Credit: PixabayStep aside, Moon—Earth is about to gain a new natural satellite. This "mini-moon" will stay with us for the next two months, though it’s not its first visit, and it won’t be the last.This temporary mini-moon is actually a small asteroid, about 10 meters (33 feet) wide, officially named 2024 PT₅. Discovered just...
An artist's impression of Earth with a ring – a phase suggested by new evidenceOliver HullNew Evidence of Earth's Potential Ring SystemSaturn's rings are famous, but new evidence suggests that Earth might have also had a ring at some point in its history. This ring would have caused significant impacts on the surface.We...
View from the orbiting Polaris Dawn spacecraftSpaceXAfter completing its first day in orbit, the Polaris Dawn mission is set to conduct the first-ever private spacewalk. Two astronauts are scheduled to exit the Dragon spacecraft Resilience at 2:23 am EDT. Here's how to watch.Launched at 5:23 am EDT on September 10, 2024, from Complex 39A...
Polaris Dawn lifting offSpaceXThe Polaris Dawn mission, the most ambitious private space venture to date, has successfully launched, marking the first-ever private spacewalk. At 5:23 am EDT, the mission lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A in Florida aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, heading for low-Earth orbit.This mission represents a significant...
The first shape created with the 3D Metal PrinterESA/NASAIn an experiment that seems as risky as bobbing for fries, the European Space Agency (ESA) successfully conducted the first 3D metal printing in space aboard the ISS. Developed in collaboration with Airbus, the Metal 3D Printer produced the first of four test shapes.3D printing on...
Artist's concept of Starship entering the Martian atmosphereSpaceXSpaceX founder Elon Musk announced that the first Starship spacecraft will head to Mars within two years, with crewed missions following in 2028. This effort is part of his broader vision to make humanity an interplanetary species.Musk is known for making bold predictions that occasionally come true,...
Ganymede with the impact site approximately in the centerNASAFour billion years ago, an asteroid larger than the one that ended the age of dinosaurs may have struck the largest moon in our solar system, Ganymede, knocking it off its axis and causing it to crack like an egg.Discovered by Galileo in 1610 while experimenting...
Falcon 9 that will carry Polaris Dawn into orbitSpaceXSpaceX's Polaris Dawn, the first private space mission featuring a spacewalk, is set to launch on Tuesday, August 27, at 3:38 am EDT from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Here’s how you can watch it.Polaris Dawn is a multi-day orbital mission...
An artist's impression of a star circling a supermassive black hole, a repeating event that seems to be at the core of AT2018fykNASA/CXC/M. WeissAstronomers have observed a supermassive black hole consume a star in two phases and have predicted when it might take a third. If it happens, it could create a fascinating cosmic...
Artist’s impression of an inhabited exoplanet. (NASA/Jay Freidlander)Given the Milky Way's age and size, we would expect to find intelligent civilizations scattered throughout. But where are they? A recent study suggests these civilizations might be so advanced that we simply can't detect them.Reevaluating the Detection of Extraterrestrial LifeIf extraterrestrials were observing Earth, they might...
