Month: August 2023

Some of the world’s leading astronomical observatories have reported cyberattacks that have resulted in temporary shutdowns. The National Science Foundation’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory, or NOIRLab, reported that a cybersecurity incident that occurred on Aug. 1 has prompted the lab to temporarily halt operations at its Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii and Gemini South Telescope in Chile. Other, smaller telescopes on Cerro Tololo in Chile were also affected.  “Our staff are working with cybersecurity experts to get all the impacted telescopes and our website back online as soon as…

NASA’s latest space debris technology contract involves a bag that could one day snatch pieces flying in orbit. NASA recently awarded a space logistics startup, called TransAstra, an $850,000 early-stage contract for a bag that could inflate after it flies into orbit. This is not a space debris mission for flight, however, as the company will be tasked by testing this technology on the ground using inflatable struts. The contract award was reported by SpaceNews. This will be the second contract for TransAstra in recent years concerning inflatable capture bags.…

Astronomers have discovered a rare temperature-sensitive molecule that is usually associated with stars in the atmosphere of an exoplanet for the first time.  The “thermometer molecule” chromium hydride is abundant in a narrow range of temperatures between 1,700 degrees Fahrenheit to 3,140 degrees Fahrenheit (926 to 1,730 degrees Celsius). It was discovered in the atmosphere of the “hot Jupiter” exoplanet WASP-17b, which orbits an F-type star located around 1,250 light-years from Earth.  The discovery of such a metal hydride — a metal bonded to hydrogen to form a new compound…

The CIA wants to share what it knows about world space programs. Some of what it knows, anyway. The United States Central Intelligence Agency, better known as the CIA, has released a new entry in its World Factbook that catalogues the programs and milestones of space agencies around the world. Over 90 countries and the European Union are represented in the new Space Programs section of the agency’s factbook, spanning from Algeria to Zimbabwe. A CIA spokesperson told Space.com that, due to the increased visibility of space programs around the…

India will launch its first sun-studying spacecraft this weekend, if all goes according to plan. The Aditya-L1 solar observatory is scheduled to launch Saturday (Sept. 2) at 2:20 a.m. EDT (0620 GMT; 11:50 local India time), the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) announced on Monday (Aug. 28).  The spacecraft will lift off atop a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, on the island of Sriharikota, just off India’s east coast. You’ll be able to watch the action here at Space.com, courtesy of ISRO. Related: Space weather: What…