Minneapolis MN (SPX) May 04, 2021
A new study led by University of Minnesota astrophysicists shows that high-energy light from small galaxies may have played a key role in the early evolution of the Universe. The research gives insight into how the Universe became reionized, a problem that astronomers have been trying to solve for years. The research is published in The Astrophysical Journal, a peer-reviewed scientific jou

Baltimore MD (SPX) May 04, 2021
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is giving astronomers a rare look at a Jupiter-sized, still-forming planet that is feeding off material surrounding a young star. "We just don't know very much about how giant planets grow," said Brendan Bowler of the University of Texas at Austin. "This planetary system gives us the first opportunity to witness material falling onto a planet. Our results open

Mumbai, India (SPX) May 04, 2021
Scientists from the National Centre for radio Astrophysics of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (NCRA-TIFR) Pune used the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (uGMRT) to determine that AT 2018 cow, the first of a newly discovered class of cosmic explosions, has an extremely patchy environment. Sources like AT 2018cow release an enormous amount of energy, nonetheless fade extremely r

Pasadena CA (JPL) May 04, 2021
Last summer, "Godzilla" came for the Caribbean and the U.S. Gulf Coast. This particular monster wasn't of the sci-fi variety, but a massive dust storm kicked up by winds from the Sahara Desert and carried an ocean away. The dust storm was an extreme example of a phenomenon that happens regularly: the global transport of dust, soot, and other airborne particles collectively known as aerosols by j

Greenbelt MD (SPX) May 04, 2021
During a brief swing by Venus, NASA's Parker Solar Probe detected a natural radio signal that revealed the spacecraft had flown through the planet's upper atmosphere. This was the first direct measurement of the Venusian atmosphere in nearly 30 years - and it looks quite different from Venus past. A study published Monday confirms that Venus' upper atmosphere undergoes puzzling changes over a so

Santiago (AFP) May 4, 2021
As sci-fi thriller "Inception" topped box offices across the world, audiences were delighted and appalled by its futuristic story of a criminal gang invading people's dreams to steal valuable data. More than a decade on, the technology envisioned by filmmaker Christopher Nolan is likely not far off, according to experts in Chile, who have moved the security debate beyond burglar alarms to sa

Washington DC (UPI) May 05, 2021
A U.S. astrophysicist is raising concerns about a Chinese carrier rocket used last week to launch the main module of a space station, as the rocket's core could be falling out of the Earth's orbit. Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Astrophysics Center at Harvard University, said it is possible some parts of the rocket will survive re-entry and cause damage on land, The Guardian r

Long Beach CA (SPX) May 05, 2021
Virgin Orbit, Richard Branson's responsive space company, reports that its UK subsidiary, Virgin Orbit UK Ltd., has signed a new manufacturing agreement with AVS Added Value Solutions UK (AVS) to build the Transportable Ground Operating System (TGOS) that will support Virgin Orbit's launch activities from Spaceport Cornwall. This manufacturing work, which will begin shortly in AVS' facilities in

Washington DC (UPI) May 4, 2021
The Dream Chaser spaceplane, a cargo spacecraft built and operated by Nevada-based Sierra Nevada Corp., is to begin launching and landing in Florida in 2022, NASA and the company announced Tuesday. The uncrewed, robotic spaceplane will be launched aboard a United Launch Alliance rocket from Kennedy Space Center for flights to the International Space Station. Once it docks and del