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Watch the closest flyby of a planet ever, as the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo spacecraft sped past Mercury during its latest encounter on 4 September 2024.
Space News & Blog Articles
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This Week's Sky at a Glance, September 13 – 22
The Moon occults Saturn before dawn on Tuesday morning, then the Moon skims the edge of Earth's shadow for a partial lunar eclipse that evening. Meanwhile, Jupiter and Mars shine in fine view late at night.
Earth from Space: Adriatic bloom
Image: This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image captures algal bloom swirls in the north Adriatic Sea, along the coast of Italy.
Artemis Missions Could Put the most Powerful imaging Telescope on the Moon
Ground-based interferometry on Earth has proven to be a successful method for conducting science by combining light from several telescopes into acting like a single large telescope. But how can a ultraviolet (UV)/optical interferometer telescope on the Moon deliver enhanced science, and can the Artemis missions help make this a reality? This is what a recently submitted study to the SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2024 conference hopes to address as a team of researchers propose the Artemis-enabled Stellar Imager (AeSI) that, as its name implies, could potentially be delivered to the lunar surface via NASA’s upcoming Artemis missions. This proposal was recently accepted as a Phase 1 study through NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program and holds the potential to develop revolutionary extremely high-angular resolution way of conducting science on other planetary bodies while contributing to other missions, as well.
And the Winner is…. Astronomy Photographers of the Year 2024 Announced
Every year, the “Astronomy Photographer of the Year” competition provides incredible images of our night sky — whether they are stunning views of distant galaxies or dramatic photos of aurorae or other views from our home planet. This year is no different, and the awards were just announced at a special presentation at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich (ROG), England for the incredible 16th year of the competition. The event is sponsored by the ROG, supported by Liberty Specialty Markets and in association with BBC Sky at Night Magazine. For the 2024 competition there were over 3,500 entries from 58 countries.
SpaceX launches 21 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from West Coast
File: A Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to launch a Starlink mission. Image: SpaceX
SpaceX launched its latest batch of 21 Starlink satellites on a Thursday night Falcon 9 launch from California.
See a First-Person View of the First Private Spacewalk
On Tuesday, September 10th, at 5:23 a.m. EST (03:23 p.m. PST), the Polaris Dawn mission launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying a crew of four to Low Earth Orbit (LEO). This mission is the first of three that comprise the Polaris Program, a private spaceflight program organized by entrepreneur and private astronaut Jared Isaacman and financed by SpaceX. Since launching, the Resilience Crew Dragon spacecraft has flown higher than any crewed mission since the Apollo Era and passed through parts of the Van Allen radiation belt.
First non-government spacewalk goes off without a hitch for Polaris Dawn crew
Isaacman floats above the Crew Dragon’s hatch, taking in a spectacular view of Earth from 458 miles above the southern Indian Ocean. Image: SpaceX.
In another SpaceX milestone, billionaire Jared Isaacman and company crew trainer Sarah Gillis took turns floating just outside their Crew Dragon capsule early Thursday in the first privately-financed spacewalk in the history of space exploration.
Groundbreaking New Maps of the Sun’s Coronal Magnetic Fields
If you enjoyed this summer’s display of aurora borealis, thank the Sun’s corona. The corona is the Sun’s outer layer and is the source of most space weather, including aurorae. The aurora borealis are benign light shows, but not all space weather produces such harmless displays; some of it is dangerous and destructive.
SpaceX's Starship won't be licensed to fly again until late November, FAA says
SpaceX's Starship likely won't be able to fly again until late November at the earliest, because the FAA and partner agencies need more time for licensing reviews.
Update: Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS Might Outshine Predictions
A new brightness forecast for Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS whets our hopes for a fine appearance in late September and early October.
Helen Sawyer Hogg: Giving the Stars to Everyone
Helen Sawyer Hogg stood at the front of a small but growing force of woman astronomers in the first half of the 20th century. This is her story.
Sun fires off X-class solar flare, increasing aurora viewing chances into weekend
The sun unleashed an X1.3-class solar flare on Thursday (Sept. 12), increasing the likelihood of widespread auroras this weekend.
SpaceX's private Polaris Dawn astronauts talk US flag and kids' books from orbit on historic spaceflight (videos)
The Polaris Dawn crew called down to Earth to honor the anniversary of 9/11, and to do a book-reading event to support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Polaris Dawn: World's 1st commercial spacewalk was history's 20th stand-up EVA
Two private astronauts conducting the first commercial spacewalk did not so much float out of their spacecraft as they did "stand up."
Book Review: Is Earth Exceptional?
A new book looks at the latest scientific insights versus a key question in astronomy and space science.
Satellites watch Hurricane Francine make landfall as a Category 2 storm in Louisiana (video)
Hurricane Francine, the sixth storm of this year's Atlantic hurricane season, made landfall on the Louisiana coast late afternoon on Wednesday.
New 'Firefly' comics unveil the untold origins of Captain Mal and Zoë
A preview of two new "Firefly" comics from Boom! Studios that delve into the origins of Captain Mal and Zoë Alleyne
Tiny NASA satellite detects its 1st massive gamma ray burst
A NASA satellite designed to search for the universe's most powerful and violent explosions has successfully scouted its first burst, space agency officials announced earlier this week.
'International Observe the Moon Night' is Sept. 14. Here's how to participate
Saturday Sept. 14 marks NASA's annual Observe the Moon Night, a worldwide event to promote lunar science and astronomy, celebrate cultural connections to the moon, and promote amateur lunar observations.
SpaceX Polaris Dawn astronauts perform historic 1st private spacewalk in orbit (video)
Two Polaris Dawn astronauts completed the world's first all-private spacewalk in their new SpaceX extravehicular activity suits, on Day 3 of the groundbreaking mission.
