
Copernical Team
Large asteroid to (safely) zip past Earth

Swiss kids suit up for 'Mission to Mars'

Trinity researchers tackle the spiders from Mars

Russia's Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft re-docks on ISS

Biden nominates former Democratic senator as NASA chief

NASA mega moon rocket passes key test, readies for launch

Arianespace signs with Avio for 10 additional Vega C launchers

Meteor streaks over Cuba, causes explosion

What is believed to be a meteor lit the sky over eastern Cuba and caused an explosion, scientists on the island said Saturday. There were no reports of damage or injury.
The head of the National Seismological Service, Enrique Arango Arias, told the official Cubadebate news site that the phenomenon was noticed in the towns of Moa, Sagua de Tanamo and Maisí .
He said the service's instruments "registered the expansive wave" of the explosion.
Social media users reported seeing red and white light followed by an explosion at about 10:06 p.m. local time Friday.
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If skies are clear, don't miss a chance to catch sight of these distant orbital sentinels over the coming weeks

You can spot "GEOSat' satellites in far-flung orbits… if you know exactly where and when to look.
Watch the sky long enough, and you're bound to see one.
Seasoned observers are familiar with seeing satellites in low Earth orbit, as these modern artificial sky apparitions lit by sunlight grace the dawn or dusk sky. Occasionally, you might even see a flare from a passing satellite, as a reflective solar panel catches the last rays of sunlight passing overhead.
But look closely along either side of the celestial equator (the imaginary line that the Earth's equator traces on the sky) at certain times of the year, and you might just see the ghostly flare of a distant GEOSat (geosynchronous satellite) as it briefly brightens into visibility and fades away.
Right around equinox in March or September is a good time to try and spy satellites in GEO as they reach near 100% illumination opposite to the sun, before entering the Earth's shadow and winking out.
Researchers tackle Mars topographic systems

Researchers at Trinity College Dublin have been shedding light on the enigmatic "spiders from Mars," providing the first physical evidence that these unique features on the planet's surface can be formed by the sublimation of CO2 ice.
Spiders, more formally referred to as araneiforms, are strange-looking negative topography radial systems of dendritic troughs; patterns that resemble branches of a tree or fork lightning.