Space News
Complex life might require a very narrow habitable zone
Phys.org - 4 Mar 2019 16:30
Since the Kepler Space Telescope was launched into space, the number of known planets beyond the solar system (exoplanets) has grown exponentially. At present, 3,917 planets have been confirmed in 2,918 star systems, whi...
Arizona Students to Speak with NASA Astronaut Aboard Space Station
NASA Breaking news - 4 Mar 2019 16:03Why Smashing Asteroids to Save Earth Likely Won't Work
SPACE.com - 4 Mar 2019 23:13
If humanity ever truly felt our existence threatened by an asteroid, we may not be able to smash the looming space rock into pieces after all.
Astronomy Cast Ep. 520: Transients: What They Are and Why They Matter Part 2
Universe Today - 4 Mar 2019 22:10
This is our second episode in a two part series where we look at Transients in astronomy. In last week’s episode, we talked about things that change here in our own Solar System. Now we’ll talk about everything else ...
Scientists track deep history of planets' motions, and effects on Earth's climate
Phys.org - 4 Mar 2019 22:00
Scientists have long posited that periodic swings in Earth's climate are driven by cyclic changes in the distribution of sunlight reaching our surface. This is due to cyclic changes in how our planet spins on its axis, t...
Carnival of Space #601
Universe Today - 4 Mar 2019 21:57
Welcome to the 601st Carnival of Space! The Carnival is a community of space science and astronomy writers and bloggers, who submit their best work each week for your benefit. We have a fantastic roundup today so now, on...
Hayabusa2 Left a Dark Spot Where it Touched Down on Ryugu. Engineers Aren't Sure Why
Universe Today - 4 Mar 2019 21:35
On June 27th, 2018, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency‘s (JAXA) Hayabusa2 spacecraft rendezvoused with the asteroid 162173 Ryugu. Carrying on in the same tradition as its predecessor, Hayabusa2 recently conducte...
Another Milestone for SpaceX as Crew Dragon Docks with ISS
Universe Today - 4 Mar 2019 21:34
It’s another milestone for SpaceX as their Crew Dragon spacecraft successfully docked with the International Space Station. In the early morning of March 2nd, the unmanned Crew Dragon launched from complex 39A at NASA�...
Research laying groundwork for off-world colonies
Phys.org - 4 Mar 2019 19:24
Before civilization can move off world it must make sure its structures work on the extraterrestrial foundations upon which they will be built.
Cluster helps solve mysteries of geomagnetic storms
PTTU - 4 Mar 2019 19:00
ESA Science & Technology :
If NASA Wants To Do Bold Things Then It Should Say So
SpaceRef - 4 Mar 2019 18:56
NASA's current slogan is "Forward To The Moon". They say this because they do not want to say "Back To The Moon" Isn't about time for NASA to speak boldly about what it plans to do?...
'Little Earth' on SpaceX Crew Dragon Gives Boost to Celestial Buddies
SPACE.com - 4 Mar 2019 18:17
The launch of SpaceX's first Crew Dragon space capsule to the International Space Station did more than just advance the day when astronauts will again fly into space from U.S. soil.
The case of the over-tilting exoplanets
Phys.org - 4 Mar 2019 18:00
For almost a decade, astronomers have tried to explain why so many pairs of planets outside our solar system have an odd configuration--their orbits seem to have been pushed apart by a powerful unknown mechanism. Yale re...
On National Security | The SpaceX-ULA proxy war is heating up
Space News - 4 Mar 2019 17:37
Reviews of SpaceX and ULA, regardless of whether or how they might be connected, are a reminder of the dog-eat-dog world of military space launch. SpaceNews.com
Good luck 'Mole'--experiment starts hammering into the Martian soil
Phys.org - 4 Mar 2019 17:05
On 28 February 2019, 'Mole' fully automatically hammered its way into the Martian subsurface for the first time. In a first step, it penetrated to a depth between 18 and 50 centimetres into the Martian soil with 4000 ham...
Discovery of many new ultra-diffuse galaxies in galaxy clusters
Phys.org - 4 Mar 2019 16:05
In preparation for the new multi-object survey spectrograph, WEAVE, on the 4.2m William Herschel Telescope, the astronomical community is working on deep imaging surveys to identify the astronomical objects that will be ...
FIRST J141918.9+394036 is an 'orphan' long gamma-ray burst, study finds
Phys.org - 4 Mar 2019 16:00
Using a network of radio telescopes, European astronomers have investigated a decade-long transient known as FIRST J141918.9+394036. Results of this study, presented in a paper published February 18 on arXiv.org, provide...
Discovering a brown dwarf binary star with microlensing
Phys.org - 4 Mar 2019 15:30
Brown dwarfs are stars less massive than the sun and unable to burn hydrogen. They comprise (at least in mass) a bridge between planets and stars, and astronomers think that they form and evolve in ways different from ei...
Image: Antennas and auroras
Phys.org - 4 Mar 2019 15:30
This photograph, taken a short hike from the Geographic South Pole in Antarctica, shows some of the antennas comprising the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) array. They are visible here as the chain of antenn...
Modeling the origin story of the elements
Phys.org - 4 Mar 2019 15:22
More than 1800 years ago, Chinese astronomers puzzled over the sudden appearance of a bright "guest star" in the sky, unaware that they were witnessing the cosmic forge of a supernova, an event repeated countless times s...
Solar Wind Leaves 'Sunburn' Scars on the Moon
SPACE.com - 4 Mar 2019 14:14
People on Earth are familiar with the sun's powerful rays -- but the moon suffers from sunburn, too.
How a Distant Alien World Was Saved from an Interstellar Exile
SPACE.com - 4 Mar 2019 14:13
A distant alien world that was potentially on its way into exile in interstellar space was rescued by the gravitational pull of a passing pair of stars, a new study argues.