Baltimore MD (SPX) Dec 21, 2020
The narrow galaxy elegantly curving around its spherical companion in this image is a fantastic example of a truly strange and very rare phenomenon. This image, taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, depicts GAL-CLUS-022058s, located in the southern hemisphere constellation of Fornax (the Furnace). GAL-CLUS-022058s is the largest and one of the most complete Einstein rings ever di

Bologna, Italy (SPX) Dec 21, 2020
Just as archaeologists dig hoping to find traces of the past, an international group of astrophysicists managed to get into the thick cloud of dust around the centre of the Milky Way (also known as the bulge) discovering primordial clumps of gas and stars never found so far. They named this new class of stellar system "Bulge Fossil Fragments". A research team led by Francesco Ferraro (Department

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Dec 21, 2020
Australian researchers from Western Sydney University, Macquarie University, and Australia's national science agency, CSIRO, have contributed to the first observation of a gas filament with a length of 50 million light years - confirming current 'big bang' ideas about the origin and evolution of the Universe. Published in Astronomy and Astrophysics, this research led by the University of B

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Dec 21, 2020
On December 10, 2020 (Hawai?i Standard Time), the Subaru Telescope imaged the small asteroid 1998 KY26, the target of Hayabusa2's extended mission. The positional data for 1998 KY26 collected during the observations will be used to more accurately determine the orbital elements of this object. Operated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the asteroid explorer Hayabusa2 delive

Helsinki, Finland (SPX) Dec 21, 2020
The European Space Agency ESA and NASA are working together to determine how the Earth might be protected against the threat posed by asteroids by altering their trajectory. VTT is taking part in the project by determining the mineral composition of the asteroids. This is happening for the first time with a nanosatellite mounted hyperspectral camera. The joint ESA and NASA mission will tes

Orlando FL (SPX) Dec 21, 2020
A prototype sensor that detects Moon dust by shooting lasers through the sky has successfully completed its first hurdle. That means UCF is one step closer to building the real instrument that could fly to the moon on a future mission. UCF researchers designed the Ejecta STORM instrument to scan the area around a lunar lander for moondust and other hazards based on a concept planetary scie

Paris (ESA) Dec 18, 2020
Initial investigations, conducted right after the launch with the available data, identified a problem related to the integration of the fourth-stage AVUM Thrust Vector Control (TVC) system as being the most likely cause of the loss of control of the launcher. Arianespace (the launch service provider) and the European Space Agency (ESA - the launch system development authority) immediately

Beijing (XNA) Dec 21, 2020
About 1,700 grams of lunar rocks and soil brought back by China's Chang'e 5 robotic probe were transferred to Chinese scientists for research on Saturday morning, according to the China National Space Administration. The samples were handed over by Zhang Kejian, head of the space administration, to Hou Jianguo, president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, at a delivery ceremony in Beijing

Beijing (XNA) Dec 21, 2020
China plans to launch four manned spacecraft as part of its space station construction program in the next two years, said an official with the China National Space Administration (CNSA) Thursday. China's manned space program will be very busy in 2021 and 2022, said Wu Yanhua, vice administrator of the CNSA, at a press conference on China's Chang'e-5 lunar mission. Wu said a total of

Beijing (XNA) Dec 21, 2020
President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message on Thursday on the success of the Chang'e 5 mission, China's most sophisticated and challenging space adventure, which has brought back the world's first lunar samples in more than 40 years. On behalf of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, the State Council and the Central Military Commission, Xi extended warm congratulations a