February 2023 – Page 6 – NeRDs Moonbase

Doomsday Glacier melting in Antarctica means terrible news for global sea level rise

February 17, 2023 NeRD

The Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica, also known as the Doomsday Glacier, is melting in unexpected ways that could lead to its rapid collapse, a new study has revealed. Two teams of researchers have used an underwater robot and drilled deep holes into the Florida-sized Thwaites Glacier to study its melting patterns in unprecedented detail. The researchers from the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration discovered that while the overall melting of ice is slower than expected, melting in cracks and crevasses and other vulnerable areas is proceeding much more rapidly. The Thwaites…

NASA Sets Coverage for Agency’s SpaceX Crew-6 Events, Launch

February 17, 2023 NeRD

NASA will provide coverage of the upcoming prelaunch and launch activities for the agency’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission with astronauts to the International Space Station.

Space Station Science Highlights: Week of Feb. 13, 2023

February 17, 2023 NeRD

Crew members aboard the International Space Station conducted scientific investigations during the week of Feb. 13 that included testing an autonomous sound monitor, evaluating a high-resolution camera, and demonstrating a carbon dioxide removal technology.

Let’s Roll, Crew-6!

February 17, 2023 NeRD

Mission Specialist Andrey Fedyaev, Pilot Warren “Woody” Hoburg, Commander Stephen Bowen, and Mission Specialist Sultan Alnedayi, the SpaceX Crew-6 mission, pose for a photo atop an emergency egress vehicle at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Virgin Galactic carrier plane flies for 1st time since 2021

February 16, 2023 NeRD

Virgin Galactic’s carrier plane just took to the skies for the first time in nearly 16 months. The aircraft, known as VMS Eve, conducted a test flight from California’s Mojave Air and Space Port on Wednesday (Feb. 15), Virgin Galactic announced in a brief Twitter update (opens in new tab). The flight lasted more than 2.5 hours and reached a maximum altitude of about 41,500 feet (12,650 meters), according to SpaceNews (opens in new tab), which cited flight tracking data. It was Eve’s first liftoff since late October 2021 (opens…

3 mystery objects shot down by US likely weren’t spy craft, Biden says

February 16, 2023 NeRD

The three objects blasted out of the sky recently by U.S. fighter jets likely weren’t doing anything nefarious up there, President Joe Biden said. The mystery objects were shot down with Sidewinder air-to-air missiles off the coast of northern Alaska on Friday (Feb. 10), over the Yukon in northwestern Canada on Saturday (Feb. 11) and above Lake Huron on Sunday (Feb. 12). Biden said during a press conference today (Feb. 16) that he ordered the take-downs for two main reasons: The craft were flying low enough to pose a risk…

NASA, Boeing to Host Media Call on First Crewed Starliner Flight Test

February 16, 2023 NeRD

NASA and Boeing will host a mission overview media teleconference at 11 a.m. EST Friday, Feb. 17, to provide a status update on the first astronaut flight test of the company’s CST-100 Starliner to the International Space Station. Launch is targeted for no earlier than April to the microgravity laboratory.

Black holes may be the source of mysterious dark energy

February 16, 2023 NeRD

When astronomers discovered that the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate, they theorized that some force must be pushing things farther apart and overcoming gravity, which should be slowing things down. That force was suggested to be dark energy, but no one has ever figured out from where it comes. But a team of 17 international researchers led by the University of Hawaii has discovered the first evidence for the origin point of dark energy: Black holes. Black holes acquire mass in two ways: accretion of gas and mergers…

James Webb Space Telescope opens Pandora’s Cluster in stunning image with help from Einstein (video)

February 15, 2023 NeRD

In Greek mythology, Pandora’s curiosity leads her to open a container that releases all of the evils and hardships that now exist in the world. Let’s hope the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) didn’t do just that as it zoomed in on a region of space called “Pandora’s Cluster” using a phenomenon predicted by Einstein in 1915. The new JWST image reveals previously hidden details from the region and the merger of three already massive clusters to create an even larger “mega cluster” of galaxies. The nickname for this region,…

Supercharged Valentine’s Day auroras give Alaska-based polar lights chaser the night of his life (photos)

February 15, 2023 NeRD

A well-timed plasma eruption from the sun delivered a Valentine Day’s night of auroral splendor for skywatchers in Alaska, with the display’s intensity taking by surprise even seasoned aurora chasers. Vincent Ledvina is no stranger to the sight of glimmering polar lights. Based in Fairbanks, Alaska, the space physics PhD student took his first aurora picture at the age of 16. Since then, he says on his website, he’s been hooked on the thrill of aurora chasing. This passion eventually led to him relocating from North Dakota to Alaska, the…