Science

The New Horizons spacecraft is humanity’s fastest-moving spacecraft and headed to interstellar space. Since its exploration of Pluto 10 years ago and subsequent flyby of Arrokoth in 2019, it’s been traversing and studying the Kuiper Belt while looking for other flyby objects. That’s not all it’s been doing, however. New Horizons also has an extended program of making heliophysics observations. …

In 2024, astronomers surmised that Betelgeuse might have a stellar “buddy.” If this hypothetical companion existed, it would help answer some questions about the red supergiant’s strange glowing patterns. As it turns out, these suspicions were correct. After numerous false signals and empty search results, astronomers with NASA’s Ames Research Center have confirmed that Betelgeuse does, in fact, have a tiny …

New observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) are painting a new picture of Jupiter’s moon Europa and revealing the hidden chemistry of the icy moon’s interior. For decades, scientists pictured Europa’s frozen surface as a still, silent shell. But the new observations reveal that it’s actually a dynamic world that’s far from frozen in time. “We think that …

Want to live forever? A 90-year-old physics rock star is betting his remaining years on it.  Boing Boing Source link

CNN  —  Earth is spinning faster this summer, making the days marginally shorter and attracting the attention of scientists and timekeepers. July 10 was the shortest day of the year so far, lasting 1.36 milliseconds less than 24 hours, according to data from the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service and the US Naval Observatory, compiled by timeanddate.com. More …

SpaceX aborted the launch of two communications satellites just before liftoff on Monday evening (July 21). A Falcon 9 rocket topped with two of SES’ O3b mPOWER internet spacecraft was set to launch from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 5:27 p.m. EDT (2127 GMT) on Monday. But it didn’t quite happen: SpaceX called an abort just 11 seconds …

In recent days, you may have seen articles claiming the “best meteor shower of the year” is about to start. Unfortunately, the hype is overblown – particularly for observers in Australia and New Zealand. The shower in question is the Perseids, one of the “big three” – the strongest annual meteor showers. Peaking in the middle of the northern summer, …

You can add another name to the thousands of employees leaving NASA as the Trump administration primes the space agency for a 25 percent budget cut. On Monday, NASA announced that Makenzie Lystrup will leave her post as director of the Goddard Space Flight Center on Friday, August 1. Lystrup has held the top job at Goddard since April 2023, …

SpaceX plans to launch a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Tuesday, and area residents may hear a sonic boom. The 57-minute launch window opens at 11:13 a.m. A livestream of the launch is scheduled to begin about 15 minutes before liftoff. About eight minutes after liftoff, SpaceX will aim to land the rocket’s first stage booster …

IN A NUTSHELL 🤖 Researchers at Columbia University have introduced the concept of “Robot Metabolism”, allowing robots to grow, heal, and self-improve autonomously. 🔧 By using Truss Links, robots can form complex structures and adapt to their environment without human intervention. 🚀 This technology has potential applications in disaster management and space exploration, where self-sustaining robots could operate independently. 🌟 …