Roughly 5 billion years ago Earth was in the process of forming. Gas and dust gathered with the young Sun’s protoplanetary disk, likely nudged a bit by the resonant gravitational pull of Jupiter and other large worlds. One can imagine that as Earth formed it swept its orbit clear of debris, leaving a gap in the disk visible from light years away. While we know this tale is reasonably accurate, the idea that planets such as Earth always clear gaps in a protoplanetary disk likely isn’t.
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NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara ready for Soyuz launch to relieve delayed crew in space
NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara will launch toward the ISS in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft no earlier than Sept. 15. Her crew will relieve another Soyuz crewwho have been waiting six extra months to go home.
'Space: 1999' documentary focusing on the iconic Eagle spacecraft launches campaign on Kickstarter (exclusive)
Support for a crowdfunded 'Space: 1999' documentary has already been off the charts, including series star Barbara Bain, original Eagle designer, Brian Johnson and astronaut Charlie Duke.
New survey outlines what NASA must do over the next 10 years to help astronauts thrive beyond Earth
NASA wants astronauts to thrive on the moon, Mars and in deep space. A new survey outlines key challenges to solve over the next decade.
See Comet Nishimura at its closest point to Earth this week. It won't visit again for 435 years.
The newfound Comet P1 (Nishimura) passes its closest point to Earth on Tuesday (Sept. 12). Here's how to see it this week before it's gone for 400 years.
Astronomers may have discovered the closest black holes to Earth
These black holes could have also been ejected from the star cluster they live within.
OSIRIS-REx asteroid probe heads toward Earth for Sept. 24 sample delivery
NASA's OSIRIS-REx probe put itself on course toward Earth with a thruster firing on Sept. 10, two weeks before its highly anticipated asteroid-sample delivery.
Virgin Galactic just launched 2 million-year-old fossils of human ancestors to space on tourist flight
In a tribute to humankind's quest to explore the cosmos, two fossilized bones of ancient humans flew into space for the first time aboard Virgin Galactic's third commercial spaceflight on Sept. 8.
Marcus Wandt will fly to International Space Station on third Axiom Space mission
ESA project astronaut Marcus Wandt from Sweden will travel to the International Space Station (ISS) on Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) no earlier than January 2024.
India, NASA to cooperate on human spaceflight and planetary defense
NASA and its Indian counterpart are working to extend their cooperation in the final frontier, in the realms of human spaceflight and planetary defense.
1 year after launch failure, Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket remains grounded
Blue Origin's New Shepard suborbital space tourism vehicle suffered a failure during an uncrewed flight on Sept. 12, 2022. It hasn't launched since.
Discover ESA Live: a gateway to ESA’s universe for schools
A new streaming platform is set to inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, and astronauts, bringing the wonders of space closer to classrooms than ever before. Schools across Europe are invited to embark on this cosmic journey!
Live Coverage: Falcon 9 rocket to launch another batch of Starlink satellites from California
SpaceX will launch another batch of satellites for the company’s Starlink internet service from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 11:57 p.m. PDT Monday (2:57 a.m. EDT / 0657 UTC Tuesday). We’ll have live coverage of the liftoff in our Launch Pad Live stream.
Peculiar Pulsar Throws “Cosmic Cannonballs”
Astronomers think a city-size star that’s spinning faster than a kitchen blender is shooting out plasma torpedoes.
SpaceX poised to launch 21 new Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket
SpaceX will launch another batch of its Starlink internet satellites early Tuesday (Sept. 12), and you can watch the action live.
JWST Accidentally Found 21 Brown Dwarfs
When you launch humanity’s most powerful telescope, you expect results. The JWST has delivered excellent results by detecting ancient galaxies, identifying chemicals in exoplanet atmospheres, and peering into star-forming regions with more detail and clarity than any other telescope.
Boeing to test DARPA's upcoming 'Glide Breaker' hypersonic interceptor
DARPA has chosen Boeing to develop a prototype and conduct flight testing of its upcoming Glide Breaker hypersonic interceptor.
India's Chandrayaan-3 moon lander shines in radar images from lunar orbit (photos)
India's Chandrayaan-3 moon lander showed up in fresh images taken by the nation's Chandrayaan-2 lunar orbiter. Chandrayaan-3's lander and rover are in hibernation until the sun rises over them again.
Kombucha on Mars? It could be key for astronauts' survival off Earth
Kombucha cultures riding on the ISS' exterior for 18 months proved resilient to the dangers of outer space.
Electronics on world's largest radio telescope are more radio-quiet than a smartphone on the moon
New electronic devices designed to power antennas of the world's largest radio telescope are so quiet that they'll cause less disturbance than a mobile phone on the moon.
China launches Yaogan 40 spy satellite on Long March 6A rocket (video)
China launched a new classified Yaogan satellite on Sunday (Sept. 10), continuing the country’s recent rapid launch rate.
