Universe Today

September 1, 2021September 1, 2021 by Matt Williams

Cosmonauts Find Cracks in the Aging Zarya ISS Module

A space station is born. The Russian Zarya module (top) is connected to the U.S. Unity module using the Canadarm on Dec. 6, 1998. Shot is a still from an IMAX camera carried on board shuttle Endeavour. Credit: NASA

It appears that the International Space Station is showing its age. Or, at least, the older modules that have been in space since 1998 certainly are. According to statements made by a senior Russian space official, cosmonauts aboard the ISS have discovered new cracks in the Functional Cargo Block (FCB) module – aka. Zarya (“Dawn”). These cracks were found in seven of the module’s twenty windows and could eventually threaten the entire station.

September 1, 2021September 1, 2021 by Andy Tomaswick

Dusty Snow on Mars Could be Melting Just Below the Surface

Dust on Mars gets everywhere – including on top of ice deposited during one of Mars’ previous ice ages. Just how that dust affects the ice is still up for some debate. Adding to that debate, a recent paper by researchers at Arizona State University and the University of Washington has laid out a map between the dust content of a glacier and the brightness of its ice.

September 1, 2021July 12, 2022 by Brian Koberlein

Brown Dwarfs are Probably Much More Common in the Milky Way Than Previously Believed

Brown dwarfs are too big to be planets, but not quite massive enough to be stars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Brown dwarfs are strange things. They are in the middle ground between planets and stars. A star is defined as an object massive enough for hydrogen to fuse into helium into its core, while a planet is too small for core fusion to occur. It seems a simple distinction until you learn about fusion. Anything with a mass below about 13 Jupiters is too small for fusion to occur, and is thus a planet. If your mass is about about 80 Jupiters, then you can fuse helium and are therefore a star. But if your mass is between 13 and 80 Jupiters, things get interesting. You can’t fuse hydrogen to shine brightly, but you can fuse lithium into other elements. This is known as lithium burning. It doesn’t provide lots of energy, but it is technically nuclear fusion.

September 1, 2021September 1, 2021 by Matt Williams

China Wants to Build a Spaceship That’s Kilometers Long

The first Long March 5 rocket being rolled out for launch at Wenchang in late October 2016. Credit: Su Dong/China Daily

It’s no secret that China has become a major contender when it comes to spaceflight. In the past twenty years, the China National Space Agency (CNSA) has accomplished some historic firsts. This includes sending astronauts to space, deploying three space stations (as part of the Tiangong program), developing heavy launch vehicles (like the Long March 5), and sending robotic explorers to the far side of the Moon and Mars.

Looking ahead to the next decade and beyond, China is planning on taking even bolder steps to develop its space program. Among the many proposals the country’s leaders are considering for its latest 5-year plan, one involved creating an “ultra-large spacecraft spanning kilometers.” Having this spacecraft in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) would be a game-changer for China, allowing for long-duration missions and the utilization of space resources.

August 30, 2021August 31, 2021 by Nancy Atkinson

Thanks to Ingenuity’s Pictures, Perseverance Knows Where to Drive to Next

This image sand dunes, boulders, and rocky outcrops of the “South Séítah” region of Mars’ Jezero Crater was captured by NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during its 12th flight, on Aug. 16, 2021. Ingenuity’s shadow is visible in the lower third of the image. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The Perseverance rover now has a new tool to help scientists and engineers figure out where the rover goes next. The new tool is the little rotorcraft that was tucked away in the rover’s belly, the Ingenuity helicopter. Ingenuity has now started doing aerial surveys to scout ahead for Perseverance.

August 30, 2021August 30, 2021 by Nancy Atkinson

What a Perfect Gravitational Lens

Clustered at the centre of this image are six luminous spots of light, four of them forming a circle around a central pair. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgment: J. Schmidt

A stunning new photograph from the Hubble Space Telescope shows a nearly perfect Einstein Ring, an effect caused by gravitational lensing. This is one of the most complete Einstein Rings ever seen.

August 29, 2021August 29, 2021 by Scott Alan Johnston

After Its Last Rock Sample Crumbled Into Powder, Perseverance is Going to try Again

In the last two decades, we have all grown accustomed to rovers exploring Mars. At least one rover has been active on the planet every day since January 4, 2004, when NASA’s Spirit rover landed in Gusev crater. Opportunity (2004) and Curiosity (2012) followed, each making unique journeys of discovery of their own. Perseverance (2021) is the latest and greatest of these robotic explorers, boasting a state-of-the-art in-situ resource utilization experiment to extract oxygen from the atmosphere, an accompanying helicopter to scout the path ahead, and a suite of unparalleled geology instruments. But what really sets Perseverance’s mission apart is that, for the first time, it is collecting samples of Martian rock to bring back to Earth.

August 28, 2021August 28, 2021 by Brian Koberlein

If Planet 9 is out There, Here's Where to Look

Illustration of the hypothetical Planet 9. Credit: R. Hurt/IPAC, Caltech

There are eight known planets in the solar system (ever since Pluto was booted from the club), but for a while, there has been some evidence that there might be one more. A hypothetical Planet 9 lurking on the outer edge of our solar system. So far this world has eluded discovery, but a new study has pinned down where it should be.

August 27, 2021August 27, 2021 by Matt Williams

Astronomers Locate the Source of High-Energy Cosmic Rays

Artist's impression of a supernova. Supernovae bombarded Earth with radiation that has implications for the development of life on Earth. Image Credit: NASA

Roughly a century ago, scientists began to realize that some of the radiation we detect in Earth’s atmosphere is not local in origin. This eventually gave rise to the discovery of cosmic rays, high-energy protons and atomic nuclei that have been stripped of their electrons and accelerated to relativistic speeds (close to the speed of light). However, there are still several mysteries surrounding this strange (and potentially lethal) phenomenon.

This includes questions about their origins and how the main component of cosmic rays (protons) are accelerated to such high velocity. Thanks to new research led by the University of Nagoya, scientists have quantified the amount of cosmic rays produced in a supernova remnant for the first time. This research has helped resolve a 100-year mystery and is a major step towards determining precisely where cosmic rays come from.

August 27, 2021August 27, 2021 by Nancy Atkinson

Webb’s Testing is Complete. Now it Begins the Journey to the Launch Site.

With integration and testing formally concluded for the James Webb Space Telescope, NASA’s next giant leap into the cosmic unknown will soon be underway. Credits: NASA/Chris Gunn

Finally, it’s starting to get real for the James Webb Space Telescope. Engineers are now preparing the long-awaited landmark telescope for transport to its launch site at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.