A spectacular head-on collision between two galaxies fueled the unusual triangular-shaped star-birthing frenzy, as captured in this image from Hubble.
Read MoreMonth: April 2022
Is the origin of dark matter gravity itself?
Paul M. Sutter is an astrophysicist at SUNY Stony Brook and the Flatiron Institute, host of “Ask a Spaceman” and “Space Radio,” and author of “How to Die in Space.” Sutter contributed this article to Space.com’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. A new model of the very early universe proposes that the graviton, the quantum mechanical force carrier of gravity, flooded the cosmos with dark matter before normal matter even had a chance to get started. The proposal could be a way to connect two of the biggest outstanding puzzles in…
Read More‘Magnetic anomalies’ may be protecting the moon’s ice from melting
A map showing the permanently shadowed craters (blue) near the moon’s south pole (Image credit: NASA Goddard) In 2018, NASA astronomers found the first evidence of water ice on the moon. Lurking in the bottom of pitch-black craters at the moon’s north and south poles, the ice was locked in perpetual shadow and had seemingly survived untouched by the sun’s rays, potentially for millions of years. The discovery of water ice came with a fresh mystery, however. While these polar craters are protected from direct sunlight, they are not shielded…
Read MoreHow do planets form? A ‘baby Jupiter’ hundreds of light-years away offers new clues
Artist’s impression of a giant planet forming. (Image credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)) This article was originally published at The Conversation. (opens in new tab) The publication contributed the article to Space.com’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Peter Tuthill (opens in new tab), Astrophysicist, University of Sydney Barnaby Norris (opens in new tab), Research fellow, University of Sydney How do planets form? For many years scientists thought they understood this process by studying the one example we had access to: our own solar system. However, the discovery of planets around distant…
Read MoreAx-1, the first private crew to space station, welcomed aboard with astronaut pins
The three first-time fliers on the first commercial crew to visit the International Space Station arrived on board the orbiting outpost on Saturday (April 9), where they were promptly pinned as the world’s newest astronauts. Axiom-1 (Ax-1) commander Michael López-Alegría, who is now the first former NASA astronaut to return to the space station, marked their arrival with a brief pinning ceremony honoring his crewmates Larry Connor of Ohio, Mark Pathy of Canada and Eytan Stibbe, who is now Israel’s second citizen to fly into space. The four arrived at…
Read MoreNASA delays crucial Artemis 1 moon mission test to April 12
NASA has pushed back the resumption of the Artemis 1 moon mission’s critical “wet dress rehearsal” by two days, to Tuesday (April 12). The agency had planned to restart the wet dress — a practice run of rocket fueling and other important Artemis 1 prelaunch activities — today (April 9) at Pad 39B of the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. But the mission team decided to modify the test procedure after noticing a problem with a “helium check valve,” which prevents the gas from escaping out of Artemis 1’s huge…
Read MoreListen to the Martian Soundscape
Two microphones on Mars, carried on NASA’s Perseverance rover, are for the first time revealing the sounds of another planet. The post Listen to the Martian Soundscape appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
Read MoreSpaceX Dragon docks at space station with all-private Ax-1 astronaut crew
The groundbreaking Ax-1 mission has arrived at its off-Earth destination. A SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying the four Ax-1 mission astronauts docked with the International Space Station (ISS) at 8:29 a.m. EDT (1229 GMT) today (April 9), ending an orbital chase that began Friday morning (April 8) with a launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket. The docking was delayed about 44 minutes due to a video issue on the station, but everything went smoothly. “I hope you enjoyed the extra half-orbit in Dragon or at least found it memorable,” SpaceX flight controllers…
Read MoreSee three planets, two stars and the moon share the night sky on April 9
Look up at the sky before sunrise Saturday (April 9) to see a trio of planets, twin stars and the moon entering its next phase. The planets Venus, Mars and Saturn appear close together in the southeast predawn sky. Saturn moved steadily toward Mars, reaching its closest proximity on Tuesday, April 5, when the planets were only half a degree apart. While the three worlds still appear close to one another, Saturn is slowly moving away from Mars each day, according to a statement from NASA (opens in new tab).…
Read MoreHospital mascot, not Disney rabbit, floats on Ax-1 mission as zero-g indicator
A long-eared toy dog was briefly mistaken for a famous Disney rabbit on Friday (April 8) when it was revealed as the “zero-g indicator” aboard the first private mission to visit the International Space Station. “Caramel,” the mascot (opens in new tab) for the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation, was seen floating inside SpaceX’s Crew Dragon “Endeavour” shortly after the spacecraft entered Earth orbit with the Axiom-1 (Ax-1) crew. With its ears extended out and a cartoon look to its embroidered eyes, the brown and beige plush puppy looked a lot…
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