Aurora chasers are on high alert for possible geomagnetic storm conditions Oct.3 through Oct. 5 with northern lights possible as far south as Illinois and Oregon.
Space News & Blog Articles
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Sentinel-2 unveils the seasonal rhythm of intertidal seagrass
Thanks to an ESA-funded project and data from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission, researchers have revealed seasonal variations in intertidal seagrass across Western Europe and North Africa. As a key indicator of biodiversity, these new findings offer valuable insights for the conservation and restoration of these vital ecosystems.
Mercury’s magnetic landscape mapped in 30 minutes
As BepiColombo sped past Mercury during its June 2023 flyby, it encountered a variety of features in the tiny planet’s magnetic field. These measurements provide a tantalising taste of the mysteries that the mission is set to investigate when it arrives in orbit around the Solar System’s innermost planet.
No place too remote: Enabling satellite connectivity from Pole to Pole
To achieve truly global connectivity, telecommunications satellites are essential. Through the Sunrise Partnership Project with Eutelsat OneWeb – part of Eutelsat Group – and support from the UK Space Agency, ESA is extending advanced 5G connectivity to areas beyond the reach of traditional ground networks.
Jets From Supermassive Black Holes Create New Stars Along Their Trajectory
Since the 1970s, astronomers have observed that supermassive black holes (SMBHs) reside at the centers of most massive galaxies. In some cases, these black holes accelerate gas and dust from their poles, forming relativistic jets that can extend for thousands of light-years. Using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, a team of astronomers observed the jet emanating from the center of M87, the supermassive galaxy located 53.5 million light-years away. To their surprise, the team observed nova erupting along the jet’s trajectory, twice as many as they observed in M87 itself.
Annular solar eclipse 2024 wows skywatchers with 'ring of fire' over Easter Island & South America (videos, photos)
On Wednesday (Oct. 2), an annular eclipse swept over the Pacific Ocean, Chile, and Argentina, wowing skywatchers who were on hand to catch the "ring of fire" in all of its glory.
ULA's Vulcan Centaur rocket is 'go' for 2nd-ever launch on Oct. 4
United Launch Alliance's new Vulcan Centaur rocket is 'go' for its second-ever liftoff, a test flight scheduled to launch on Friday morning (Oct. 4).
NASA Turns Off One of Voyager 2's Science Instruments
The two Voyager spacecraft have been speeding through space since 1977, powered by decaying chunks of plutonium that produce less and less energy every year. With less electricity available, NASA has decided to shut down one experiment on Voyager 2, the plasma science instrument. This device measures the quantity and direction of ionized particles passing the spacecraft. While Voyager 2 still has enough electricity to support its four other operational instruments, it will likely be down to just one by the 2030s.
Sun unleashes monster X7.1 flare that could supercharge Earth auroras (video)
Just when we thought the sun was taking a bit of a break, the sunspot AR3842 fired off two powerful solar flares, including a monster X7.1.
NASA shuts off Voyager 2 science instrument as power dwindles
NASA has turned off one of Voyager 2's science instruments as power conservation becomes crucial for the interstellar exploring spacecraft located 12.8 billion miles from home.
Get Ready for Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS — The Best Is Yet to Come!
Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS has delighted observers already, but its morning run was only a warm-up — wait till you see what's coming.
ESA’s Hera mission progresses towards launch pending Falcon 9 readiness
An artist’s rendering of the Hera spacecraft alongside the CubeSats, Juventas and Milani. Graphic: ESA
The European Space Agency is on the cusp of launching its first planetary defense mission, a complement to NASA’s 2022 Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission. The goal of these missions is to understand how Earth can be protected from a potentially destructive asteroid strike.
October's new moon will bring us a spectacular 'ring of fire' eclipse
October's new moon will occur today (Oct. 2) and create a dazzling annular solar eclipse.
Bernard's Star Has a Planet (Again)!
The thing about exoplanets is that astronomers don’t see them the way most people think they do. Part of the reason for that is the way we announce them. Whenever an interesting exoplanet is discovered, the press release usually has colorful artwork showing oceans, mountains, and clouds. Something visually captivating like the image above. But the reality is that we have only imaged a few exoplanets directly, and even then, they appear only as small fuzzy blobs. Most of the known exoplanets were discovered by the transit method, where the star dims slightly as the planet passes in front of it. So what astronomers actually see is a periodic flickering of starlight.
Did a NASA telescope detect cosmic 'hot dogs' or Dyson spheres?
The potential detection of "Dyson spheres" indicating advanced alien civilizations may actually be supermassive black hole powerful galaxies obscured by dusty shrouds called "hot DOGs."
'I think it was hard not to watch that rocket lift off without thinking, that's my rocket and that's my crew.' How the NASA astronauts bumped from SpaceX's Crew-9 watched their ride launch without them
NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson were expected to launch on SpaceX's Crew-9 mission on Sept. 28. Still on Earth, they spoke about how they're feeling.
Uplifting news! ESA crowns new deep space antenna in Australia
This September saw the completion of a critical milestone for the construction of ESA's new deep space communication antenna in New Norcia, Australia: the lifting of the 122-tonne reflector dish.
Annular solar eclipse will turn the sun into a glorious 'ring of fire' today. Here's what you need to know.
Today (Oct. 2), the moon and sun will create a "ring of fire" during an annular solar eclipse. Here's how and when to catch the spectacular phenomenon.
An Earth-like Planet Around a Dead Sun Provides Some Reassurance About the Future of Earth
In about five billion years, our Sun will exit its main sequence phase and transition to its red giant phase. At this point, the Sun will expand and consume the planets of the inner Solar System, including Mercury and Venus. What will become of Earth when this happens has been the subject of debate for many decades. But with the recent explosion in exoplanet discoveries, 5,759 confirmed in 4,305 systems so far, astronomers hope to learn more about how planets fare as their stars near the end of their life cycle.
We Don’t See Many Planets in Old Triple Star Systems
Why is it important to search for exoplanets in triple star systems and how many can we find there? This is what a recent study accepted by Astrophysics & Space Science hopes to address as a pair of researchers from the University of Texas at Arlington investigated the statistical likelihood of triple star systems hosting exoplanets. This study holds the potential to help researchers better understand the formation and evolution of triple star systems and whether they are suitable to find life as we know it.
FAA requires investigation of anomaly on SpaceX's Crew-9 astronaut launch
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is requiring an investigation of the anomaly a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket experienced during the Crew-9 astronaut launch on Sept. 28.
