Space Exploration

NASA’s MESSENGER

Mission Carries Out Space-Based Measurements of Neutron’s Lifetime Using data acquired in 2007 and 2008 during flybys of Venus and Mercury by NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft, researchers found the neutron lifetime to be 780 seconds. Cosmic rays striking Venus’ atmosphere eject neutrons that gradually fly into space. As neutrons move to …

Read More »

Evidence of Supernova

Astronomers Find Evidence of Supernova Just 600 Light-Years from Earth Astronomers have found many awe-inspiring objects in the cosmos, but a pair of astronomers 20 years ago found something just plain confusing. They spotted a straight line of ionized gas in the direction of Ursa Major, which was never really …

Read More »

Faster Than Expected

Titan Is Moving Away From Saturn 100 Times Faster Than Expected Cassini’s mission to Saturn may have ended years ago, but scientists analyzing the data sent back by the probe continue to draw new insights about the sixth planet from the sun and its system of moons. We now know …

Read More »

Imaging Satellites

Earth Imaging Satellites Will Hitch a Ride on Upcoming SpaceX Starlink Launches Satellite imaging startup Planet closed a deal to buy Google’s SkySat network in 2017, but it’s not stopping with the existing constellation. Planet aims to become the fastest satellite imaging firm thanks to a new deal with SpaceX. …

Read More »

NASA Tower Assembly

NASA Tests James Webb Telescope’s Vital Tower Assembly The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has been in some stage of development since the 1990s. A long string of setbacks and delays have made the project much more expensive than NASA initially intended, but we’re nearing launch of the successor to …

Read More »

Astronomer 157 Day Cycle

Astronomers Identify 157-Day Cycle in Ultra-Powerful Radio Bursts from Space There are a lot of things in the universe that we don’t fully understand, and Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are at the top of the list. We didn’t even know these phenomena even existed until 2007, and since then we’ve …

Read More »

Titan Migrates From Saturn

Faster than Previously Thought Saturn is orbited by 82 moons, and tidal friction within the giant planet causes the moons to migrate outwards. In a study published this week in the journal Nature Astronomy, researchers used two independent measurements obtained with NASA’s Cassini spacecraft to measure Titan’s orbital expansion rate. …

Read More »

Odyssey Thermal Images

Mars Odyssey Captures New Thermal Images of Phobos Astronomers using the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) camera on NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter have captured new infrared images of Phobos, the larger and inner of the two natural Martian satellites. These images from the THEMIS camera on NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter …

Read More »

Our Solar System Shows

Scientists Find a ‘Mirror Image’ of Our Solar System While scanning the skies, humanity has identified thousands of exoplanets orbiting distant stars. However, very few of them are at all similar to Earth. Now, the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Göttingen reports a newly discovered exoplanet could …

Read More »

Mars Lander’s Heat

The InSight Mars Lander’s Heat Probe Finally Makes It Underground NASA’s InSight lander touched down at Elysium Planitia on Mars in late 2018, and it has subsequently made history by taking the first seismic readings on another planet. However, the mission’s burrowing probe was stuck on the surface after the …

Read More »
Bizwhiznetwork Consultation