Asteroid discovered orbiting inside Venus for the first time
Most asteroids in our solar system orbit around the sun in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, or in a cluster in the orbit of Jupiter called the Trojans. Plus, there are Near-Earth asteroids that come close to the orbit of Earth. Now, for the first time, an asteroid has been discovered orbiting inside Venus.
Scientists image the progression of a solar flare for the first time
Our sun occasionally flashes brighter than usual in electromagnetic eruptions called solar flares. Now, scientists have released data on the first-ever flare captured moment by moment, pinpointing the exact time and place the flare burst out of the sun's surface with energy equivalent to 1 billion degrees.
Scientists come up with a method to make oxygen from moon dust
The moon is covered in fine dust called regolith which sticks to absolutely everything and causes all sorts of technical problems. But now, the European Space Agency has come up with a plan for the tricky substance: Turning it into oxygen to be used by lunar explorers for breathing and for the production of fuel.
Europe’s ExoMars rover completes environmental tests ahead of launch this year
NASA's Mars 2020 rover isn't the only robotic explorer set to head to the Red Planet this year. It will also be joined by the European Space Agency's Rosalind Franklin rover, as part of the ESA and Roscosmos ExoMars mission. The rover has now completed its final environmental tests before launch in July this year.
Astronomers discover bizarre stretchy objects unlike anything else in our galaxy
Astronomers have discovered a mysterious new class of objects at the heart of the Milky Way which are unlike anything else found in our galaxy. They start off small and compact but are elongated when they approach the supermassive black hole in the center of the galaxy.
SpaceX delays its in-flight abort test until Sunday morning due to rough seas
This weekend, SpaceX is planning a dramatic test of its Crew Dragon capsule, in which it will blow up a Falcon 9 rocket to test the capsule's emergency escape system. The launch will take place from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and you can watch it happen live.
Here’s why SpaceX plans to blow up a rocket this weekend
This week SpaceX is testing out its Crew Dragon capsule, which will eventually ferry astronauts to the International Space Station, in a particularly dramatic demonstration of the capsule's emergency systems: it will perform an "In-Flight Abort Test," which involves blowing up a Falcon 9 rocket.
Astronomers discover interstellar origin of one of the building blocks of life
Phosphorus is one of the essential elements for the development of life on Earth, but we aren't sure how it got here. Now, astronomers have traced the path of phosphorus from its interstellar origin, onto comets, from where it could be transported to our planet and form a building block for life.
See ripples of dust and ice on Mars’ northern polar cap
The European Space Agency has released a striking image of the northern pole of Mars, showing stormy weather and ripples of dust and ice. It shows the north polar ice cap in summertime, when it is easier to image the poles as there are fewer clouds of carbon dioxide to obscure the view.
OnePlus’ next phone will feature a 120Hz refresh rate display
The battle of the phone screen specs is moving away from a focus on resolution and toward a focus on refresh rate, with OnePlus using its highest ever refresh rate display for its next device. OnePlus CEO Pete Lau confirmed the company's next device would have a 120Hz refresh rate screen.
See the inner structure of the Crab Nebula in NASA’s stunning visualization
NASA has released both an image and a video visualization of one of astronomy's most beautiful objects, the famous Crab Nebula, by combining data from three of its key instruments. What makes this new visualization different is the combination of three different data sets to create a 3D image of the nebula.
Impending collision of Milky Way with other galaxy is already creating new stars
In around 2 billion years' time, our galaxy will collide with a nearby satellite galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud, in a catastrophic and highly destructive event. For now, though, the interaction of the two galaxies isn't destructive -- new research shows it is actually creating new stars.
Mars’ water is evaporating away even faster than we expected
Billions of years ago, Mars could have been like Earth with water on its surface. But over time, that water rose into Mars's thin atmosphere and evaporated into space. There are only small amounts of water vapor left in the atmosphere today, and a new study shows vapor is lost even faster than previously believed.
LIGO observatory sees its 2nd-ever neutron star collision — and it was massive
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO), famous for the first detection of gravitational waves, has made another exciting observation. It spotted a pair of neutron stars smashing into each other. Even by the standards of neutron stars, the two bodies which collided were massive.
Teenage NASA intern discovers single exoplanet orbiting two stars
A high school junior has made an unusual discovery, locating a distant planet that orbits around two stars. He located the planet while working on a summer internship at NASA last year, where he looked at data from the TESS planet-hunting satellite as part of the Planet Hunters TESS citizen science project.
Astronomers search tiny galaxies to understand the evolution of black holes
We know that at the heart of galaxies lie enormous supermassive black holes, although exactly how these formed when the universe was young is a question scientists are still investigating. Now, astronomers have new clues to this conundrum with the discovery of 13 massive black holes in dwarf galaxies relatively nearby to Earth.
This instrument weighs exoplanets by observing their gravitational effects
Researchers have shown the first results from a new instrument for calculating the weight of distant exoplanets. The NN-EXPLORE Exoplanet Investigations with Doppler spectroscopy, or NEID, is an instrument mounted on the WIYN telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory and is funded by NASA and the NSF.
See the giant galaxy named after pioneering dark matter researcher Vera Rubin
Hubble has imaged a gentle giant -- galaxy UGC 2885, which is 2.5 times wider than the Milky Way and has 10 times as many stars as our home galaxy. Despite its massive size, the galaxy is docile, with a modest rate of new stars being born and only a small amount of hydrogen absorbed by its supermassive black hole.
NASA’s flying observatory peeks inside the iconic Swan Nebula
The Omega or Swan Nebula has been a target of astronomical research for 250 years, but astronomers have never been able to get a clear view of the inside of the structure until now, thanks to SOFIA -- NASA's flying observatory, a collection of equipment aboard a modified Boeing 747SP jetliner aircraft.
NASA planet-hunter telescope locates first Earth-sized planet in habitable zone
NASA's planet-hunting telescope TESS has made an exciting discovery -- a planet the size of Earth which could potentially host liquid water. The planet TOI 700 d is located just on the inner edge of its system's habitable zone, with the other system planets TOI 700b and TOI 700c located closer to the star.
SpaceX’s Dragon craft is departing the ISS on Tuesday: Here’s how to watch
This week SpaceX's Dragon cargo spacecraft will depart from the International Space Station, carrying 3,600 pounds of cargo. After detaching from the ISS, the craft will fire its thrusters, execute a deorbit burn, and perform a parachute-assisted splashdown into the Pacific Ocean southwest of Long Beach, California.
Researchers create tiny particle accelerator that fits on a silicon chip
Researchers have created a tiny prototype particle accelerator, small enough to fit onto a silicon chip. Although it accelerates particles to a far lower velocity than a full-size particle accelerator, it can still produce energized particles that could be used for research applications in chemistry and biology.
Dark craters on moon could contain vital resources for human explorers
As the Earth rotates, it tilts on its axis bringing some parts of the planet closer to the sun, which is why we have seasons. But on the Moon, the lack of tilt means there are some areas that are never exposed to sunlight. And these dark areas contain impact craters which could hold the key to future lunar missions.
Exoplanets with high-oxygen atmospheres are more likely than we thought
We know that at different points in Earth's history, it had varying levels of oxygen. New research shows that high levels of oxygen aren't that unlikely, as the key ingredient that has been missing from these prior models is phosphorus. This means finding oxygen on alien planets isn't so unlikely after all.
NASA’s next generation rocket system is ready for shipping and testing
NASA's next-generation rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), has been through its share of troubles with ballooning costs and repeated delays. However, assembly of the core stage of the rocket is now complete and the structure is ready for shipping and testing.
This week’s Hubble image illustrates an ancient Egyptian myth
This week's Hubble image shows an elegant spiral galaxy named NGC 4455, located in the northern constellation of Coma Berenices (Berenice’s Hair). This unusually named constellation took its title from an Egyptian queen who ruled from around 250 BC and who scarified her locks to protect her husband in battle.
Ring in the new year with a calendar of lesser-known Hubble space images
To celebrate the arrival of 2020, researchers from the European Space Agency have put together a calendar featuring 12 of the loveliest but lesser-known images captured by the Hubble Space Telescope in its thirty years of operation. The calendar is available to download for free as a PDF or in a printable version.
NASA says farewell to tiny satellite that paved the way for exoplanet discovery
NASA has lost contact with one of its tiniest explorers, a miniature satellite called ASTERIA (Arcsecond Space Telescope Enabling Research in Astrophysics). Operators have been unable to contact the satellite since December 5, 2019, though they will continue attempting to make contact until March this year.
SpaceX’s Starship could be ready for launch in just a few months
SpaceX's beautiful and huge Starship could be ready for launch in as little as a few months, according to CEO Elon Musk. The aim is for the Starship to haul large amounts of cargo and to eventually help humanity to colonize Mars. Now, recent tweets by Musk reveal more details about SpaceX's plans for the Starship.
Venus is the only other planet in solar system with active volcanoes
In the 1990s, data from the Magellan spacecraft revealed that Venus is a hellish world covered in volcanoes and lava flows. Before now, we didn't know whether this volcanic activity was ancient or recent. Now, new research reveals that the lava flows are recent, suggesting the volcanoes are currently active.
The public helped NASA pick a landing site on asteroid Bennu
Citizen scientists have helped to find the perfect landing spot for the OSIRIS-REx craft on asteroid Bennu. This required painstakingly identifying and flagging potential hazards like boulders, so the research team turned to citizen scientists, asking for the public's help to perform this vital but tedious work.
This stinky gas could be the key to identifying alien life on distant planets
How do you search for life on other worlds? While the gases we associate with life, such as oxygen or methane, are commonly found on other planets, that doesn't necessarily indicate living things are present. A team from MIT has found that a rare gas, phosphine, can only be produced by anaerobic (non-oxygen-reliant) life.