Copernical Team
Across the Northern Hemisphere, now's the time to catch a new comet before it vanishes for 400 years
A newly discovered comet is swinging through our cosmic neighborhood for the first time in more than 400 years.
SpaceX awaits FAA approval for Starship launch
Elon Musk said Tuesday that SpaceX is ready to launch a second test flight of its Starship and awaits Federal Aviation Administration approval nearly five months after the first test in Texas exploded over the Gulf of Mexico.
The updated Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, was rolled out to the launching pad where it will wait for FAA approval before setting a new date for li Japan launches 'Moon Sniper' mission
Japan's "Moon Sniper" mission blasted off Thursday as the country's space programme looks to bounce back from a string of recent mishaps, weeks after India's historic lunar triumph.
Only the United States, Russia, China and as of last month India have successfully landed a probe on the Moon, with two failed Japanese missions - one public and one private.
Watched by 35,000 people online, Japan launches telescope and moon lander following weather delays
The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency successfully launched a rocket Wednesday, with a high-powered X-ray telescope and moon lander on board, after the launch was scrubbed late last month due to high winds.
The H-2A rocket lifted off on time, at 7:42 p.m. EST, or 8:42 a.m. local time, from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan, and deployed the space telescope on schedule.
"We ha Lightning in a camera – from above
ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen will film thunderstorms and lightning shooting up towards space as part of the climate science of the Huginn mission.
Artificial star
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Artificial star Sławosz Uznański from Poland to train as a project astronaut at the European Astronaut Centre
As of 1 September 2023, Sławosz Uznański joined ESA as a project astronaut anticipating flying on a future space mission.
X-ray mission lifts off to study high-energy Universe
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X-ray mission lifts off to study high-energy Universe NASA's PACE spacecraft successfully completes key environmental test
Consider it the "mother of all tests."
This summer, the PACE spacecraft (short for Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) completed a critical phase of its launch journey: the thermal vacuum test (TVAC), where it was subjected to extreme temperatures and pressures in a specialized chamber at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
The objective? To verify the performance of the satellite once it's launched and operational.
"This is the best way to simulate what PACE will experience in space," said Craig Stevens, spacecraft systems lead.
Newly discovered comet visible in night sky this weekend
A comet called Nishimura discovered just a month ago could be visible to the naked eye this weekend, offering stargazers a once-in-a-437-year chance to observe the celestial visitor.
The ball of rock and ice, whose exact size remains unknown, is named after the Japanese amateur astronomer Hideo Nishimura who first spotted it on August 11.
It is rare that comets reach their moment of peak visibility so soon after being discovered, said Nicolas Biver, an astrophysicist at the Paris Observatory.
"Most are discovered months, even years before they pass closest to the sun," he told AFP.
The comet only swings by the sun every 437 years, he said, a long orbital period which sees it spend much of its time in the freezing outer solar system.