In 1840 an unassuming star in the Southern Hemisphere brightened suddenly. What had been a 5th magnitude star became so bright by 1843 that it was the second brightest star in the sky. The star, known as Eta Carinae, had been known to vary in brightness before, but this change was so sudden and so dramatic that it became known as the Great Eruption.
Space News & Blog Articles
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Watch Arianespace Vega rocket launch 12 satellites to orbit tonight
A Vega rocket will launch 12 satellites to orbit tonight (Oct. 6) on its first mission of the year, and you can watch the action live.
Could Modified Gravity Be the Answer to Planet 9?
As students advance to higher and higher physics courses, they eventually learn that the simple Newtonian dynamics they learned about in early classes aren’t completely accurate models for understanding the universe. If things get too big or fast, they fall into the realm of relativity, or if they get too small, they get caught up in quantum mechanics. However, simple Newtonian dynamics does the trick for things ranging from how a baseball flies to how planets orbit the Sun.
Spanish company launching rocket for 1st time today: Watch it live
Spanish company PLD Space plans to launch one of its rockets for the first time ever today (Oct. 6), and you can watch the action live.
The History of Baily’s Brilliant Beads
Discover the observations of astronomer Francis Baily as he watched sunlight bead along the lunar limb during an 1836 annular eclipse.
Loki season 2 episode 1 review: A new hope for Marvel in the TV realm
Loki returns with a season premiere full of exposition and set-ups that still manages to make us care and remind us of the great times.
Here's how Artemis 2 astronauts will exercise, sleep and use the toilet on their moon mission (photos)
NASA is getting the Artemis 2 Orion spacecraft built while testing key activities that astronauts will perform on their way to the moon and back.
Mercury was shrinking for at least 3 billion years — and it still might be today
New research indicates that Mercury's thermal contraction was still occurring as recently as 300 million years ago.
ESA and Axiom Space forge partnership for future space exploration
The European Space Agency ESA and Axiom Space signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 1 October in Paris to explore collaborative opportunities in human spaceflight, science, technology, and commercialisation.
Deep space missions will test astronauts' mental health. Could AI companions help?
Could AI companions provide mental health support for astronauts experiencing the most unique instances of social isolation ever experienced by human beings?
Shoebox-sized space labs being launched by Vega
Among the smallest passengers aboard Europe’s Vega launch tonight are also the most ambitious in nature: twin miniaturised laboratories, or CubeSats, for the in-orbit demonstration of disruptive state-of-the-art space technologies.
The ozone hole above Antarctica has grown to three times the size of Brazil
Observations from ESA's Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite indicate the ozone hole above Antarctica is one of the largest seasonal holes ever observed.
Atlas V rocket launching Amazon's 1st internet satellites today: Watch it live
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch two prototype satellites for Amazon's Project Kuiper constellation today (Oct. 6), and you can watch it live.
Hypergravity odyssey of Earth’s tiniest plant
The smallest flowering plant on Earth might become a nutritious foodstuff for astronauts in the future, as well as a highly efficient source of oxygen. To help test its suitability for space, floating clumps of watermeal – individually the size of pinheads – were subjected to 20 times normal Earth gravity aboard ESA’s Large Diameter Centrifuge by a team from Mahidol University in Thailand.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, October 6 – 15
A partial/annular eclipse of the Sun washes across the Americas on Wednesday the 14th. Four days before, the waning Moon and Venus pair up in early dawn with Regulus glimmering between them.
The night sky twinkles inside new book, 'Diamonds Everywhere,' by astronomer Tom Kerss
Gaze into the cosmos with this new must-have for your astrophotography bookshelf.
Open doors for the ESA-ESRIN Open Day
Video: 00:05:59
On Friday 29 September, the European Space Agency opened the doors of the ESA Centre for Earth Observation, ESRIN, to host the ESA Open Day in the framework of the European Researchers' Night. With a full program of presentations, interviews, interactive games, hands-on workshops and various activities, more than 1400 people, among adults and children, had the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of the activities and programs in which ESA is involved every day.
Earth from Space: Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines
Image: The heart of the Nueva Vizcaya Province on Luzon, the largest and most populated island of the Philippines, shows up brightly in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 false-colour image.
