The first astronauts to enter a polar orbit around Earth chose the obvious animal to serve as their zero-g indicator — a plush white *polar* bear. But given that the…
Category: Space
KiDS dataset doesn’t shake up cold dark matter model after all, say researchers
The OmegaCAM camera lies at the heart of the VST. It is built around 32 CCD detectors that together create 268-megapixel images. The camera contains extra CCDs to control the…
2 decades of Hubble Space Telescope data track changing seasons on Uranus
An analysis of two decades of data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has provided fresh insights into the complex atmospheric changes on Uranus that are largely driven by the effects…
NASA’s newly returned astronauts say they would fly on Boeing’s Starliner capsule again
Astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore pose for a photo during a press conference at Johnson Space Center on Monday, March 31, 2025, in Houston. Credit: AP Photo/Ashley…
Cosmic rays may be the elusive spark for lightning here on Earth
Cosmic rays may offer an out-of-this-world answer to a long-standing mystery about lightning on Earth, a new study suggests. Thunderstorms are exceedingly common; a staggering 3 million lightning strikes occur…
SpaceX to launch private astronauts on first crewed polar orbit
This picture courtesy of Fram2/SpaceX shows from left to right, mission specialist and medical officer Eric Philips, mission commander Chun Wang, pilot Rabea Rogge and vehicle commander Jannicke Mikkelsen. SpaceX…
Rocket carrying European orbital vehicle crashes after launch
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain The first orbital rocket launched from continental Europe crashed seconds after blast-off Sunday, dealing a blow to the continent’s bid to build a new space economy.…
SpaceX’s Fram2 astronaut flight over Earth’s poles will be the 1st to grow mushrooms in space
Astronauts will attempt to grow mushrooms in space for the first time during SpaceX’s upcoming Fram2 mission. Launching aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as early as Monday (March 31),…
When glaciers roamed Mars
Perspective view of Kalkaska crater and the Heart Lake system from CTX-MOLA DTM mosaic over global CTX mosaic. Credit: Berman & Williams (2025) The surface of Mars is known for…
A total solar eclipse from 2471 B.C. may have shaken Egypt’s cult of the sun
The date is April 1, 2471 B.C., and a total solar eclipse has forced night to fall during the day in Egypt. The sun has morphed into a lifeless black…
