Paris, France (SPX) Aug 20, 2025
Supernovae appear to our eyes-and to astronomical instruments-as brilliant flashes that flare up in the sky without warning, in places where nothing was visible just moments before. The flash is caused by the colossal explosion of a star. Because supernovae are sudden and unpredictable, they have long been difficult to study, but today, thanks to extensive, continuous, high-cadence sky surveys,

Paris, France (SPX) Aug 20, 2025
Supernovae are sudden stellar explosions that flare brightly in the sky, making them difficult to capture in their earliest moments. With modern wide-field, high-cadence sky surveys, astronomers can now spot these events almost daily, but protocols are needed to secure immediate follow-up data. A pilot study led by Lluis Galbany of the Institute of Space Sciences (ICE-CSIC) in Barcelona te

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Aug 20, 2025
A University of Queensland researcher has developed a mathematical framework that incorporates collapsing regions of matter and expanding cosmic voids to explain the universe's evolution in greater detail than the standard model allows. Dr Leonardo Giani and colleagues used data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), which measures the structure of the universe across distan

Washington DC (UPI) Aug 19, 2025
NASA scientists at the Southwest Research Institute discovered a 29th moon orbiting Uranus while using infrared detection through the James Webb Space Telescope. The discovery was made on Feb. 2, but NASA officials did not announce the discovery until Tuesday in a news release. "This object was spotted in a series of 10 40-minute long-exposure images captured by the Near-Infrared

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Aug 20, 2025
A Southwest Research Institute study of near-Earth asteroids Bennu and Ryugu provides compelling evidence that both objects originated from the Polana collisional family in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The team compared Polana spectroscopy data with spacecraft and laboratory results from Ryugu and Bennu, revealing strong similarities in their near-infrared spectra that

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Aug 20, 2025
Precise orbit determination is becoming increasingly critical for satellite navigation, positioning and timing as Low Earth Orbit constellations expand worldwide. Researchers have introduced a new method that combines inter-satellite link data with onboard BeiDou-3 observations to simultaneously resolve LEO and BeiDou-3 Medium Earth Orbit satellite orbits with unprecedented accuracy. The a

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Aug 20, 2025
Rocket Lab has confirmed its 70th Electron launch is set for this weekend, lifting off no earlier than August 23 from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. The dedicated mission, named Live Laugh Launch, will deploy five satellites into a 655 km circular Earth orbit for a confidential commercial client. The flight takes place less than three weeks after the company's previous mission, highlight

Long Beach CA (SPX) Aug 20, 2025
SpinLaunch has closed 30 million in funding to accelerate development and commercialization of Meridian Space, its low-earth orbit satellite broadband constellation. The round includes new capital from existing investors led by ATW Partners, along with the previously announced strategic investment from Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace. The company is targeting its first customer link in the

London, UK (SPX) Aug 20, 2025
EIRSAT-1, Ireland's first satellite, has validated an onboard Wave-Based Control payload that enables accurate attitude control in orbit. Developed at UCD's School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, the software-led experiment demonstrates advanced manoeuvring techniques on a live spacecraft rather than solely in simulation. Engineering Manager for EIRSAT-1 and UCD control systems ex

Washington DC (UPI) Aug 19, 2025
NASA scientists at the Southwest Research Institute discovered a 29th moon orbiting Uranus while using infrared detection through the James Webb Space Telescope. The discovery was made on Feb. 2, but NASA officials did not announce the discovery until Tuesday in a news release. "This object was spotted in a series of 10 40-minute long-exposure images captured by the Near-Infrared