Categories

New map of the Milky Way’s magnetism offers insights into cosmic evolution

A UBC Okanagan-led research project has given a group of international scientists their clearest view yet of the Milky Way’s magnetic field, revealing that it is far more complex than previously believed.

Go to Source

Burning satellites in the stratosphere: Emerging questions for climate

The sky is getting crowded. In the last few years, the number of satellite launches has increased by an order of magnitude as mega-constellations of internet-powering hardware crowd into low Earth orbit. The pace of both launching and retiring these units is creating new kinds of pollution, potentially upsetting the climate system and the protective […]

How tree rings help scientists understand disruptive extreme solar storms

Scientists have long relied on tree rings to learn about ancient solar storms—rare bursts of high-energy particles from the sun that can disrupt satellites, power grids, and communication systems across the planet. When these particles hit Earth’s atmosphere, they create a radioactive form of carbon that trees absorb and store in their wood.

Go to […]

A new method to search for ultralight dark matter with advanced optical cavities

Dark matter is a mysterious type of matter that does not emit, absorb, or reflect light, yet is predicted to account for most of the universe’s mass. While physicists have gathered extensive indirect evidence of its existence, so far dark matter has never been directly observed, thus its composition remains unknown.

Go to Source

[…]

Gaia data reveal three galactic open clusters in detail

Using ESA’s Gaia satellite, astronomers have investigated three open clusters in the galactic disk, namely Berkeley 17, 18 and 39. Results of the new study, published January 21 on the arXiv pre-print server, yield crucial insights into the properties of these stellar groupings.

Go to Source

Earliest launch window to ISS set for February 11: NASA

The next NASA crew rotation to the International Space Station could launch as early as the morning of February 11, the U.S. space agency said Wednesday.

Go to Source

New fear unlocked: Runaway black holes

Last year, astronomers were fascinated by a runaway asteroid passing through our solar system from somewhere far beyond. It was moving at around 68 kilometers per second, just over double Earth’s speed around the sun.

Go to Source

Networks are keeping NASA’s Artemis II mission connected

NASA’s Artemis II mission will transport four astronauts around the moon, bringing the agency one step closer to sending the first astronauts to Mars. Throughout Artemis II, astronaut voices, images, video, and vital mission data must traverse thousands of miles, carried on signals from NASA’s communications systems.

Go to Source

SpaceX eyes IPO timed to planet alignment and Musk birthday: Report

SpaceX is targeting a mid-June initial public offering that would coincide with a rare planetary alignment and founder Elon Musk’s birthday, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, as the billionaire entrepreneur seeks to raise a record $50 billion.

Go to Source

Massive runaway stars in the Milky Way: Observational study explores origins and ejection process

Researchers from the Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona (ICCUB) and the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC), in collaboration with the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands (IAC), have led the most extensive observational study to date of runaway massive stars, which includes an analysis of the rotation and […]

After switch from ULA, SpaceX knocks out speedy national security launch

SpaceX has launched its latest national security mission, yet another GPS satellite that was originally to have been launched by United Launch Alliance. A Falcon 9 that was delayed from Monday because of weather lifted off Tuesday night on the GPS III-9 mission to bring the satellite to medium-Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force […]

Webb pushes boundaries of observable universe closer to Big Bang

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has topped itself once again, delivering on its promise to push the boundaries of the observable universe closer to cosmic dawn with the confirmation of a bright galaxy that existed 280 million years after the Big Bang.

Go to Source

From lunar nights to Martian dust storms: Why batteries struggle in space

Space agencies are no longer talking about visiting the moon, they’re planning on living on it.

Go to Source

Halley’s Comet wrongly named: 11th-century English monk predates British astronomer

The British astronomer and mathematician Edmond Halley was not, after all, the first to understand the cycle of the comet that now bears his name. This is shown by research conducted by, among others, Professor Simon Portegies Zwart. It was the monk Eilmer of Malmesbury who, as early as the 11th century, linked two observations […]

Multiwavelength variability reveals dust structure in quasars

A research team has investigated quasar variability by tracking optical to mid-infrared (MIR) wavelengths of variability information. This multiband joint analysis provides an opportunity to probe the dust structure in the quasar’s central region and holds promise for revealing key properties such as its scale and distribution. It offers crucial observational evidence for refining the […]