Greenbelt MD (SPX) Feb 24, 2021
For only the second time, astronomers have linked an elusive particle called a high-energy neutrino to an object outside our galaxy. Using ground- and space-based facilities, including NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, they traced the neutrino to a black hole tearing apart a star, a rare cataclysmic occurrence called a tidal disruption event. "Astrophysicists have long theorized that

La Laguna, Spain (SPX) Feb 24, 2021
The Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC) has led an international team which has developed an algorithm called COSMIC BIRTH to analyse large scale cosmic structures. This new computation method will permit the analysis of the evolution of the structure of dark matter from the early universe until the formation of present day galaxies. This work was recently published in the journal Monthly

Perth, Australia (SPX) Feb 24, 2021
Large galaxies are known to strip the gas that occupies the space between the stars of smaller satellite galaxies. In research published this week astronomers have discovered that these small satellite galaxies also contain less 'molecular' gas at their centres. Molecular gas is found in giant clouds in the centres of galaxies and is the building material for new stars. Large galaxie

San Antonio TX (SPX) Feb 24, 2021
From aboard the Juno spacecraft, a Southwest Research Institute-led instrument observing auroras serendipitously spotted a bright flash above Jupiter's clouds last spring. The Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS) team studied the data and determined that they had captured a bolide, an extremely bright meteoroid explosion in the gas giant's upper atmosphere. "Jupiter undergoes a huge number of im

New Orleans FL (SPX) Feb 24, 2021
Technicians are manufacturing and testing the first in a series of initial weld confidence articles for the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) for future flights of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket at the agency's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The Exploration Upper Stage will be used on the second configuration of the SLS rocket, known as Block 1B, and will provide in-space p

San Francisco CA (SPX) Feb 24, 2021
Orbit Fab, the Gas Stations in Space company, and Benchmark Space Systems (BSS), a leading provider of in-space mobility solutions, has announced a green, hydrogen-peroxide based refueling and servicing infrastructure partnership to extend satellite missions and provide the essential fuel for the evolving ecosystem in space. As part of the teaming, Orbit Fab will bundle its RAFTI fluid tra

Beijing (XNA) Feb 24, 2021
China's Tianwen 1 robotic probe entered its preset parking orbit above Mars on Wednesday and will fly in this orbit for about three months before releasing its landing capsule, said the China National Space Administration. The spacecraft, which has entered a crucial stage in China's first interplanetary exploration mission after seven months of lengthy space voyage, conducted its third nea

Image: Collision avoidance: what's the cost?

Following the selection of three Earth Explorer candidate missions to enter a first feasibility study in September 2018, ESA has chosen one of the candidates, Harmony, to move to the next phase of development. Harmony is envisaged as a mission with two satellites that orbit in formation with one of the Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellites to address key scientific questions related to ocean, ice and land dynamics.