Copernical Team
Physicist proposes human-populated mega-satellite orbiting Ceres
Physicist Pekka Janhunen with the Finnish Meteorological Institute has developed a novel idea to colonize a place other than the Earth—and it is not the moon or Mars. Instead, Janhunen is suggesting in a paper posted on the arXiv preprint server that humans populate a giant satellite that orbits Ceres, a dwarf planet in the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars.
Many space scientists have noted the difficulties and dangers of attempting to colonize either the moon or Mars—both have extremely hostile environments. So many in the field have been promoting the idea of building a structure large enough to host tens of thousands of people somewhere in space. But doing so would present its own set of problems. Paying for the construction of such a mammoth project, for example, and protecting the inhabitants from solar radiation—and what about providing gravity, and where would the structure reside? In his paper, Janhunen suggests that Ceres would be an ideal place to put such a structure, which would make it a satellite. He notes that such an orbit would be close enough to the dwarf planet that a 636-mile-long space elevator could carry material from the surface to the satellite for construction and resupply—Ceres has more than enough nitrogen, water and carbon dioxide to support such a venture.
Genesis of blue lightning into the stratosphere detected from ISS
Genesis of blue lightning into the stratosphere detected from the International Space Station
Dark clouds, the smell of rain on a hot sidewalk, the flashes of intense light followed by a loud crackling and then a low, rolling thunder – who doesn’t love a good summer thunderstorm? We’ve all seen one, heard one, or been completely soaked by one. But how much do we really know about this weather phenomenon?
Alabama museum to restore full-sized mockup of space shuttle
Saturn's tilt caused by its moons
Two scientists from CNRS and Sorbonne University working at the Institute of Celestial Mechanics and Ephemeris Calculation (Paris Observatory—PSL/CNRS) have just shown that the influence of Saturn's satellites can explain the tilt of the rotation axis of the gas giant. Their work, published on 18 January 2021 in the journal Nature Astronomy, also predicts that the tilt will increase even further over the next few billion years.
Rather like David versus Goliath, it appears that Saturn's tilt may in fact be caused by its moons. This is the conclusion of recent work carried out by scientists from the CNRS, Sorbonne University and the University of Pisa, which shows that the current tilt of Saturn's rotation axis is caused by the migration of its satellites, and especially by that of its largest moon, Titan.
Recent observations have shown that Titan and the other moons are gradually moving away from Saturn much faster than astronomers had previously estimated.
Seeing in a flash
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Seeing in a flash Tests prove carbon-fibre fuel tank for Phoebus upper stage
Recent tests show that lightweight carbon-fibre reinforced plastic is strong enough to replace metal used in upper-stage rocket structures. This is an important milestone in Europe for the development of a prototype of a highly-optimised ‘black’ upper stage, Phoebus, a joint initiative by MT Aerospace and ArianeGroup, funded by ESA.
Solar activity reconstructed over a millennium
What goes on in the sun can only be observed indirectly. Sunspots, for instance, reveal the degree of solar activity - the more sunspots are visible on the surface of the sun, the more active is our central star deep inside. Even though sunspots have been known since antiquity, they have only been documented in detail since the invention of the telescope around 400 years ago.
Thanks to tha China's space station core module, cargo craft pass factory review
The core module of China's planned space station has passed a factory review, along with the project's Tianzhou-2 cargo craft and the core module mission products of the space application systems, the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) said Thursday.
The completion of the factory review, conducted by experts at China's manned space program, means the construction project of the Analyzing different solid states of water on other planets and moons
Just like on Earth, water on other planets, satellites, and even comets comes in a variety of forms depending on multiple factors such as pressure and temperature. Aside from the gaseous, liquid, and solid states we are accustomed to, water can form a different type of crystalline solid called clathrate hydrate.
Although they look similar to ice, clathrate hydrates have actually small wate 
