Copernical Team
Tuesday, 11 May 2021 01:54
Space weather is difficult to predict - with only an hour to prevent disasters on Earth
Athabasca, Canada (SPX) May 11, 2021
Recent developments at the forefront of astronomy allow us to observe that planets orbiting other stars have weather. Indeed, we have known that other planets in our own solar system have weather, in many cases more extreme than our own.
Our lives are affected by short-term atmospheric variations of weather on Earth, and we fear that longer-term climate change will also have a large impact
Recent developments at the forefront of astronomy allow us to observe that planets orbiting other stars have weather. Indeed, we have known that other planets in our own solar system have weather, in many cases more extreme than our own.
Our lives are affected by short-term atmospheric variations of weather on Earth, and we fear that longer-term climate change will also have a large impact
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Tuesday, 11 May 2021 01:54
How planets form controls elements essential for life
Houston TX (SPX) May 11, 2021
The prospects for life on a given planet depend not only on where it forms but also how, according to Rice University scientists.
Planets like Earth that orbit within a solar system's Goldilocks zone, with conditions supporting liquid water and a rich atmosphere, are more likely to harbor life. As it turns out, how that planet came together also determines whether it captured and retained
The prospects for life on a given planet depend not only on where it forms but also how, according to Rice University scientists.
Planets like Earth that orbit within a solar system's Goldilocks zone, with conditions supporting liquid water and a rich atmosphere, are more likely to harbor life. As it turns out, how that planet came together also determines whether it captured and retained
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Tuesday, 11 May 2021 01:54
First ever discovery of methanol in a warm planet-forming disk
Leiden Netherlands (SPX) May 11, 2021
An international team of researchers led by Alice Booth (Leiden University, the Netherlands) have discovered methanol in the warm part of a planet-forming disk. The methanol cannot have been produced there and must have originated in the cold gas clouds from which the star and the disk formed.
Thus, the methanol is inherited. If that is common, it could give the formation of life elsewhere
An international team of researchers led by Alice Booth (Leiden University, the Netherlands) have discovered methanol in the warm part of a planet-forming disk. The methanol cannot have been produced there and must have originated in the cold gas clouds from which the star and the disk formed.
Thus, the methanol is inherited. If that is common, it could give the formation of life elsewhere
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Tuesday, 11 May 2021 01:54
VIPER Hits the SLOPEs
Cleveland OH (SPX) May 11, 2021
Before NASA's next lunar rover paves the way for long-term human exploration of the Moon, it must first pass a series of rigorous mobility tests along the banks of Lake Erie.
The Simulated Lunar Operations Laboratory, or SLOPE Lab, at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland is home to multiple sandboxes that mimic the lunar and Martian terrain to evaluate the traction performance and lim
Before NASA's next lunar rover paves the way for long-term human exploration of the Moon, it must first pass a series of rigorous mobility tests along the banks of Lake Erie.
The Simulated Lunar Operations Laboratory, or SLOPE Lab, at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland is home to multiple sandboxes that mimic the lunar and Martian terrain to evaluate the traction performance and lim
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Tuesday, 11 May 2021 01:54
NASA's OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Heads for Earth with Asteroid Sample
Washington DC (SPX) May 11, 2021
After nearly five years in space, NASA's Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft is on its way back to Earth with an abundance of rocks and dust from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu.
On Monday, May 10, at 4:23 p.m. EDT the spacecraft fired its main engines full throttle for seven minutes - its most significant maneuver si
After nearly five years in space, NASA's Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft is on its way back to Earth with an abundance of rocks and dust from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu.
On Monday, May 10, at 4:23 p.m. EDT the spacecraft fired its main engines full throttle for seven minutes - its most significant maneuver si
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Tuesday, 11 May 2021 01:54
In the emptiness of space, Voyager I detects plasma 'hum'
Ithaca NY (SPX) May 11, 2021
Voyager 1 - one of two sibling NASA spacecraft launched 44 years ago and now the most distant human-made object in space - still works and zooms toward infinity.
The craft has long since zipped past the edge of the solar system through the heliopause - the solar system's border with interstellar space - into the interstellar medium. Now, its instruments have detected the constant drone of
Voyager 1 - one of two sibling NASA spacecraft launched 44 years ago and now the most distant human-made object in space - still works and zooms toward infinity.
The craft has long since zipped past the edge of the solar system through the heliopause - the solar system's border with interstellar space - into the interstellar medium. Now, its instruments have detected the constant drone of
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Tuesday, 11 May 2021 01:54
Want to become a space tourist
Canberra, Australia (SPX) May 11, 2021
Billionaire Jeff Bezos's space launch company Blue Origin has announced it will sell its first flights into microgravity to the highest bidder.
Blue Origin and its two greatest competitors in the "space tourism" field, SpaceX and Virgin Galactic, claim to be advancing humanity through the "democratisation" of space. But these joyrides aren't opening up access to space for all.
At fac
Billionaire Jeff Bezos's space launch company Blue Origin has announced it will sell its first flights into microgravity to the highest bidder.
Blue Origin and its two greatest competitors in the "space tourism" field, SpaceX and Virgin Galactic, claim to be advancing humanity through the "democratisation" of space. But these joyrides aren't opening up access to space for all.
At fac
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Tuesday, 11 May 2021 01:54
NASA, Axiom Agree to First Private Astronaut Mission on Space Station
Washington DC (SPX) May 11, 2021
NASA and Axiom Space have signed an order for the first private astronaut mission to the International Space Station to take place no earlier than January 2022.
"We are excited to see more people have access to spaceflight through this first private astronaut mission to the space station," said Kathy Lueders, associate administrator for human exploration and operations at NASA Headquarters
NASA and Axiom Space have signed an order for the first private astronaut mission to the International Space Station to take place no earlier than January 2022.
"We are excited to see more people have access to spaceflight through this first private astronaut mission to the space station," said Kathy Lueders, associate administrator for human exploration and operations at NASA Headquarters
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Tuesday, 11 May 2021 01:54
Flying at up to Mach 16 could become reality with UCF's developing propulsion system
Orlando FL (SPX) May 11, 2021
University of Central Florida researchers are building on their technology that could pave the way for hypersonic flight, such as travel from New York to Los Angeles in under 30 minutes.
In their latest research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers discovered a way to stabilize the detonation needed for hypersonic propulsion by creating
University of Central Florida researchers are building on their technology that could pave the way for hypersonic flight, such as travel from New York to Los Angeles in under 30 minutes.
In their latest research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers discovered a way to stabilize the detonation needed for hypersonic propulsion by creating
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Monday, 10 May 2021 11:12
We could detect extraterrestrial satellite megaconstellations within a few hundred light-years
Starlink is one of the most ambitious space missions we've ever undertaken. The current plan is to put 12,000 communication satellites in low-Earth orbit, with the possibility of another 30,000 later. Just getting them into orbit is a huge engineering challenge, and with so many chunks of metal in orbit, some folks worry it could lead to a cascade of collisions that makes it impossible for satellites to survive. But suppose we solve these problems and Starlink is successful. What's the next step? What if we take it further, creating a mega-constellation of satellites and space stations? What if an alien civilization has already created such a mega-constellation around their world? Could we see it from Earth?
This is the idea behind a recent article posted on the arXiv. It's based on an idea about how civilizations might grow over time, known as the Kardashev scale. It's based on the level of energy a civilization can tap into; Type I uses energy on a global scale, type II a star's worth of energy, and so on.
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