Southampton UK (SPX) Oct 20, 2023
Researchers from the University of Southampton, together with colleagues from the universities of Cambridge and Barcelona, have shown it's theoretically possible for black holes to exist in perfectly balanced pairs - held in equilibrium by a cosmological force - mimicking a single black hole. Black holes are massive astronomical objects that have such a strong gravitational pull that nothi

Munich, Germany (SPX) Oct 20, 2023
An international team has spotted a remote blast of cosmic radio waves lasting less than a millisecond. This 'fast radio burst' (FRB) is the most distant ever detected. Its source was pinned down by the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT) in a galaxy so far away that its light took eight billion years to reach us. The FRB is also one of the most energetic ever observ

San Diego CA (SPX) Oct 20, 2023
Everyone has an origin story, including the universe. The Big Bang Theory is the leading explanation for the universe's origin - one that began 13.8 billion years ago from an incomprehensibly dense, hot pinprick that underwent an expansion so rapid that "violent" doesn't begin to capture it. About 400,000 years after the Big Bang, the cosmos cooled enough for photons to travel freely, crea

Stockholm, Sweden (SPX) Oct 20, 2023
Swedish satellite company Ovzon, in collaboration with SpaceX and Maxar, is working towards a launch window of early December for its Ovzon 3 satellite. "The final assembly and testing of the satellite, in addition to the complex modeling associated with changing launch vehicles, has progressed well and according to plan in recent months. We are now moving forward with further detailed lau

Baltimore MD (SPX) Oct 20, 2023
Jupiter has some of the most conspicuous atmospheric features in our solar system. The planet's Great Red Spot, large enough to envelop Earth, is nearly as well known as some of the various rivers and mountains on the planet we call home. However, much like Earth, Jupiter is ever-changing, and there's much about the planet we have yet to learn. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is unlockin

Baikonur, Kazakhstan (AFP) Oct 20, 2023
Surrounded by the vast sand dunes of the Kazakh steppe, on satellite images the city of Baikonur looks like an oasis of glimmering lights in an otherwise dry desert. Leased by Russia from Kazakhstan since the collapse of the USSR, the legendary launch site was for years the heart of the Soviet space programme, sending both the first artificial satellite and human into space. Russia, whos

Jiuquan (XNA) Oct 20, 2023
The combination of the Shenzhou-17 crewed spaceship and a Long March-2F carrier rocket was transferred to the launching area on Thursday, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said. According to the CMSA, the facilities and equipment at the launch site are in good condition, and various pre-launch function checks and joint tests will be carried out as planned. The spaceship will be launched

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Oct 20, 2023
China's forthcoming rocket designed for manned space missions, Long March 10, is on course for its initial launch around 2027, says a senior designer from the project team. The advanced launch vehicle is being developed at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), a primary contributor to rocketry in China and a subsidiary of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. Zh

Image: Like shining jewels in the water, ships passing through the Panama Canal, which cuts across Central America, have been captured in this Copernicus Sentinel-1 image.