Chile’s Villarrica volcano emits steam and other volcanic gases in this photo taken from the International Space Station on Jan. 17, 2023. The gases come from a series of minor explosions—called Strombolian eruptions—that have been ongoing at Villarrica since October 2022.
Read MoreMonth: January 2023
No, the Big Bang theory is not ‘broken.’ Here’s how we know.
The James Webb Space Telescope, not even finished with its first full year of observations, has delivered some real stunners. But amid the breathtaking images and unprecedented findings, there was a puzzling claim: that the telescope had detected galaxies in the incredibly young universe. Those galaxies were so massive and appeared so early that they, the headlines claimed, “broke” the Big Bang model of cosmology. The claim went viral, but as with many things on the internet, it’s simply not true. Now, there’s more research to back up the Big…
Read MoreThe Comet Interceptor probe could visit a stunning object like the green C/2022 E3 (ZTF)
Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is tantalizing to spot through a telescope, but what would it look like up close? Scientists don’t have a way to get a spacecraft to the stunning green comet during its swing through the inner solar system — but next decade, they will, thanks to the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Comet Interceptor. That mission, scheduled to launch in 2029, will spend a few years perched nearly 1 million miles (1.5 million kilometers) away from Earth, waiting for an intriguing comet to venture deep enough into the…
Read MoreWatch the moon eclipse Mars tonight
It’s time to take the telescope out. On Monday night (Jan. 30), the moon will eclipse Mars in what’s known as an occultation — the moon will pass in front of Mars from the perspective of Earth. Unfortunately only a small swath of the planet will be able to see the occultation, but that does include the southern United States, from southern California all the way to northern Florida, and as far north as Oklahoma, according to skywatching site In-the-sky.org. (opens in new tab) Other viewing areas include Mexico, the Caribbean, Central…
Read MoreHubble Space Telescope captures stunning red view of the Soul Nebula
Holiday decorations may have come down already on Earth, but a nebula located 7,000 light-years away is keeping the festive spirit alive. The Hubble Space Telescope captured a stunning image of a small region of Westerhout 5, also known as the Soul Nebula, glowing red. The suffusion of red light is caused by H-alpha emission, which happens when very energetic electrons within hydrogen atoms lose energy, causing the release of this distinctive red light, Hubble representatives wrote in a description of the image. This red light also reveals a range…
Read MoreWatch SpaceX launch 49 Starlink internet satellites to orbit Sunday
SpaceX plans to launch another set of its Starlink broadband satellites to orbit on Sunday (Jan. 29), and you can watch the action live. A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 49 Starlink spacecraft is scheduled to lift off Sunday from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base at 11:47 a.m. EST (1647 GMT; 8:47 a.m. local California time). Watch it live here at Space.com, courtesy of SpaceX, or directly via the company (opens in new tab). Coverage is expected to start about five minutes before launch. Related: 10 weird things about SpaceX’s…
Read MoreWhat are gluons?
Gluons are suitably named because they are the ‘glue’ that binds quarks together to form the likes of protons and neutrons. They are the carriers of the strong force, one of the four fundamental forces. Force-carrying particles such as the gluon, as well as the photon for the electromagnetic force, and the W and Z bosons for the weak force, are all massless particles with a quantum spin of 1 and are referred to collectively as ‘gauge bosons’. f two or three quarks. For example, protons and neutrons, which form…
Read MoreEuropean Space Agency seeks more use of logo, mission patches on merchandise
The European Space Agency (ESA) wants to see its logo on your next t-shirt, cap or collectible. The intergovernmental organization, which is comprised of 22 member states, has now made it easier for individuals and companies producing merchandise to gain permission to use the ESA brand (opens in new tab). The new process, which is essentially agreeing to some terms and submitting an online form, marks the first time that ESA has allowed branded products to be produced without the manufacturer first needing to enter into a collaborative agreement with…
Read MoreWatch the moon eclipse Uranus tonight
On Saturday (Jan. 28) the moon will move in front of Uranus obstructing the view of the distant ice giant planet and causing it to disappear from the night sky in an arrangement that astronomers call a lunar occultation. The moon will be in its first quarter tonight, will its face half illuminated, while Uranus will have a magnitude of 5.7. According to In-the-Sky (opens in new tab), the lunar occultation of Uranus will be visible from regions including Canada, Greenland, and eastern Alaska. During the event, the moon and…
Read MoreReturn to the Rocinante with a new 12-issue comic series, ‘The Expanse: Dragon Tooth’
Prime Video’s exceptional space opera show “The Expanse” finished its sixth and final season back in January of 2022, and we deeply miss the intrepid crew of the Rocinante and their harrowing exploits throughout the solar system. Based on the nine-novel series by writers Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, “The Expanse” was a revelation for hardcore fans of military sci-fi and cosmic horror that featured a stellar cast and striking special effects. Due to the 30-year time leap in the final three books, the series was cancelled after the adaptation…
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