Universe Today
Carnival of Space #533
Check Out NASA's New Instrument that will Look for Life on Enceladus
NASA recently unveiled their SELFI instrument, which will search Enceladus' plumes to look for signs of life in the interior
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Using Atmospheric Beacons to Search for Signs of Extra-Terrestrial Life
A new study by a team of NASA scientists has shown how searching for biosignatures known as atmospheric beacons could aid in the search for Extra-Terrestrial life!
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I Still ♥ the ISS: More Reasons to Love the International Space Station
SpaceX Matches ULA Single Year Launch Record with KoreaSat, Record Breaker On Tap: Photo/Video Gallery
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL - With the stunningly beautiful Halloween eve liftoff of the commercial KoreaSat-5A telecomsat payload from the Florida Space Coast, SpaceX matched competitor United Launch Alliance's (ULA) single year launch record of 16 missions – and the blastoff record breaker is on tap in just 2 weeks time!
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New Method for Researching Activity Around Quasars and Black Holes
A new method devised by a team of Chinese and US researchers could lead to accurate estimates on the masses of supermassive black holes.
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Weekly Space Hangout - Nov. 1, 2017: Dr. Kelly & Zach Weinersmith & "SOONISH"
"Monster Planet" Discovered, Makes Scientists Rethink Theories of Planetary Formation
The discovery of a Jupiter-sized planet around a red dwarf star has caused astronomers to rethink some of their theories on planet formation.
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That's Strange. Jupiter's Northern and Southern Auroras Pulse Independently
Using data from the Juno probe and X-ray observatories. an international team of astronomers noticed that auroras on Jupiter operate independently of each other.
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Exoplanet-Hunting Survey Discovers Three More Giant Alien Worlds!
Using data from the SuperWASP survey, an international team of astronomers has identified two new "hot Saturns" and one "Super-Neptune".
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Spectacular SpaceX Falcon 9 KoreaSat Launch Lights Space Coast Sky with Halloween Eve Glow, Booster Lands at Sea
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL - SpaceX delivered a spectacular Halloween eve delight with today's Falcon 9 launch of a Korean HDTV satellite that lit up the Florida Space Coast skies with a glow that delighted kids of all ages and ghouls alike and put an end at last for today to the atrocious wet and windy weather afflicting the Spaceport region.
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New Research Says "Levitating" Sands Explain how Mars Got its Landscape
A new study by an international team of scientists has indicated how a different form of water transport called "levitation" could have shaped the surface of Mars.
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Astronomy Cast Ep. 463: Pareidolia and the Moon
Astronomers Find Comets Orbiting a Star 800 Light-Years Away
Thanks to the efforts of a team of professional and amateur astronomers, the first extra-solar comets have been observed.
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Superb Weather Forecast for SpaceX Halloween Eve Launch and Landing from Florida with 1st Korean Satellite: Watch Live
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL - After seemingly endless bouts of damaging rain squalls and flooding, Florida is at last living up to its billing as the 'Sunshine State' with some superb weather forecast for Monday afternoon's scheduled liftoff of a SpaceX Falcon 9 with its first Korean customer – on the eve of Halloween.
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Wow! Asteroid/Dwarf Planet Ceres Once had an Ocean?
Two new studies produced by the Dawn mission team have shown that the protoplanet may have once had an ocean, the remnants of which are likely in its interior today.
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Astronomers Start Mapping the Structure of the Far Side of the Milky Way
Thanks to a new study by an international team of astronomers, we now have the tools we need to map the far side of our galaxy.
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The X3 Ion Engine Test Break Thrust Records
In a recent test at NASA's Glenn Research Center, the X3 Hall-effect ion engine broke the previous thrust and power records established by a Hall-effect thruster.
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October Launch Trifecta from Florida Cleared as SpaceX Conducts Static Fire Engine Test for Oct. 30 KoreaSat Liftoff
PLAYALINDA BEACH/KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL - The path to an October launch trifecta from Florida's Spaceport was cleared following SpaceX's successful static fire test of the Falcon 9 boosters first stage engines this afternoon, Oct. 26, and thereby targeting Monday, Oct. 30 for blastoff of the KoreaSat-5A commercial telecomsat.
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An Artificial Intelligence Just Found 56 New Gravitational Lenses
A team of European astronomers recently conducted the first use of AI to identify 56 new gravitational lenses from a mountain of survey data.
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Juno Finds that Jupiter's Gravitational Field is "Askew"
The Juno probe has peered deeper into Jupiter's atmosphere than ever before, which has indicated that its magnetic field is askew.
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GW170817 Update: Surprises From First Gravitational Wave Observed Independently
Project Blue: Building a Space Telescope that Could Directly Observe Planets Around Alpha Centauri
An international consortium of scientists known as Project Blue hopes to crowdfund the creation of a space telescope that will allow us to directly image planets in the neighboring Alpha Centauri system.
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Has the First Interstellar Comet Been Discovered?
Astronomers have found a comet with a possible interstellar trajectory. Comet C/2017 U1 PANSTARRS seems to have come from outside the Solar System.
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Neptune-Sized Exomoon Found Orbiting a Jupiter-Sized Planet?
A new study by an astrophysicists from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research shows that the first exomoon ever discovered could actually be a gas giant moon!
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Water Worlds Don't Stay Wet for Very Long
A new study led by Princeton University shows that water worlds are likely to be stripped of their atmospheres (and most of their water) before too long
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What is an Electric Sail? Another Exotic Way to Explore the Solar System
Space scientists are considering how they can catch the charged particles streaming from the Sun with electric sails as a way to propel spacecraft through the Solar System.
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Weekly Space Hangout - Oct 25, 2017: Dr. John Charles of NASA's Human Research Program
You Can Now Use Google Maps to Explore the Solar System
Thanks to the over 500,000 pictures taken by the Cassini mission, Google Maps has created a mapping tool that allows users to virtually explore the Solar System.
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Carnival of Space #532
Astronomy Cast Ep. 462: Modeling the Weather
Covert NRO Satellite Fades into Capes Cloudy Night Skies Shrouded in Liftoff Secrecy: Gallery – As ULA Atlas Wins Landsat Launch
CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, FL — As one Atlas rocket carrying a covert spy satellite for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) to monitor Earth for national security purposes faded into cloudy nighttime skies over the Cape in the dead of night shrouded in liftoff secrecy, rocket builder United Launch Alliance (ULA) won another significant Atlas launch contract for NASA's Landsat 9 satellite to monitor the health of Earth's environment.
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Good News Everyone! There are Fewer Deadly Undiscovered Asteroids than we Thought
According to a new analysis, the number of undiscovered and potentially-hazardous asteroids could be lower than previously thought.
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Looking for Signs of Life on Distant Planets Just Got Easier
A recent study from NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) has produced a new 3-D model for determining exoplanet habitability.
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Sky Pointing Curiosity Captures Breathtaking Vista of Mount Sharp and Crater Rim, Climbs Vera Rubin Seeking Hydrated Martian Minerals
5 years after a heart throbbing Martian touchdown, Curiosity is climbing Vera Rubin Ridge in search of "aqueous minerals" and "clays" for clues to possible past life while capturing "truly breathtaking" vistas of humongous Mount Sharp - her primary destination – and the stark eroded rim of the Gale Crater landing zone from ever higher elevations, NASA scientists tell Universe Today in a new mission update.
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Nope, our Temporary Moon Isn't Space Junk, it's an Asteroid
A team of astronomers from the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory has confirmed that Earth's "temporary Moon" is an asteroid, and not space junk.
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Bigelow and ULA are Sending a Habitat to Lunar Orbit by 2022
Where Do Comets Come From? Exploring the Oort Cloud
Some comets orbit the Sun on a regular basis, but others come in from deep space, a region known as the Oort Cloud. What causes them to make this journey, and will we ever be able to explore the Oort Cloud?
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Forecast for Titan: Cold, with a Chance of Noxious Ice Clouds
One of the many interesting finds made by the Cassini orbiter before it crashed into Saturn was evidence of a hybrid, toxic ice cloud above Titan's southern pole.
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More Evidence Presented in Defense of Planet 9
A new study by a team from the University of Michigan has shown how Planet 9 could have prevented TNOs from being destroyed or ejected over time.
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Stable Lava Tube Could Provide a Potential Human Habitat on the Moon
A new study by JAXA and international scientists has confirmed the existence of a stable lava tube in the Marius Hills region of the Moon.
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Metal-Eating Bacteria Could Have Left their "Fingerprints" on Mars, Proving it Once Hosted Life
A new study by a team of European scientists has shown how metal-eating bacteria could have left their mark on Mars, which could be discovered by future missions
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Weekly Space Hangout - Oct 18, 2017: Weekly News Roundup
Flowing Water on Mars Likely Cold and Frosty, Says New Study
A new study from Brown University has offered a possible explanation for how surface water could have flown on Mars roughly 4 billion years ago.
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Twice Flown SpaceX Booster Sails Proudly into Port Canaveral at Sunrise 3 Days After Sunset Launch and Droneship Landing: Photos
PORT CANAVERAL/KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL - The now twice flown SpaceX first stage booster that successfully delivered the SES-11 UHDTV satellite to orbit Wednesday, Oct 11, sailed proudly back home into Port Canaveral during a beautiful Sunday sunrise, Oct. 15 only three days after it safely landed on a tiny droneship at sea.
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Messier 58 - the NGC 4579 Barred Spiral Galaxy
Located in the direction of the Virgo constellation, some 68 million light years from Earth, is the barred, spiral galaxy known as Messier 58.
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Scientists Find Evidence of Extreme Methane Storms On Titan
A recent study by UCLA scientists has shown a link between extreme rainstorms on Titan and surface features detected by the Cassini orbiter.
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First Cosmic Event Observed in Both Gravitational Waves and Light
Astronomy Cast Ep. 461: Measuring the Weather with Satellites
Carnival of Space #531