Paris, France (SPX) Sep 25, 2024
For nearly 70 years of spaceflight, around 10,000 satellites and rocket bodies have reentered Earth's atmosphere, with many more to follow. However, what happens to a satellite during its final moments of destruction remains unclear. The European Space Agency (ESA) is preparing the Destructive Reentry Assessment Container Object (Draco) mission, designed to capture unique in-flight data du

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Sep 22, 2024
Researchers at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) have received a $593,864 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop an AI-powered system that enhances the forecasting of solar eruptions, such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). This three-year initiative, led by Yan Xu from NJIT's Institute for Space Weather Sciences (ISWS) and Jason Wang from the uni

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Sep 19, 2024
Researchers have unveiled an optical atomic clock that operates with a single laser and functions at room temperature, dramatically simplifying the design without compromising on accuracy or stability. This breakthrough could lead to the development of compact and portable high-performance atomic clocks. "Over the last two decades, many great advances have been made in the performance of n

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Sep 25, 2024
A new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder has shown that gases often seen as indicators of life on distant planets may not be as reliable as previously thought. Researchers managed to recreate dimethyl sulfide - a molecule traditionally associated with biological activity - in a lab without the involvement of living organisms. Published in 'Astrophysical Journal Letters', the s

Madrid, Spain (SPX) Sep 25, 2024
The mystery of dark matter continues to challenge scientists, and new findings from the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC) suggest that dark matter may not behave according to previous assumptions. While it is commonly believed that dark matter only interacts via gravity, a recent study indicates that dark matter experiences additional forces that may reshape our understanding of the Uni

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Sep 25, 2024
Astronomers using the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) have confirmed that early-Universe quasars are surrounded by densely packed galaxies, solving a long-standing debate. DECam's wide field of view and unique filters allowed astronomers to gain new insights into the quasar neighborhoods, explaining why previous studies have produced inconsistent results. Quasars are extremely bright celestial

Tucson AZ (SPX) Sep 25, 2024
Astronomers from the University of Arizona, along with an international group of researchers, observed the atmosphere of a hot and uniquely inflated exoplanet using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. The exoplanet, which is the size of Jupiter but only a tenth of its mass, is found to have east-west asymmetry in its atmosphere, meaning that there is a significant difference between the two edges

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Sep 25, 2024
Sandia National Laboratories is exploring a coordinated nuclear response to deflect potentially catastrophic asteroids, according to physicist Nathan Moore. His team is using Sandia's Z machine-the world's most powerful pulsed-power facility-to simulate asteroid deflection scenarios and gather critical data on how asteroids of different compositions respond to such methods. "To most people

Pasadena CA (JPL) Sep 25, 2024
Last week, team scientists and the internet alike were amazed when Perseverance spotted a black-and-white striped rock unlike any seen on Mars before. Is this a sign of exciting discoveries to come? It has now nearly been a month since the rover began its climb up the steep slopes leading to the crater rim, on the hunt for ancient rocks that could teach us about early Martian history. Whil

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Sep 25, 2024
Blue Origin's New Glenn second stage (GS2) successfully completed a critical hotfire test Tuesday, marking a key step toward its first flight, set for November from Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 36. The NG-1 mission will carry Blue Ring technology as its first payload. The 15-second hotfire test was the first time the vehicle operated as a fully integrated system. This test was conducted