Massive eruption on dead star pushes particles to cosmic speed limit

A burned-out stellar core produced a shockwave that pushed particles to their theoretical speed limit, scientists have reported. Astronomers used a gamma-ray observatory in Namibia called the High Energy Stereoscopic System (HESS) to show how an eruption creates a shock wave that accelerates material around it super-fast speeds. The research focused on RS Ophiuchi, a nova that erupts every 15 to 20 years — most recently, in 2021. RS Ophiuchi’s system includes one normal star and one white dwarf, the cold dense core that remains after a star explodes. The…

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Satellite photos of Mariupol, Ukraine show damage from Russian attacks

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has hit the southern port city of Mariupol particularly hard, as new satellite photos show. The Russian military has been besieging Mariupol for a week now, pounding the city with barrages of missiles and artillery. These weapons are hitting civilian as well as military targets; for example, one of Mariupol’s maternity hospitals was destroyed on Wednesday (March 9), The New York Times reported. New satellite imagery gives a sense of how widespread the destruction is in Mariupol, which had a population around 500,000 before the…

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Axiom Space Ax-1 mission: The first all-private crew to the International Space Station

Axiom Mission 1 is a mission to the International Space Station by the Houston-based Axiom Space that will be the first fully private crew to the orbiting complex. It is scheduled to launch on March 30, 2022.  SpaceX will launch a four-person crew on the mission that will include a former NASA astronaut and three paying spaceflyers. The four space travelers aim to distinguish themselves as much as possible from space tourists during the 10-day mission, by performing experiments and research on the International Space Station. Axiom expects to run…

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UK announces ban on space-related exports to Russia

The United Kingdom has issued new trade sanctions against Russia that ban all space-related exports to that country in response to its invasion of Ukraine.  U.K. Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss announced the new space export sanctions on Wednesday (March 9) alongside deeper sanctions related to aviation, including new powers to detain Russian aircraft. The space-related sanctions feature a “ban on the export of aviation and space-related goods and technology, including technical assistance,” according to a statement. In photos: Russia’s Ukraine invasion in satellite picturesLive updates: Space impacts of Russia’s Ukraine invasion…

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