Astronomers witness the birth of a very distant cluster of galaxies from the early Universe
Thursday, 30 March 2023 06:29
Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), of which ESO is a partner, astronomers have discovered a large reservoir of hot gas in the still-forming galaxy cluster around the Spiderweb galaxy - the most distant detection of such hot gas yet. Galaxy clusters are some of the largest objects known in the Universe and this result, published in Nature, further reveals just how earl Light-bending gravity reveals one of the biggest black holes ever found
Thursday, 30 March 2023 06:29
A team of astronomers has discovered one of the biggest black holes ever found, taking advantage of a phenomenon called gravitational lensing.
The team, led by Durham University, UK, used gravitational lensing - where a foreground galaxy bends the light from a more distant object and magnifies it - and supercomputer simulations on the DiRAC HPC facility, which enabled the team to closely e NASA rocket engines re-engineered as production restarts
Thursday, 30 March 2023 06:29
As NASA prepares for the first crewed Artemis missions to the Moon, agency propulsion and test teams are setting their sights on future Space Launch System (SLS) flights and working to improve one of the world's most powerful and reliable rocket engines for missions beginning with Artemis V.
A series of hot fire certification tests is in progress at NASA's Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Psyche updated plan puts mission on track for October launch
Thursday, 30 March 2023 06:29
NASA's Psyche mission, which will explore a metal-rich asteroid of the same name, is on track to launch in October 2023 after a one-year delay to complete critical testing. The launch period will open Oct. 5 and close Oct. 25. The asteroid, which lies in the outer portion of the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, may be the remains of a core of a planetesimal, a building block of a roc Crescent Space to deliver critical services to a growing Lunar economy
Thursday, 30 March 2023 06:29
Crescent Space Services has announced its entry into the lunar infrastructure sector. Crescent Space is a new commercial company launched by Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) that provides infrastructure-as-a-service for lunar missions.
As humankind expands its presence beyond low-Earth orbit, one of the first key challenges is uninterrupted communications between Earth, the Moon, and the growin Helium-burning white dwarf discovered
Thursday, 30 March 2023 06:29
A white dwarf star can explode as a supernova when its mass exceeds the limit of about 1.4 solar masses. A team led by the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) in Garching and involving the University of Bonn has now found a binary star system in which matter flows onto the white dwarf from its companion. The system was found due to bright, so-called super-soft X-rays, which o How cosmic winds transform galactic environments
Thursday, 30 March 2023 06:29
Much like how wind plays a key role in life on Earth by sweeping seeds, pollen and more from one place to another, galactic winds - high-powered streams of charged particles and gases - can change the chemical make-up of the host galaxies they form in, simply by blowing in a specific direction.
Using observations made by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, a new study details how these energ NASA missions study what may be a 1-in-10,000-year gamma-ray burst
Thursday, 30 March 2023 06:29
On Sunday, Oct. 9, 2022, a pulse of intense radiation swept through the solar system so exceptional that astronomers quickly dubbed it the BOAT - the brightest of all time.
The source was a gamma-ray burst (GRB), the most powerful class of explosions in the universe.
The burst triggered detectors on numerous spacecraft, and observatories around the globe followed up. After combing th 
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Gateway blueprint Starliner crewed test flight delayed to July
Wednesday, 29 March 2023 22:32
NASA and Boeing have pushed back the first crewed launch of the company’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft with astronauts on board until at least late July because of certification paperwork that has taken longer than expected to complete.
Rosotics unveils 3D printer for rocket tanks and fairings
Wednesday, 29 March 2023 22:23
Rosotics developed a new type of 3D printer to reduce the cost and power required to manufacture rocket tanks, fairings and other large aerospace structures.
Military space agency created to go fast is about to launch its first satellites
Wednesday, 29 March 2023 21:18
Strong solar flare erupts from the sun
Wednesday, 29 March 2023 20:16
The sun has emitted a strong solar flare that peaked at 10:33 p.m. ET on March 28, 2023. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured an image of the event.
Solar flares are powerful bursts of energy. Flares and solar eruptions can impact radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts.
This flare is classified as an X1.2 flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength.
NASA works as a research arm of the nation's space weather effort. NASA observes the sun and our space environment constantly with a fleet of spacecraft that study everything from the sun's activity to the solar atmosphere, and to the particles and magnetic fields in the space surrounding Earth.
NASA, Boeing aiming for July launch of Starliner space capsule
Wednesday, 29 March 2023 19:21
The first crewed flight of Boeing's Starliner space capsule to the International Space Station (ISS) will take place in July, Boeing and NASA officials said Wednesday.
The CST-100 Starliner mission, which had previously been planned for April, will take place no earlier than July 21, the officials said.
"We've deliberated and decided that the best launch attempt is no earlier than July 21 for CFT," the crew flight test, Steve Stich, the manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, told reporters.
"We feel pretty confident with that date," added Mark Nappi, the Starliner program manager at Boeing.
Stich said more time was needed to certify the parachute system designed to bring the astronauts and the spacecraft safely back to Earth, and a ground test of the parachutes will be conducted in May.
Planet acquires Slovenian startup Sinergise
Wednesday, 29 March 2023 19:11
Planet announced plans March 29 to acquire Sinergise Labs, a Slovenian startup known for making Earth-observation data accessible through cloud-based APIs.