Deep oceans dissolve the rocky shell of water-ice planets
Thursday, 27 May 2021 02:23
What is happening deep beneath the surface of ice planets? Is there liquid water, and if so, how does it interact with the planetary rocky "seafloor"? New experiments show that on water-ice planets between the size of our Earth and up to six times this size, water selectively leaches magnesium from typical rock minerals.
The conditions with pressures of hundred thousand atmospheres and tem Thirty year stellar survey cracks mysteries of galaxy's giant planets
Thursday, 27 May 2021 02:23
Current and former astronomers from the University of Hawai?i Institute for Astronomy (IfA) have wrapped up a massive collaborative study that set out to determine if most solar systems in the universe are similar to our own. With the help of W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea in Hawai?i, the 30-year planetary census sought to find where giant planets tend to reside relative to their host stars. Study reveals new details on what happened in the first microsecond of Big Bang
Thursday, 27 May 2021 02:23
About 14 billion years ago, our universe changed from being a lot hotter and denser to expanding radically - a process that scientists have named 'The Big Bang'.
And even though we know that this fast expansion created particles, atoms, stars, galaxies and life as we know it today, the details of how it all happened are still unknown.
Now a new study performed by researchers from Uni Next New Frontiers mission will retain same set of destinations
Thursday, 27 May 2021 01:16
WASHINGTON — A delay of up to two years in the next New Frontiers planetary science mission competition won’t change the potential destinations for that mission.
NASA announced May 12 it was delaying the release of a draft announcement of opportunity for the fifth New Frontiers mission from this October to as late as October 2023.
Pentagon working with space industry to counter Chinese espionage
Wednesday, 26 May 2021 22:02
WASHINGTON — Chinese attempts to steal U.S. space technology remain a problem despite significant efforts by the Pentagon to protect intellectual property data, the head of Air Force acquisitions Darlene Costello told lawmakers May 26.
SpaceX sets Falcon 9 fairing reuse mark with Starlink launch
Wednesday, 26 May 2021 19:56
WASHINGTON — A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched another set of Starlink satellites May 26 on a launch that highlighted an often-overlooked aspect of the company’s reusability efforts.
The Falcon 9 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 2:59 p.m.
GM's newest vehicle: Off-road, self-driving rover for moon
Wednesday, 26 May 2021 19:10
Op-ed | Artemis 2026: Celebrating America’s 250th with the next humans on the moon
Wednesday, 26 May 2021 13:21
On July 4, 2026, the United States will celebrate the 250th anniversary of its independence. America should commemorate this historical milestone in 2026 by landing humans on the moon for the first time since 1972.
Sending humanity back to the moon in 2026 is not only technically feasible, but it also fits squarely in the projected timeline for NASA’s already existing plan to return astronauts to the lunar surface — the Artemis program.
Buildup to super blood moon eclipses the finale
Wednesday, 26 May 2021 12:55
In the end, the buildup seemed to eclipse the finale.
Reconstructing 3D magnetic topology of on-disk solar prominence bubbles
Wednesday, 26 May 2021 12:43
Solar prominences or filaments are cool and dense plasma structures suspended in the hot and tenuous corona.
Recent high-resolution solar limb observations reveal that some dark "bubbles" with bright arch-like boundaries form below prominences. It is puzzling that how these bubbles, semi-circular voids, form below dense prominences.
Ph.D. student Guo Yilin from National Astronomical Observatories of Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC), together with Dr. Hou Yijun, Dr. Li Ting, and Prof. Zhang Jun, found and investigated an on-disk bubble based on stereoscopic observations for the first time.
The study was published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.
It is widely accepted that bubbles are closely related to the overlying prominence system and could eventually lead to the generation of a coronal mass ejection. This has serious effect on space weather.
"However, previous studies are all based on the solar limb observations or numerical simulations. If the bubble could be found on the solar disk, we could unveil the magnetic nature of the bubble," said Dr.
Connecting the Dots | The growing market for weather bets
Wednesday, 26 May 2021 12:27
Improvements in satellite weather data collection and analysis are helping financial investors place better bets on the companies they gamble on.
There’s a “huge world” of weather-related investments and financial instruments that investors are increasingly getting to grips with, according to Rei Goffer, co-founder of meteorological intelligence startup Tomorrow.io.
China establishes company to build satellite broadband megaconstellation
Wednesday, 26 May 2021 11:12
HELSINKI — The Chinese government has created a company dedicated to creating and operating a 13,000-satellite broadband constellation.
The State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), a government body overseeing state-owned enterprises, issued a press release April 29 announcing the creation of the China Satellite Network Group Co.
Europa's interior may be hot enough to fuel seafloor volcanoes
Wednesday, 26 May 2021 11:07
Jupiter's moon Europa has an icy crust covering a vast, global ocean. The rocky layer underneath may be hot enough to melt, leading to undersea volcanoes.
New research and computer modeling show that volcanic activity may have occurred on the seafloor of Jupiter's moon Europa in the recent past—and may still be happening. NASA's upcoming Europa Clipper mission, targeting a 2024 launch, will swoop close to the icy moon and collect measurements that may shed light on the recent findings.
Glittering moon rises ahead of super blood moon
Wednesday, 26 May 2021 10:29
A glittering full moon rose over New Zealand on Wednesday night as people there and around the world waited for a cosmic event known as a super blood moon.
It's when a full lunar eclipse coincides with a supermoon, which is when the moon is particularly close to Earth and appears brighter than normal.
For about 15 minutes, as the moon moves fully into Earth's shadow, the moon will appear to turn red.
EU sees conflict of interest with Eutelsat’s investment in OneWeb
Wednesday, 26 May 2021 10:19
WASHINGTON — Eutelsat’s investment in OneWeb may be incompatible with continued participation in the European Union’s proposed satellite broadband constellation, an EU official warned.
Eutelsat is part of an industry consortium that received a study contract from the European Commission in December 2020 to examine the feasibility of a European satellite constellation to provide secure communications and broadband services, particularly for underserved parts of Europe.