Space News
The CIA knows a lot about other nations' space programs. You can too with its new 'World Factbook' update
SPACE.com - 29 Aug 2023 00:00
The United States Central Intelligence Agency, better known as the CIA, has released a new entry in its World Factbook that catalogues the programs and milestones of space agencies around the world.
NASA confirms multi-year delay in next New Frontiers competition
Space News - 29 Aug 2023 01:08
NASA has confirmed it is delaying the release of the call for proposals for the next New Frontiers planetary science mission, originally planned for this fall, to no earlier than 2026 because of budget issues. The post N...
Japanese space robotics company GITAI raises $15 million
Space News - 29 Aug 2023 17:00
Japanese startup GITAI has raised an additional $15 million to continue work on lunar robotics technologies, three months after raising $30 million. The post Japanese space robotics company GITAI raises $15 million appea...
The Whirlpool Galaxy, Seen by JWST
Universe Today - 29 Aug 2023 23:54
The Whirlpool Galaxy, aka M51, is one of the most well-known objects in the night sky. It’s close enough and prominent in the northern sky that amateur astronomers have shared stunning pictures of it for decades. But y...
Is the Solar Wind Coming From These Tiny Jets on the Sun?
Universe Today - 29 Aug 2023 23:53
Ever since the first direct observations of the solar wind in 1959, astronomers have worked to figure out what powers this plasma flow. Now, scientists using the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft think they have an answe...
How data from a NASA lunar orbiter is preparing Artemis astronauts
Phys.org - 29 Aug 2023 23:13
When astronauts set off for a trip around the moon in 2024 with NASA's Artemis II mission, they will go primed with knowledge of lunar landmarks gathered by one of the Agency's premiere robotic missions to our nearest co...
Private company wants to clean up space junk with 'capture bags' in Earth orbit
SPACE.com - 29 Aug 2023 23:00
Space junk could one day be snatched in orbit with a strong bag, if a new contract to test the technology ends up flying in space.
JWST Plucks One Single Star out of a Galaxy Seen 12.5 Billion Years Ago
Universe Today - 29 Aug 2023 22:58
Thanks to data obtained by Webb, astronomers have confirmed that MACS0647-star-1 is the second farthest star observed to date. The post JWST Plucks One Single Star out of a Galaxy Seen 12.5 Billion Years Ago appeared fir...
Space Development Agency's data-transport satellites get more complex
Space News - 29 Aug 2023 22:25
The 72 data-transport satellites that the Space Development Agency plans to launch to orbit in 2026 will be the most complex yet. The post Space Development Agency's data-transport satellites get more complex appeared fi...
Closest supernova in a decade reveals how exploding stars evolve
Phys.org - 29 Aug 2023 22:00
Alex Filippenko is the kind of guy who brings a telescope to a party. True to form, at a soiree on May 18 this year, he wowed his hosts with images of star clusters and colorful galaxies--including the dramatic spiral Pi...
Bizarre super-puffy exoplanet hosts rare 'thermometer molecule'
SPACE.com - 29 Aug 2023 22:00
A rare temperature-sensitive molecule usually found in stars has been discovered in the atmosphere of an exoplanet for the first time, a marshmallow-like hot Jupiter called WASP-31b.
Satellites capture Burning Man festival's fire from space (photos)
SPACE.com - 29 Aug 2023 21:00
Satellites watched as a temporary city sprang up in the Nevada desert, where the famed Burning Man "radical self-expression" festival kicked off on Monday (Aug. 28).
New research shows evidence of highly mobile lunar regolith
Phys.org - 29 Aug 2023 20:48
A new study of lunar swirls shows evidence of highly mobile regolith on the moon, according to a team of PSI scientists led by Deborah Domingue.
James Webb Space Telescope gazes into the Whirlpool galaxy's hypnotic spiral arms (photos)
SPACE.com - 29 Aug 2023 20:00
A James Webb Space Telescope image of M51 boasts amber hues and reddish streaks, capturing the galaxy's gravitational relationship with a neighboring realm.
Satellites watch powerful Hurricanes Idalia and Franklin churn (video)
SPACE.com - 29 Aug 2023 19:49
Weather satellites in orbit above Earth are watching Hurricane Idalia and Hurricane Franklin as they pick up strength in ocean waters off the southern coast of the United States.
Ancient cracked mud found on Mars
Phys.org - 29 Aug 2023 19:47
A recent study published in Nature examines how mud cracks observed on Mars by NASA's Curiosity rover could provide insight into how life on the red planet could have formed in its ancient past.
NASA's New Horizons mission still threatened
Phys.org - 29 Aug 2023 19:45
The New Horizons spacecraft that studied Pluto and Kuiper belt object Arrokoth continues its pioneering exploration of the Kuiper belt. However, that might soon end if NASA doesn't change course. The New Horizons science...
How old is the universe exactly? A new theory suggests that it's been around for twice as long as believed
Phys.org - 29 Aug 2023 19:42
Early universe observations by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) cannot be explained by current cosmological models. These models estimate the universe to be 13.8 billion years in age, based on the big-bang expanding...
Astronomers Precisely Measure a Black Hole's Accretion Disk
Universe Today - 29 Aug 2023 18:56
Actively feeding supermassive black holes are known as quasars, and they can outshine all the stars of their host galaxy. Part of their brightness comes from the accretion disk surrounding the black hole, but they're har...
Get a sneak peek at new 'Star Wars' short story collection, 'From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi'
SPACE.com - 29 Aug 2023 18:00
An exclusive excerpt from the short story collection "From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi."
Andreas Mogensen's second mission Huginn soars high
ESA - 29 Aug 2023 17:30
Video: 00:03:06 Huginn, Andreas Mogensen's second mission to the International Space Station, is now underway. Together with Crew-7, the ESA astronaut launched aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft Endurance on 26 August 202...