Pluto was once considered the ninth planet in the solar system, it was demoted in 2006 to dwarf planet status. We explore this icy body in more detail here.
Space News & Blog Articles
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What Is the Ecliptic?
The ecliptic, simply put, is the plane of Earth’s orbit around the Sun. It extends beyond that to include the seven other planets.
A Fast-Moving Star is Colliding With Interstellar gas, Creating a Spectacular bow Shock
Zeta Ophiuchi has had an interesting life. It began as a typical large star about twenty times more massive than the Sun. It spent its days happily orbiting a large companion star until its companion exploded as a supernova about a million years ago. The explosion ejected Zeta Ophiuchi, so now it is speeding away through interstellar space. Of course, the supernova also expelled the outer layers of the companion star, so rather than empty space, our plucky star is speeding through the remnant gas as well. As they say on Facebook, it’s complicated. And that’s great news for astronomers, as a recent study shows.
Operation centres in tune for upcoming weather satellite
In just a few months’ time Europe’s first Meteosat Third Generation satellite will soar into the skies on an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana. From geostationary orbit, this new satellite, carrying two new highly sensitive instruments, will take weather forecasting to the next level. Taking a significant step towards launch, the satellite operations teams at two different centres have completed an all-important suite of tests ensuring that their procedures are fully compatible with the satellite.
Orion Nebula's shell is leaking gas and dust from a newly discovered tear
The Orion Nebula's bluish gas shell appears to be leaking dust and gas from a protrusion discovered by NASA's flying telescope SOFIA.
James Webb Space Telescope beats its own record with potential most distant galaxies
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have potentially smashed the galaxy redshift record by finding galaxies that existed 200 to 300 million years after the Big Bang.
Early life on Earth and beyond may have been ocean dwellers
The genetic tree of life suggests that the first life on Earth may have lived underwater, shielded from harmful ultraviolet light from the sun.
Russia wants to build its own space station, as early as 2028
Russia released images and information about its planned space station, which could be ready to house crews in six years amid a multi-year construction period.
Readying spacecraft to surf Venus’ atmosphere
ESA’s EnVision mission to Venus will perform optical, spectral and radar mapping of Earth’s sister planet. But before getting down to work the van-sized spacecraft needs to ‘aerobrake’ – lowering its orbit with thousands of passages through the planet’s hot, thick atmosphere for up to two years. A unique ESA facility is currently testing candidate spacecraft materials to check they can safely withstand this challenging process of atmospheric surfing.
Engineers are Testing how VIPER can Handle the Gnarliest Lunar Terrain
NASA’s getting ready to send a VIPER to the Moon. Not the popular sports car but a rugged vehicle that can handle whatever the lunar surface can throw at it. The Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) was put through its paces recently at the Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. The prototype drove up test slopes and clambered over boulders and craters. It also made its way through a simulated quicksand type of soil in a “sink tank”. It passed with flying colors, and showed engineers how it will handle similar conditions on the Moon.
Russia will stay in ISS program at least until 2028: report
Russia's departure from the International Space Station program isn't exactly imminent, it would seem.
The Heaviest Neutron Star Ever Seen Got There by Feasting on its Companion
Life’s not too good if you’re the companion of a black widow. Here on Earth, spiders by that name feast on their smaller significant others after mating. Out in space, some weird objects do the same thing to their closeby neighbors. They’re rapidly spinning neutron stars that slowly destroy their companion stars with powerful outflows of high-energy particles. A team at the University of California Berkeley is studying one of these so-called “black widow pulsars”, called PSR J0952-0607. Thanks to its hefty appetite, it shredded and consumed nearly all of its stellar companion. That eating spree made it the heaviest known neutron star to date.
US Postal Service to launch James Webb Space Telescope 'forever' stamp
The stamp commemorates the start of the telescope's science mission and depicts the telescope's iconic golden honeycomb mirror and its large sunshields in space.
'Castaway' gamma-ray bursts come from distant early galaxies
Intense blasts of radiation called gamma-ray bursts originate from neutron star mergers in distant galaxies, but until now the origins of some of these eruptions couldn't be pinpointed.
Experimental Zephyr drone sets new record for uncrewed flight duration
The experimental Airbus Zephyr drone has been airborne for over 42 straight days, setting a new record for an uncrewed flight.
Scientists Identify the Source of a Famous Meteorite as One Crater on Mars
If we think untangling Earth’s complex geological history is difficult, think of the challenge involved in doing the same for Mars. At such a great distance, we rely on a few orbiters, a handful of rovers and landers, and our powerful telescopes to gather evidence. But unlike Earth, Mars is, for the most part, geologically inactive. Much of the evidence for Mars’ long history is still visible on the surface.
China steers cargo spacecraft to fiery death in Earth's atmosphere
China guided its Tianzhou 3 cargo spacecraft to a fiery death in Earth's atmosphere late Tuesday night (July 26).
The north pole of Jupiter has mesmerizing storms, new Juno images reveal
Powerful storms around the North Pole of Jupiter swirl in mesmerizing images captured by NASA's Juno probe during its close approach to the giant planet on July 5.
Brilliant fireball explodes high in Texas sky before dawn (video)
A bright fireball exploded over Texas on Sunday night (July 24), waking up hundreds of residents with a sonic boom, which suggests parts of the rock may have reached Earth.
2 Ingenuity-class helicopters will join Mars sample return effort
The redesigned NASA-European campaign will task the Perseverance rover with delivering Red Planet samples to a rocket, with the drones as backup retrieval options.
The Oculus Quest 2 is about to get $100 more expensive - get one before the price hike
The VR headsets are rising in price to $399.99 for the 128GB model and $499.99 for the 256GB model.
