Space telescopes detect on average one gamma-ray burst per day, adding to thousands of bursts detected throughout the years, and a community of volunteers are making research into these bursts possible.
Space News & Blog Articles
Wow! Private space-junk probe snaps historic photo of discarded rocket in orbit
The private ADRAS-J probe snapped an epic, up-close image of its rendezvous target, a Japanese rocket stage that's been circling Earth since 2009.
Laser on NASA's Psyche asteroid probe beams data from 140 million miles away
NASA's DSOC experiment passed yet another milestone, interfacing with the Psyche spacecraft and beaming data back to Earth from 140 million miles away.
Satellites spot clusters of 'spiders' sprawled across Mars' Inca City (photo)
Seasonal spider-like features were spotted sprouting up through surface cracks near Mars’ Inca City region.
Earth’s Mini-Moon Linked to Farside Lunar Crater
Researchers might have located the birthplace of 469219 Kamo‘oalewa, a small asteroid that has been described as Earth’s “mini-moon.”
Early Star Wars Day Lego deal: $130 off UCS Razor Crest
This is the way to celebrate Star Wars Day in style, with the 6187-piece Lego Ultimate Collector Series Razor Crest, now $130 off
5 sci-fi movies that weren't great but still deserve a sequel
We're constantly talking about good movies that deserve a sequel, but what about the divisive ones that, while not great, had cool ideas worth building upon?
NASA begins delivering 1st Artemis Moon Trees to be planted across United States
The first woman slated to launch to the moon has delivered one of the first trees grown from seeds recently flown there. NASA astronaut Christina Koch presented an "Artemis 1 Moon Tree."
Japan’s Lunar Lander Survives its Third Lunar Night
Space travel and exploration was never going to be easy. Failures are sadly all too common but it’s wonderful to see missions exceed expectations. The Japanese Space Agency’s SLIM lunar lander was only supposed to survive a single day but it’s survived three brutal, harsh lunar nights and is still going. The temperatures plummet to -170C at night and the lander was never designed to operate into the night. Even sat upside down on the surface it’s still sending back pictures and data.
Black Holes Can Halt Star Formation in Massive Galaxies
It’s difficult to actually visualise a universe that is changing. Things tend to happen at snails pace albeit with the odd exception. Take the formation of galaxies growing in the early universe. Their immense gravitational field would suck in dust and gas from the local vicinity creating vast collections of stars. In the very centre of these young galaxies, supermassive blackholes would reside turning the galaxy into powerful quasars. A recent survey by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) reveals that black holes can create a powerful solar wind that can remove gas from galaxies faster than they can form into stars, shutting off the creation of new stars.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, April 26 – May 5
All the planets now huddle around our line of sight toward the Sun. However, these moonless evenings present us the Spring Triangle, the Great Diamond with a sugar sprinkle on its edge, and the Pointers aligned vertically.
Earth from Space: Seychelles
Image: The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over part of the Seychelles, an island republic in the western Indian Ocean.
NASA astronauts arrive at Kennedy Space Center ahead of Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore (left) and Suni Williams (right) pose by their mission patch following their arrival at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in the run-up to the Starliner Crew Flight Test on May 6. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now
For the first time since the end of the shuttle program, a trio of T-38 jets cruised down the former Shuttle Landing Facility carrying astronauts who were preparing for launch. As they climbed out of their aircraft, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, each donned back ball caps emblazoned with “Crew Flight Test,” the name of their forthcoming mission.
Mapping the Milky Way’s Magnetic Field in 3D
We are all very familiar with the concept of the Earth’s magnetic field. It turns out that most objects in space have magnetic fields but it’s quite tricky to measure them. Astronomers have developed an ingenious way to measure the magnetic field of the Milky Way using polarised light from interstellar dust grains that align themselves to the magnetic field lines. A new survey has begun this mapping process and has mapped an area that covers the equivalent of 15 times the full Moon.
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is 'go' for May 6 astronaut launch
Boeing's Starliner capsule has been cleared for its first-ever crewed launch, a test flight scheduled to send two astronauts toward the International Space Station on May 6.
NASA’s New Solar Sail Has Launched and Deployed
Solar Sails are an enigmatic and majestic way to travel across the gulf of space. Drawing an analogy to the sail ships of the past, they are one of the most efficient ways of propelling craft in space. On Tuesday a RocketLab Electron rocket launched NASA’s new Advanced Composite Solar Sail System. It aims to test the deployment of large solar sails in low-earth orbit and on Wednesday, NASA confirmed they had successfully deployed a 9 metre sail.
Russian cosmonauts make quick work of space station spacewalk
Two Russian cosmonauts completed a spacewalk at the International Space Station on April 25, wrapping up all of their tasks with time to spare, including the deployment of a radar that they began last year.
Curiosity rover may be 'burping' methane out of Mars' subsurface
A new theory suggests that NASA's Curiosity rover is "burping" the surface of the Red Planet, releasing methane trapped beneath a salty crust.
Boeing Starliner 1st astronaut flight: Live updates
Boeing will launch its first-ever Starliner astronaut mission for NASA as early as May 6, 2024