The Milky Way Galaxy contains an estimated one hundred billion stars. Between these lies the Interstellar Medium (ISM), a region permeated by gas and dust grains. This dust is largely composed of heavier elements, including silicate minerals, ice, carbon, and iron compounds. This dust plays a key role in the evolution of galaxies, facilitating the gravitational collapse of gas clouds to form new stars. This galactic dust is measurable by how it attenuates starlight from distant galaxies, causing it to shift from ultraviolet to far-infrared radiation.
Space News & Blog Articles
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SpaceX postpones Starlink launch as NASA crew mission takes priority
File photo of a Falcon 9 rocket’s upper stage firing into orbit Feb. 2 with a batch of Starlink internet satellites. Credit: SpaceX
SpaceX has postponed the launch of another batch of Starlink internet satellites from Thursday as the company’s team in Florida prioritizes preparations for the launch of a four-man next week bound for the International Space Station.
Relativity sets launch date for first flight of Terran 1 rocket
Relativity Space’s first Terran 1 rocket inside the company’s hangar at Launch Complex 16. Credit: Relativity Space
Relativity Space plans to skip a final test-firing of its first fully stacked Terran 1 rocket at Cape Canaveral and proceed with a launch attempt March 8 for the methane-fueled, 3D-printed launcher, the company said Wednesday.
'Runaway' black hole the size of 20 million suns found speeding through space with a trail of newborn stars behind it
Astronomers have discovered a "runaway" black hole, potentially the first observational evidence that supermassive black holes can be ejected from their host galaxies.
Dust Storms on Mars Generate Static Electricity. What Does This Do to Its Surface?
Dust storms are a serious hazard on Mars. While smaller storms and dust devils happen regularly, larger ones happen every year (during summer in the southern hemisphere) and can cover continent-sized areas for weeks. Once every three Martian years (about five and a half Earth years), the storms can become large enough to encompass the entire planet and last up to two months. These storms play a major role in the dynamic processes that shape the surface of Mars and are sometimes visible from Earth (like the 2018 storm that ended the Opportunity rover’s mission).
Can a Venus Lander Survive Longer Than a Few Minutes?
Sending a lander to Venus presents several huge engineering problems. Granted, we’d get a break from the nail-biting entry, descent and landing, since Venus’ atmosphere is so thick, a lander would settle gently to the surface like a stone settles in water — no sky cranes or retrorockets required.
NASA rover snaps photos of ancient 'waves' carved into Mars mountainside
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has photographed clear signs of ripples locked into a Martian rock, a sign of an ancient lake on the Red Planet's surface.
SpaceX will attempt 1st Starship orbital flight in March: report
SpaceX says it's ready for its first-ever Starship orbital launch attempt in March, but still lacks a license to launch from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Watch the moon meet up with Jupiter in the night sky tonight
The two-day-old moon meets up with Jupiter tonight (Feb. 22), making a close approach and sharing the same right ascension in an arrangement known as a conjunction.
Kerbal Space Program 2 trailer wants you to 'Fail harder' and 'Add more boosters'
Now you can launch and crash vehicles for Kerbonauts in new and spectacular ways in the sequel releasing to the popular Kerbal Space Program space game Friday (Feb. 24).
Subsurface ocean tides on Saturn's moon Titan are influenced by its icy crust
Scientists examine how Titan's icy shell creates tides in the moon's subsurface ocean.
The James Webb Space Telescope discovers enormous distant galaxies that should not exist
The James Webb Space Telescope found massive, mature galaxies inhabiting the universe so soon after the Big Bang that according to current theories they really shouldn't exist.
Blue Origin makes solar cells out of simulated moon dirt with 'alchemist' project
Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos' private spaceflight company, claims it has made major progress in developing a way to make solar panels using materials from the lunar surface.
Have Scientists Found a Rogue Supermassive Black Hole?
An unusual stellar streak emerging from a distant galaxy might be a sign of a runaway supermassive black hole, scientists suggest.
Hubble Space Telescope peers into a glittering sea of extragalactic stars (photo)
A new Hubble Space Telescope image highlights a region in the dwarf satellite galaxy the Large Magellanic Cloud that is rich in stars.
Mars helicopter Ingenuity’s historic 1st flights shed light on Martian dust dynamics
Scientists analyzing videos of Ingenuity’s historic first flights on Mars are learning more about dust behavior on the Red Planet.
In the wake of shadows: the legacy of Babylon 5
As we pass the show's 30th anniversary, we look back at the enduring legacy of Babylon 5, one of sci-fi's most underrated shows.
Watch Russia launch replacement Soyuz to International Space Station on Thursday (Feb. 23)
Crewmembers on the International Space Station are awaiting the fresh spacecraft, which will replace a leaky Soyuz currently docked with the orbiting complex.
See the moon and Venus dance together in Wednesday evening's sky
On Wednesday (Feb. 22), the moon and Venus will make a close approach and also reach conjunction, which happens when they share the same right ascension.
Cosmic Conjunction: Jupiter Meets Venus on March 1st
The two brightest planets pass less than half a degree apart at dusk during a spectacular conjunction on the night of March 1st.
Farming on the Moon
Image: Farming on the Moon
