Universe Today (Page 422)

It Looks Like James Webb’s Launch Date is Going to Slip to July 2021 Put “James Webb Telescope launch” into your search engine and you’ll be flooded with links, some reaching back to the ‘scope’s first proposed launch date in 2010. The delayed launch of the space telescope is a running theme in the space community, even though we all know it’s going to be worth the wait. So … Continue reading “It Looks Like James Webb’s Launch Date is Going to Slip to July 2021” The post It Looks Like James Webb’s Launch Date is Going to Slip to July 2021 appeared first onRead More →

There’s a 1 in 20 Chance That Two Dead Satellites Might Crash Tonight According to multiple assessments, there’s a good chance two dead satellites will crash in the skies above Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, creating a serious debris problem. The post There’s a 1 in 20 Chance That Two Dead Satellites Might Crash Tonight appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

NASA is Going to Add a Commercial Module to the Space Station NASA’s plan to open up the International Space Station (ISS) to commercial activity is gaining ground. They have a vision for an economy in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) called the Plan for Commercial LEO Development. According to NASA, they intend to foster economic development in LEO and to drive innovation, all for the benefit of the … Continue reading “NASA is Going to Add a Commercial Module to the Space Station” The post NASA is Going to Add a Commercial Module to the Space Station appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go toRead More →

Okay, this Logo Proves that Space Force Should Have Really Been Called Star Fleet Now that the US Space Force’s new uniforms have been eviscerated on social media (that was so last week) it’s up to their new logo to keep the uproar going. The newest branch of the US Armed Forces hasn’t disappointed: their logo looks like the Star Fleet logo from Star Trek, inviting all kinds of … Continue reading “Okay, this Logo Proves that Space Force Should Have Really Been Called Star Fleet” The post Okay, this Logo Proves that Space Force Should Have Really Been Called Star Fleet appeared first onRead More →

Here’s What the Climate Might Look Like on Proxima Centauri B NASA scientists have run simulations that show what the climate on Proxima b might be like, with encouraging results! The post Here’s What the Climate Might Look Like on Proxima Centauri B appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Weekly Space Hangout: January 29, 2020 – Plumes on Enceladus with Dr. Christopher Glein Hosts: Fraser Cain (universetoday.com / @fcain) Dave Dickinson (www.astroguyz.com / @astroguyz) Pam Hoffman (EverydaySpacer.com / @EverydaySpacer) Veranika Klimovich ( @VeronikaSpace) Tonight we welcome Dr. Christopher Glein, Senior Research Scientist at the Southwest Research Institute. Chris is the lead author of a new paper which studies Saturn’s moon Enceladus and the plumes of gases and frozen sea spray which … Continue reading “Weekly Space Hangout: January 29, 2020 – Plumes on Enceladus with Dr. Christopher Glein” The post Weekly Space Hangout: January 29, 2020 – Plumes on Enceladus with Dr. Christopher Glein appeared first onRead More →

A Cubesat Deployed a De-Orbiting Tether and Now it’s Losing Altitude 24 Times Faster than Before A company called Tethers Unlimited has deployed its de-orbiting tether in a successful test on the Prox-1 satellite. The satellite is one of four that are carrying the device, called the Terminator Tape. Rather than stay in space for years or decades, and add to the growing problem of space debris, Prox-1 is using its … Continue reading “A Cubesat Deployed a De-Orbiting Tether and Now it’s Losing Altitude 24 Times Faster than Before” The post A Cubesat Deployed a De-Orbiting Tether and Now it’s Losing Altitude 24 TimesRead More →

A Television Satellite Might be About to Explode A DirecTV satellite suffered a battery failure and now has to be de-orbited. Otherwise, it could cause a collision and explosion. The post A Television Satellite Might be About to Explode appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Carnival of Space #648 This week’s Carnival of Space is hosted by Zain Husain at the Brownspaceman.com blog. Click here to read Carnival of Space #648. 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 to susie@wshcrew.space, … Continue reading “Carnival of Space #648” The post Carnival of Space #648 appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

The Brightest Supernova Ever Seen was Caused by a White Dwarf Spiraling into a Massive Star Super-luminous supernovae are the brightest explosions in the Universe. In just a few months, a super-luminous supernova can release as much energy as our Sun will in its entire lifespan. And at its peak, it can be as bright as an entire galaxy. One of the most-studied super-luminous supernovae (SLSN) is called SN 2006gy. Its … Continue reading “The Brightest Supernova Ever Seen was Caused by a White Dwarf Spiraling into a Massive Star” The post The Brightest Supernova Ever Seen was Caused by a White Dwarf Spiraling intoRead More →

ESA is Going to Test Two Rovers Working Together to Explore the Moon The ESA is working on a system (TRAILER) that will allow two robots to work in tandem and explore the lunar surface. The post ESA is Going to Test Two Rovers Working Together to Explore the Moon appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

The Apollo 1 Fire: Excerpt from “Eight Years to the Moon” Editor’s note: Today marks the 53rd anniversary of the Apollo 1 fire that killed three astronauts during a routine test on the launchpad. The test was a dress rehearsal for the Apollo 1 crew — Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee. The goal was to check out the command module, NASA’s first spacecraft that … Continue reading “The Apollo 1 Fire: Excerpt from “Eight Years to the Moon”” The post The Apollo 1 Fire: Excerpt from “Eight Years to the Moon” appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Stalking Starlink’s ‘DarkSat’ By now, you’ve no doubt heard of (or seen) Starlink. SpaceX’s mega-satellite constellation has become a permanent fixture in our skies as of late, with several routine passes on any given week. But have you seen the supposed ‘black sheep’ of the flock, DarkSat? The post Stalking Starlink’s ‘DarkSat’ appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

China Releases New Pictures From the Surface of the Moon China’s Chang’e-4 mission just released a trove of data collected by the lander and rover during its year-long exploration of the far side of the Moon. The post China Releases New Pictures From the Surface of the Moon appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Giant Planets Could Form Around Tiny Stars in Just a Few Thousand Years A new study has shown how gas giants (like Proxima c) can exist around Red Dwarf suns, the most common type of star in the Universe The post Giant Planets Could Form Around Tiny Stars in Just a Few Thousand Years appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

OSIRIS-REx Flew 620 Meters Above its Landing Site. Confirms that it’s a Boulder-Strewn Nightmare, Just Like the Rest of Bennu NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft reached its target, asteroid Bennu (101955 Bennu), on December 3rd, 2018. Since then, the spacecraft has been examining the asteroid’s surface, looking for a suitable landing spot to collect a sample. The problem is, Bennu has a much rockier and challenging surface than initially thought. OSIRIS-REx’s (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, … Continue reading “OSIRIS-REx Flew 620 Meters Above its Landing Site. Confirms that it’s a Boulder-Strewn Nightmare, Just Like the Rest of Bennu” The post OSIRIS-REx Flew 620 Meters AboveRead More →

A Glitch Caused Curiosity to Freeze in Place. But It’s Better Now NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover experienced a technical glitch in its stored memory last week, causing it to temporarily lose its sense of direction and freeze in its tracks. But the talented rover repair team back on Earth enabled a fix, and Curiosity is now back in action. “Partway through its last set of activities, Curiosity … Continue reading “A Glitch Caused Curiosity to Freeze in Place. But It’s Better Now” The post A Glitch Caused Curiosity to Freeze in Place. But It’s Better Now appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go toRead More →

This is Probably Sandstone Layers on Mars. Absolutely Beautiful NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has been in orbit around Mars for almost 14 years. It carries a variety of instruments with it, including the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) instrument. That instrument has collected thousands of images of Mars. CRISM’s main purpose is to created detailed maps of the surface mineralogy of … Continue reading “This is Probably Sandstone Layers on Mars. Absolutely Beautiful” The post This is Probably Sandstone Layers on Mars. Absolutely Beautiful appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Finally! We get to See a View From Inside Boeing’s Starliner During its First Flight Boeing has released a highlight reel made from footage that was taken from the inside of the Starliner capsule during its recent test flight. The post Finally! We get to See a View From Inside Boeing’s Starliner During its First Flight appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Rosetta Saw the Building Blocks of Life on Comet 67P Why is there so little nitrogen in Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P)? That’s a question scientists asked themselves when they looked at the data from the ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft. In fact, it’s a question they ask themselves every time they measure the gases in a comet’s coma. When Rosetta visited the comet in 2014, it measured the … Continue reading “Rosetta Saw the Building Blocks of Life on Comet 67P” The post Rosetta Saw the Building Blocks of Life on Comet 67P appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →