Rendering of VASIMR in flight around Mars. Credit: Ad Astra Rocket Company Propulsion technologies are the key to exploring the outer solar system, and many organizations have been working on…
Category: Space
‘We are preparing to make history:’ NASA’s Parker Solar Probe gears up for epic sun flyby on Christmas Eve
On Christmas Eve, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will swoop within 3.8 million miles (6.1 million kilometers) of the sun’s surface at a whopping 430,000 mph (690,000 kph), breaking its own…
Sunny days on Mars come with a weather warning: Dust storms ahead!
The weather report from Mars may soon come with a forecast for dust storms, following the discovery that, in 78% of cases, a Red Planet dust storm is preceded by…
Astronomers discover more dark comets
This artist’s concept shows interstellar object 1I/2017 U1 (‘Oumuamua) after its discovery in 2017. While itself not a dark comet, ‘Oumuamua’s motion through the solar system has helped researchers better…
Hubble Telescope gets closest-ever look at a quasar, sees ‘weird things’
The Hubble Space Telescope has stared deeper into a quasar than ever before, discovering “weird” features in its vicinity. Quasars are the superbright centers of active galaxies, and they’re powered…
Study proposes a test for the Anthropic Principle
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Multiverse.png. Credit: Silver Spoon The Anthropic Principle—stating that the universe we live in is fine-tuned to host life—was first proposed by Brandon Carter in 1973. Since then, it has sparked…
Ancient cosmic collisions may have birthed the universe’s most monstrous galaxies
Astronomers have discovered that large flows of cold gas created by collisions between galaxies in the early universe may have forged some of the most monstrous star systems. The formation…
Some of Uranus’ moons might be able to support life. Here’s what a mission might reveal
For sure, it was a far-reaching recommendation: The planet Uranus and its moons should be NASA’s highest-priority new flagship mission for startup in the decade 2023-2032. The proposed mission, known…
‘Interstellar’ returns from deep space to IMAX theaters starting today for 10th anniversary
“Nobody believed me, but I knew you’d come back”. This holiday season, Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures are delivering their version of an early Christmas gift in the form…
