ESA’s star-surveying Gaia mission has again proven to be a formidable asteroid explorer, spotting potential moons around more than 350 asteroids not known to have a companion.

Paris, France (SPX) Aug 06, 2024
Atmospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is a hazardous pollutant with profound effects on air quality, climate, and the biosphere. While satellites have been mapping NO2 concentrations since the 1990s, their resolutions have generally been too coarse to identify individual sources such as power plants. A recent study has made significant strides in air pollution monitoring by using imagery from

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Aug 05, 2024
This study, led by Dr. Wei Wei, PhD student Lin-Hui Dong, and Prof. Fang Huang at the University of Science and Technology of China, investigates the removal of excess barium and sulfide from seawater and its impact on marine habitability during the Cambrian Explosion. Lin-Hui Dong analyzed excess barium contents (Baexcess) and isotope compositions (d138Baexcess) at the State Key Laborator

London, UK (SPX) Aug 02, 2024
A team of researchers, including scientists from the University of Oxford, has uncovered a new species of mollusc dating back 500 million years. Named Shishania aculeata, this fossil reveals that the earliest molluscs were flat, shell-less slugs protected by spiny armor. These findings are published in the journal Science. The discovery comes from well-preserved fossils found in eastern Yu

London, UK (SPX) Aug 05, 2024
A newly developed timeline of early animal fossils reveals a link between sea levels, changes in marine oxygen, and the appearance of the earliest ancestors of present-day animals. The study reveals clues into the forces that drove the evolution of the earliest organisms, from which all major animal groups descended. A team from the University of Edinburgh studied a compilation of ro

Washington DC (UPI) Aug 6, 2024
China on Tuesday successfully launched a satellite group up into space with more on the way aimed at improving broadband services across the massive Asian nation. The group of 18 satellites were launched at 2:42 p.m. local time from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern China's Shanxi Province attached to a Long March 6A rocket for Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology, which

Washington (AFP) Aug 6, 2024
NASA on Tuesday postponed the departure of astronauts bound for the International Space Station on a SpaceX flight due to ongoing issues with Boeing's Starliner spacecraft. The Starliner, which brought two NASA astronauts aboard the ISS in early June, has been docked for the past two months due to anomalies detected in its propulsion system during its flight, with the mission's return date i

Washington DC (UPI) Aug 6, 2024
Northrup Grumman's Cygnus resupply spacecraft reached the International Space Station early Tuesday morning, delivering some four tons of supplies to the orbiting laboratory, NASA said. Cygnus completed installation on the ISS at 5:33 a.m. EDT, NASA said. It brought 8,200 pounds of scientific investigation and cargo to the ISS's orbiting laboratory on the 21st resupply mission ca