Washington DC (UPI) Oct 4, 2024
NASA announced the selection of 71 student teams that will build and launch amateur rockets and scientific payloads in a competition they hope will inspire the next generation of space explorers. The 71 teams are divided into a college division and high-school/middle-school division. The final on-site events will start April 30 with the final launches on May 3 at Bragg Farms in T

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Oct 04, 2024
A team led by the University of Idaho has identified what appears to be a volcanic spatter cone on Mars, marking the first confirmed evidence of such a feature on the planet. This discovery was made during a collaborative research project involving postdoctoral researcher Ian T.W. Flynn, who worked under Erika Rader, an assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Spatial Sciences at the U

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Oct 07, 2024
NASA has chosen two mission proposals to undergo further review as part of its new Probe Explorers class, a major step in its astrophysics research. The missions, focused on observing X-ray and far-infrared light from space, were announced by the agency on Thursday. Each proposal team will receive $5 million to conduct a 12-month study to refine their concepts. NASA expects to make a final selec

Chicago IL (SPX) Oct 10, 2024
Finding planets that could support life is a critical objective in astronomy, with the presence of an atmosphere being a key factor in determining a planet's habitability. Though scientists have discovered Earth-like exoplanets, none have been confirmed to possess atmospheres. A new study led by Qiao Xue, a PhD student at the University of Chicago, introduces a simpler and more efficient m

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Oct 10, 2024
In 2023, NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission returned a sample of dust and rocks from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu. Beyond the immediate scientific value of the samples, data from OSIRIS-REx has opened the door to investigating new physics. A study published in *Communications Physics*, a Nature journal, details how an international research team led by Los Alamos National Laboratory used Bennu's trackin

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Oct 10, 2024
Starting October 11th, Northern Hemisphere observers will have the chance to see Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS in the evening sky for the first time in years. The comet will make its first evening appearance on Friday, visible low in the west during twilight. It will rise higher and become more easily visible throughout the weekend, reaching its peak visibility early next week. Comet Tsuch

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Oct 10, 2024
AF Lep b, a gas giant outside our solar system, continues to make history. First directly observed in 2023, it holds the distinction of being the lowest-mass planet to have its mass measured through astrometry, a technique that tracks minute movements of its host star to reveal the properties of orbiting planets. Now, astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have made AF Lep

London, UK (SPX) Oct 10, 2024
A new start-up, Perpetual Atomics, is poised to revolutionize space missions by leveraging nuclear technology to provide reliable power in the harsh conditions of deep space. The company, launched from the University of Leicester's Space Park Leicester, aims to commercialize over 20 years of research in space nuclear power, transforming the way space exploration is powered. Perpetual Atomi

Video: 00:01:20

Approximately 41 000 years ago, Earth’s magnetic field briefly reversed during what is known as the Laschamp event. During this time, Earth’s magnetic field weakened significantly—dropping to a minimum of 5% of its current strength—which allowed more cosmic rays to reach Earth’s atmosphere.

Scientists at the Technical University of Denmark and the German Research Centre for Geosciences used data from ESA’s Swarm mission, along with other sources, to create a sounded visualisation of the Laschamp event. They mapped the movement of Earth’s magnetic field lines during the event and created a stereo sound version which is what you

With all instruments integrated, the first MetOp Second Generation-A, MetOp-SG-A1, weather satellite is now fully assembled and on schedule for liftoff next year. Meanwhile, its sibling, MetOp-SG-B1, is undergoing rigorous testing to ensure that it will withstand the vacuum and extreme temperature swings of space.