Old sunspot region AR 13664, now renamed AR 13697, is back. With its re-arrival, can we expect a resurgence of solar activity?
Space News & Blog Articles
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Doctor Who '73 Yards': Who exactly is that old woman following Ruby Sunday?
The TARDIS lands in Wales, where the Doctor disappears and Ruby finds herself at the heart of a creepy folk horror tale in episode 4 of Doctor Who, "73 Yards."
Fly across Nili Fossae with ESA’s Mars Express
Video: 00:03:29
Mars’s surface is covered in all manner of scratches and scars. Its many marks include the fingernail scratches of Tantalus Fossae, the colossal canyon system of Valles Marineris, the oddly orderly ridges of Angustus Labyrinthus, and the fascinating features captured in today’s video release from Mars Express: the cat scratches of Nili Fossae.
Virtual flying lessons for Hera asteroid mission
As ESA’s Hera spacecraft for planetary defence goes through pre-flight testing, the system that will steer it around its target binary asteroid system is also undergoing its final checks for space.
Taking EarthCARE into orbit
Video: 00:02:36
ESA’s EarthCARE satellite lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, US, on 29 May at 00:20 CEST (28 May, 15:20 local time).
Replay: EarthCARE launch coverage
Video: 02:15:00
Watch the replay of the EarthCARE launch coverage. The video includes streaming of the event at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre in Germany and footage of liftoff from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, US.
EarthCARE was lofted into orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on 29 May at 00:20 CEST (28 May, 15:20 local time).
The Sun’s Magnetic Field Might Only Be Skin Deep
It’s coming back! Sunspot AR3664 gave us an amazing display of northern lights in mid-May and it’s now rotating back into view. That means another great display if this sunspot continues to flare out. It’s all part of solar maximum—the peak of an 11-year cycle of solar active and quiet times. This cycle is the result of something inside the Sun—the solar dynamo. A team of scientists suggests that this big generator lies not far beneath the solar surface. It creates a magnetic field and spurs flares and sunspots.
Volcanoes Were Erupting on Venus in the 1990s
Start talking about Venus and immediately my mind goes to those images from the Venera space probes that visited Venus in the 1970’s. They revealed a world that had been scarred by millennia of volcanic activity yet as far as we could tell those volcanoes were dormant. That is, until just now. Magellan has been mapping the surface of Venus and between 1990 and 1992 had mapped 98% of the surface. Researchers compared two scans of the same area and discovered that there were fresh outflows of molten rock filling a vent crater! There was active volcanism on Venus.
EarthCARE launched to study role of clouds and aerosols in Earth's climate
ESA’s EarthCARE satellite, poised to revolutionise our understanding of how clouds and aerosols affect our climate, has been launched. This extraordinary satellite embarked on its journey into space on 29 May at 00:20 CEST (28 May, 15:20 local time) aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, US.
Robotic Russian cargo ship leaves the ISS, burns up in Earth's atmosphere (photo)
Russia's uncrewed Progress 86 cargo craft departed the International Space Station early Tuesday morning (May 28), ending a six-month orbital stay.
How scientists shipped astronomy's largest camera from California to Chile
The largest camera ever built for astronomy arrived in Chile, where it will be installed atop Rubin Observatory's Simonyi Survey Telescope.
Volcanoes on Venus might be erupting right now
Venus may be as geologically active as Earth, with volcanoes possibly spewing on its surface in the present day.
Netflix's new sci-fi flick 'Atlas' charms with old-school heroics and rousing mech fights (review)
A review of director Brad Peyton's new sci-fi adventure flick, "Atlas."
Enjoy Five New Images from the Euclid Mission
We’re fortunate to live in these times. Multiple space telescopes feed us a rich stream of astounding images that never seems to end. Each one is a portrait of some part of nature’s glory, enriched by the science behind it all. All we have to do is revel in the wonder.
Watch SpaceX send Earth-observing satellite to orbit today on 2nd leg of doubleheader
SpaceX will launch the EarthCARE mission this afternoon (May 28) after sending aloft a group of Starlinks this morning, and you can watch the action live.
Scientists pick their favorite Euclid 'dark universe' telescope images: 'The best is still to come'
The European Space Agency has now released ten images from its dark universe detective spacecraft, Euclid. We asked scientists from various fields to pick their favorite Euclid image thus far.
Does the Milky Way orbit anything?
Do galaxies, including our own Milky Way, orbit anything in the universe?
Chinese astronauts perform record-breaking spacewalk outside Tiangong space station (video)
Two Chinese astronauts spent about 8.5 hours outside the Tiangong space station today (May 28), setting a new spacewalk-duration record for the country.
Zero Debris Charter aims to boost international cooperation on cleaning up Earth's space junk problem
ESA and some of its member states have signed the non-binding Zero Debris Charter, committing themselves to take steps to help tackle the orbital debris problem.
Just keep swimming! Zebrafish doing fine in zero gravity on China's Tiangong space station (video)
The four zebrafish China sent to its space station are thriving after spending almost a month in orbit.
