get some samples. Back in October, Hayabusa 2 performed some touchdown rehearsals. It left … Continue reading “Japan’s Hayabusa2 is About to Shoot Up the Surface of Ryugu with Tiny Impactors so they can Collect a Sample” The post Japan’s Hayabusa2 is About toRead More →

Did You Know the Earth’s Atmosphere Extends Beyond the Orbit of the Moon? Strictly speaking, there aren’t strict boundaries between Earth and space. Our atmosphere doesn’t just end at a certain altitude; it peters out gradually. A new study from Russia’s Space Research Institute (SRI) shows that our atmosphere extends out to 630,000 km into space. The lead author of this study is Igor Baliukin. a researcher at … Continue reading “Did You Know the Earth’s Atmosphere Extends Beyond the Orbit of the Moon?” The post Did You Know the Earth’s Atmosphere Extends Beyond the Orbit of the Moon? appeared first on Universe Today. UniverseRead More →

Gateway Foundation Shows off Their Plans for an Enormous Rotating Space Station The Gateway Foundation is looking to build a rotating space station in orbit. And thanks to Elon Musk and his plans for the BFR, it might just be affordable! The post Gateway Foundation Shows off Their Plans for an Enormous Rotating Space Station appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

This is a Dust Devil… on Mars We live in a time when our spacecraft orbiting Mars at an altitude of about 300 km. can snap photos of a dust devil and transmit them back to us so we can share them on the internet. Not only that, but we have rovers wandering around on the surface taking pictures of the dust … Continue reading “This is a Dust Devil… on Mars” The post This is a Dust Devil… on Mars appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Weekly Space Hangout: Feb 20, 2019 – Dr. Emily Holt talks Archaeology and Ancient Astronomy 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) Dr. Emily Holt is an Environmental Archaeologist and Anthropologist who is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at Miami University of Ohio. Emily’s research focuses on human-environment dynamics … Continue reading “Weekly Space Hangout: Feb 20, 2019 – Dr. Emily Holt talks Archaeology and Ancient Astronomy” The post Weekly Space Hangout: Feb 20, 2019 – Dr. Emily Holt talks Archaeology and Ancient AstronomyRead More →

This Star Has Been Going Nova Every Year, for Millions of Years A nova star is like a vampire that siphons gas from its binary partner. As it does so, the gas is compressed and heated, and eventually it explodes. The remnant gas shell from that explosion expands outward and is lit up by the stars at the center of it all. Most of these novae explode … Continue reading “This Star Has Been Going Nova Every Year, for Millions of Years” The post This Star Has Been Going Nova Every Year, for Millions of Years appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go toRead More →

Messier 78 – the NGC 2068 Reflection Nebula Located in the Orion Constellation, roughly 13,500 light years from Earth, is the bright reflection nebula known as Messier 78. The post Messier 78 – the NGC 2068 Reflection Nebula appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Astronomy Cast Ep. 518: When the Universe tried to Declare War We always say the Universe is trying to kill us. But there was this one time, when the Universe used our own fear of nuclear attack against us, nearly setting off a global nuclear war. Nice try Universe, we’re on to you now. We usually record Astronomy Cast every Friday at 3:00 pm EST / … Continue reading “Astronomy Cast Ep. 518: When the Universe tried to Declare War” The post Astronomy Cast Ep. 518: When the Universe tried to Declare War appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Carnival of Space #599 This week’s Carnival of Space is hosted by Allen Versfeld at his Urban Astronomer blog. Click here to read Carnival of Space #599. 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 #599” The post Carnival of Space #599 appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

British Satellite Tests its Space Junk Harpoon The RemoveDebris spacecraft recently tested out its harpoon, one of the tools it will use to remove space debris from Earth’s orbit. The post British Satellite Tests its Space Junk Harpoon appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Land Heavier Payloads on Mars. Aim for the Ground and Then Pull up at the Last Moment A team of researchers has devised a new strategy for landing heavier craft on Mars, which could allow for crewed missions to the Red Planet. The post Land Heavier Payloads on Mars. Aim for the Ground and Then Pull up at the Last Moment appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

We Hate Long Goodbyes, But Opportunity has Earned One NASA’s Opportunity rover has reached the end of its life. Initially designed to last 90 days, and to travel only 1000 meters (1100 yards), the rover spent almost 15 years exploring the surface of Mars. During that time, it travelled more than 45 kilometers (28 miles.) The last signal from Opportunity was on June 10th, … Continue reading “We Hate Long Goodbyes, But Opportunity has Earned One” The post We Hate Long Goodbyes, But Opportunity has Earned One appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Mars One, the Plan to Make a Reality Show on Mars, is Bankrupt According to multiple sources, Mars One – the organization intent on crowdsourcing the colonization of Mars – is apparently bankrupt. The post Mars One, the Plan to Make a Reality Show on Mars, is Bankrupt appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

InSight has Placed its Heat Probe on the Martian Surface. The Next Step is to Jackhammer Down 5 Meters and Hope it Doesn’t Encounter a Large Rock NASA’s InSight lander has finally placed its heat probe on the surface of Mars. The Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) was deployed on February 12th, about one meter away from SEIS, the landers seismometer. Soon it’ll start hammering its way into the Martian soil. If you’re starting to get used to feats like … Continue reading “InSight has Placed its Heat Probe on the Martian Surface. The Next Step is to Jackhammer Down 5 Meters andRead More →

Another Enormous Crater Found Under the Ice in Greenland A glaciologist has discovered another enormous impact crater under more than a mile of ice in Greenland. This is on the heels of the November 2019 discovery of an impact crater in the same area under the Hiawatha Glacier. The November discovery was the first-ever crater found under ice on Earth. The two craters are … Continue reading “Another Enormous Crater Found Under the Ice in Greenland” The post Another Enormous Crater Found Under the Ice in Greenland appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Hubble Shows off the Atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune New images from Hubble have shown some interesting seasonal developments on Neptune and Uranus The post Hubble Shows off the Atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

There’s Evidence that Mars is Still Volcanically Active A new study shows that Mars may very well be volcanically active. Nobody’s seen direct evidence of volcanism; no eruptions or magma or anything like that. Rather, the proof is in the water. In the past, Mars was a much warmer and wetter place. Now, Mars is still home to lots of water, mostly as … Continue reading “There’s Evidence that Mars is Still Volcanically Active” The post There’s Evidence that Mars is Still Volcanically Active appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Weekly Space Hangout: Feb 13, 2019 – Luciano Iess of the Cassini Radio Science Team 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) Luciano Iess, professor of Aerospace Engineering at Sapienza University of Rome, is a member of the Cassini radio science team that recently determined, after analyzing gravity science … Continue reading “Weekly Space Hangout: Feb 13, 2019 – Luciano Iess of the Cassini Radio Science Team” The post Weekly Space Hangout: Feb 13, 2019 – Luciano Iess of the Cassini Radio Science TeamRead More →

Want to Move to Mars? A Round-Trip Ticket Will Only Cost $100,000 According to Elon Musk Elon Musk just suggested that the price for a trip to Mars and back could be as low as $100,000. He added the qualifier that the price depends on volume. So it looks like the price is anything but astronomical. In a tweet on Sunday night, Musk had this to say: Not everybody’s buying it, … Continue reading “Want to Move to Mars? A Round-Trip Ticket Will Only Cost $100,000 According to Elon Musk” The post Want to Move to Mars? A Round-Trip Ticket Will Only Cost $100,000 AccordingRead More →