Morgantown WV (SPX) Apr 14, 2021
In the southern sky, situated about 4,300 light years from Earth, lies RCW 120, an enormous glowing cloud of gas and dust. This cloud, known as an emission nebula, is formed of ionized gases and emits light at various wavelengths. An international team led by West Virginia University researchers studied RCW 120 to analyze the effects of stellar feedback, the process by which stars inject e

Groningen, Netherlands (SPX) Apr 14, 2021
All supermassive black holes in the centres of galaxies appear to have periods when they swallow matter from their close surroundings. But that is about as far as the similarities go. That's the conclusion reached by British and Dutch astronomers from their research with ultra-sensitive radio telescopes in a well-studied region of the universe. They publish their findings in two articles in the

Concordia, Antarctica (ESA) Apr 11, 2021
ESA-sponsored medical doctor Nick Smith snapped this photo of the storage containers at Concordia research station in Antarctica shortly before sunset, 8 April 2021. The dark blue line at the horizon is the shadow of the Earth. The containers store food, recycling and the scientific samples of blood, saliva, and stool that Nick routinely takes. The units on the right are part of the summer

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Apr 14, 2021
Although there are telltale signs that a volcano is likely to erupt in the near future - an uptick in seismic activity, changes in gas emissions, and sudden ground deformation, for example - accurately predicting such eruptions is notoriously hard. This is, in part, because no two volcanoes behave in exactly the same way and because few of the world's 1,500 or so active volcanoes have moni

Colorado Springs CO (SPX) Apr 15, 2021
Space Foundation, a nonprofit advocate organization founded in 1983 for the global space ecosystem, has released "The Space Report 2021 Q1," which determined that despite the global COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. space sector employment and investment grew in 2020 and are continuing to post gains in the first quarter of 2021. Analysis by "The Space Report" of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for f

Beijing (Sputnik) Apr 14, 2021
China is calling on the global community to urgently start the negotiations on the space arms control, which should be based on a document proposed by Beijing and Moscow, the foreign ministry's spokesman, Zhao Lijian, said on Tuesday. "We are calling on the international community to start negotiations and reach agreement on arms control in order to ensure space safety as soon as possible,

Pasadena CA (JPL) Apr 15, 2021
In April 2019, scientists released the first image of a black hole in the galaxy M87 using the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). However, that remarkable achievement was just the beginning of the science story to be told. Data from 19 observatories are being released that promise to give unparalleled insight into this black hole and the system it powers, and to improve tests of Einstein's The

Beijing (XNA) Apr 15, 2021
China's space agency has released an online database of the first batch of the lunar samples brought back by the Chang'e-5 probe. Researchers and the public can access the Lunar and Deep Space Exploration Scientific Data and Sample Release System via the website www.clep.org.cn, where they can apply for data and samples, according to the China National Space Administration, which announced

Moscow (Sputnik) Apr 15, 2021
With NASA's Space Shuttle program gone for nearly a decade, a slew of private firms have stepped up their efforts to provide manned space flight capabilities, not just for US governmental needs, but also for space tourism. In a Wednesday test described by the company as an "astronaut rehearsal," Blue Origin successfully blasted a New Shepard rocket into suborbital space and then landed the

Stennis Space Center MS (SPX) Apr 15, 2021
The world's most powerful hydrogen-fueled rocket engine built by Aerojet Rocketdyne, the RS-68A, has completed its final hot-fire acceptance test for use on the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle on the B-1 Test Stand at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. ULA's Delta IV Heavy rocket uses three Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-68A engines; one on each of its three comm