JWST/NIRcam composite image of the Ring Nebula. The images clearly show the main ring, surrounded by a faint halo and with many delicate structures. The interior of the ring is filled with…
Category: Space
Most Americans support NASA but don't think it should prioritize sending people to space
Most Americans (69%) believe it is essential that the United States continue to be a world leader in space. But only a subsection of that group believes NASA should prioritize sending people…
If the world were coming to an end, what would be the most ethical way to rebuild humanity off-planet?
Credit: NASA Last week, scientists announced that for the first time on record, Antarctic ice has failed to “substantially recover” over winter, in a “once in 7.5-million-year event.” Climate change is the…
Does the Milky Way's supermassive black hole have a companion?
Sag A* compared to M87* and the orbit of Mercury. Credit: EHT collaboration At the heart of our galaxy, there is a monster black hole. Known as Sagittarius A*, it has a…
Study investigates recent outburst in the active galaxy Markarian 1018
Typical u′-band STELLA exposure of Mrk 1018 (at the center of the image) and three reference stars. Credit: Brogan et al., 2023. An international team of astronomers has performed high-cadence optical monitoring…
Northrop Grumman planning Cygnus upgrades
SEATTLE — Northrop Grumman is planning upgrades to its Cygnus cargo vehicle, such as increased payload capacity, to support both the International Space Station and future commercial space stations. In presentations at…
Giant solar eruption felt on Earth, moon and Mars
A coronal mass ejection erupted from the sun on 28 October 2021 and was so big that Mars and Earth, while on opposite sides of the sun, both received an influx of…
Probing the origin and evolution of water-rich asteroids
The United Arab Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt is ambitious. EMA will fly past six asteroids and rendezvous with a seventh, Justitia. Equally ambitious is EMA’s national goal. To strengthen the…
U.S. intelligence agency selects vendors for space debris tracking project
WASHINGTON — The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity selected four vendors to develop technologies and new approaches for tracking small debris objects in space. A-Tech, Advanced Space, SRI International, and West Virginia…
Eclipsing binary detected in the open cluster NGC 2232
TESS light curve of TIC 43152097 in 2020. Credit: Frasca et al, 2023 Using NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), European astronomers have discovered an eclipsing binary in the open cluster NGC…