Baltimore MD (SPX) Jan 20, 2022
Spirals are some of the most captivating shapes in the universe. They appear in intricate seashells, carefully constructed spider webs, and even in the curls of ocean waves. Spirals on cosmic scales - as seen in galaxies - are even more arresting, not only for their beauty, but also for the overwhelming amount of information they contain. How do stars and star clusters form? Until recently, a co

Tempe AZ (SPX) Jan 20, 2022
Most galaxies, including our own, grow by accumulating new material and turning them into stars - that much is known. What has been unknown is where that new material comes from and how it flows into galaxies to create stars. In a recently published study, Arizona State University astronomer Sanchayeeta Borthakur has identified the faint fuel reservoirs that surround galaxies, and how this

Washington DC (UPI) Jan 19, 2021
NASA's James Webb telescope completed alignment all 18 of its primary mirror segments and the secondary mirror on Wednesday, the agency reported. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson shared the news, tipping his hat to the crew on Twitter. "Congratulations to the teams that have been working tirelessly since launch to get to this point. Soon, Webb will arrive at its new home, L2," wrot

San Antonio, TX (SPX) Jan 20, 2022
A Southwest Research Institute scientist set out to prove that the tiny, innermost moon of Saturn was a frozen inert satellite and instead discovered compelling evidence that Mimas has a liquid internal ocean. In the waning days of NASA's Cassini mission, the spacecraft identified a curious libration, or oscillation, in the moon's rotation, which often points to a geologically active body able t

Baltimore MD (SPX) Jan 20, 2022
Often portrayed as destructive monsters that hold light captive, black holes take on a less villainous role in the latest research from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. A black hole at the heart of the dwarf galaxy Henize 2-10 is creating stars rather than gobbling them up. The black hole is apparently contributing to the firestorm of new star formation taking place in the galaxy. The dwarf galaxy

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Jan 20, 2022
Our initial plan was to conduct a MAHLI "dog's eye" imaging sequence on the beautiful Panari outcrop that we are parked before. During a dog's eye sequence, the rover's arm walks the MAHLI camera along a feature near ground level, just how your martian canine (obviously named "Rover") would see it. But, we had to move that to tomorrow's plan due to a couple issues that need resolving first

Washington DC (UPI) Jan 19, 2021
Two Russian cosmonauts completed the first spacewalk of 2022 outside the International Space Station to perform tasks that will allow spacecraft to dock with a new Russian segment. Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov, of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, spent seven hours, 11 minutes outside the space station after exiting just after 7 a.m. EST. The pair installed handrails, ante

Moscow (Sputnik) Jan 20, 2022
Russia launched the multipurpose laboratory module "Nauka" from the Baikonur cosmodrome on 21 July and it docked at the ISS on 29 July. Watch a live broadcast from the International Space Station (ISS) as Roscosmos astronauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov are performing a spacewalk to integrate the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module into the Russian segment of the ISS. The modu

Pasadena CA (JPL) Jan 20, 2022
The atmosphere of Mars is much less dense than Earth's; however, the Mars climate shares many similarities to Earth: seasons, changing winds, ice clouds, and dust storms, among others. Predicting weather events, as is true for Earth, is always an uncertain endeavor. In preparing for Flight 19, we found out that unexpected Mars weather can result in a familiar and unfortunate scenario here on Ear

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