When the name Saturn is uttered, what comes to mind? For most people, the answer would probably be, “its fabulous system of rings.” There’s no doubt they are iconic, but what is perhaps lesser-known is that Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune all have ring systems of their own. However, whereas Saturn’s rings are composed mainly of ice particles (making them highly reflective), Jupiter’s rings are composed mainly of dust grains. Meanwhile, Uranus and Neptune have rings of extremely dark particles known as tholins that are very hard to see. For this reason, none of the other gas giants get much recognition for their rings.
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When Stars eat Their Planets, the Carnage can be Seen Billions of Years Later
The vast majority of stars have planets. We know that from observations of exoplanetary systems. We also know some stars don’t have planets, and perhaps they never had planets. This raises an interesting question. Suppose we see an old star that has no planets. How do we know if ever did? Maybe the star lost its planets during a close approach by another star, or maybe the planets spiraled inward and were consumed like Chronos eating his children. How could we possibly tell? A recent study on the arXiv answers half that question.
25-ton Chinese rocket debris crashes to Earth over Indian Ocean
The 25-ton (22.5 metric tons) core stage of a Long March 5B rocket reentered Earth's atmosphere over the Indian Ocean this afternoon (July 30), ending its brief but controversial orbital stay.
Thin Red Lines: Webb Space Telescope Captures Star Creation on Grand Scale
New imagery from the James Webb Space Telescope shows a nearby galaxy in a whole new light.
Large Chinese rocket booster expected to fall back to Earth today
This map shows the ground track of the Long March 5B core stage during the two-hour re-entry window as of Saturday morning. The re-entry and debris footprint could occur anywhere along the track. Credit: Aerospace Corp.
The 22-ton core stage of a Chinese rocket is expected to fall back to Earth some time Saturday, the third time in two years China has allowed such a large booster to re-enter the atmosphere uncontrolled. The unguided re-entry poses a low but avoidable risk to the world’s population, space debris experts said.
NASA's 'Moonikin' mannequin boards Orion spacecraft for Artemis 1 moon mission
NASA has completed the next steps in the Artemis 1 mission — installing the data-gathering mannequin Commander Moonikin Campos inside the Orion spacecraft.
JWST Damage, New Mars Helicopters, Teaching Robots to Die
JWST is doing after its micrometeorite strike, two more helicopters are flying to Mars, China will drop a 50+ meter booster… somewhere, and how do you stop the Milky Way from turning into self-replicating robot probes.
Use Mars to spot elusive Uranus on Sunday
Mars will begin to approach Uranus early Sunday morning (July 31). The pair will be close enough to share the same field of view as seen through binoculars.
Jupiter glows in new James Webb Space Telescope raw image
Jupiter always shines, even when seen sideways in unprocessed data.
A 25-ton Chinese rocket booster will crash to Earth today. What's the risk?
The core stage of a Chinese Long March 5B rocket is set to tumble uncontrollably back to Earth today in a reentry that China is tracking closely.
The Mars Sample Return Mission Will Take Two Helicopters to the Red Planet to Help Retrieve Samples
NASA’s upcoming Mars Sample Return mission plan just received a glow-up: it will now carry a pair of twin helicopters, each capable of retrieving samples and delivering them to the ascent vehicle for return to Earth.
Masten Space Systems, a NASA moon landing contractor, files for bankruptcy
A prototype vertical takeoff/vertical landing demonstrator undergoing testing at Masten Space Systems. Credit: Masten Space Systems
Masten Space Systems, a private California company focused on developing lunar and planetary landing vehicles, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday after recent layoffs and funding problems.
Two skyscraper-size asteroids are barreling toward Earth this weekend
Two asteroids, 2016 CZ31 and 2013 CU83, are headed toward Earth for back-to-back flybys this weekend.
NASA taps Draper for first U.S. landing on far side of the moon
An illustration of Draper’s SERIES-2 lunar lander, which will deliver science and technology payloads to the moon for NASA in 2025. Credit: Draper
NASA has awarded Draper a $73 million contract to deliver science instruments to the far side of the moon on a commercial robotic lander in 2025, the eighth award through the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. Officials with the companies flying the first two CLPS missions, Astrobotic and Intuitive Machines, said recently their commercial landers are scheduled to launch late this year or early next year.
Astronomers witness the rare break up of a star couple
What happens when stellar couples break their embrace? New research reveals details of an important life event in the existence of binary stars.
New 3D cosmic map reveals 1 million previously hidden galaxies
Astronomers have created the largest ever 3D map of 1 million distant galaxies otherwise obscured by the Milky Way's dwarf galaxy neighbors, the Magellanic Clouds.
Rocket launches can create shiny clouds far from poles, study shows
Night-shining or noctilucent clouds are popping up farther from the poles, in part due to more rocket launches taking place from Earth.
Mysteries of some atmospheric halos remain unexplained after 5,000 years
The most extensive inventory of atmospheric optical illusions created in 5 millennia of observation reveals lingering mysteries.
Some messy 'coronal loops' on the sun may be an optical illusion
Since the 1960s, researchers have been searching for a 3D model of coronal loops of bright plasma seen on the sun. New research is causing scientists to rethink this phenomenon.
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin targeting Aug. 4 for next space tourist flight
Blue Origin is targeting Thursday (Aug. 4) for the next crewed mission of its New Shepard vehicle, which will send six people to suborbital space and back.
The James Webb is Measuring Distant Galaxies 5-10 Times Better Than any Other Telescope
On December 25th, 2021, after many years of waiting, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) finally launched to space. In the sixth-month period that followed, this next-generation observatory unfurled its Sunshield, deployed its primary and secondary mirrors, aligned its mirror segments, and flew to its current position at the Earth-Sun Lagrange 2 (L2) Point. On July 12th, 2022, the first images were released and presented the most-detailed views of the Universe. Shortly thereafter, NASA released an image of the most distant galaxy ever observed (which existed just 300 million years after the Big Bang).
