A new video shows the dramatic moment a new NASA spacecraft spread its metaphorical wings unfolding its most vital instrumentation while in orbit around Earth. The SWOT satellite (its name is short for Surface Water and Ocean Topography) launched into space from Vandenberg Space Force Base in central California aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 on Dec. 16. Before it can begin its mission of measuring the height of water over 90% of Earth‘s surface to provide scientists with the first-ever high-definition survey of our planet’s water SWOT had to deploy…
Read MoreMonth: January 2023
Possible naked-eye comet will visit Earth for 1st time since Neanderthals in 2023
At the start of 2023 Earth will be visited by a newly discovered comet that may just be bright enough to be spotted with the naked eye. The comet, named C/2022 E3 (ZTF), is currently passing through the inner solar system. It will make its closest approach to the sun, or perihelion, on Jan. 12, and will then whip past Earth making its closest passage of our planet, its perigee, between Feb. 1 and Feb. 2. If the comet continues to brighten as it currently is, it could be visible…
Read MoreOn International Space Station, astronauts ring in New Year 2023 ahead of 2nd Christmas
A new year is rising in space. The seven Expedition 68 crew members celebrated the arrival of 2023 on the International Space Station in holiday style, including Santa hats, streamers and an adapted Orthodox Christmas tree ahead of the Russian celebration Jan. 6. “Just like back home, we have a tradition here to put up a New Year tree and decorate the interior of the space station to celebrate the New Year. Today, we will show you how to do it under zero-gravity conditions,” Russian cosmonautSergey Prokopyev said in a…
Read MoreNewfound kind of supernova can tear apart a planet’s atmosphere
Supernovas are bad news. They can wreck biospheres and flood planets with deadly radiation. And now, a recent study has added a new potential threat: a special type of supernova that can destroy a planet’s ozone layer years after the initial explosion. When giant stars die in massive explosions called supernovas, they temporarily become some of the most luminous objects in the universe. A single supernova can outshine the combined light of hundreds of billions of stars. To give you some perspective, the nearby star Betelgeuse is going to explode…
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