Copernical Team
In a First, Scientists Map Particle-Laden Rivers in the Sky
Last summer, "Godzilla" came for the Caribbean and the U.S. Gulf Coast. This particular monster wasn't of the sci-fi variety, but a massive dust storm kicked up by winds from the Sahara Desert and carried an ocean away. The dust storm was an extreme example of a phenomenon that happens regularly: the global transport of dust, soot, and other airborne particles collectively known as aerosols by j
NASA's Parker Solar Probe Discovers Natural Radio Emission in Venus' Atmosphere
During a brief swing by Venus, NASA's Parker Solar Probe detected a natural radio signal that revealed the spacecraft had flown through the planet's upper atmosphere. This was the first direct measurement of the Venusian atmosphere in nearly 30 years - and it looks quite different from Venus past. A study published Monday confirms that Venus' upper atmosphere undergoes puzzling changes over a so
Mindblowing: advances in brain tech spur push for 'neuro-rights'
As sci-fi thriller "Inception" topped box offices across the world, audiences were delighted and appalled by its futuristic story of a criminal gang invading people's dreams to steal valuable data. More than a decade on, the technology envisioned by filmmaker Christopher Nolan is likely not far off, according to experts in Chile, who have moved the security debate beyond burglar alarms to sa
China's Long March-5B rocket booster set for uncontrolled reentry
A U.S. astrophysicist is raising concerns about a Chinese carrier rocket used last week to launch the main module of a space station, as the rocket's core could be falling out of the Earth's orbit. Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Astrophysics Center at Harvard University, said it is possible some parts of the rocket will survive re-entry and cause damage on land, The Guardian r
Virgin Orbit selects AVS to build key infrastructure for launches from Cornwall
Virgin Orbit, Richard Branson's responsive space company, reports that its UK subsidiary, Virgin Orbit UK Ltd., has signed a new manufacturing agreement with AVS Added Value Solutions UK (AVS) to build the Transportable Ground Operating System (TGOS) that will support Virgin Orbit's launch activities from Spaceport Cornwall. This manufacturing work, which will begin shortly in AVS' facilities in
NASA announces launch plans for new Dream Chaser spaceplane
The Dream Chaser spaceplane, a cargo spacecraft built and operated by Nevada-based Sierra Nevada Corp., is to begin launching and landing in Florida in 2022, NASA and the company announced Tuesday. The uncrewed, robotic spaceplane will be launched aboard a United Launch Alliance rocket from Kennedy Space Center for flights to the International Space Station. Once it docks and del
Wine that went to space for sale with $1 million price tag
The wine is out of this world. The price is appropriately stratospheric.
Christie's said Tuesday it is selling a bottle of French wine that spent more than a year in orbit aboard the International Space Station.
A giant piece of space junk is hurtling towards Earth. Here's how worried you should be
A large piece of space debris, possibly weighing several tonnes, is currently on an uncontrolled reentry phase (that's space speak for "out of control"), and parts of it are expected to crash down to Earth over the next few weeks.
If that isn't worrying enough, it is impossible to predict exactly where the pieces that don't burn up in the atmosphere might land. Given the object's orbit, the possible landing points are anywhere in a band of latitudes "a little farther north than New York, Madrid and Beijing and as far south as southern Chile and Wellington, New Zealand".
The debris is part of the Long March 5B rocket that recently successfully launched China's first module for its proposed space station. The incident comes roughly a year after another similar Chinese rocket fell to Earth, landing in the Atlantic Ocean but not before it reportedly left a trail of debris in the African nation of Cote D'Ivoire.
Parker discovers natural radio emission in Venus' atmosphere
During a brief swing by Venus, NASA's Parker Solar Probe detected a natural radio signal that revealed the spacecraft had flown through the planet's upper atmosphere. This was the first direct measurement of the Venusian atmosphere in nearly 30 years—and it looks quite different from Venus past. A study published today confirms that Venus' upper atmosphere undergoes puzzling changes over a solar cycle, the Sun's 11-year activity cycle. This marks the latest clue to untangling how and why Venus and Earth are so different.
Born of similar processes, Earth and Venus are twins: both rocky, and of similar size and structure.
Oxygen production from three-body photodissociation of water using light
The provenance of oxygen on Earth and other solar planetary bodies is a fundamental issue. It is widely accepted that the prebiotic pathway of oxygen production in the Earth primitive atmosphere was via vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photodissociation of CO2 and subsequent recombination of two O atoms. In contrast, the photodissociation of H2O, one of the dominant oxygen carriers, has long been