I linked you to an image of Supernova 1987A taken by the Hubble Space Telescope around the explosion’s 20th anniversary. Here’s another, this time taken by ESA’s XMM-Newton Observatory to show you how it looks in X-rays.
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Scientists Lobbying to Search for Life on Europa
Recently I reported on a proposal that spacecraft should return to Jupiter’s moon Europa to determine if it really has an ocean under its icy shell. Another group of scientists are lobbying for a return to Europa as well, as they feel it’s one of the most likely places to find other life in the Solar System.
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Star’s Magnetic Field Slams its Solar Winds Back Together
ESA’s XMM-Newton X-Ray observatory has helped astronomers puzzle through a mystery that’s haunted them for a long time. For more than 20 years, observatories have detected X-rays streaming from something in the AB Aurigae system. But nothing in the system should be able to generate this quantity of X-rays.
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Instruments Integrated Into the Supercool Planck Observatory
One of the most powerful new space observatories, ESA’s Planck mission, reached an important milestone with the integration of several instruments into the main satellite. The integration was performed by Alcatel Alenia Space in Cannes, France.
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20th Anniversary of the Brightest Supernova in Recent History
Only 20 years ago, astronomers were treated to one of the most powerful nearby explosions – a sight not seen in 400 years, before the advent of modern telescopes. What we now call Supernova 1987A detonated in the Large Magellenic Cloud providing a wealth of data for astronomers. Okay, it actually detonated 163,000 years ago, but that’s how long it took the light to reach us.
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Spacewalkers Retract Spacecraft’s Antenna
Another day, another spacewalk. For the last month it seems like astronauts on board the International Space Station have spent more days outside than inside.
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New Engine Could Let Spacecraft Do More with Less Fuel
One of the main problems with spacecraft is the cost to get them into orbit. For every kilogram you can shave off their weight, you get additional cost savings in launch expenses. A team of researchers from Georgia Tech think they have a solution to help spacecraft operate with 40% less fuel.
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The Search Continues for Beagle 2
Since its disappearance in December 2003, scientists have continued the search for Europe’s Beagle 2 lander. Although they’ve lost hope in regaining contact, at least they might be able to discover what happened to it and learn from their mistakes.
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Aliens on This World Would See a Double Sunset
Imagine a world orbiting a star in a binary system. Two stars would shine in the day, and the rare nights would occur only when both stars had set below the horizon. Now astronomers have discovered a world where this is the case – the sunsets would be spectacular.
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Virgin Galactic Considering Hypersonic Airline Travel
Flightglobal.com is reporting that NASA and Virgin Galactic have signed a memorandum of understanding to work on commercial spaceflight and hypersonic airline travel.
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