The Maya created a complex calendar system to regulate their world — one of the most accurate of pre-modern times.
Space News & Blog Articles
Tune into the SpaceZE News Network to stay updated on industry news from around the world.
SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center on 1st ‘Bandwagon’ mission
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 39A on the Bandwagon-1 rideshare mission on April 7, 2024. Image: Adam Bernstein
SpaceX launched the first in a new series of rideshare missions that it dubbed “Bandwagon.” The 11 satellites rode onboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
The World's Largest Digital Camera is Complete. It Will Go Into the Vera Rubin Observatory
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, formerly the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), was formally proposed in 2001 to create an astronomical facility that could conduct deep-sky surveys using the latest technology. This includes a wide-field reflecting telescope with an 8.4-meter (~27.5-foot) primary mirror that relies on a novel three-mirror design (the Simonyi Survey Telescope) and a 3.2-megapixel Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) imaging camera (the LSST Camera). Once complete, Rubin will perform a 10-year survey of the southern sky known as the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST).
Coding the cosmos: Building an app for the total solar eclipse 2024 (op-ed)
We built an app for the 2024 solar eclipse and here's why it's a labor of love.
SpaceX rocket launches 11 satellites, including one for South Korea, on Bandwagon-1 rideshare flight (photos)
SpaceX is set to launch 11 satellites on the Bandwagon-1 rideshare mission tonight (April 7) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
My dogs and I watched the 2017 total solar eclipse, but we won't travel for this one
An account of the 2017 "Great American Eclipse" as viewed from Oregon — with my dogs.
The First Atmospheric Rainbow on an Exoplanet?
When light strikes the atmosphere all sorts of interesting things can happen. Water vapor can split sunlight into a rainbow arc of colors, corpuscular rays can stream through gaps in clouds like the light from heaven, and halos and sundogs can appear due to sunlight reflecting off ice crystals. And then there is the glory effect, which can create a colorful almost saint-like halo around objects.
Roman Will Learn the Ages of Hundreds of Thousands of Stars
Astronomers routinely provide the ages of the stars they study. But the methods of measuring ages aren’t 100% accurate. Measuring the ages of distant stars is a difficult task.
SpaceX begins commercial Direct to Cell Starlink constellation with Falcon 9 flight from Vandenberg Space Force Base
A Falcon 9 rocket lifts off at sunset from Vandenberg Space Force Base on the Starlink 8-1 mission on April 6, 2024. Image: SpaceX
For a second time this year, SpaceX is preparing to launch another batch of Starlink satellites that support its Direct to Cell capability. The six spacecraft are among the 21 total satellites which launched on Saturday, April 6, from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Webb Sees a Galaxy Awash in Star Formation
Since it began operations in July 2022, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has fulfilled many scientific objectives. In addition to probing the depths of the Universe in search of galaxies that formed shortly after the Big Bang, it has also provided the clearest and most detailed images of nearby galaxies. In the process, Webb has provided new insight into the processes through which galaxies form and evolve over billions of years. This includes galaxies like Messier 82 (M82), a “starburst galaxy” located about 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major.
The Stellar Demolition Derby in the Centre of the Galaxy
The region near the Milky Way’s centre is dominated by the supermassive black hole that resides there. Sagittarius A*’s overwhelming gravity creates a chaotic region where tightly packed, high-speed stars crash into one another like cars in a demolition derby.
A New Map Shows the Universe’s Dark Energy May Be Evolving
At the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, an instrument with 5,000 tiny robotic eyes scans the night sky. Every 20 minutes, the instrument and the telescope it’s attached to observe a new set of 5,000 galaxies. The instrument is called DESI—Dark Energy Survey Instrument—and once it’s completed its five-year mission, it’ll create the largest 3D map of the Universe ever created.
11 Things to Take With You the Day of the Solar Eclipse
You might have your eclipse-viewing plans all worked out, but have you thought about all the other things you might need?
A stellar role for ESA
Launched on 21 February 2024 on Apple TV+, new original series Constellation has gripped viewers with its mix of sci-fi and mind-bending mystery.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, April 5 – 14
Venus and Jupiter may shine through the blue sky during the April 8th solar eclipse even if the eclipse for you is only deep partial. After dark, Orion walks down in the southwest.
Earth from Space: Victoria, Australia
Image: This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image features part of Victoria, a state in southeast Australia.
Astro Chat with Pablo Álvarez Fernández | ESA Explores podcast
Video: 00:29:37
Pablo Álvarez Fernández, one of ESA's five astronaut candidates currently undergoing basic astronaut training at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, shares his experiences in astronaut training, his favourite lessons, and his view on the future of space exploration. Also, stay tuned to hear his favourite space-related quote and movie!
SpaceX launches 23 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral
A Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on the Starlink 6-47 mission on Friday, April 5, 2024. Image: Spaceflight Now
Update 5:12 a.m. EDT: SpaceX launched the Starlink 6-47 mission.
