Universe Today (Page 124)

Protests From Dynetics and Blue Origin put NASA's Lunar Lander Award to SpaceX on Hold

By Matthew Williams - May 03, 2021 07:53 PM UTC | Space Policy

Due to protests filed by Blue Origin and Dynetics, NASA has called for a stop-work order on the SpaceX Human Landing System (HLS).

Astronomers are Watching a gas Giant Grow, Right in Front of Their Eyes

By Andy Tomaswick - May 03, 2021 06:57 AM UTC | Exoplanets

Black Hole-Neutron Star Collisions Could Finally Settle the Different Measurements Over the Expansion Rate of the Universe

By sjohnston - May 02, 2021 03:56 PM UTC | Black Holes

Chinese Company Claims to be Working on a Starship-Like Rocket

By Matthew Williams - May 02, 2021 03:33 PM UTC | Space Exploration

According to a new animation, it appears that China is hoping to build a Starship of its own, one that can provide intercontinental flights for paying customers.

Instead of Betelgeuse, Keep Your eye on AG Carinae, Another Star That's About to go Supernova

By Andy Tomaswick - May 02, 2021 02:36 PM UTC | Stars

Breakthrough Listen Searched for Signals From Intelligent Civilizations Near the Center of the Milky Way

By Brian Koberlein - May 02, 2021 12:19 PM UTC | Milky Way

If there are aliens out there, they probably aren't in the central region of our galaxy.

Are we Seeing a Star That Just got Spaghettified?

By Andy Tomaswick - May 02, 2021 08:30 AM UTC | Stars

Mid-Latitude Glaciers on Mars Could Supply Water to Human Explorers

By Matthew Williams - May 01, 2021 06:16 PM UTC | Planetary Science

New research shows how a subsurface glacier in the Arcadia Planitia region of Mars would make an ideal landing site for a crewed mission.

How Salty is Enceladus' Ocean Under the ice?

By Andy Tomaswick - April 30, 2021 07:25 PM UTC | Astrobiology

China Launches the Core Module of Its New Space Station

By sjohnston - April 30, 2021 02:46 PM UTC | Space Exploration

11-Sigma Detection of Dark Energy Comes From Measuring Over a Million Extremely Distant Galaxies

By Brian Koberlein - April 30, 2021 12:46 PM UTC | Cosmology

A new study confirms the existence of dark energy with stunning accuracy.

Ingenuity Completes a Huge 50-Meter Flight on Mars

By Matthew Williams - April 29, 2021 12:53 PM UTC | Planetary Science

The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter just completed its third test flight and set new records for traveling farther and faster than ever before.

Stare Straight Down Into a Giant Storm on Jupiter

By Nancy Atkinson - April 29, 2021 10:51 AM UTC | Planetary Science

NASA is now Planning a Mission to go 1,000 AU From the Sun, Deep Into Interstellar Space

By Andy Tomaswick - April 28, 2021 11:56 PM UTC | Missions

"Put LUCKY on My Tombstone." Apollo 11 Astronaut Michael Collins Dies at 90

By Nancy Atkinson - April 28, 2021 03:09 PM UTC | Space Exploration

Mars has the Right Conditions for Life Just Under the Surface

By Andy Tomaswick - April 28, 2021 02:55 PM UTC | Astrobiology

We Could Detect Alien Civilizations Through Their Interstellar Quantum Communication

By Matthew Williams - April 28, 2021 02:20 PM UTC | Astrobiology

A new study by SETI researcher Michael Hippke suggests that we look for advanced species by trying to spot signs of quantum communications

Smallest, Closest Black Hole Ever Discovered is Only 1,500 Light-Years Away

By Brian Koberlein - April 27, 2021 02:00 PM UTC | Black Holes

A red giant star may have a black hole companion that is only three solar masses in size.

A new Technique Could use Quasars to Directly Measure the Expansion Rate of the Universe

By Brian Koberlein - April 25, 2021 01:21 PM UTC | Cosmology

The evolution of cosmic expansion could be measured by a new method using intensity correlation speckles.

Animation Shows how Saturn's Rings Move at Different Speeds

By Matthew Williams - April 24, 2021 02:18 PM UTC | Planetary Science

Using data obtained by the Cassini probe, NASA Fellow Dr. James O'Donoghue created this stunning visual of Saturn's rings.

A Recent Megaflare Shows that Proxima Centauri is not a Nice Place to Live

By Matthew Williams - April 23, 2021 06:06 PM UTC | Stars

A new international research effort observed a massive solar flare from Proxima Centauri, which indicates (yet again) that its not a habitable system.

Perseverance Successfully Extracts Oxygen From the Martian Atmosphere. About 10 Minutes of Breathing Time for an Astronaut

By sjohnston - April 23, 2021 02:36 PM UTC | Planetary Science

Giant Planet is Found at an Extreme Distance From its Star

By Andy Tomaswick - April 22, 2021 05:45 PM UTC | Exoplanets

Blue Origin's Latest New Shepard Flight is a Success, With Passengers Climbing on Board (and Getting off Again Before it Flew)

By Matthew Williams - April 21, 2021 03:53 PM UTC | Space Exploration

Blue Origin is once again feeling momentum after the latest successful flight of their New Shepard launch vehicle.

New Horizons is Now 50 Astronomical Units Away From the Sun

By Nancy Atkinson - April 21, 2021 02:43 PM UTC | Missions

Catch Comet R4 ATLAS as it Nears Earth

By David Dickinson - April 21, 2021 09:45 AM UTC | Planetary Science

Time to catch comet C/2020 R4 ATLAS… while you can.

What if Starship Didn't Do a Landing Burn at All?

By Matthew Williams - April 20, 2021 05:06 PM UTC | Space Exploration

Another 3D graphic artist has a proposal for Musk: to "catch" the Starship using a special launch tower, kind of like they want to do with the Super Heavy.

One Idea to Explain Dark Matter - Ultralight Bosons - Fails the Test

By Brian Koberlein - April 20, 2021 02:04 PM UTC | Physics

A study of rotating black holes show that some spin so quickly because dark matter particles haven't slowed them down.

Meteorites Hold Early Atmospheres From Across the Solar System

By Andy Tomaswick - April 19, 2021 09:42 PM UTC | Planetary Science

NASA Picks SpaceX to Land Astronauts on the Moon!

By Matthew Williams - April 19, 2021 04:37 PM UTC | Space Exploration

NASA has selected SpaceX to develop the Human Landing System (HLS) that will bring the "first woman and next man" to the Moon in 2024!

This Is a Collapsed Pit on Mars, Not a Pimple

By rcrewe - April 19, 2021 02:23 PM UTC | Planetary Science

"You Wouldn't Believe What I Just Saw:" Ingenuity Helicopter Flies Successfully on Mars

By Nancy Atkinson - April 19, 2021 10:35 AM UTC | Planetary Science

Roman Space Telescope Will Also Find Rogue Black Holes

By Andy Tomaswick - April 18, 2021 11:57 PM UTC | Black Holes

How Does Water go From Interstellar Clouds to Habitable Worlds?

By Andy Tomaswick - April 18, 2021 10:13 PM UTC | Astrobiology

Fermilab's Muon g-2 Experiment Finally Gives Particle Physicists a Hint of What Lies Beyond the Standard Model

By Matthew Williams - April 18, 2021 03:20 PM UTC | Physics

The results of the first run of the Muon g-2 experiment at Fermilab indicate that there could be physics beyond the Standard Model that we simply haven't seen yet!

SpaceX has Given up Trying to Catch Rocket Fairings. Fishing Them out of the Ocean is Fine

By Andy Tomaswick - April 17, 2021 11:40 PM UTC | Space Exploration

When Stars Get Too Close to Each Other, They Cast Out Interstellar Comets and Asteroids

By sjohnston - April 17, 2021 08:59 PM UTC | Stars

You Thought Black Hole Event Horizons Looked Strange. Check out Binary Black Hole Event Horizons

By Brian Koberlein - April 17, 2021 01:48 PM UTC | Black Holes

Binary black holes lens light so strongly it's difficult to simulate how they would appear. A new simulation shows us how strange and complex it can get.

Astronauts Will Soon be Getting a Space Fridge, Keeping Everything Cold in Zero-G

By Andy Tomaswick - April 16, 2021 08:49 PM UTC | Space Exploration

Citizen Scientists Discover a new Feature in Star Formation: "Yellowballs"

By Andy Tomaswick - April 16, 2021 06:56 PM UTC | Stars

Ground-Based Lasers Could Push Space Debris off Collision-Course Orbits

By sjohnston - April 15, 2021 05:34 PM UTC | Space Policy

If you Want to Move an Asteroid, you Need the Right Kind of Nuclear Explosion

By Matthew Williams - April 14, 2021 04:27 PM UTC | Planetary Science

A new collaborative study has shown that nuclear explosions could be used to deflect asteroids, protecting Earth from cataclysmic impacts.

Finding Oxygen on an Alien World Doesn't Always Mean There's Life There

By Brian Koberlein - April 14, 2021 12:18 PM UTC | Astrobiology

Oxygen could indicate presence of life on another world, but for red dwarf planets finding oxygen isn't enough.

100-meter Asteroid Created a Strange Impact Event in Antarctica 430,000 Years Ago

By Nancy Atkinson - April 14, 2021 11:39 AM UTC | Planetary Science

Galileo Sunspot Sketches Versus Modern 'Deep Learning' AI

By David Dickinson - April 14, 2021 10:36 AM UTC | Solar Astronomy

A new study turns modern 'deep learning' techniques on Galileo's early sketches of the Sun.

Earth Gains 5,200 Tons of Dust From Space Every Year

By Nancy Atkinson - April 13, 2021 11:45 AM UTC | Planetary Science

The Same Technology Could Search for Microbes in Mars Rocks or Under the ice on Europa

By Matthew Williams - April 12, 2021 10:08 PM UTC | Astrobiology

NASA's SHERLOC and WATSON, two spectrometers designed to look for biosignatures, could answer if there's life on Mars on inside the Solar System's icy moons.