Featured Posts
Universe Today
20 Oct 2020, 10:26 UTC
Starting in late 2019, Betelgeuse began drawing a lot of attention after it mysteriously started dimming, only to brighten again a few months later. For a variable star like Betelgeuse, periodic dimming and brightening are normal, but the extent of its fluctuation led to all sorts of theories as to what might be causing it.
What’s Happening with Betelgeuse? Astronomers Propose a Specialized Telescope to Watch the Star Every Night
20 Oct 2020, 10:26 UTC
Starting in late 2019, Betelgeuse began drawing a lot of attention after it mysteriously started dimming, only to brighten again a few months later. For a variable star like Betelgeuse, periodic dimming and brightening are normal, but the extent of its fluctuation led to all sorts of theories as to what might be causing it.
Scientific American
19 Oct 2020, 10:45 UTC
The diminutive world and others like it could help astronomers probe the mysteries of planet formation
Rogue Rocky Planet Found Adrift in the Milky Way
19 Oct 2020, 10:45 UTC
The diminutive world and others like it could help astronomers probe the mysteries of planet formation
Universe Today
16 Oct 2020, 19:44 UTC
There are instances other than pandemics when it is necessary to work remotely. Spacecraft operators are forced to do most of their work remotely while their charges travel throughout the solar system. Sometimes those travels take place a little closer to home. Engineers at DLR, Germany’s space agency, recently got to take the concept of remote working to a whole new level when they operated a rover in a whole different country almost 700 kilometers away while working remotely from their primary office.
Operating a Rover in Real-time From a Distance
16 Oct 2020, 19:44 UTC
There are instances other than pandemics when it is necessary to work remotely. Spacecraft operators are forced to do most of their work remotely while their charges travel throughout the solar system. Sometimes those travels take place a little closer to home. Engineers at DLR, Germany’s space agency, recently got to take the concept of remote working to a whole new level when they operated a rover in a whole different country almost 700 kilometers away while working remotely from their primary office.
EarthSky Blog
16 Oct 2020, 12:00 UTC
Comparison of snowcapped mountains in Cthulhu Macula on Pluto (left) with the Alps on Earth (right). Image via NASA/ Johns Hopkins APL/ SWRI/ Thomas Pesquet/ ESA/ EurekAlert!.With their tall peaks reaching into the sky and and their snow glistening in the sun, snowcapped mountains on Earth are beautiful. Other planets, like Mars and Venus and even some moons, also have mountains, but they lack the scenic snow cover of earthly mountains. One notable exception, though, was discovered in 2015 by the New Horizons spacecraft, when it made its sweep through the outer reaches of our solar system. I’m talking about the snowcapped mountains of Pluto!Not only does Pluto have mountains, which was a bit surprising given its small size, but Pluto’s mountains also have snow on their peaks. There is one significant difference, though, between the mountains of Earth and Pluto. The “snow” or frost on Pluto consists of frozen methane (CH4) instead of water ice crystals. Meanwhile, Pluto’s mountains themselves are composed of rock-hard water ice.The new research, by an international team of scientists led by researchers from Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in France, was announced on October 13, 2020.The associated peer-reviewed paper was published in ...
Pluto’s snowcapped mountains are unlike any on Earth
16 Oct 2020, 12:00 UTC
Comparison of snowcapped mountains in Cthulhu Macula on Pluto (left) with the Alps on Earth (right). Image via NASA/ Johns Hopkins APL/ SWRI/ Thomas Pesquet/ ESA/ EurekAlert!.With their tall peaks reaching into the sky and and their snow glistening in the sun, snowcapped mountains on Earth are beautiful. Other planets, like Mars and Venus and even some moons, also have mountains, but they lack the scenic snow cover of earthly mountains. One notable exception, though, was discovered in 2015 by the New Horizons spacecraft, when it made its sweep through the outer reaches of our solar system. I’m talking about the snowcapped mountains of Pluto!Not only does Pluto have mountains, which was a bit surprising given its small size, but Pluto’s mountains also have snow on their peaks. There is one significant difference, though, between the mountains of Earth and Pluto. The “snow” or frost on Pluto consists of frozen methane (CH4) instead of water ice crystals. Meanwhile, Pluto’s mountains themselves are composed of rock-hard water ice.The new research, by an international team of scientists led by researchers from Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in France, was announced on October 13, 2020.The associated peer-reviewed paper was published in ...
NASA: Space Shuttle and International Space Station News
15 Oct 2020, 15:41 UTC
NASA will provide live coverage of the return to Earth for agency astronaut Chris Cassidy and two Russian cosmonauts Wednesday, Oct. 21, after six months aboard the International Space Station. Complete coverage of the return will be available on NASA TV and the agency’s website.
Landing Coverage Set for NASA Astronaut Chris Cassidy, Space Station Crew
15 Oct 2020, 15:41 UTC
NASA will provide live coverage of the return to Earth for agency astronaut Chris Cassidy and two Russian cosmonauts Wednesday, Oct. 21, after six months aboard the International Space Station. Complete coverage of the return will be available on NASA TV and the agency’s website.
Parabolic Arc
15 Oct 2020, 09:03 UTC
Live coverage of the spacecraft’s descent to the asteroid’s surface for its “Touch-And-Go,” or TAG, maneuver, which will be managed by Lockheed Martin Space near Denver, will begin at 5 p.m. on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
NASA to Broadcast OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Collection Activities
15 Oct 2020, 09:03 UTC
Live coverage of the spacecraft’s descent to the asteroid’s surface for its “Touch-And-Go,” or TAG, maneuver, which will be managed by Lockheed Martin Space near Denver, will begin at 5 p.m. on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
Air & Space Magazine
14 Oct 2020, 13:00 UTC
In a recent paper published in the journal Astrobiology, Gordon Osinski from the University of Western Ontario and colleagues lay out the case for why asteroid and cometary impacts are not always harbingers of death. In fact, they often create temporarily habitable conditions on a planet otherwise challenging for life. They may even have been instrumental in the origin of life on Earth.
