Universe Today (Page 443)

Ho-Hum. More Boring Success for SpaceX as Crew Dragon Splashes Down A few hours ago, the SpaceX Crew Dragon splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean, about 200 miles off the coast of Florida. The splashdown is the last act in what has been a successful first flight for the Crew Dragon. The flight, called Demo-1, was launched on March 2nd and spent five days at the … Continue reading “Ho-Hum. More Boring Success for SpaceX as Crew Dragon Splashes Down” The post Ho-Hum. More Boring Success for SpaceX as Crew Dragon Splashes Down appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

This is an Actual Photograph of the Shock Waves from Supersonic Jets Interacting with Each Other After more than 10 years of hard work, NASA has reached another milestone. We’re accustomed to NASA reaching milestones, but this one’s a little different. This one’s all about a type of photography that captures images of the flow of fluids. It’s called Schlieren Photography, and schlieren is German for “streaks.” It was first developed … Continue reading “This is an Actual Photograph of the Shock Waves from Supersonic Jets Interacting with Each Other” The post This is an Actual Photograph of the Shock Waves from Supersonic Jets InteractingRead More →

Weekly Space Hangout: Mar 06, 2019 – Dr. Jeff Morgenthaler of the Planetary Science Institute Hosts: Dr. Morgan Rehnberg (MorganRehnberg.com / @MorganRehnberg & ChartYourWorld.org) Dr. Kimberly Cartier (KimberlyCartier.org / @AstroKimCartier ) Dr. Pamela Gay (astronomycast.com / cosmoquest.org / @starstryder) Jeff Morgenthaler, a senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute, likes to think of himself as an experimental physicist whose laboratory opens to the sky. He has used a comet to … Continue reading “Weekly Space Hangout: Mar 06, 2019 – Dr. Jeff Morgenthaler of the Planetary Science Institute” The post Weekly Space Hangout: Mar 06, 2019 – Dr. Jeff Morgenthaler of the Planetary Science InstituteRead More →

You’re in This Picture. It’s a Selfie Taken by SpaceIL’s Beresheet Lunar Lander on its Way to the Moon Israel’s space program doesn’t get a lot of headlines. Israel itself is in the news a lot, but usually for other reasons. But they do have a space program, and right now they have a lander, called Beresheet, on the way to the Moon. Israel’s space program is run by the Israel Space Agency (ISA) … Continue reading “You’re in This Picture. It’s a Selfie Taken by SpaceIL’s Beresheet Lunar Lander on its Way to the Moon” The post You’re in This Picture. It’s a SelfieRead More →

Gamma Ray Telescopes could Detect Starships Powered by Black Hole A new study has proposed ways to search for advanced alien life by looking for the gamma rays produced by a black hole spacecraft The post Gamma Ray Telescopes could Detect Starships Powered by Black Hole appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Sorry Hollywood, it’s Going to Take a Lot More to Destroy an Asteroid A new study from John Hopkins University has shown that blowing up asteroids might be harder than we thought. The post Sorry Hollywood, it’s Going to Take a Lot More to Destroy an Asteroid appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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 →