This special limited engagement of 'Star Wars: The Phantom Menace' beginning on May 3 includes an early look at the upcoming Disney+ series 'The Acolyte.'
Space News & Blog Articles
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China's Chang'e 6 Mission Heads to the Moon
China’s ambitious Chang’e 6 mission will attempt to return a sample from the lunar farside.
Citizen scientists find remarkable exoplanet, name it after Harry Potter character
Citizen scientists have spotted a truly remarkable planet in a binary system's habitable zone. They gave a Harry Potter-inspired nickname.
China launches Chang'e 6 sample-return mission to moon's far side (video)
China continued its run of moon missions today (May 3), launching its bold Chang'e 6 sample-return effort to the lunar far side.
Meet the team behind EarthCARE
Video: 00:04:54
As we approach the launch of ESA’s EarthCARE mission, we caught up with some of the scientists, engineers and experts behind the mission.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, May 3 – 12
This week in the moonless dark, the Summer Triangle appears over the eastern treetops star by star. Leo walks down toward the west. And the Sombrero Galaxy positions itself ideally on the south meridian for your telescope.
Earth from Space: Namibian landforms
Image: This image may resemble the surface of Mars, but it was actually captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission, revealing the stunning terrain of northwest Namibia.
Seven ways ESA has cut its environmental footprint
ESA is committed to almost halve its greenhouse gas emissions linked to energy consumption by 2025 compared to 2019 levels. But how can ESA keep accelerating the use of space for the sustainable development of society while reducing its emissions?
ESA’s cloud and aerosol satellite aerosol-free
A few weeks ago, a team of engineers carefully extracted ESA's EarthCARE satellite from its protective transport container, initiating a meticulous process of inspection, testing and preparation for its liftoff later this month from the Vandenberg launch site in California.
Ariane 6 launches: Exolaunch’s EXOpod Nova
Europe’s newest rocket soon launches, taking with it many space missions each with a unique objective, destination and team at home, cheering them on. Whether launching new satellites to look back and study Earth, peer out to deep space or test important new technologies in orbit, Ariane 6’s first flight will showcase the versatility and flexibility of this impressive, heavy-lift launcher. Read on for all about EXOpod Nova, then see who else is flying first.
Two Stars in a Binary System are Very Different. It's Because There Used to be Three
A beautiful nebula in the southern hemisphere with a binary star at it’s center seems to break our standard models of stellar evolution. But new data from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) suggests that there may once have been three stars, and that one was destroyed in a catastrophic collision.
The Highest Observatory in the World Comes Online
The history of astronomy and observatories is full of stories about astronomers going higher and higher to get better views of the Universe. On Earth, the best locations are at places such as the Atacama Desert in Chile. So, that’s where the University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory just opened its high-altitude eye on the sky, atop Cerro Chajnantor.
Curious asteroid Selam, spotted by NASA's Lucy spacecraft, is a cosmic toddler
NASA's Lucy spacecraft serendipitously found a small moonlet orbiting the mission's asteroid target Dinkinesh. Scientists named it Selam, and have now learned that Selam is a cosmic toddler.
Is the JWST Now an Interplanetary Meteorologist?
The JWST keeps one-upping itself. In the telescope’s latest act of outdoing itself, it examined a distant exoplanet to map its weather. The forecast?
Live coverage: SpaceX to launch 30th Starlink mission of 2024 on Falcon 9 flight from Cape Canaveral
A Falcon 9 stands ready for a Starlink mission at Cape Canaveral’s pad 40. File photo: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is set to launch on the 30th Starlink flight of the year. The mission will add 23 more satellites to the mega constellation.
Astronauts on the moon could stay fit by running in a Wheel of Death
Scientists suggest lunar astronauts can stay fit by running sideways within a Wheel of Death.
Solar Orbiter Takes a Mind-Boggling Video of the Sun
You’ve seen the Sun, but you’ve never seen the Sun like this. This single frame from a video captured by ESA’s Solar Orbiter mission shows the Sun looking very …. fluffy! You can see feathery, hair-like structures made of plasma following magnetic field lines in the Sun’s lower atmosphere as it transitions into the much hotter outer corona. The video was taken from about a third of the distance between the Earth and the Sun.
What Can AI Learn About the Universe?
Artificial intelligence and machine learning have become ubiquitous, with applications ranging from data analysis, cybersecurity, pharmaceutical development, music composition, and artistic renderings. In recent years, large language models (LLMs) have also emerged, adding human interaction and writing to the long list of applications. This includes ChatGPT, an LLM that has had a profound impact since it was introduced less than two years ago. This application has sparked considerable debate (and controversy) about AI’s potential uses and implications.
Watch live: China launching Chang'e 6 mission to far side of the moon early May 3 (video)
China's Chang'e 6 sample return mission to the moon's far side is scheduled to launch early Friday morning (May 3), and you can watch the action live.
Meet Alkaid, the Big Dipper’s Handle
Alkaid is the end star of the Big Dipper's handle, a bright-blue example of a nearby B-type star.
