Credit: PixabayJupiter’s Great Red Spot has long been a planetary icon. However, UC Berkeley astronomers have now identified equally massive, Earth-sized dark spots at the planet’s poles. These UV-dark ovals, which appear within the stratospheric haze at the poles, come and go unpredictably. Notably, they sit just below the auroral zones and absorb more...
Credit: PixabayA detailed study released in May 2023 revealed that the Moon's inner core is a solid sphere with a density similar to iron. Researchers believe this discovery will resolve a long-standing debate about whether the Moon's core is solid or molten, providing a clearer understanding of the Moon's history and, in turn, the...
Most of the Lafayette meteorite is kept at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. (NMNH)There is increasing evidence that Mars was once a wet and watery world, with lakes and oceans shaping its surface, leaving behind sediments that are now being carefully analyzed by rovers exploring the planet’s dry, dusty landscape. We know water...
Starship in orbitSpaceXSpaceX's Starship Flight 6 launched today, missing a second capture landing for the Super Heavy first stage. However, it featured a dramatic daylight soft landing of the Starship second stage in the Indian Ocean—along with a banana.Today's mission experienced an unusually smooth countdown for an experimental development flight, with the final hold...
Credit: PixabayOne of my most memorable experiences was back in the 90s when I was in the US Air Force. In November 1998, I found myself deployed to Kuwait, where I witnessed a spectacular meteor storm as the Leonids reached their peak on the morning of November 17th. The meteors came quickly and intensely,...
Artist's concept of an orbital solar power plantSpace SolarUK startup Space Solar has signed a deal with Reykjavik Energy that could make Iceland the first country to receive solar power beamed from space, with a 30-MW demonstration set for launch by 2030.While solar power is a clean energy source, it faces limitations like cloud...
Credit: pixabayThe planet Jupiter has no solid ground—no surface, like the grass or dirt we walk on here on Earth. There’s nowhere to land or walk on.But how is that possible? If Jupiter has no surface, then what does it have? How does it hold together?Even for a physics professor who studies unusual phenomena,...
An artist's impression of an accreting X-ray pulsar. (Dana Berry/NASA)Neutron Star Spins at Unbelievable SpeedA neutron star located 27,400 light-years away is exhibiting one of the most remarkable rotational speeds ever observed.In the binary system 4U 1820-30, this dead star spins so rapidly around its axis that it completes an astounding 716 rotations per second....
(JIJI PRESS/AFP/Japan OUT)Wooden Satellite Launched into SpaceIts Japanese creators announced on Tuesday that they launched the first-ever wooden satellite into space aboard a SpaceX rocket. This satellite is part of a resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS).Scientists at Kyoto University developed the satellite, designing it to burn up entirely upon re-entering Earth’s...
Interacting galaxies NGC 2207 and IC 2163, in a composite image combining Hubble and JWST data. (NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI)Abyss Gazing Back: Nietzsche's Prophetic Words in Space"The abyss also looks back into you," said German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche in 1886. His words feel almost prophetic as we gaze, nearly 140 years later, at an image from 80 million...
