A SpaceX Falcon 9 is scheduled to launch the SARah 2 & 3 satellites for the German military. The twin craft, equipped with passive synthetic aperture radar reflectors, will liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base during an 83-minute window that opens at 5:11 a.m. PST / 8:11 a.m. EST / 1311 UTC on Sunday, Dec. 24.
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12 James Webb Space Telescope findings that changed our understanding of the universe in 2023
These are the James Webb Space Telescope's most notable discoveries in 2023.
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to launch 2 German military satellites early Dec. 23
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is set to launch two radar reconnaissance satellites for the German military early Saturday morning (Dec. 23).
Life beyond Earth may form in the coldest depths of space, Ryugu asteroid samples reveal
PAHs may be able to form in cold regions of space, affecting what scientists think about the origins of planets and possibility of alien life.
SpaceX launches Falcon 9 first-stage booster on record-breaking 19th flight
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches for a record-breaking 19th time, sending 23 Starlink satellites up to low Earth orbit. Image: Pete Carstens
Update 1:06 a.m. EST: Liftoff of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket confirmed. The booster, B1058, landed on the droneship several minutes after launch.
NASA Tightbeams a Cat Video From 31 Million Kilometers Away
NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN) has been responsible for maintaining contact with missions venturing beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) since 1963. In addition to relaying communications and instructions, the DSN has sent breathtaking images and invaluable science data back to Earth. As missions become more sophisticated, the amount of data they can gather and transmit is rapidly rising. To meet these growing needs, NASA has transitioned to higher-bandwidth radio spectrum transmissions. However, there is no way to increase data rates without scaling the size of its antennas or the power of its radio transmitters.
New Hubble Telescope image shows mysterious spokes on Saturn's rings
Scientists have no idea what the spokes are.
Warped supernova spotted by James Webb Space Telescope could settle a longstanding debate
Gravitationally lensed images of two different supernovas in the same galaxy can be used to measure the expansion rate of the universe.
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to launch on record-breaking 19th mission tonight
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is poised to launch for a record-setting 19th time tonight (Dec. 22), sending 23 Starlink internet satellites to orbit.
Watch 14 Years of Gamma-Ray Observations in This Fascinating NASA Video
The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, named in honor of noted physicist Enrico Fermi, has been in operation for almost a decade and a half, monitoring the cosmos for gamma rays. As the highest-energy form of light, these rays are produced by extremely energetic phenomena – like supernovae, neutron stars, quasars, and gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). In honor of this observatory’s long history, NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center has released a time-lapse movie that shows data acquired by the Fermi Space Telescope between August 2008 and August 2022.
Nuking an incoming asteroid will spew out X-rays. This new model shows what happens
After a NASA mission redirected an asteroid moonlet with a planned crash in 2022, a new model is building on that effort to show how a nuclear weapon could smash a space rock to pieces.
'For All Mankind' season 4 episode 7 review: Teases a spectacular end of season run
An industrial dispute becomes a matter of life and death, while Margo prepares for an unlikely comeback.
Questions Remain on Chinese Rocket That Created an Unusual Double Crater on the Moon
In November, we reported how an impact on the Moon from a Chinese Long March rocket booster created an unusual double crater. For a single booster to create a double crater, some researchers thought there must have been an additional – perhaps secret – payload on the forward end of the booster, opposite from the rocket engines. But that may not necessarily be the case.
Upcoming Einstein Probe will use its 'lobster eye' to hunt for extreme black holes and star explosions
Launching in Jan. 2024, the Einstein Probe will use a "lobster eye" to search the universe for blasts of X-rays and help scientists investigate powerful cosmic events like supernova explosions.
Holograms Might Save Physics
Even though the guts of General Relativity are obtusely mathematical, and for decades was relegated to math departments rather than proper physics, you get to experience the technological gift of relativity every time you navigate to your favorite restaurant. GPS, the global positioning system, consists of a network of orbiting satellites constantly beaming out precise timing data. Your phone compares those signals to figure out where you are on the Earth. But there is a difference in spacetime between the surface of the Earth and the orbit of the satellites. Without taking general relativity into account, your navigation would simply be incorrect, and you’d be late for dinner.
Ouch. Canadarm2 Took a Direct Hit From a Micrometeorite
Living in space comes with risks. For astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS), those risks occasionally make themselves intrusively apparent.
Johannes Kepler: Everything you need to know
A biography of Johannes Kepler, from his troubled childhood to his mission to mathematically formalize Copernicus' heliocentric model by finding divine reasoning within the orbits of the planets.
The 12 patches of Christmas: 'KSC Artist' shares his favorite spaceflight designs of 2023
We've all heard the "Twelve Days of Christmas," but for those with a passion for space, let's sing along to the "12 space patches of Christmas" designed by an artist to the real stars, Tim Gagnon.
Was it a good idea for humanity to go to space?
Six years after the first satellite was launched, editors from the Encyclopaedia Britannica posed a question to five eminent thinkers of the day: “Has man’s conquest of space increased or diminished his stature?”
See the moon and Jupiter enjoy their final meet-up of 2023 in the night sky tonight
The moon and Jupiter will meet-up with Jupiter for one last time in 2023 on Friday (Dec. 22), with the two bodies making a close approach to each other in the sky as they reach conjunction.
