Cosmic Jailbreak! Blazar's Gamma Rays Make It To Detectors Unscathed | Video
In April 2015, a blast of high energy gamma rays – traveling from more than halfway back in time to the Big Bang – hit NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Ground-based observatories caught active galaxy PKS 1441+25’s blazing flash, pinning the meters in the “highest-energy part of the instrument’s detection range.” Credit: NASA/GSFC To source
Watch Galileo launch
See the launch of Galileo satellites 11 and 12 on Thursday 17 December. Streaming starts at 11:31 GMT (12:31 CET) To source
Planet Construction Sites Are Cleaner Than Predicted | Image + Artist Animation
So-called Super-Jupiters apparently clean up after themselves. The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) reveals cavities in the disc surrounding 4 stars, caused by two processes: intense winds coming off the young stars and the forming planets aggregating dust, by gravity, as they become more massive. Credit: ALMA (ESO/NOAJ/NRAO)/ESO/M. Kornmesser/edited by Space.com To source
Now Is the Time to Colonize Mars, Elon Musk Says
Artist’s illustration showing SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft landing on Mars.Credit: SpaceX SAN FRANCISCO — Humanity shouldn’t dally in its quest to colonize Mars, SpaceX’s billionaire founder and CEO Elon Musk says. “Now is the first time in the history of Earth that the window is open, where it’s possible for us to extend life to another […]
Undead and Mythological Creatures Inspire New Names for Stars, Alien Planets
The star 55 Cancri and one of its planets, 55 Cancri e, are two celestial objects that have been given new names through a contest that allowed members of the public to suggest and vote on names for distant stars and alien planets.Credit: NASA The people have spoken: 14 distant stars and 31 alien planets […]
The Geysers on Saturn's Moon Enceladus Are Mysteriously Losing Steam
Enceladus’ geysers are blasting out 30 to 50 percent less material than they were 10 years ago, a new study has found.Credit: NASA/JPL/SSI SAN FRANCISCO — The famous geysers on Saturn’s icy, ocean-harboring moon Enceladus aren’t what they used to be. The geysers, which blast material from Enceladus’ subsurface ocean into space from the moon’s […]
Space Adventure 'Elite: Dangerous' Simulates Milky Way in Stunning and Accurate Detail
Instead of fighting, trading or hunting for smugglers, many players of the space adventure game “Elite: Dangerous” are turning tail and heading for parts unknown deep within the galaxy. That’s largely thanks to the game’s Stellar Forge system, which brings the entire Milky Way, astronomically accurate and wholly explorable, into the game. The first part […]
ESA astronaut Tim Peake begins six-month stay on Space Station
ESA astronaut Tim Peake, NASA astronaut Tim Kopra and Russian cosmonaut commander Yuri Malenchenko arrived at the International Space Station today, six hours after their launch at 11:03 GMT. To source
NASA and Star Wars: The Connections Are Strong in This One
NASA astronauts “use the force” every time they launch … from a certain point of view. We have real-world droids and ion engines. We’ve seen dual-sun planets like Tatooine and a moon that eerily resembles the Death Star. original
Meanwhile, in a galaxy not so far, far away…
The fantasy creations of the “Star Wars” universe are strikingly similar to real planets in our own Milky Way galaxy. original
See the 'Star Wars' Worlds Exoplanet Scientists Can't Help But Love
An artist’s image of OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb, a frozen world that could resemble the “Star Wars” world Hoth.Credit: NASA, ESA and G. Bacon (STScI) From the icy reaches of Hoth to the tiny inferno of Mustafar, every “Star Wars” fan has a favorite alien world from this iconic science fiction franchise. But what do people who study […]
Galileos in the zone for launch
Galileos 11 and 12 are on the launch pad, attached to the top of their Soyuz rocket in readiness for this week’s launch. To source
Up close
Human spaceflight and operations image of the week: Principia launch pictured from just 113 m away To source