Mercury’s wobble as it spins reveals that it has an inner solid core
Scientists have long wondered what the inside of Mercury looks like, and they now have strong evidence that the planet has a large and solid metallic core. The data for the new findings was collected by the MESSENGER mission which ended in 2015, but which is still providing fodder for new analysis.
The oldest type of molecule in the universe has been located at last
A milestone in the development of the early universe was the combination of helium and hydrogen atoms into a molecule called helium hydride. It would be expected that helium hydride would still be present in some parts of the universe. But strangely enough, it has never been detected in space before now.
Beresheet crash caused by manual command, but reflector device may have survived
After the spacecraft Beresheet crashed into the moon this month, details are emerging about what may have gone wrong. A manual command was entered which led to a chain reaction. But NASA still hopes to salvage use of its Laser Retroreflector Array, a non-powered device used for location tracking.
SpaceX experiences problem during test, Crew Dragon capsule may have exploded
SpaceX has experienced a problem during the testing of its Crew Dragon capsule, according to numerous witnesses. During the engine test firing at Cape Canaveral yesterday afternoon, an unspecified anomaly occurred. This lead to plumes of smoke rising from the test site, visible for miles.
Star gives off superflare equal to 80 billion megatonnes of TNT. That’s a lot
It's small but it's mighty: A tiny star the size of Jupiter has been observed giving off a stellar flare of truly epic proportions. The massive superflare was 10 times more powerful than any flare from our Sun and is raising questions about how much energy small stars can hold.
Happy birthday, Hubble! Telescope celebrates with image of Southern Crab Nebula
It has been 29 years since the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope. In 1990 the telescope was launched into low Earth orbit, where it has remained for nearly three decades collecting information about deep space. To celebrate its birthday, Hubble imaged the beautiful Southern Crab Nebula.
Astronomers surprised to find deep lakes of methane on Titan
In the two years since the Cassini probe ended its mission and burned up in Saturn's rings, data from its recordings is still being analyzed for surprising findings. The latest research using the Cassini data has shown that Saturn's largest moon, Titan, hosts deep liquid lakes of methane.
Resupply mission carries 7,600 pounds of scientific equipment to ISS
The Cygnus spacecraft has rendezvoused with the International Space Station as part of a resupply mission. The craft will remain docked until July 23, while the crew take in the 7,600 pounds of research equipment for a variety of science projects relevant to future missions to the moon and to Mars.
Planet-hunting satellite discovers its first Earth-sized planet
NASA's planet hunting satellite, the Transiting Exoplanets Survey Satellite (TESS), has made a new discovery in the depths of space. Last month, TESS discovered its first exoplanet. And now it has achieved another milestone, locating its first Earth-sized planet and a larger sibling planet.
Our nearest exoplanet, Proxima b, could have a large and chilly neighbor
Our nearest exoplanet discovered so far is Proxima b, which orbits the star Proxima Centauri located 4.2 light-years from Earth. It was previously believed that Proxima b was the only world hosted by Proxima Centauri. But now new evidence suggests that Proxima b might have a neighbor, Proxima c.
The hunt for colliding black holes is on, and you can help
The hunt for gravitational waves caused by colliding black holes is heating up. The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory has already seen evidence of two pairs of colliding black holes, and a new project invites the public to contribute their computer's processing power to search for more.
After failed lunar landing, SpaceIL bounces back with Beresheet 2.0
This week the SpaceIL project to send a spacecraft to the moon suffered a sad ending when the Beresheet craft crashed into the moon's surface, rendering it inoperable. But the plucky Israeli team is not giving up, and this week they have announced their plans for Beresheet 2.0.
Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp went down worldwide for 2 hours this morning
Chaos erupted on the internet this morning, as Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp all went down for several hours. From around 6:30 a.m. ET to approximately 9 a.m. ET, thousands of users were unable to access Facebook or Instagram, and were unable to send or receive Whatsapp messages.
The most beautiful globular cluster of all: Messier 3, imaged by Hubble
Hubble has shared an image of one of the most famous and most admired globular clusters, Messier 3. Located 34,000 light-years from Earth, it is widely considered the most beautiful of all globular clusters because of its density and the variety of stars that can be seen within it.
Stellar wind plays a key role in heating Jupiter’s atmosphere
Our Sun, like other stars, gives off gases called stellar winds. Now it appears that these winds have an unexpected effect: warming the atmosphere on planets like Jupiter. Scientists found that the energetic particles of the wind interact with the planet's atmosphere to create a heating effect.
Predicting space weather to protect spacecraft from killer electrons
Weather events aren't only a problem on Earth - they can cause serious issues in space too. Space storms of high-energy particles bombard satellites or spacecraft, causing serious damage. Now a study has found a way to predict the arrival of these storms, giving scientists and astronauts time to prepare.
Curiosity collects first clay sample, could provide evidence of ancient water
The Curiosity rover's adventures on Mars continue with an exploration of the clay-rich bedrock in a part of Mount Sharp. Curiosity previously had problems drilling into the hard Mars bedrock, but the softer soil in its new location was no issue for Curiosity's drill this time.
NASA’s twin study reveals effects of time spent in space on the human body
A NASA study has revealed clues about the effects of space by studying twins. Two retired astronauts, twin brothers Scott and Mark Kelly, lent their bodies to science to be studied between 2015 and 2016. Mark stayed on Earth while Scott spent 340 days aboard the International Space Station.
Minutes before landing, Israeli moon mission suffers catastrophic failure
The tiny Israeli spacecraft Beresheet has already made history as the first privately funded craft to enter orbit around the moon. Now, it will face its biggest and most historic challenge to date: Today, April 11, the craft is scheduled to land on the surface of the moon.
Seeing the unseeable: Astronomers capture historic first image of a black hole
For the first time ever, an international collaboration of astronomers has captured an image of a black hole. Unveiled at a National Science Foundation event on April 10, the image represents a historic achievement in imaging of one of the most extreme and hard-to-observe phenomena in our universe.
Self-driving spacecraft could protect Earth from asteroid impacts
In case Earth is ever threatened by an asteroid, we should have a new protector to look out for us --Hera, a self-driving spacecraft developed by the European Space Agency. ESA engineers are working on a way to let the craft maneuver itself in space, similar to an autonomous car.
Epic star 100 times the mass of our Sun spotted in stellar nursery
A distant stellar nursery may hold clues to the formation of massive stars. The giant celestial cloud, located 17,000 light-years away, is composed mostly of hydrogen and is being investigated by the flying observatory SOFIA, which can image distant objects by flying above water vapor in the atmosphere.
3-plus-hour supply trip from Earth to International Space Station breaks record
A resupply mission to the International Space Station has made record time, traveling from Earth to the station in just three hours and 21 minutes. The Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket with a Progress MS-11 cargo spaceship was launched from the Russian space Agency Roscocmos' Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Things are heating up as Parker Solar Probe makes second flyby of the Sun
The Parker Solar Probe is a NASA project to collect data from the searing heat of the Sun's corona. It made a successful approach of the Sun last year, and now NASA has announced that the probe has made a second close approach to the Sun, and is entering the outbound phase of its second solar orbit.
Astronomers investigate the mystery of plasma rain on the sun
The movement of plasma on the surface of the Sun behaves like the water cycle here on Earth, with plasma being heated until it escapes from the surface and heads into the corona, before cooling and falling as coronal rain. But now new research has raised questions about how this process works.
Curiosity images show two solar eclipses as seen from the surface of Mars
The Curiosity rover has captured a remarkable set of images showing two solar eclipses as seen from Mars. Using the solar filters on its Mastcam it was able to directly observe the Sun and to capture images of solar eclipses caused by two of Mars's moons, Phobos and Deimos, passing in front of the Sun.
Methane on Mars confirmed — but there’s probably no life there
A clue into disappearing methane on Mars has been revealed. Data collected from orbit by the ESA’s Mars Express mission has been examined to look for correlations with data collected from the surface by the Curiosity rover. A reanalysis of the satellite data shows methane was present at just one location.
Death of a planet: Astronomers discover grisly scene of planetary destruction
Astronomers have discovered all that is left of a planet circling the dark remains of a dead star. They were looking at a white dwarf and were surprised to see a fragment orbiting it. They believe the fragment is all that remains of a larger planet which was decimated by the death of its star.
Tiny Israeli spacecraft Beresheet enters orbit around the moon
An amazing achievement for a tiny spacecraft from Israel: the Beresheet lander has entered orbit around the moon, making Israel just the seventh nation to do so.The lander has been traveling in increasingly large circles around Earth for the past six weeks since its launch in February.
Don’t freak out! Older GPS devices could suffer Y2K-style bug tonight
Remember the Y2K bug? When we worried that our computers would stop working at the turn of the millennium due to two digit dates turning from 99 to 00. That turned out to be just fine, and didn't cause a major problem at all. But experts are warning that a similar bug could affect GPS devices today.
Burnin’ through the sky: Queen’s Brian May creates stereoscopic image of asteroid
A particularly large boulder has been imaged on the surface of asteroid Bennu: a massive 170-foot long (52 meter) boulder sitting on the southern hemisphere of the asteroid. NASA has released a stereoscopic image of the boulder, which enables viewers to see the illusion of depth in the image.
See a cluster of cosmic wild ducks in flight in Hubble’s picture of the week
Hubble has provided another space picture for us to marvel at. The telescope has been imaging the Messier 11 cluster, a group of stars in the southern constellation of Scutum also known by another name: the Wild Duck Cluster, because the brightest stars look like a flock of ducks in flight.
That’s science! Mycologist colonizes marshmallow Peeps with fungi for Easter
Easter is coming, and that means chocolate eggs, candy bunnies, and of course marshmallow Peeps. But a scientist from West Virginia University has his own plan for the sweet marshmallow treats this Easter season - he's using Peeps for an experiment into the environmentally adaptive abilities of fungi.
Saturn’s rings deposit material onto its ravioli-shaped moons
A new study has investigated Saturn's tiny far-flung moons and the way that they interact with the rings. Five moons - Daphnis, Pan, Atlas, Prometheus, and Pandora - are nestled at the edge of the rings, and data collected by the Cassini spacecraft shows they are covered in dust and ice from the rings.