Items tagged with space
Astronomers celebrated Hubble Space Telescope’s 34th anniversary of its launch this week by capturing an incredible image of the Little Dumbbell Nebula, also known as Messier 76. The distant nebula is located 3,400 light-years away in the northern circumpolar constellation Perseus.
NASA’s Hubble telescope was...
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The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Mars Express snapped an image of Mars that will send a chill up the spine of those with arachnophobia. But don’t get too freaked out. The swarm of creepy crawlers is not what one might expect at first glance.
While the image may give the illusion of thousands of spiders scurrying...
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After centuries of debate, scientists say they have finally proven Earth’s Moon is in fact not made of cheese (Editor's note: Aw, nuts!). A group of scientists recently published a research paper that argues the Moon is actually a solid ball with a density similar to that of iron.
Scientists believe they have...
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NASA has solved a mystery with its Voyager 1 probe that had engineers baffled for a time. Now, for the first time in five months, NASA can check the health and status of the most distant human-made object in existence.
The issue arose last November, when three of Voyager 1’s onboard computers, called the flight...
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As the search for life outside of the confines of Earth continues, a group of astrobiologists has suggested checking meteors as an Uber for aliens. The new research explores a model of life spreading between planetary systems via panspermia and terraformation.
There are currently over 5,000 confirmed exoplanets...
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April’s full Moon, perhaps best known as the Pink Moon, is about to grace the night sky. As with other full Moons, this month’s is known by many names, such as the Sprouting Grass Moon, and the Pesach or Passover Moon.
According to NASA, the Maine Farmer’s Almanac began publishing “Indian” names for full moons in...
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NASA scientists have taken data gathered by the Juno spacecraft of Jupiter’s moon Io and created interesting animations, highlighting two of the Jovian moon’s most striking features. The incredible animations create three-dimensional renderings of one of Io’s mountains, and a lake of cooling lava.
Juno’s principal...
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The “devil comet” will be showing off its horns this weekend to those in the Northern Hemisphere. Anyone wanting to catch a peak at this rare celestial event will want to do so this go round, as it will not be close enough for viewing with a pair of binoculars again for another 71 years.
While there is a chance...
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Engineers who worked on NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter gathered one last time in a control room, marking the final time they would work together on Ingenuity operations. While the mission ended on January 25, 2024, the Mars helicopter will continue to serve as a testbed for collecting data that may benefit future...
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The Lyrids meteor shower is about to light up the night sky in a spectacular fashion with falling stars to make wishes upon. The first recorded sighting of a Lyrids meteor shower dates all the way back to 687 BC by the Chinese.
While not as fast or bountiful as the Perseids, the Lyrids are well known for producing...
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Scientists performing a deep dive into data from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Gaia mission have unveiled a monster black hole hiding in the constellation Aquila. The black hole, which is less than 2,000 light-years from Earth, has a mass of nearly 33 times that of the Sun.
The discovery marks the first time a...
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NASA is prepared to announce its response to a Mars Sample Return Independent Review Board report from last September. The space agency has invited media and the public to join a livestream of the teleconference later today.
The Mars Sample Return has been an ongoing process since NASA’s Perseverance rover began...
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NASA captured a mystical surfboard hovering above the lunar surface with its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The surfboard figure is actually the Korea Aerospace Research Institute’s Danuri lunar orbiter, which orbits the Moon parallel to LRO.
When someone thinks about images of the Moon being sent back to...
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As the space around Earth becomes more crowded with satellites and other spacecraft, NASA has a plan for a sustainable future within the cosmos. The space agency recently released the first part of its integrated Space Sustainability Strategy, marking initial progress for NASA on the issue at hand.
It feels like...
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While the 2024 total solar eclipse has come and gone, NASA wants everyone to know there are plenty more eclipses on the horizon ahead of the next total solar eclipse in North America in August 2044. Over the next two years, folks willing to travel can catch an annular solar eclipse in South America this fall, and a...
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With the day of the total solar eclipse finally upon us, many may be wondering what time they need to head outside to view the celestial event. So, if you are in Mexico, or all the way up at the Island of Newfoundland, be sure to know exactly when to look up at the sky (which hopefully won’t be falling), with proper...
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The upcoming total solar eclipse has been making plenty of headlines as of late, leaving some to wonder how agencies such as NASA devise the maps predicting the path of totality. Well, it all comes down to knowing the precise shape and position of the Moon, and a few other key features and environmental aspects...
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The total solar eclipse is just around the corner on April 8th, and millions of folks around the United States are getting ready to see it. That said, if you haven’t gotten your solar viewing glasses yet or done other necessary prep work, it might be a bit of a struggle to get it all in time. Thankfully, NASA will be...
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SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory is celebrating the completion of the largest camera ever built for astronomy and astrophysics. The mammoth 3,200-megapixel (3.2-gigapixel) prime focus digital camera will soon ship to Chile and be mounted on a telescope inside the Rubin Observatory.
The Legacy Survey of Space...
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With the upcoming total solar eclipse, Moon buggy showdowns, and even the White House wanting to give the lunar destination its own celestial time zone, the Moon has been making a lot of headlines as of late.
The total solar eclipse will occur in just a few days on April 8, 2024. It will darken the land across...
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A Florida homeowner had what seems like a piece of space junk rip through his roof and go through two floors. He believes it's a piece from the discarded ISS battery pallet that NASA thought would completely burn up on re-entry. Thankfully no one was hurt and investigators are now trying to determine the origin of the...
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As NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover arrives at Gediz Vallis channel, scientists are intrigued with the possibility of finding clues about the history of water on the Red Planet. Gediz Vallis channel may have been home to an ancient and winding river, with potential evidence that would confirm how the channel was...
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