Despite numerous attempts, astronomers have not yet confirmed the detection of an exomoon, a moon orbiting a planet around a distant star.
Space News & Blog Articles
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Astronomers discover a quartet of teenage alien planets far, far away
Astronomers have discovered a quartet of teenage planets, according to data from NASA's TESS telescope.
A European Robotic Arm to handle the Space Station
The European Robotic Arm (ERA) is set for launch on a Proton rocket to the International Space Station on 21 July at 16:58 CEST. The first robot that can ‘walk’ around the Russian part of the orbital complex will be launched with the new Russian Multipurpose Laboratory Module from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan.
New Images of Mars From China’s Rover
On May 14th, 2021, the China National Space Agency (CNSA) achieved another major milestone when the Tianwen-1 lander successfully soft-landed on Mars, making China the second nation in the world to land a mission on Mars and establish communications from the surface. Shortly thereafter, China National Space Agency (CNSA) shared the first images taken by the Tianwen-1 lander.
By May 22nd, 2021, the Zhurong rover descended from its lander and drove on the Martian surface for the first time. Since then, the rover has spent 63 Earth days conducting science operations on the surface of Mars and has traveled over 450 meters (1475 feet). On Friday, July 9th, and again on July 15th, the CNSA released new images of the Red Planet that were taken by the rover as it made its way across the surface.
Since the rover deployed to the surface of Mars, it has been traveling southward to explore and inspect the terrain and has taken daily images of rocks, sand dunes, and other features using its Navigation and Topography Cameras (NaTeCam). Meanwhile, other instruments – like the Mars Rover Penetrating Radar (RoPeR), Mars Rover Magnetometer (RoMAG), Mars Climate Station (MCS) – have also been collecting data on Mars’ magnetic field, weather, and subsurface.
Blue Origin gives green light for Tuesday launch of owner Jeff Bezos
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION
The four passengers who will ride to the edge of space on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket Tuesday, from left to right: Oliver Daemen, Wally Funk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Bezos. Credit: Jeff Bezos via InstagramWhile Jeff Bezos and his three crewmates worked through a two-day “astronaut” training course, engineers Sunday tentatively cleared their New Shepard rocket and capsule for blastoff Tuesday on a 10-minute up-and-down flight to the edge of space, matching rival Richard Branson’s feat nine days earlier.
Blue Origin, the space company Bezos founded two decades ago, plans to launch the company’s New Shepard rocket and crew capsule from its west Texas flight facility at 9 a.m. EDT Tuesday.
Liftoff will mark the 16th flight of a New Shepard sub-orbital spacecraft but the first with passengers on board. Joining Amazon-founder Bezos will be his brother Mark, 82-year-old aviation pioneer Wally Funk and Oliver Daemen, an 18-year-old Dutchman who is Blue Origin’s first paying customer.
“We’ve looked at all the vehicle systems including hardware, software, procedures and launch crew readiness,” Blue Origin Launch Director Steve Lanius told reporters Sunday. “We are not currently working any open issues and New Shepard is ready to fly.”
Here are the First New Pictures From the Fully Operational Hubble
Blue Origin has cleared its New Shepard rocket to launch billionaire founder Jeff Bezos and three others on a suborbital trip on July 20.
How space is connecting cars
The Hubble Space Telescope pictured during the final space shuttle servicing mission in 2009. Credit: NASA
NASA said Saturday that the Hubble Space Telescope, now running on a backup payload computer, has resumed scientific observations after a failure knocked the aging observatory offline for more than a month.
“All instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope are now in operational status, and science data is once again being collected to further our understanding of the universe,” NASA tweeted Saturday.
A failure traced to a power control unit associated with Hubble’s primary payload computer put the telescope’s science instruments in safe mode and suspended observations June 13.
“Hubble is an icon, giving us incredible insight into the cosmos over the past three decades,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “I’m proud of the Hubble team, from current members to Hubble alumni who stepped in to lend their support and expertise. Thanks to their dedication and thoughtful work, Hubble will continue to build on its 31-year legacy, broadening our horizons with its view of the universe.”
NASA said the first science observation with the newly-restored Hubble Space Telescope was scheduled for Saturday afternoon. Most of the observations missed during the 34-day outage will be rescheduled for a later date, NASA saiid.
Astra aces return-to-flight mission, deploys satellites for 1st time
The crew aboard Blue Origin's first astronaut launch on Tuesday (July 20) will take a giant leap into the unknown when they fly the first automated flight with an all-civilian crew.
Meet the crew launching on Blue Origin's 1st astronaut flight on July 20
Blue Origin is in the final countdown to launch is first crewed flight on Tuesday (July 20) and the company will have an all-civilian crew aboard.
Blue Origin will break records for oldest and youngest astronaut with July 20 launch
An 82-year-old Mercury 13 aviator and an 18-year-old physics student will fly on the all-civilian crew.
NASA uncovers hidden system of mysteriously draining lakes under Antarctica
NASA scientists have mapped the dynamic, ever-shifting lakes beneath Antarctica in more detail than ever before.
Webb is Cool, but it Still Needs to get Cooler
Atoms are the building blocks of all matter in the universe, but how many are there in the part of it we can see from Earth?
Luxury watchmaker Ulysses Nardin unveils 'Blast Moonstruck' watch that charts moon phases
Dark matter rules every galaxy. But what exactly is it? Astronomers believe it to be some kind of new, exotic particle. You may have heard some terms tossed around, like WIMPs or axions. Let’s explore what those terms actually mean.
First off, there’s a few things that we know about dark matter. Astronomers believe that dark matter is some kind of particle, previously unknown to physics. Whatever it is, it makes up about 80% of the mass of the universe. It barely interacts with light, if at all. It barely interacts with normal matter, if at all. It barely interacts with itself, if at all. We also know that it’s “cold”, which means that the individual particles don’t have very high velocities.
It basically just sits there and gravitates. But that gravity is essential: it keeps galaxies glued together and provides the scaffolding for the entire large-scale structure of the universe.
One of the earliest candidates for the dark matter particle are the WIMPs, for weakly-interacting massive particles. It’s not so much a name as a catch-all category. In this case, “weakly-interacting” means “interacts via the weak nuclear force” (although that interaction is also literally weak). WIMPs would be a new kind of particle that only talk to normal matter via the weak force, which would explain why we only rarely see it. In this scenario, WIMPs flood the universe – and might even be traveling through you right now, though you would never know except for their gravity.
The axion, on the other hand, is another hypothetical particle (or really, category of possible particles) that was motivated by theoretical explorations of various symmetry laws in the universe. It just so turned out that this hypothetical particle, if it existed in sufficient number, would operate exactly like we know the dark matter should.
The Full Snow Moon of February 2022 rises tonight!
Read live updates of Blue Origin's First Human Flight that will launch Jeff Bezos and three others on July 20, 2021.
New Target for Asteroid Probe: “Potentially Hazardous” Apophis
The findings from the Curiosity rover could help the Perseverance rover decide which samples to collect for later analysis.
What are the chances that Jeff Bezos won't survive his flight on New Shepard?
Two spaceflight experts consulted by Live Science said that Jeff Bezos had decent odds of surviving his upcoming ride into space
Satellites over Europe track massive floods in Germany and Belgium
Sobering images from space show the impact of devastating floods in Germany and Belgium that have left more than 100 people dead.
Blue Origin's first human launch with Jeff Bezos: When to watch and what to know
Here's everything you need to know about Blue Origin's launch of Jeff Bezos and his crew on the New Shepard spacecraft July 20, 2021.
Blue Origin: Quiet plans for spaceships
Blue Origin is a private spaceflight company founded by Jeff Bezos.
Best model rocket kits for 2021: Great deals and more
Get your space dreams flying with this basic set of rockets and accessories
