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NASA engineers will focus the James Webb Space Telescope from afar once it reaches space — and a new video from the agency shows how.  The James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled to launch in mid-2019, is set to be the Hubble Space Telescope’s successor . Its optical range overlaps with that famous telescope, although the […]

For the next several years, Uranus and Neptune will be conveniently positioned for observation during autumn and winter evenings. They are moving slowly in front of the stars in the constellations Pisces and Aquarius, respectively. These two distant planets are too small to locate without binoculars and telescopes. Sky-charting apps such as SkySafari 5 can […]

[embedded content] If you’re a fan of the 1997 sci-fi cult classic “Starship Troopers ,” Christmas just came a little early. The visual-effects company Amalgamated Dynamics Inc. (ADI) has released a nearly 6-minute video showing how its artists and technicians built a “warrior bug” for the film. “To celebrate the 20th anniversary of ‘Starship Troopers,’ […]

While filming an incredible view of Earth from space, an astronaut aboard the International Space Station  (ISS) inadvertently captured a fireball on camera as it whizzed into the atmosphere off the coast of South Africa, above the Atlantic Ocean. European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Paolo Nespoli  shot the video on Nov. 5 as the ISS […]

Many flat-Earthers believe the Earth is a disc surrounded by an ice wall. A conference aimed at disputing the idea that the world is round just wrapped up in North Carolina. The first-ever 2017 Flat Earth International Conference (FEIC) was held in Raleigh on Nov. 9 and 10, featuring some of the big names in […]

The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. Two months since Hurricane Maria wreaked havoc on Puerto Rico, most of the island is still recovering from the disaster — including the Arecibo Observatory , home of the world’s second-largest radio telescope. This week, the dozens of astronomers and other staff at the facility have some good news […]

The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket carrying the Joint Polar Satellite System 1 weather satellite stands atop its launchpad at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The satellite will launch Nov. 18, 2017. A next-generation satellite built to make global weather forecasts more accurate than ever will now launch into space no earlier than […]

Microwave telescopes observing the sun in 1957 (top) and today (bottom left) have given 60 years of data on radiation produced during the sun’s 11-year minimums. Sixty years of data reveal that, while the maximum level of solar activity can vary drastically, one measure indicates it always returns to the same quiet minimum. The sun […]

A file photo of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket atop Launch Pad 39A of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. SpaceX will launch the secret Zuma mission for the U.S. government on Nov. 16, 2017. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch what just might be the company’s most mysterious payload yet tonight (Nov. 16) […]

NASA’s next-generation large-scale space observatory, the James Webb Space Telescope , is set to train its eyes on the cosmos in 2019. This week, organizers revealed some of the first cosmic objects that the telescope will study.  The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), which manages the Webb program, announced Monday (Nov. 13) that it had […]

The ancient art of origami has inspired designs for numerous pieces of hardware on NASA missions, allowing scientists to pack more technology into smaller space-bound packages. For example, the agency is working on a piece of hardware called Starshade , which looks like a massive sunflower and could be made compact using what’s known as […]

Artist’s illustration of the GJ 273 system, which consists of a red dwarf star and two known planets, one of which may be capable of supporting life. If there are any intelligent aliens in the GJ 273 system, they can expect to hear from us about a dozen years from now.    Last month, scientists […]

The famous Leonid meteor shower is predicted to reach its peak in the predawn hours on Friday (Nov. 17). Weather permitting, observing conditions will be perfect: There’s a new moon on Saturday, which means that the sky will be dark with no hindrance whatsoever from moonlight.  But don’t expect to see a lot of meteors. […]