Astronomers recently used a giant cluster of galaxies as an X-ray magnifying lens to spot a tiny, star-forming dwarf galaxy for the first time. The team, which was able to “peer back in time” to approximately 9.4 billion years ago, detected the tiny dwarf galaxy, which was experiencing its first, high-energy stages of star formation, […]
Astronomers Use Massive Galaxy Cluster to ‘Peer Back in Time’ Read More »
As the Curiosity rover explores Mars’ Gale Crater, the data it collects tells us more about the history of the planet and in particular about whether liquid water once existed there. Using data collected by Curiosity, a new study has examined the geology of the crater to learn more about the briny ponds which may
Remains of Briny Pools Provide Further Evidence of Liquid Water on Mars Read More »
If the moon has enough water, and if it’s reasonably convenient to access, future explorers might be able to use it as drinking water or to convert it into hydrogen and oxygen for rocket fuel or oxygen to breathe. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center An important step toward more long-term manned missions to the moon
Ice on the Moon May Be Billions of Years Old, New Study Shows Read More »
Elon Musk, founder of private space-faring company SpaceX, recently unveiled his new Starship craft. Amazingly, it is designed to carry up to 100 crew members on interplanetary journeys throughout the solar system, starting with Mars in 2024. The announcement is exciting, invoking deep emotions of hope and adventure. But I can’t help having a number
Elon Musk’s plans for Mars may be more moral catastrophe than bold space exploration Read More »
Teams from NASA, Boeing and White Sands Missile Range rehearse procedures for landing and crew extraction from Boeing’s Starliner in September at the New Mexico missile range. (NASA Photo / Bill Ingalls) NASA confirmed today that Boeing is scheduled to conduct the next high-profile test of its CST-100 Starliner space capsule in a little more
NASA confirms Boeing’s timetable for testing Starliner space taxi – GeekWire Read More »
The discovery of yet another exoplanet is no longer news. More than 4,000 planets around other stars have now been found since the detection of the first one in 1995. As astronomers long suspected, or at least hoped, it seems that planets are ubiquitous in stellar systems and there are probably more planets than stars
This exoplanet challenges our understanding of planet formation Read More »
An artist’s conception of the 20 newly discovered moons orbiting Saturn. These discoveries bring the planet’s total moon count to 82, surpassing Jupiter for the most in our solar system. Illustration is courtesy of the Carnegie Institution for Science. Saturn image is courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute. Starry background courtesy of Paolo Sartorio/Shutterstock. Astronomers using
NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) satellite is ready to explore the region where our planet’s weather and space weather meet. The agency’s ICON satellite is set to takeoff from a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket carried by an L-1011 Stargazer aircraft from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, on Wednesday, NASA said in a press release.
NASA’s Ionosphere-Focused ICON Mission Is Set to Launch to Space Read More »
Photo credit: NASAThe Raikoke Volcano on the Kuril Islands rarely erupts, as it most recently exploded in 1924 and in 1778. However, its dormant period ended around 4:00 a.m. local time on June 22, 2019, when a large plume of ash and volcanic gases shot up from its 700-meter-wide crater. This incredible image was captured
This cloud of gas and dust in space is full of bubbles inflated by wind and radiation from massive young stars. Each bubble is about 10 to 30 light-years across and filled with hundreds to thousands of stars. The region lies in the Milky Way galaxy, in the constellation Aquila (aka the Eagle). NASA/JPL-Caltech Astronomers
Spitzer Space Telescope Sees Cosmic Bubbles Around Young Stars Read More »
