A new mission has launched to study some the most intriguing secrets of the universe. No, not THAT spacecraft (JWST is scheduled for launch on December 22). Another new and exciting mission is called Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) and it will allow scientists to explore the hidden details of some of the most extreme and high-energy objects in the cosmos, such as black holes, neutron stars, pulsars and dozens of other objects.
Continue reading “NASA Launches a New X-ray Observatory”Just Look at the Jaw-Dropping Detail of These Storms on Jupiter
The latest images from the Juno mission at Jupiter includes views of giant storms and vortexes on the gas giant world in amazing detail.
Continue reading “Just Look at the Jaw-Dropping Detail of These Storms on Jupiter”NASA Plans to Retire the Space Station in 2030 and Replace it with Commercially Owned “Destinations” in Low Earth Orbit
While it may seem like the International Space Station is just now fully hitting its stride as far as scientific output and the ability for crew rotations from several different spacecraft, the ISS has been operating with astronauts on board for over 21 years. Knowing the modules and entire physical structure cannot endure the long-term effects of the harsh space environment forever, NASA’s Office of the Inspector General has issued a new report outlining the agency’s plans to keep the space station in orbit until 2030, and to replace it with one or more commercial space stations.
Continue reading “NASA Plans to Retire the Space Station in 2030 and Replace it with Commercially Owned “Destinations” in Low Earth Orbit”Astronauts Took A Fly-around of the International Space Station. Here are Their Stunning Pictures
When astronauts left the International Space Station in early November to return home on the Crew Dragon Endeavour, they took the opportunity to do a fly-around of the ISS and take photos. NASA just released the new images, and they are a stunning look at both the orbiting outpost and our home planet.
Continue reading “Astronauts Took A Fly-around of the International Space Station. Here are Their Stunning Pictures”NASA Simulation Shows What Happens When Stars Get Too Close to Black Holes
What happens to a star when it strays too close to a monster black hole? Astronomers have wondered why some stars are ripped apart, while others manage to survive a close encounter with a lurking black hole, only a little worse for wear.
To figure out the dynamics of such an event, scientists built a supercomputer simulation and tested it out on eight different types of stars. The stars were sent towards a virtual black hole, 1 million times the mass of the Sun.
What they found was surprising.
Continue reading “NASA Simulation Shows What Happens When Stars Get Too Close to Black Holes”A Gravitational Lens Shows the Same Galaxy Three Times
Images from the Hubble Space Telescope are often mind-bending in both their beauty and wealth of scientific wonder. And sometimes, Hubble captures light-bending images too.
Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) snapped a photo of a galaxy where the light has been bent by gravitational lensing, so that the galaxy show up not just once, but three times. But the multiple views aren’t exact replicas of each other — they appear as different shapes.
Continue reading “A Gravitational Lens Shows the Same Galaxy Three Times”Once New Horizons was out Beyond Pluto, it Could Finally Measure the Brightness of the Milky Way
The New Horizons spacecraft has been speeding away from Earth since it launched in 2006. Scientists using the Alice UV imaging spectrograph on board New Horizons, have been patiently but sporadically gathering data during those 15 years, but also waiting to get far enough away from the Sun to make a specific measurement: the brightness of the Lyman-alpha background of the Milky Way. Until now, this had never been measured accurately.
Continue reading “Once New Horizons was out Beyond Pluto, it Could Finally Measure the Brightness of the Milky Way”You can Watch Ingenuity’s Flight on Mars, Captured by Perseverance
New video beamed back to Earth from the Perseverance Rover shows an incredibly detailed view of the Ingenuity helicopter’s flight back in September. The video – taken from about 300 meters (328 yards) away — shows Ingenuity’s takeoff and landing with such detail, that even a little plume of dust is visible during the helicopter’s ascent.
Continue reading “You can Watch Ingenuity’s Flight on Mars, Captured by Perseverance”LightSail 2 has Been Flying for 30 Months now, Paving the way for Future Solar Sail Missions
Even after 30 months in space, The Planetary Society’s LightSail 2 mission continues to successfully “sail on sunbeams” demonstrating solar sail technology in Earth orbit. The mission is providing hard data for future missions that hope to employ solar sails to explore the cosmos.
Continue reading “LightSail 2 has Been Flying for 30 Months now, Paving the way for Future Solar Sail Missions”The Next Generation Very Large Array Would be 263 Radio Telescopes Spread Across North America
The iconic Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico has been at the forefront of astrophysical research since its dedication in 1980. The Y-shaped configuration of 27 radio astronomy dishes have made key discoveries about the cosmos, while becoming a part of pop-culture in several high-profile movies.
But the aging array is due for an upgrade, one that would take advantage of advanced technology. So says the latest Decadal Survey, published by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, which presents a consensus among researchers on the most important scientific goals and missions for the upcoming decade.
Continue reading “The Next Generation Very Large Array Would be 263 Radio Telescopes Spread Across North America”