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Universe Today
27 Jan 2021, 16:03 UTC
In 1995, NASA’s Galileo mission dropped a probe into the atmosphere of Jupiter and found it to be far drier than expected. In 2020, NASA’s follow-up mission Juno explained the mystery: it involves mushballs.
Galileo’s Probe Discovered a Mystery at Jupiter, Juno Finally Helped Solve it
27 Jan 2021, 16:03 UTC
In 1995, NASA’s Galileo mission dropped a probe into the atmosphere of Jupiter and found it to be far drier than expected. In 2020, NASA’s follow-up mission Juno explained the mystery: it involves mushballs.
Illuminated Universe
27 Jan 2021, 11:00 UTC
Exploring how galaxies change with time requires the study of how visible light and non-visible radiation are interconnected. With the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) we can map, often in light the human eye can detect, the regions in the disk of a spiral galaxy where young stars reside and simultaneously, massive stars die. Yet invisible to our eyes, and traced by radio telescopes such as the Very Large Array (VLA), are vast halos of radiation that are intimately related to these so-called star-forming regions. The radio data inform us that the halo “light” is generated by negatively charged particles, called electrons, that are in motion at almost the speed of light. Indeed the data show that some of this motion is caused by the electrons slithering in a spiral trajectory around magnetic field lines. Some of these lines extend vertically away from the disk of a galaxy for several thousand light-years. But where do the electrons in the radio halo come from? We know that vast quantities of electrons are produced in explosive stellar deaths, called supernovae, in the disk of galaxies. In order to test the hypothesis that these electrons are dragged and pushed out of a galaxy’s disk ...
Guest Post: The Yin and Yang of the Visible and Invisible in Spiral Galaxies
27 Jan 2021, 11:00 UTC
Exploring how galaxies change with time requires the study of how visible light and non-visible radiation are interconnected. With the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) we can map, often in light the human eye can detect, the regions in the disk of a spiral galaxy where young stars reside and simultaneously, massive stars die. Yet invisible to our eyes, and traced by radio telescopes such as the Very Large Array (VLA), are vast halos of radiation that are intimately related to these so-called star-forming regions. The radio data inform us that the halo “light” is generated by negatively charged particles, called electrons, that are in motion at almost the speed of light. Indeed the data show that some of this motion is caused by the electrons slithering in a spiral trajectory around magnetic field lines. Some of these lines extend vertically away from the disk of a galaxy for several thousand light-years. But where do the electrons in the radio halo come from? We know that vast quantities of electrons are produced in explosive stellar deaths, called supernovae, in the disk of galaxies. In order to test the hypothesis that these electrons are dragged and pushed out of a galaxy’s disk ...
Universe Today
26 Jan 2021, 19:36 UTC
Budget constraints are a major consideration for every space program throughout the world. Lately, NASA has taken a particularly bold approach, by not only innovating through novel ideas that could do great science, but innovating with the way they fund those missions. A good example of this innovation is the Astrophysics Pioneers program, which is a NASA fund program targeted at early- to mid-career researchers. The interesting thing about the program is that the overall budget for each project is capped at $20 million. Now, the program has selected its first four projects to move ahead to its second stage.
NASA has Chosen 4 new Pioneer Missions: Aspera, Pandora, StarBurst, and PEUO
26 Jan 2021, 19:36 UTC
Budget constraints are a major consideration for every space program throughout the world. Lately, NASA has taken a particularly bold approach, by not only innovating through novel ideas that could do great science, but innovating with the way they fund those missions. A good example of this innovation is the Astrophysics Pioneers program, which is a NASA fund program targeted at early- to mid-career researchers. The interesting thing about the program is that the overall budget for each project is capped at $20 million. Now, the program has selected its first four projects to move ahead to its second stage.
NASA: Universe News
26 Jan 2021, 15:48 UTC
On May 10, NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft will say farewell to asteroid Bennu and begin its journey back to Earth. During its Oct. 20, 2020, sample collection event, the spacecraft collected a substantial amount of material from Bennu’s surface, likely exceeding the mission’s requirement of 2 ounces (60 grams). The spacecraft is scheduled to deliver the sample to Earth on Sep. 24, 2023.
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Mission Plans for May Asteroid Departure
26 Jan 2021, 15:48 UTC
On May 10, NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft will say farewell to asteroid Bennu and begin its journey back to Earth. During its Oct. 20, 2020, sample collection event, the spacecraft collected a substantial amount of material from Bennu’s surface, likely exceeding the mission’s requirement of 2 ounces (60 grams). The spacecraft is scheduled to deliver the sample to Earth on Sep. 24, 2023.
Universe Today
26 Jan 2021, 09:32 UTC
Planetary nebulae are the most beautiful objects in the night sky. Their gossamer shells of gas are otherworldly and evocative. They captivate the eye, and viewers need no scientific knowledge to get drawn in. How are they created, and why do they look so beautiful?
Why do Planetary Nebulae Look the Way They Do?
26 Jan 2021, 09:32 UTC
Planetary nebulae are the most beautiful objects in the night sky. Their gossamer shells of gas are otherworldly and evocative. They captivate the eye, and viewers need no scientific knowledge to get drawn in. How are they created, and why do they look so beautiful?
Universe Today
25 Jan 2021, 16:56 UTC
The TRAPPIST-1 system has long be studied by exoplanet hunters due to its unique quantity of planets that happen to also be Earth sized. In a recent paper, a team of scientists led by Erik Agol at the University of Washington, dove into more detail on the density of the seven known planets in the system, and, surprisingly, found that they were all very similar.
There are Seven Rocky Planets in the TRAPPIST-1 System and They’re Surprisingly Similar
25 Jan 2021, 16:56 UTC
The TRAPPIST-1 system has long be studied by exoplanet hunters due to its unique quantity of planets that happen to also be Earth sized. In a recent paper, a team of scientists led by Erik Agol at the University of Washington, dove into more detail on the density of the seven known planets in the system, and, surprisingly, found that they were all very similar.
Universe Today
25 Jan 2021, 00:32 UTC
Fifty years ago, English mathematical physicist and Nobel-prize winner Roger Penrose proposed that energy could be extracted from the space around a rotating black hole. Known as the ergosphere, this region lies just outside an event horizon, the boundary within which nothing can escape a black hole’s gravitational pull (even light). It is also here where infalling matter is accelerated to incredible speeds and emits all kinds of energy.
A New Idea to Harness Energy From Black Holes
25 Jan 2021, 00:32 UTC
Fifty years ago, English mathematical physicist and Nobel-prize winner Roger Penrose proposed that energy could be extracted from the space around a rotating black hole. Known as the ergosphere, this region lies just outside an event horizon, the boundary within which nothing can escape a black hole’s gravitational pull (even light). It is also here where infalling matter is accelerated to incredible speeds and emits all kinds of energy.
Starts With a Bang!
22 Jan 2021, 15:02 UTC
We have two ways of measuring the expansion rate. Here’s the harder one.
Ask Ethan: How Does The CMB Reveal The Hubble Constant?
22 Jan 2021, 15:02 UTC
We have two ways of measuring the expansion rate. Here’s the harder one.
SciTech Daily
22 Jan 2021, 12:29 UTC
When our universe was very young, it was a dark place filled with a neutral and opaque gas. How that gas became transparent is something that scientists have been trying to understand for a long time.
Back to the Spectacular Firestorm of Star Birth at the Beginning of the Universe: Probing the First Galaxies With Webb
22 Jan 2021, 12:29 UTC
When our universe was very young, it was a dark place filled with a neutral and opaque gas. How that gas became transparent is something that scientists have been trying to understand for a long time.
Most Recent Blogs
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- 28 Jan 2021
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13:00 UTC
OrbitalHub
2020
NASA dicit: Globally, 2020 was the hottest year on record, effectively tying 2016, the previous record. Overall, Earth’s average temperature has risen more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit since the 1880s. ...
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Sirius XM's newest satellite, SXM-7, has failed in orbit
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The lessons learned from the fatal Challenger shuttle dis...
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12:24 UTC
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NASA prepares for Mars 2020 landing
WASHINGTON — NASA’s Mars 2020 rover is on track for a landing next month that will begin in earnest an effort to return samples of the planet to Earth.The spacecraft, ...
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12:17 UTC
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Extreme black holes probably have 'hair'
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12:00 UTC
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Spacewalkers Complete Columbus Upgrades, Look Ahead to Mo...
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This illustration shows the events that occur in the final minutes of the nearly seven-month journey that NASA’s Perseverance rover takes to Mars. Hundreds of critical events must execute perfectly ...
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11:04 UTC
astrobites
Put A Ring On It
Title: Can planetary rings explain the extremely low density of HIP 41378 f?Authors: B. Akinsanmi, N. C. Santos, J. P. Faria, M. Oshagh, S. C. C. Barros, A. Santerne and ...
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10:35 UTC
Parabolic Arc
NASA’s Artemis Base Camp on the Moon Will Need Light, Wat...
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10:22 UTC
Space News
Electron launch demonstrated enhanced kick stage
WASHINGTON — Rocket Lab stretched the performance of the kick stage of its Electron rocket on its most recent launch, the first in a series of milestones the company has ...
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Night Log 2021-01-27
SA: DanièlSO: FredOthers: Thabelo (for SCAM)------------------------------------------------------------------------Summary------------------------------------------------------------------------We managed to complete 5 blocks before humidity forced us to close.The remainder of the night was spent completing closed dome calibrations.Science data taken for:2016-2-COM-001 ...
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04:04 UTC
Cosmic Log
New study links sleep cycles to moon cycles
A newly published study adds to the long-debated evidence that humans are hard-wired to sleep less when the moon is full or the lights are on, probably due to the ...
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01:24 UTC
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Rocket Lab Demonstrates New Orbital Maneuvering Capabilit...
Electron launches with OHB satellite. (Credit: Rocket Lab webcast) Launched just six months after contract signing, Rocket Lab’s ‘Another One Leaves The Crust’ mission demonstrated the longest on-orbit burn to ...
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01:06 UTC
Parabolic Arc
Space Flight Laboratory Announces Successful Launch of 12...
HawkEye 360 RF geolocating microsatellite constellation. (Credit: SFL) TORONTO, 25 January 2021 (SFL PR) – Space Flight Laboratory (SFL), a developer of complete microspace missions, today announced the launch and ...
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00:45 UTC
Space News
Firefly Aerospace seeking to raise $350 million
WASHINGTON — Small launch vehicle developer Firefly Aerospace, nearing its first orbital launch attempt, is looking to raise $350 million to scale up production and work on a new, larger ...
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00:40 UTC
Parabolic Arc
MDA Appoints New Vice President of Satellite Systems
BRAMPTON, Ont. (MDA PR) — MDA is pleased to welcome Amer Khouri as the company’s new Vice President of Satellite Systems. As the leader for this business, Mr. Khouri will ...
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00:02 UTC
Universe Today
Space and Sustainability: How the Lessons of B2 Inspired ...
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OrbitalHub
- 27 Jan 2021
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22:59 UTC
Cosmosphere
Quantum Internet Possible With Drones
IMAGE: A fleet of drones could create a quantum network by transmitting quantum particles among the fleet’s formation and relaying the particles to ground stations at various locations within a ...
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22:59 UTC
CosmoQuest
Quantum Internet Possible With Drones
IMAGE: A fleet of drones could create a quantum network by transmitting quantum particles among the fleet’s formation and relaying the particles to ground stations at various locations within a ...
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22:58 UTC
CosmoQuest
World Record Laser Link Could Help Prove Einstein Was Rig...
IMAGE: UWA’s rooftop observatory. CREDIT: ICRAR. One of the more annoying limiting factors in doing a lot of science is our atmosphere. Place-to-place variations in temperature, humidity, and other factors ...
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22:58 UTC
Cosmosphere
World Record Laser Link Could Help Prove Einstein Was Rig...
IMAGE: UWA’s rooftop observatory. CREDIT: ICRAR. One of the more annoying limiting factors in doing a lot of science is our atmosphere. Place-to-place variations in temperature, humidity, and other factors ...
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22:56 UTC
Cosmosphere
Galaxy Collisions Can Starve Massive Black Holes
IMAGE: Artist’s impression of gas being pulled away from a galactic nucleus. CREDIT: Miki et al., 2021 In a paper appearing in Nature Astronomy and led by Yohei Miki, researchers ...
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22:56 UTC
CosmoQuest
Galaxy Collisions Can Starve Massive Black Holes
IMAGE: Artist’s impression of gas being pulled away from a galactic nucleus. CREDIT: Miki et al., 2021 In a paper appearing in Nature Astronomy and led by Yohei Miki, researchers ...
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22:52 UTC
CosmoQuest
Tidal Dwarf Galaxy Provides Evidence of Star Formation
IMAGE: A tidal dwarf galaxy (blue) and a spiral galaxy (greyscale). The Milky Way is an example of a spiral galaxy. CREDIT: Hubble Space Telescope / ALMA One of my ...
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22:52 UTC
Cosmosphere
Tidal Dwarf Galaxy Provides Evidence of Star Formation
IMAGE: A tidal dwarf galaxy (blue) and a spiral galaxy (greyscale). The Milky Way is an example of a spiral galaxy. CREDIT: Hubble Space Telescope / ALMA One of my ...
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22:50 UTC
CosmoQuest
TRAPPIST-1 Exoplanets All Have Very Similar Compositions
IMAGE: Measuring the mass and diameter of a planet reveals its density, which can give scientists clues about its composition. Scientists now know the density of the seven TRAPPIST-1 planets ...
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22:50 UTC
Cosmosphere
TRAPPIST-1 Exoplanets All Have Very Similar Compositions
IMAGE: Measuring the mass and diameter of a planet reveals its density, which can give scientists clues about its composition. Scientists now know the density of the seven TRAPPIST-1 planets ...
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22:47 UTC
CosmoQuest
First Cloudless Hot Jupiter Discovered
IMAGE: Artist illustration of exoplanet WASP-62b. The illustration is drawn from the perspective of an observer nearby to the planet. CREDIT: M. Weiss/Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian It ...
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22:47 UTC
Cosmosphere
First Cloudless Hot Jupiter Discovered
IMAGE: Artist illustration of exoplanet WASP-62b. The illustration is drawn from the perspective of an observer nearby to the planet. CREDIT: M. Weiss/Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian It ...
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22:47 UTC
Cosmic Log
Jeff Bezos kicks back with a fiery rocket engine test
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22:45 UTC
CosmoQuest
TOI-178 With Six Planets in Orbital Resonance Challenges ...
IMAGE: This artist’s impression shows the view from the planet in the TOI-178 system found orbiting furthest from the star. It is based on the known physical parameters for the ...
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22:45 UTC
Cosmosphere
TOI-178 With Six Planets in Orbital Resonance Challenges ...
IMAGE: This artist’s impression shows the view from the planet in the TOI-178 system found orbiting furthest from the star. It is based on the known physical parameters for the ...
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22:43 UTC
CosmoQuest
Lots of water in the world’s most explosive volcano
IMAGE: Shiveluch is one of the biggest and most active of a line of volcanoes that follow the spine of the Kamchatka Peninsula in easternmost Russia. The volcanoes and peninsula ...
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22:43 UTC
Cosmosphere
Lots of water in the world’s most explosive volcano
IMAGE: Shiveluch is one of the biggest and most active of a line of volcanoes that follow the spine of the Kamchatka Peninsula in easternmost Russia. The volcanoes and peninsula ...
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22:16 UTC
SPACE.com
Hot Wheels Perseverance lands in stores ahead of rover on...
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21:53 UTC
Geekwire
Jeff Bezos kicks back with full-thrust firing of Blue Ori...
Blue Origin’s BE-4 rocket engine lights up for a full-thrust test firing in Texas. (Jeff Bezos via Instagram)If you’re hanging out in West Texas during a pandemic, there are few ...
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21:52 UTC
Space News
Lawmakers amp up pressure on Biden to investigate Space C...
WASHINGTON — Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) on Jan. 27 added his voice to the chorus of lawmakers demanding that the Biden administration investigate the Air Force’s decision to move U.S. ...
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21:20 UTC
Universe Today
Astronomers Find a Planet Like Jupiter, but It Doesn’t Ha...
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20:51 UTC
SPACE.com
Spacewalking astronauts tackle European lab upgrade at sp...
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20:50 UTC
Space News
U.S. Space Force acquisitions to get fresh look, lawmaker...
WASHINGTON — Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.), a leading proponent of establishing the U.S. Space Force, said he wants the Biden administration to put pressure on the service to clean up ...
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20:13 UTC
SPACE.com
The full moon may influence sleep and menstrual cycles, s...
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19:30 UTC
SpaceFlight Insider
Cable issues prevent spacewalkers from finishing Bartolom...
A view of the front of the International Space Station. The Bartolomeo platform, which was not yet installed when this photo was taken, is located on the forward side of ...
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19:02 UTC
Universe Today
All The Gravitational Waves Detected So Far
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18:22 UTC
Coalition for Deep ...
Today’s Deep Space Extra
In Today’s Deep Space Extra… Victor Glover, one of 18 astronauts selected by NASA to train for the Artemis program, embarked on an International Space Station spacewalk early Wednesday with ...
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18:09 UTC
Nanowerk Space Expl...
Precision measurements of intracluster light suggest poss...
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18:00 UTC
SPACE.com
First look: EXO-6 is beaming up a hyper-detailed First Co...
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18:00 UTC
Parabolic Arc
NASA Issues RFI for Europa Clipper Launch
Europa Clipper in orbit around Europa. (Credit; NASA) by Douglas MessierManaging Editor In a blow to Space Launch System (SLS) backers, NASA has issued a request for information (RFI) for ...
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17:48 UTC
Space News
SiriusXM and Maxar Technologies reveal problems with SXM-...
SAN FRANCISCO – SiriusXM and Maxar Technologies revealed problems with SXM-7, a SiriusXM communications satellite launched in December, in Jan. 27 filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.“During in-orbit ...
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22:59 UTC
Cosmosphere
