Week in images: 08-12 August 2022
Space News & Blog Articles
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'Strange New Worlds' is officially the most watched Star Trek show on Paramount Plus
The "Star Trek" spinoff "Strange New Worlds" is the most watched Trek series on the streaming service Paramount Plus.
A month on 'Mars': First journeys
The Month on Mars expedition begins its fieldwork listening to some of the earliest radio frequency signals in the universe.
The James Webb Space Telescope will study countless planets. Here's your chance to name one.
Uninspired by the dull scientific numbering of exoplanets? Well, here's your chance to name an alien world and its host star by connecting them to human cultures.
Watch SpaceX launch 46 Starlink satellites, land rocket today
Watch live as SpaceX sends 46 Starlink satellites into orbit Friday (Aug. 12) at 5:40 p.m. EDT (2140 GMT). The target orbit seems prone to space debris from a Russian anti-satellite test.
Perseid meteor shower peaking now, but bright moon will get in the way
The Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak overnight on Aug. 12 and 13, unfortunately coinciding with this month’s full Sturgeon Moon.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, August 12 – 20
Saturn is at opposition, the Perseids contend with moonlight, and once the Moon is gone from the evening sky, the summer Milky Way arches high.
Europe Ready For Artemis
Video: 00:03:26
ESA and NASA are working hand in hand before the first Artemis mission to the Moon through a series of joint mission simulations. Teams based at the Erasmus Support Facility (ESF) at ESA’s ESTEC facility in The Netherlands, the German Space Operations Centre at ESA’s Columbus Control Centre in Oberphfaffenhofen and NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston are combining their expertise in a series of exercises to ensure a successful launch.
Impacts From Interstellar Objects Should Leave Very Distinct Craters
In a recent study submitted to Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, a team of researchers from Yale University investigated how to identify impact craters that may have been created by Interstellar Objects (ISOs). This study is intriguing as the examination of ISOs has gained notable interest throughout the scientific community since the discoveries and subsequent research of ‘Oumuamua and Comet 2I/Borisov in 2017 and 2019, respectively. In their paper, the Yale researchers discussed how the volume of impact melt within fixed-diameter craters could be a possible pathway for recognizing ISO craters, as higher velocity impacts produce greater volumes of impact melt.
Here’s a Sneak Preview of What It’ll Look Like When the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies Collide
When big spiral galaxies collide, they don’t end up as one really big spiral. Instead, they create a humongous elliptical galaxy. That’s the fate awaiting the Andromeda Galaxy and our Milky Way. They’ll tangle in a galactic dance starting in a few million years. Want to know what it’s going to look like when the action starts? The Gemini North telescope in Hawai’i just released a stunning image of two galaxies like ours tangling it up. These are NGC 4568 and NGC 4567 and their interaction provides a sneak peek at our galactic neighborhood in the distant future.
The Youngest Exoplanet Ever Seen?
According to the most widely-accepted theory by astronomers, planetary systems begin as massive clouds of gas and dust (aka. a nebula) that experience gravitational collapse at the center to form new stars. The remaining matter in the system forms a “circumplanetary disk” around the star, which gradually accretes to form young planets. Studying disks in the earliest stages of planetary formation could help answer some hard questions about how the Solar System formed over 4.5 billion years ago.
Damaged Russian airfield in Crimea spied by satellites (photos)
Satellite images have revealed the extent of damage at Russia's Saki Air Base on Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, currently occupied by Russian military forces.
SpaceX fires up Starship Super Heavy booster again in long engine test
The Super Heavy prototype Booster 7 fired one of its 33 Raptor engines for 20 seconds on Thursday (Aug. 11).
Betelgeuse is bouncing back from bizarre dimming episode
Astronomers have long considered Betelgeuse a candidate for a long-overdue supernova within our galaxy. Yet the red supergiant appears to be recovering following a mysterious 2019 event.
3rd Chinese space station module arrives at spaceport ahead of October launch
The Mengtian module arrived at Wenchang spaceport in south China on Tuesday (Aug. 9) after being shipped in containers from the northern port city of Tianjin.
Bizarre meteorite is 1st to show scars from pebble-shooting asteroid
A meteorite on Earth holds new evidence that asteroids do indeed mysteriously spit out pebbles, a new study finds.
James Webb Space Telescope catches 'impostor' galaxies red-handed
Astronomers have found at least one dusty galaxy masquerading as a high-redshift galaxy, complicating the search for the first galaxies.
China launches 16 commercial remote sensing and weather satellites
China has carried out its ninth orbital mission within the last 30 days, sending 16 new commercial satellites into orbit with a Long March 6 rocket.
Equatorial Mars is surprisingly dry, NASA's InSight lander finds
NASA's InSight Mars lander has discovered little evidence of underground water at its site, but scientists are urging more research before drawing firm conclusions.
Hubble-servicing NASA astronaut urges human-robot synergy for future moon missions
John Grunsfeld says NASA should embrace and expand the partnership between human space explorers and robotic ones.
