Space News & Blog Articles

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Space telescope images star on new ESA-endorsed Swatch watches

Now you can select your favorite swath of the universe and display it on it your wrist, thanks to a new collaboration between Swatch and the European Space Agency.

This Moon Rover Wheel Could be 3D Printed on the Moon

When you think about sending missions to the Moon, every single gram counts on launch day. Therefore, it makes sense to live off the land when you arrive with in-situ resource utilization. For example, what if you could fly a rover without wheels and 3D print them out of lunar regolith when you get there?

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Public invited to watch solid rocket motors arrive for shuttle Endeavour exhibit in L.A.

The California Science Center is celebrating the anniversary of space shuttle Endeavour's L.A. trip with the delivery of two very large candles. Solid rocket motors are set to stand with Endeavour.

One week until the spectacular 'ring of fire' annular solar eclipse!

Get ready for the annular solar eclipse on Oct. 14! The famous 'ring of fire' is not to be missed.

Atlas 5 launches Amazon Kuiper satellites for tests of space-based internet service

An Atlas 5 lifts off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Oct. 6, 2023 carrying the first two prototype satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper internet service. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket blasted off Friday and boosted a pair of prototype internet satellites into orbit for Amazon’s Kuiper program, the latest entry in the increasingly competitive space-based broadband market currently dominated by SpaceX.

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The Draconid meteor shower peaks this weekend. Here's how to see it

The Draconid meteor shower will be active from Oct. 6 to Oct. 10, reaching its peak on Monday (Oct. 9) under a fairly dark moon.

Colliding Neutron Stars Could Help Measure the Expansion of the Universe

According to some in the astrophysical community, there has been something of a “Crisis in Cosmology” in recent years. Though astronomers are all aware that the Universe is in a state of expansion, there has been some inconsistency when measuring the rate of it (aka. the Hubble Constant). This issue arises from the Cosmic Distance Ladder, where astronomers use different methods to measure relative distances over longer scales. This includes making local distance estimates using parallax measurements, nearby variable stars, and supernovae (“standard candles”).

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Rideshare mission on deck for penultimate Vega rocket as Vega-C successor remains sidelined

The dozen spacecraft for the penultimate flight of an Arianespace Vega rocket prior encapsulation in the payload fairing. Image: Airbus Space

A pair of Earth observation satellites along with ten auxiliary payloads will launch aboard Arianespace’s penultimate Vega rocket into sun-synchronous orbit on Friday. The light launch vehicle, which began flying in 2012, is set to liftoff from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on Oct. 6 at 10:36 p.m. local time (9:36 p.m. EDT, 0136 UTC).

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One of the Brightest Stars in the Sky is Actually a Satellite

Back in the 70s, kids used to look up at the summer sky and try to be the first one to shout, “Satellite!” That seems like a relic from the past now, alongside Polaroid cameras and astronauts on the Moon. These days, it’s rare to spend any amount of time looking at the sky without seeing a satellite, or several of them.

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Atlas V rocket launches Amazon's 1st 2 internet satellites to orbit (video)

The first two prototypes for Amazon's Project Kuiper satellite-internet constellation took flight today (Oct. 6), lifting off atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.

Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks Flares Again!

Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks has awakened again from its recent slumbers with a fresh outburst. It's now bright enough to see in a modest telescope.

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Hold the annular solar eclipse in your hand with new 'One Eclipse' app from Astronomers Without Borders

Celebrate the upcoming annular solar eclipse with a new app launched by Astronomers Without Borders. "One Eclipse" for iOS brings the wonders of the eclipse into the palm of your hand.

Virgin Galactic launches 1st Pakistani to space on 4th commercial spaceflight

Namira Salim became the first person from Pakistan to reach space today (Oct. 6), a milestone she achieved on Virgin Galactic's 'Galactic 04' mission.

New space-based thermometer takes Earth's temperature in unprecedented detail (photos)

The first images from a new Earth-observing satellite reveal in unprecedented detail how temperature changes on the planet's surface.

Hubble Telescope just witnessed a massive intergalactic explosion and astronomers can't explain it

The blast of light was 100 times brighter than an ordinary supernova, but it came from intergalactic space between two distant galaxies.

What Caused Eta Carinae’s 1840 “Great Eruption?”

In 1840 an unassuming star in the Southern Hemisphere brightened suddenly. What had been a 5th magnitude star became so bright by 1843 that it was the second brightest star in the sky. The star, known as Eta Carinae, had been known to vary in brightness before, but this change was so sudden and so dramatic that it became known as the Great Eruption.

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Watch Arianespace Vega rocket launch 12 satellites to orbit tonight

A Vega rocket will launch 12 satellites to orbit tonight (Oct. 6) on its first mission of the year, and you can watch the action live.

Could Modified Gravity Be the Answer to Planet 9?

As students advance to higher and higher physics courses, they eventually learn that the simple Newtonian dynamics they learned about in early classes aren’t completely accurate models for understanding the universe. If things get too big or fast, they fall into the realm of relativity, or if they get too small, they get caught up in quantum mechanics. However, simple Newtonian dynamics does the trick for things ranging from how a baseball flies to how planets orbit the Sun. 

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Spanish company launching rocket for 1st time today: Watch it live

Spanish company PLD Space plans to launch one of its rockets for the first time ever today (Oct. 6), and you can watch the action live.

The History of Baily’s Brilliant Beads

Discover the observations of astronomer Francis Baily as he watched sunlight bead along the lunar limb during an 1836 annular eclipse.

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