Space News
Scientists study plasma 'bubbles' in Earth's magnetic field with Gamera model named for Japanese monster
SPACE.com - 15 Jan 2020 23:00
Auroras and satellite function might be influenced by ''bubbles'' of plasma near the tail of Earth's magnetosphere.
LightSail 2 is Still Solar Sailing, But it's Getting Lower and Lower with Each Orbit
Universe Today - 15 Jan 2020 03:08
LightSail 2 deployed it solar sail five months ago, and it’s still orbiting Earth. It’s a successful demonstration of the potential of solar sail spacecraft. Now the LightSail 2 team at The Planetary Society has rele...
Connecting The Dots In The Sky Could Shed New Light On Dark Matter
SpaceRef - 15 Jan 2020 06:17
Astrophysicists have come a step closer to understanding the origin of a faint glow of gamma rays covering the night sky....
Plant-powered sensor sends signal to space
Phys.org - 15 Jan 2020 17:08
A device that uses electricity generated by plants as its power source has communicated via satellite--a world first.
X-60A program conducts integrated vehicle propulsion system verification test
Phys.org - 15 Jan 2020 16:00
The Air Force Research Laboratory's X-60A program recently achieved a key developmental milestone with the completion of integrated vehicle propulsion system verification ground testing.
Study raises prospect of space conflict if U.S. and Russia abandon nuclear arms control treaty
Space News - 15 Jan 2020 23:21
A study by the Aerospace Corporation says ending the New START Treaty could destabilize outer space. SpaceNews.com
Astronauts upgrade space station batteries in second all-woman spacewalk
SPACE.com - 15 Jan 2020 23:09
The second all-female spacewalk in history continued the work of the first, as NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch upgraded batteries outside of the International Space Station.
The black hole at the center of the galaxy is forging a strange new kind of star
SPACE.com - 15 Jan 2020 23:07
The black hole at the center of our galaxy is warping and combining stars into a strange new kind of object, astronomers say.
Underwater Robot Captures its First Sample 500 Meters Below the Surface of the Ocean
Universe Today - 15 Jan 2020 22:41
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) says their underwater robot has just completed the first-ever automated underwater sampling operation. The robot is called Nereid Under Ice (NEI) and it collected the sampl...
Weekly Space Hangout: January 15, 2019 - Dr Erin Explains the Universe
Universe Today - 15 Jan 2020 22:22
Hosts: Fraser Cain (universetoday.com / @fcain) Dr. Kimberly Cartier (KimberlyCartier.org / @AstroKimCartier ) Beth Johnson (@planetarypan) Moiya McTier ( / @GoAstroMo) This week we welcome Dr. Erin Macdonald to the W...
Astronomers just tracked the interstellar journey of one of life's building blocks through space
SPACE.com - 15 Jan 2020 22:00
Scientists have traced the journey of phosphorous, one of the essential building blocks for life as we know it on Earth, through space.
Taking the temperature of dark matter
Phys.org - 15 Jan 2020 21:21
Warm, cold, just right? Physicists at the University of California, Davis are taking the temperature of dark matter, the mysterious substance that makes up about a quarter of our universe.
Proxima Centauri, the sun's nearest neighbor, may host a 2nd alien planet. Meet Proxima c.
SPACE.com - 15 Jan 2020 21:03
Astronomers have spotted another possible planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, which lies just 4.2 light-years from the sun.
A Second Planet Was Found by Closest Star to the Sun
Discover - 15 Jan 2020 21:00
Located just 4.2 light-years away, the star Proxima Centauri now has both an Earth-like world in its habitable zone and a more distant super-Earth.
Could Invisible Aliens Really Exist Among Us? An Astrobiologist Explains
SPACE.com - 15 Jan 2020 20:00
Alien lifeforms are impossible to spot.
Astronomers discover class of strange objects near our galaxy's enormous black hole
Phys.org - 15 Jan 2020 20:00
Astronomers from UCLA's Galactic Center Orbits Initiative have discovered a new class of bizarre objects at the center of our galaxy, not far from the supermassive black hole called Sagittarius A*. They published their r...
Mysterious, Dusty Objects Are Swarming the Milky Way's Core
Scientific American - 15 Jan 2020 20:00
Swirling around our galaxy’s central supermassive black hole, these objects share properties with both stars and gas clouds --
Giant 'Rubin's Galaxy' in stunning Hubble photo named for dark matter pioneer
SPACE.com - 15 Jan 2020 19:32
Two cosmic love birds lit the way to the discovery of dark matter, and a new Hubble image features a behemoth galaxy that played a part in the groundbreaking finding.
Bright star Betelgeuse might be harboring a deep, dark secret
SPACE.com - 15 Jan 2020 19:20
A new model suggests that the star Betelgeuse committed an act of cannibalism.
NASA, NOAA Analyses Reveal 2019 Second Warmest Year on Record
NASA Breaking news - 15 Jan 2020 16:54V473 Lyr has a low-mass companion, study suggests
Phys.org - 15 Jan 2020 16:10
Using ESA's XMM-Newton spacecraft, astronomers have conducted X-ray observations of a peculiar Cepheid variable star known as V473 Lyr. Results of the study suggest that this star has a young, low-mass companion. The fin...
Helmet trouble strikes second all-female spacewalk
Phys.org - 15 Jan 2020 16:10
Two NASA astronauts ventured out Wednesday on a second all-female spacewalk to finish upgrades to the International Space Station's power grid, but quickly ran into a helmet problem.