Supermassive black holes haunt the cores of many galaxies. Yet for all we know about black holes (not nearly enough!), the big ones remain a mystery, particularly when they began forming. Interestingly, astronomers see them in the early epochs of cosmic history. That raises the question: how did they get so big when the Universe was still just a baby?
Space News & Blog Articles
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How Will We the Find First Signs of Alien Life — and When?
When will we find evidence for life beyond Earth? And where will that evidence be found? University of Arizona astronomer Chris Impey, the author of a book called “Worlds Without End,” is betting that the first evidence will come to light within the next decade or so.
3D-printed hearts on ISS could help astronauts travel to deep space
Scientists are using new technologies to create 3D-printed hearts that'll be sent to the ISS in about five years. This could be key for a future in which humans are deep-space explorers.
Clumps Around a Young Star Could Eventually Turn Into Planets Like Jupiter
From the dust, we rise. Vortices within the disks of young stars bring forth planets that coalesce into worlds. At least that’s our understanding of planetary evolution, and new images from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the Very Large Telescope’s Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch (SPHERE) further support this.
NASA's Juno Jupiter probe to get closest view of volcanic moon Io on July 30
NASA's solar-powered spacecraft, Juno, will take another spin past Jupiter's moon Io on Sunday (July 30) with its 52nd pass being its closest approach to the volcanic moon yet.
How will space tourism be impacted by the Titan submersible tragedy?
That ill-fated dive of the Titan submersible and loss of its deep ocean exploring occupants has sparked conversation and debate in the world of public space travel.
Meet Rollin' Justin, the human-like robot that astronauts control from space
Robot Rollin' Justin is a pioneer in testing how astronauts can control a machine on another world. He just finished a test on the simulated sands of a Mars-like world.
We can measure dark energy across the universe in our own cosmic backyard
Researchers have found a new way to measure dark energy — the mysterious force that is causing the expansion of the entire universe to accelerate — using data from our own cosmic backyard.
Webb and Gaia welcome Euclid to L2
Video: 00:01:47
In the month after its launch on 1 July, Euclid has travelled 1.5 million kilometres from Earth towards the Sun-Earth Lagrange point L2, meaning it has ‘arrived’ at its destination orbit.
European satellite will fall to Earth today in landmark 'assisted reentry'
Europe's Aeolus satellite will crash back to Earth today (July 28) in an unprecedented 'assisted reentry' that could provide a template for other missions.
Giant Mars mountain Olympus Mons may once have been a volcanic island
Mars' mighty Olympus Mons may have once been a volcanic island surrounded by an ocean nearly 4 miles deep, according to geological evidence found in towering cliffs that ring the extinct volcano.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, July 28 – August 6
Venus turns super-interesting and then disappears. Mercury lingers behind it in twilight. So does little Mars in third place. On the other side of the sky, the Moon passes Saturn.
Earth from Space: Río de la Plata
Image: The Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission takes us over the Río de la Plata estuary between Argentina and Uruguay.
Have We Seen the First Glimpse of Supermassive Dark Stars?
A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) examines what are known as dark stars, which are estimated to be much larger than our Sun, are hypothesized to have existed in the early universe, and are allegedly powered by the demolition of dark matter particles. This study was conducted using spectroscopic analysis from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and more specifically, the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES), and holds the potential to help astronomers better understand dark stars and the purpose of dark matter, the latter of which continues to be an enigma for the scientific community, as well as how it could have contributed to the early universe.
Live coverage: SpaceX to launch another 22 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral
File photo of SpaceX’s Starlink V2 Mini satellites inside a payload processing facility at Cape Canaveral. Image: SpaceX
Update 10:28 p.m. EDT:
NASA and DARPA Award Contract for a Nuclear Engine to Lockheed Martin
NASA plans to send astronauts to Mars in the coming decade. This presents many challenges, not the least of which is the distance involved and the resulting health risks. To this end, they are investigating and investing in many technologies, ranging from life support and radiation protection to nuclear power and propulsion elements. A particularly promising technology is Nuclear-Thermal Propulsion (NTP), which has the potential to reduce transit times to Mars significantly. Instead of the usual one-way transit period of six to nine months, a working NTP system could reduce the travel time to between 100 and 45 days!
Life on 'Mars:' Commander of NASA's 1st yearlong analog comments on 1st month, food and stars
It's been a full month since Kelly Haston moved to 'Mars.' As commander of NASA's CHAPEA mission, Haston and her three crewmates volunteered to live for more than a year inside 'Mars Dune Alpha.'
Event Horizon
The event horizon is a critical concept in astrophysics, particularly in the study of black holes. It refers to the boundary around a black hole beyond which nothing, not even light, can escape its gravitational pull. Once an object or light crosses the event horizon, it is said to be inside the black hole and can never return to the outside universe.
SpaceX to try again for a record-breaking double-launch
Falcon Heavy (left) and Falcon 9 missions could launch within 44 minutes of each other. Images: SpaceX/Spaceflight Now
SpaceX could break the record for the shortest time between Cape Canaveral launches Thursday night if it can launch a Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy in quick succession. But achieving that assumes the weather cooperates and any technical issues with the Falcon Heavy can be resolved.
SpaceX Falcon Heavy seen from space waiting on launch pad (photos)
SpaceX's Falcon Heavy was photographed from space by Maxar Technologies before the rocket launches their largest satellite ever.
