One of the most powerful new space observatories, ESA’s Planck mission, reached an important milestone with the integration of several instruments into the main satellite. The integration was performed by Alcatel Alenia Space in Cannes, France.
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20th Anniversary of the Brightest Supernova in Recent History
Only 20 years ago, astronomers were treated to one of the most powerful nearby explosions – a sight not seen in 400 years, before the advent of modern telescopes. What we now call Supernova 1987A detonated in the Large Magellenic Cloud providing a wealth of data for astronomers. Okay, it actually detonated 163,000 years ago, but that’s how long it took the light to reach us.
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Spacewalkers Retract Spacecraft’s Antenna
Another day, another spacewalk. For the last month it seems like astronauts on board the International Space Station have spent more days outside than inside.
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New Engine Could Let Spacecraft Do More with Less Fuel
One of the main problems with spacecraft is the cost to get them into orbit. For every kilogram you can shave off their weight, you get additional cost savings in launch expenses. A team of researchers from Georgia Tech think they have a solution to help spacecraft operate with 40% less fuel.
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The Search Continues for Beagle 2
Since its disappearance in December 2003, scientists have continued the search for Europe’s Beagle 2 lander. Although they’ve lost hope in regaining contact, at least they might be able to discover what happened to it and learn from their mistakes.
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Aliens on This World Would See a Double Sunset
Imagine a world orbiting a star in a binary system. Two stars would shine in the day, and the rare nights would occur only when both stars had set below the horizon. Now astronomers have discovered a world where this is the case – the sunsets would be spectacular.
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Virgin Galactic Considering Hypersonic Airline Travel
Flightglobal.com is reporting that NASA and Virgin Galactic have signed a memorandum of understanding to work on commercial spaceflight and hypersonic airline travel.
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Powerful Solar Winds Colliding Head On
Off to one corner of NGC 346, a star cluster in the Small Magellanic Cloud, there’s an amazing collision between two stars. Well, not the stars themselves, but the powerful winds they’re ejecting.
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Satellites Reveal Subglacial Streams in Antarctica
Although it looks ancient and unchanging, the ice sheet in Antarctica is a surprisingly active place. Deep beneath the sheet’s surface, there are waterways, channels and pipes that connect various subglacial “lakes”. These channels can cause these lakes to drain away into the ocean, or transfer water from one to the other.
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New Crater Discovered on Titan
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured this image of a semi-circular feature on Saturn’s moon Titan. Planetary geologists think that it might be a relatively recent impact crater on Titan. This would be surprising, since all the data gathered on Titan shows that its surface is relatively young, constantly weathered and resurfaced by weather conditions – only three impact craters have been found on Titan so far.
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