Sydney, Australia (SPX) May 07, 2025
When sunlight interacts with Earth, it creates a spectrum of phenomena ranging from the stunning beauty of rainbows to the more subtle but equally intriguing dynamics that shape our planet's atmosphere. Recent advancements in shortwave radiation research are now revealing critical insights into these processes, as highlighted in a new perspective study published in Advances in Atmospheric Scienc

Greenbelt MD (SPX) May 07, 2025
For the first time, astronomers have probed the physical environment of repeating X-ray outbursts near monster black holes thanks to data from NASA's NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer) and other missions. Scientists have only recently encountered this class of X-ray flares, called QPEs, or quasi-periodic eruptions. A system astronomers have nicknamed Ansky is the eighth QPE

Rochester NY (SPX) May 07, 2025
Despite its dry, dusty surface and thinner atmosphere, Mars may have more in common with Earth than scientists previously thought. In a new study, researchers at the University of Rochester-including PhD student JohnPaul Sleiman and Rachel Glade, an assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences-and their colleagues found that soil features on Mars look remarkabl

Las Vegas NV (SPX) May 07, 2025
Mars, one of our closest planetary neighbors, has fascinated people for hundreds of years, partly because it is so similar to Earth. It is about the same size, contains similar rocks and minerals, and is not too much farther out from the Sun. Because Mars and Earth share so many features, scientists have long wondered whether Mars could have once harbored life. Today, Mars is very cold and

Washington (AFP) May 6, 2025
Elon Musk's SpaceX on Tuesday received approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to increase the number of annual Starship rocket launches from five to 25 at its Texas base, marking a major boost for the company's ambitions. Following a multi-year environmental review, the FAA concluded that the expanded cadence of launches and landings would not significantly affect the env

Washington DC (SPX) May 07, 2025
Engineers, technicians, mission planners, and the four astronauts set to fly around the Moon next year on Artemis II, NASA's first crewed Artemis mission, are rapidly progressing toward launch. At the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, teams are working around the clock to move into integration and final testing of all SLS (Space Launch System) and Orion spacecraft elements. Recentl

New Delhi (AFP) May 6, 2025
India's space agency said Tuesday it planned to launch an uncrewed orbital mission later this year before its first human spaceflight in early 2027. "It represents India's rise as a global space power", Jitendra Singh, the country's science and technology minister, said in a statement. The world's most populous country has flexed its spacefaring ambitions in the last decade with its spac

Just a week after its launch, ESA’s Biomass mission has reached another critical milestone on its path to delivering unprecedented insights into the world’s forests and their vital role in Earth’s carbon cycle – the satellite’s 12-metre-diameter antenna is now fully deployed.

Los Angeles CA (SPX) May 06, 2025
Abundant and affordable clean energy moved a step closer to realization thanks to a breakthrough by scientists from The University of Texas at Austin, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Type One Energy Group. Their work addresses a critical obstacle in developing viable fusion energy systems. Fusion reactors aim to confine high-energy alpha particles to sustain the extreme plasma conditio

Washington DC (SPX) May 06, 2025
In the waters off New England, one of Earth's rarest mammals swims slowly, mouth agape. The North Atlantic right whale filters clouds of tiny reddish zooplankton - called Calanus finmarchicus - from the sea. These zooplankton, no bigger than grains of rice, are the whale's lifeline. Only about 370 of these massive creatures remain. For decades, tracking the tiny plankton meant sending rese