Milky Way's first massive stellar blackhole unveiled 2000 light years away
Wednesday, 17 April 2024 16:48
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A team of astronomers has pinpointed the largest stellar black hole discovered in the Milky Way, utilizing data from the European Space Agency's Gaia mission. This newly identified black hole, exerting a unique 'wobbling' effect on its companion star, was initially detected through this anomalous motion. Verification efforts included observations from the European Southern Observatory's Very Lar Dragonfly mission set for Saturn's moon Titan with NASA's confirmed plan
Wednesday, 17 April 2024 16:48 Write a comment
NASA has officially given the greenlight for the Dragonfly rotorcraft mission to Saturn's moon Titan, authorizing the project's transition to final design and construction stages. This development follows the successful completion of the mission's Preliminary Design Review and subsequent budget adjustments to align with the current financial landscape.
"Dragonfly represents a major science Purple may just be the new green in the hunt for alien life
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Researchers are expanding the criteria for life on other planets beyond the familiar green of Earthly vegetation. Scientists at Cornell University have suggested that purple, not green, might be the predominant color of life on other worlds, based on a study of bacteria that absorb infrared light for photosynthesis.
These purple bacteria, which exhibit a range of hues including yellow, ora NASA's Fermi Telescope detects no gamma rays from recent supernova
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In 2023, a supernova burst in the Pinwheel galaxy, creating an ideal scenario for testing theories on cosmic ray acceleration. However, the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, which has been operational since 2008, did not detect the anticipated high-energy gamma rays.
On May 18, 2023, the supernova named SN 2023ixf occurred about 22 million light-years away in Ursa Major, marking it as one o Unveiling space chemistry via cold coulomb crystals
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The seemingly empty interstellar space is a bustling hub of atoms, ions, and molecules, comprising the Interstellar Medium (ISM). This vast expanse has been a focal point for scientists, with over 200 unique molecules discovered in its cold, low-pressure confines. The interplay of chemistry, physics, and astronomy is crucial as researchers from these disciplines explore the types of chemical rea 'Tube map' around planets and moons made possible by knot theory
Wednesday, 17 April 2024 16:35 Write a comment
Just as sat-nav did away with the need to argue over the best route home, scientists from the University of Surrey have developed a new method to find the optimal routes for future space missions without the need to waste fuel. The paper is published in the journal Astrodynamics.
The new method uses mathematics to reveal all possible routes from one orbit to another without guesswork or using enormous computer power.
Danny Owen, who developed the technique at the Surrey Space Center, said, "Previously, when the likes of NASA wanted to plot a route, their calculations relied on either brute force or guesswork.
"Our new technique neatly reveals all possible routes a spacecraft could take from A to B, as long as both orbits share a common energy level.
"This makes the task of planning missions much simpler. We think of it as a tube map for space."
In recent decades, space missions have increasingly relied on the ability to change the course of a satellite's path through space without using fuel.
Studying spaceflight atrophy with machine learning
Wednesday, 17 April 2024 16:12 Write a comment
Even intense exercise by astronauts cannot compensate for muscle atrophy caused by microgravity. Atrophy occurs, in part, by way of an underlying mechanism that regulates calcium uptake. Recent research has shown exposure to spaceflight alters the uptake of calcium in muscles. However, the molecular mechanisms that drive these changes are not well studied.
Researchers at Ames Research Center investigated these mechanisms by applying machine learning (ML) to identify patterns in datasets on mice exposed to microgravity. ML methods are particularly effective in identifying patterns in complex biological data and are suited for space biological research where small datasets are often combined to increase statistical power.
A clinical decision support system for Earth-independent medical operations
Wednesday, 17 April 2024 16:12
The rising flood of space junk is a risk to us on Earth—and governments are on the hook
Wednesday, 17 April 2024 14:57 Write a comment
A piece of space junk recently crashed through the roof and floor of a man's home in Florida. Nasa later confirmed that the object had come from unwanted hardware released from the international space station.
The 700g, 10cm-long piece of hardware was expected to burn up, Nasa said. Even a relatively small piece of junk can cause considerable damage when falling from space.
This raises several important questions. Who is liable for damages caused by human-made objects that fall from the sky? Can anything be done to prevent this happening? Luckily, international treaties provide some answers to the first question, while recent developments help with the second.
Next up is launch, as Boeing's Starliner takes trek to Cape Canaveral
Wednesday, 17 April 2024 14:10 Write a comment
Boeing's CST-100 Starliner, set to take its first humans on board during the Crew Flight Test mission next month, was transported from Boeing's Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a 10-mile trip to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
It arrived at United Launch Alliance's Vertical Integration Facility early Tuesday where it was placed atop an Atlas V rocket ahead of the planned launch from Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 41 as early as May 6. The capsule will take NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on a planned eight-day mission to the International Space Station.
Boeing completed fueling its spacecraft at the Starliner production facility adjacent to KSC's massive Vehicle Assembly Building earlier this month.
"Samples were taken and specialized tests were conducted throughout the propellent loading process to ensure the safety of the team performing the operation and the safe operation of the spacecraft on orbit," said Mark Sorensen, Starliner CFT Crew Module lead.
Before it left the building, Boeing performed a final weigh-in that also acted as the center-of-gravity check.
NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter team says goodbye—for now
Wednesday, 17 April 2024 14:02 Write a comment
The final downlink shift by the Ingenuity team was a time to reflect on a highly successful mission—and to prepare the first aircraft on another world for its new role.
Taking the next steps for satellite-to-smartphone services
Wednesday, 17 April 2024 14:02
CSIS releases annual assessment of global trends in the weaponization of space
Wednesday, 17 April 2024 13:51
Estonia pioneers instrument for Comet Interceptor mission through Prodex
Wednesday, 17 April 2024 13:30 Write a comment
An ESA programme called Prodex has enabled Estonian researchers and industry to join an international mission to intercept and examine a comet entering the inner Solar System for the first time.