Video: 00:45:03
Replay of the 16 December 2021 online press briefing about the James Webb Space Telescope.
Space News & Blog Articles
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This Week's Sky at a Glance, December 17 – 25
Dramatic Venus is becoming a dramatically thinner, larger crescent the southwestern twilight. A few people can even resolve the crescent naked-eye. Saturn and Jupiter stay lined up behind it. And the bright winter constellations officially come into their own with the turning of the solstice.
Earth from Space: Kourou, French Guiana
Ahead of the upcoming Ariane 5 launch of the James Webb Space Telescope, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Kourou – home to Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, an overseas department of France.
NASA has 4 new Earth Science Missions Launching in 2022
Outer space is a great place to go if you want to study the Earth. Although outward-looking spacecraft like Hubble and the highly anticipated James Webb Space Telescope garner most of the attention from the public – understandably, given their spectacular imagery of distant astronomical phenomena – the large majority of satellite infrastructure in orbit is actually focused back on our home planet. The unparalleled view of the planet from space offers unique advantages to scientists hoping to measure changes and patterns here on Earth that just aren’t possible from the ground. In 2022, NASA will launch four new Earth science missions, each offering something unique, and adding a new way to understand, and protect, our home.
How real is the multiverse?
A multiverse may be a natural prediction of the physical theories that define the beginning of the universe.
UN confirms hottest temperature ever recorded in the Arctic
The UN says temperatures were "more befitting the Mediterranean than the Arctic."
December full moon 2021: 'Full Cold Moon' meets string of 3 planets Saturday
December's full moon on Saturday (Dec. 18), the last of the year, will usher in the winter constellations and notably, three naked-eye planets in the evening.
Opening a 50-year-old Christmas present from the Moon
A pretty special gift unwrapping will soon take place – a piercing tool built by ESA will open a Moon soil container from Apollo 17 that has gone untouched for nearly 50 years. The opening will allow the extraction of precious lunar gases which may have been preserved in the sample.
Webb telescope testing on tap today before setting target launch date
Ground crews work with the James Webb Space Telescope inside the Ariane 5 rocket’s final assembly building in French Guiana. Credit: ESA-Manuel Pedoussaut
Technicians at a jungle spaceport in South America are completing tests on the James Webb Space Telescope Thursday to make sure they fixed a “finicky” communications interface glitch that halted launch preparations earlier this week, potentially paving the way for liftoff of the three-story-tall observatory as soon as Dec. 24.
Astronomy Jargon 101: Cosmic Strings
In this series we are exploring the weird and wonderful world of astronomy jargon! You’ll do a little dance about today’s topic: cosmic strings!
SpaceX faces sexual harassment allegations from five former employees
Several former employees have gone public with allegations of sexual harassment experienced at SpaceX.
Parker Solar Probe Flies Through the Sun’s Outer Atmosphere for the First Time
For the first time ever, a spacecraft has flown through the Sun’s outer atmosphere. The Parker Solar Probe passed through the out portion of the Sun’s corona in April of 2021, passing directly through streamers of solar plasma.
Faulty cable responsible for latest James Webb Space Telescope launch delay
A faulty data cable between the James Webb Space Telescope and launch pad equipment caused the big observatory's latest launch delay.
Data relay satellite deployed on China’s 50th orbital launch attempt of the year
A Chinese Long March 3B rocket lifts off Dec. 13 with Tianlian 2-02 data relay satellite. Credit: CASC
China succeeded in its 50th orbital launch attempt of the year Dec. 13, when a Long March 3B rocket delivered a Tianlian data relay satellite to orbit on a mission to link ground control with the Chinese space station and other spacecraft.
Astronomy Jargon 101: Cosmic Rays
In this series we are exploring the weird and wonderful world of astronomy jargon! You’ll have to be careful around today’s topic: cosmic rays!
Did black holes form immediately after the Big Bang?
How did supermassive black holes form? What is dark matter? In an alternative model for how the Universe came to be, as compared to the ‘textbook’ history of the Universe, a team of astronomers propose that both of these cosmic mysteries could be explained by so-called ‘primordial black holes’.
Long Focal Length Telescopes for Astrophotography
Long focal length scopes are usually discouraged for beginner deep sky astrophotography, but solar system imagers need that extra focal length reach.
Galaxy Found With Twin Supermassive Black Holes
For literally being black in the truest sense of the word, black holes are surprisingly easy to spot. Astronomers have spent decades at this point purposely searching for them and have found thousands already, with potentially 100 billion existing in our part of the universe. We are still finding new types and configurations of black holes consistently. Now, new research led by Dr. Karina Voggel of the Strasbourg Observatory found a pair of black holes that hold the new records of being both the closest supermassive black hole pair to Earth and the closest together pair ever seen.
NASA's Perseverance rover finds organic chemicals on Mars
Perseverance has identified carbon-containing organic chemicals in some of the rocks it's examined on the floor of Mars' Jezero Crater.
NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity passes 30 minutes of total air time
The helicopter finished its 17th flight on Dec. 5, and is getting ready for an 18th as soon as Wednesday (Dec. 15).
Lunar robot wars
Image: Lunar robot wars
