Author: NeRD

Ultralight dark matter may have helped monstrous black holes form in the early universe

NeRD

Dark matter may have contributed to the formation of giant black holes in the early universe, researchers propose in a new paper. More observations, especially with the James Webb Space Telescope, are revealing truly gigantic black holes that appeared in the relatively young universe. Just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang, it would appear our cosmos was already home to black holes billions of times more massive than the sun. The only known way to create black holes is through the deaths of massive stars, but that…

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SpaceX launches its 32nd Dragon cargo mission to the ISS for NASA

NeRD

SpaceX launched its 32nd cargo mission to the International Space Station (ISS) early Monday morning (April 21), carrying more than 3 tons of supplies and scientific hardware to the orbiting laboratory for NASA. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the uncrewed Cargo Dragon spacecraft lifted off Monday at 4:15 a.m. EDT (0815 GMT) from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Known as CRS-32 (or SpX-32), the mission is the 12th flight under NASA’s second Commercial Resupply Services contract with SpaceX. The first stage of a SpaceX…

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SpaceX launching Dragon cargo capsule to ISS early April 21: Watch it live

NeRD

NASA’s SpaceX 32nd Commercial Resupply Services Launch – YouTube Watch On SpaceX will launch its next robotic resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) early Monday morning (April 21), and you can watch the action live. A Falcon 9 rocket topped with an uncrewed Dragon cargo capsule is scheduled to lift off on Monday at 4:15 a.m. EDT (0815 GMT) from the historic Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. You can watch the launch live here at Space.com, courtesy of NASA, or directly via the agency.…

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NASA Astronaut Don Pettit, Crewmates Complete Space Station Expedition

NeRD

The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with Expedition 72 NASA astronaut Don Pettit, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner aboard, April 19, 2025 (April 20, 2025, Kazakhstan time). The trio are returning to Earth after logging 220 days in space as members of Expeditions 71 and 72 aboard the International Space Station. NASA/Bill Ingalls NASA astronaut Don Pettit returned to Earth Saturday, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, concluding a seven-month science…

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NASA’s oldest active astronaut lands with space station crewmates on his 70th birthday

NeRD

NASA’s oldest active astronaut has redefined traveling “home” for your birthday, landing from the International Space Station on the same day that he turned 70. Don Pettit touched down on Saturday (April 19) with his Soyuz MS-26 crewmates, Aleksey Ovchinin, 53, and Ivan Vagner, 39. The U.S. astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts reached the ground in Kazakhstan at 9:20 p.m. EDT (0120 GMT or 6:20 a.m. local time April 20), seven months after they left Earth aboard the same spacecraft. Pettit was born on April 20, 1955, in Silverton, Oregon,…

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Lunt SunOculars 8×32 solar binoculars review

NeRD

Specifications Optics: Uncoated internal dye filter Design: Roof prism Magnification: 8x Objective lens diameter: 1.3 inches (32 millimeters) Waterproof/fog-proof: Weatherproof Eye relief: 0.54 inch (13.6 mm) Weight: 1.12 pounds (508 grams) Dimensions: 1.5 x 5.5 x 4.3 inches (40 x 140 x 110 mm) Safe observation of solar eclipses requires care. Enter the Lunt SunOculars 8×32. This compact pair of solar binoculars has built-in permanent solar filters that allow you to observe the partial phases of solar eclipses and study sunspots. Although they don’t offer the highest magnification on the…

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NASA’s Lucy probe will fly by the asteroid Donaldjohanson on Easter Sunday

NeRD

Easter Sunday certainly won’t be a day of rest for the astronomy community. All eyes will be on NASA’s asteroid-studying Lucy spacecraft, which is due to have a close encounter at 1:51 p.m. EDT (1751 GMT) on April 20, 2025. Launched in 2021, Lucy is on a 12-year journey to the orbit of Jupiter, during which the probe will perform flybys of eight Trojan asteroids in a quest to learn about the origins of the solar system, searching for elements that could spark the rise of life. But before Lucy gets…

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Watch NASA astronaut Don Pettit and 2 cosmonauts return to Earth today

NeRD

Watch live! NASA astronaut Don Pettit and 2 cosmonauts return to Earth from ISS – YouTube Watch On NASA astronaut Don Pettit and two cosmonaut colleagues will return to Earth this evening (April 19), and you can watch their homecoming live. A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying Pettit, Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner is scheduled to undock from the International Space Station (ISS) today at 5:57 p.m. EDT (2157 GMT). It will touch down on the steppe of Kazakhstan about 3.5 hours later at around 9:20 p.m. EDT (0120 GMT and…

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Could Mars volcanoes have supported ancient life on the Red Planet? Well, maybe

NeRD

While most people searching for signs of alien life these days might have their eyes on the exoplanet K2-18b, one team of researchers is keeping their sights a little closer to home. Texas A&M researcher Michael Tice and a team of international scientists have revealed new clues about Mars’ potential to have supported life, thanks to data collected by NASA’s Perseverance rover. Since 2021, Perseverance has been exploring Mars’ Jezero Crater, using its mobile laboratory to support the work of scientists around the world. Tice and his team, in particular,…

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Bahamas puts SpaceX rocket landings on hold pending review: report

NeRD

Just months after SpaceX landed a Falcon 9 rocket in the Bahamas for the first time, the country has hit pause on future landings pending an environmental review, according to news wire reports. A top Bahamas government official announced on Tuesday (April 15) that the country was suspending future SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket landings until a “full environmental assessment” is complete, Reuters reported. “No further clearances will be granted until a full environmental assessment is reviewed,” Reuters quoted Bahamian Director of Communications Latrae Rahming as writing on the social media…

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