The ethereal aurora-like light show could become a more common sight over the next few years as the sun's activity continues to ramp up.
Space News & Blog Articles
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Can you see the cosmic 'cat' grinning into one of the world's largest telescopes in this photo? (video)
Observations of a distant stellar nursery show it as a smiling cosmic cat with a head so massive it stretches for 150 light-years with a cluster of infants stars below its nose.
Indiana Jones weaves his way into Apollo 11 history in 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny'
Indiana Jones changes the course of space history in his final big screen adventure. The archeologist crosses paths with four of NASA's most famous figures in "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny."
Mission control is GO for Euclid launch
Image: Euclid ore-launch briefing complete at ESA's mission control
'Mars rover' is the new 'moonshot' in Fall Out Boy's update to Billy Joel's 'We Didn't Start the Fire'
Fall Out Boy has released an update to Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire," ticking off moments in history from 1989 to 2023. Like the original, the cover includes mention of space exploration.
You can see a huge sunspot 7 times wider than Earth right now — but be careful!
A massive sunspot is crossing the face of the sun, but if you aim to catch it before it disappears on Sunday (July 2), ensure you protect your eyes.
How will Europe's Euclid space telescope see into the dark universe?
Europe's Euclid telescope is heading to space to prove whether hypothetical dark energy and dark matter really exist. The mission's findings may rewrite cosmology textbooks.
Milky Way's Central Black Hole Flared 200 Years Ago
A glowing molecular cloud shines today because of a 200-year-old flare let out by our galaxy’s supermassive black hole, scientists say.
Mars, Venus and Neptune put on a summer skywatching show tonight. Here's how to see it.
Mars and Venus will be close together in the night sky on June 30, while Neptune will reverse course through the constellations in the early morning of July 1.
Happy Asteroid Day! You can celebrate with this free webcast
Asteroid Day is an annual celebration of asteroid science, and a reminder of how important it is to study these potentially dangerous objects. Here's how you can celebrate this year.
Hera Propulsion Module leak test – time-lapse
Video: 00:02:23
ESA’s Hera mission for planetary defence will perform a close-up survey of the Dimorphos asteroid in deep space. But first Hera needs to cross millions of kilometres of space to get there. That is the task of Hera’s Propulsion Module, forming around half of the overall spacecraft, which has been prepared by Italy’s Avio company. Formed of a central tube plus a supporting structure, the Module has been fitted with propellant tanks, piping and thrusters (inside the red protective covers). But before it can be joined to Hera’s other element, the Core Module, this Propulsion Module had to undergo its crucial ‘global leak test’ – as seen here. The Module has been filled with gaseous nitrogen, then placed inside its container. Sensors added to the interior can detect any pressure change inside the container over the course of the night. Success means Hera is ready to travel to OHB in Germany to be mated with the Core Module. At this point the Hera spacecraft will be complete, and the mission will come a major step nearer to space. Next rendezvous for Hera is the Environmental Test campaign at ESTEC, to make sure Hera survives in the harsh launch and space environment…
This Week's Sky at a Glance, June 30 – July 9
Full Moon in the Teapot. Are the colors of brights easier to discern in moonlight? Twilight? Mars closes in on Regulus as Venus watches. And the supernova in the Pinwheel Galaxy is still 12th magnitude.
Euclid: preparing for launch
ESA’s mission Euclid is getting ready for lift-off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral in Florida, USA, with a target launch date of 1 July 2023.
Imagine walking on Hera’s asteroid
The team working on ESA’s Hera asteroid mission have glimpsed its destination. Last September NASA’s DART mission returned images of the boulder-strewn Dimorphos moonlet just before it impacted it, in an audacious and ultimately successful attempt to shift its orbit around its parent asteroid Didymos.
Gravity goes lunar: putting LESA to the test
Image: Testing the Lunar Equipment Support Assembly (LESA) investigation during a partial gravity parabolic flight.
Earth from Space: Southwest Netherlands
Image: Rotterdam and part of the Zeeland province in southwest Netherlands are featured in this radar image acquired by Copernicus Sentinel-1.
NASA’s HiRISE Camera Recently Imaged a Martian Dust Devil. But Why Study Them?
NASA recently used its powerful High Resolution Imaging Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to take a breathtaking image of a dust devil traversing Syria Planum on Mars. One unique aspect of dust devils is their shadows can be used to estimate their height, which have been estimated to reach 20 km (12 miles) kilometers into the Martian sky. Studying dust devils on Mars is a regular occurrence for the scientific community and can help scientists better understand surface processes on other planets. But with the atmospheric pressure on Mars being only a fraction of Earth’s, what processes are responsible for producing them?
A Direct Image of a Planet That’s Just Like Jupiter, Only Younger
In a recent study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, a team of astronomers used the W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawai?i Island to identify exoplanet, AF Lep b, which is three times the mass of Jupiter orbiting a Sun-sized star located approximately 87.5 light-years from Earth. What makes this discovery unique is AF Lep b is the first exoplanet discovered using a method called astrometry, which involves measuring unexpected, miniscule changes in the position of a star relative to nearby stars, which could indicate another object, an exoplanet, is causing gravitational tugs on its parent star.
Light Pollution is Out of Control
Concern over global light pollution is growing. Astronomers are noticing its growing effect on astronomical observations, just as predicted in prior decades. Our artificial light, much of which is not strictly necessary, is interfering with our science.
