Nasa has successfully launched a rocket from the Northern Territory – the first commercial space launch in Australia’s history. Troublesome winds caused the countdown to be aborted several times before the first of three scheduled rockets launched at about half past midnight (ACST) on Monday from the Arnhem Space Centre on the Dhupuma Plateau, near […]
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Are Massive Solar Flares Dangerous?
We’re alerted by news organizations now and then about an impending “massive solar flare” that might fry the Internet or even the electric grid. In theory, it’s possible, but there’s also a click-bait factor to this gloom and doom coverage. But first, what’s a solar flare? Solar flares are immense bursts, or eruptions, of electromagnetic […]
Read MoreSpirals of blue light in New Zealand night sky leave stargazers ‘kind of freaking out’
New Zealand stargazers were left puzzled and awed by strange, spiralling light formations in the night sky on Sunday night. Around 7.25pm Alasdair Burns, a stargazing guide on Stewart Island/Rakiura, received a text from a friend: go outside and look at the sky. “As soon as we actually went outside, it was very obvious what […]
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Sun brutally burns comet to death before astronomers eyes in ‘unprecedented’ observation
IN an unprecedented observation, astronomers have observed the sun brutally burning a comet to death. The observations may help astronomers understand the disappearance of comets that orbit close to the sun. 2 Astronomers have been observing comet 323P/SOHO since it was discovered in 1999Credit: UBARU TELESCOPE/CFHT/MAN-TO HUI/DAVID THOLEN 2 In the winter of 2020, scientists […]
Read MoreNasa rover sighting reignites fears about human space debris
Nasa’s Perseverance rover typically beams back evocative images of bleak dusty landscapes, red-hued sandstorms and Martian rock samples. So its operators were surprised to receive an image on Monday of a shiny silver object resembling a discarded crisp packet wedged between two rocks. The object, the Nasa team concluded, is a piece of debris discarded […]
Read MoreFastest-growing black hole of past 9bn years may have been found, Australian-led astronomers say
Astronomers believe they have discovered the fastest-growing black hole of the past 9bn years. The supermassive black hole consumes the equivalent of one Earth every second and has the mass of 3bn suns, they estimate. Scientists discovered an extremely bright quasar, a luminous object powered by a supermassive black hole, using the SkyMapper Southern Sky […]
Read MoreGaia probe reveals stella DNA and unexpected ‘starquakes’
Astronomers have unveiled the most detailed survey of the Milky Way, revealing thousands of “starquakes” and stellar DNA, and helping to identify the most habitable corners of our home galaxy. The observations from the European Space Agency’s Gaia probe cover almost two billion stars – about 1% of the total number in the galaxy – […]
Read MoreNasa forms independent team to study unexplained UFO sightings
Nasa is launching a study of UFOs as part of a new push toward high-risk, high-impact science. The space agency announced on Thursday that it was setting up an independent team to see how much information is publicly available on the matter and how much more is needed to understand the unexplained sightings. The experts […]
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Inside China’s plan for space power plant that will beam energy onto Earth
CHINA is planning to begin building the first-ever space-based power station in 2028. The updated plans were revealed in a recently-published journal article in Chinese Space Science and Technology. 1 China is reportedly working on a space-based power plant that would beam energy back to Earth In 2028, a trial satellite will be sent into […]
Read MoreNasa to launch rockets from the Northern Territory for scientific research
Nasa rockets will be launched into space from the Northern Territory in June and July under an agreement announced on Thursday. The prime minister and the NT chief minister will confirm three scientific suborbital sounding rockets will be launched between 26 June and 12 July from the Arnhem Space Centre, which is owned and run […]
Read MoreRare sight for amateur astronomers as five planets align
Amateur astronomers are preparing for a heavenly treat from Friday as the five planets visible to the naked eye line up in order of their distance from the sun across the pre-dawn sky. For those who can face the early start, and have an unobstructed view of the horizon to the east and south-east, Mercury, […]
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Scientists Discover Vast, Mysterious ‘Waves’ Deep Inside the Earth
Mockup of the Swarm constellation. Image: ESA ABSTRACT breaks down mind-bending scientific research, future tech, new discoveries, and major breakthroughs. Something strange and unexplained is happening far beneath our feet. According to a recent study by European astronomers, for 20 years satellites have been picking up “interannual geomagnetic field changes” emanating from the Earth’s core, without […]
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Scientists Probe the Odds of Aliens in Double Star Systems
ABSTRACT breaks down mind-bending scientific research, future tech, new discoveries, and major breakthroughs. The two suns that adorn the sky of Tatooine, Luke Skywalker’s home world, offer one of the most iconic backdrops in the whole Star Wars franchise. But binary star systems are not only a setting in science fiction, they are also an […]
Read MoreColin Cantwell, Star Wars designer behind the X-Wing and Death Star, dies aged 90
Colin Cantwell, the man who designed the spacecraft in the Star Wars films, has died at the age of 90. Sierra Dall, Cantwell’s partner of more than two decades, confirmed to the Hollywood Reporter that he had died at his home in Colorado on Saturday. Born in San Francisco in 1932, Cantwell attended the University […]
Read MoreColin Cantwell, Star Wars designer behind the X-Wing and Death Star, dies aged 90
Colin Cantwell, the man who designed the spacecraft in the Star Wars films, has died at the age of 90. Sierra Dall, Cantwell’s partner of more than two decades, confirmed to the Hollywood Reporter that he had died at his home in Colorado on Saturday. Born in San Francisco in 1932, Cantwell attended the University […]
Read MoreCambridge University astrophysicist loses Esa project role over Brexit row
A Cambridge University astrophysicist studying the Milky Way and hoping to play a major part in the European Space Agency’s (Esa) next big project has been forced to hand over his coordinating role on the scheme after the row over Northern Ireland’s Brexit arrangements put science in the firing line. Nicholas Walton, a research fellow […]
Read MoreBoeing hopes third time the charm for Starliner test flight
Boeing’s crew capsule rocketed into orbit Thursday on a repeat test flight without astronauts, after years of being grounded by flaws that could have doomed the spacecraft. Only a test dummy was aboard. If the capsule reaches the International Space Station on Friday and everything else goes well, two or three Nasa test pilots could […]
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A Probe In Interstellar Space Is Sending Back Impossible Data, NASA Says
Illustration of Voyager 1. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech ABSTRACT breaks down mind-bending scientific research, future tech, new discoveries, and major breakthroughs. NASA’s Voyager 1 probe, the farthest human-made object from Earth, seems to be a little confused about what is going on in its distant location in interstellar space. The long-lived probe and its twin, Voyager 2, were […]
Read MoreMilky Way photographer of the year 2022 – in pictures
Matt Fidler Main image: ‘Galactic Kiwi’ – Mount Taranaki, New Zealand Photograph: Evan McKay/Milky Way photographer of the year Thu 19 May 2022 08.00 BST The Guardian
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An Ancient Galaxy Collision Sheds Light on Dark Matter
Hubble image of the system that contains DF2 and DF4. Image: Pieter van Dokkum et al./ Nature 2022 ABSTRACT breaks down mind-bending scientific research, future tech, new discoveries, and major breakthroughs. Scientists think they have reconstructed the epic origin story of a trail of puzzling galaxies that could shed light on the great mystery of dark […]
Read MoreNew US lab to create versions of atoms never recorded on Earth
From carbon to uranium, oxygen to iron, chemical elements are the building blocks of the world around us and the wider universe. Now, physicists are hoping to gain an unprecedented glimpse into their origins, with the opening of a new facility that will create thousands of peculiar and unstable versions of atoms never before recorded […]
Read MoreSuper flower blood moon – in pictures
Sydney, Australia The celestial event, which last took place in 2019, is caused by the earth coming between the sun and moon Photograph: Saverio Marfia/Getty Images Facebook Twitter The Guardian
Read MoreBlood moon: how to catch sight of dramatic eclipse in UK
Astronomy enthusiasts will be setting their alarms for the small hours of Monday morning to catch a glimpse of a dramatic super blood moon. The Earth will come between the sun and the moon just before dawn in western Europe, making the moon appear brick red as it falls into the Earth’s shadow. The effect […]
Read MoreMeet the former Nazi rocket scientist who all too accurately saw the future | John Naughton
I recently read (and greatly enjoyed) V2, Robert Harris’s absorbing second world war thriller about British attempts to locate and destroy the base in the Netherlands from which Hitler’s “Retaliation Weapon 2” – those devastating rocket-powered bombs aimed at London – were launched. Harris is famous for the meticulous research that underpins his plots and […]
Read MoreCress seeds grown in moon dust raise hopes for lunar crops
The prospect of growing crops on the moon has edged a little closer after researchers nurtured plants – some more successfully than others – in lunar soil for the first time. Scientists planted thale cress seeds in moon dust brought back by three Apollo missions and watched them sprout and grow into fully fledged plants, […]
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Scientists Grow Plants in Moon Soil for First Time In Major Breakthrough
Rob Ferl, left, and Anna-Lisa Paul looking at the plates filled part with lunar soil and part with control soils, now under LED growing lights. Image: UF/IFAS photo by Tyler Jones ABSTRACT breaks down mind-bending scientific research, future tech, new discoveries, and major breakthroughs. In a major breakthrough, scientists have grown plants in Moon dirt, […]
Read MoreSupermassive black hole at centre of Milky Way seen for first time
An image of the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way has been captured, giving the first direct glimpse of the turbulent heart of our galaxy. The black hole itself, known as Sagittarius A*, cannot be seen because no light or matter can escape its gravitational grip. But its shadow is traced […]
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Space Has Invisible Walls Created by Mysterious ‘Symmetrons,’ Scientists Propose
Andromeda galaxy. Image: Pat Gaines via Getty Images ABSTRACT breaks down mind-bending scientific research, future tech, new discoveries, and major breakthroughs. Scientists have proposed the existence of a new “fifth force” to explain a perplexing challenge to the standard model of cosmology, also known as the Lambda cold dark matter (ΛCDM) model, a well-corroborated framework for […]
Read MoreTotal lunar eclipse 2022: when, where and what to look out for
This is advance notice of a total lunar eclipse that takes place next weekend. A total lunar eclipse is when the moon passes through the shadow of the Earth. It happens in several stages, the first being the penumbral phase. This begins at 0232 BST on 16 May. The penumbral eclipse means that although most […]
Read More‘Supersonic ballet’: helicopter briefly catches falling rocket
A space company has briefly managed to catch a falling rocket using a helicopter and a hook in a test described by its chief executive as “something of a supersonic ballet”. The test was part of Rocket Lab’s attempts to find relatively low-cost ways of recovering rockets for multiple missions to space. After lifting off […]
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A Mysterious Signal from the Center of the Galaxy May Have Just Been Explained
Fermi telescope image of the gamma ray sky. Image: NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT Collaboration ABSTRACT breaks down mind-bending scientific research, future tech, new discoveries, and major breakthroughs. For more than a decade, astronomers have been puzzled by an unexplained surplus of gamma ray signals—the highest energy form of light—that originate at the center of our galaxy, the […]
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