Category: Solar System

Our solar system

‘Ambitious climate action is more urgent than ever:’ 3 Climate records broken in 2024

NeRD

The year 2024 has been another challenging one for Earth’s climate, marked by record temperatures, extreme weather events, and urgent warnings from scientists about the accelerating pace of global warming. An analysis by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), the European Union agency that tracks global warming, suggests this year will be the hottest since instrument record keeping began more than a century ago — beating climate records set just last year. 2024 will also be the first calendar year in which the global average temperature exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius…

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Ireland’s lost Apollo 11 moon rock traced from basement to fire in documents

NeRD

New details about the small pieces of the moon gifted by the United States to Ireland in 1970 have now been unearthed. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the Apollo 11 lunar samples, themselves. The four moon pebbles, which were embedded in a single lucite ball and mounted to a wooden podium together with a small flag of Ireland that was flown on NASA’s first lunar landing, was one of 135 such goodwill presentations that the U.S. made to foreign countries following the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. Additional…

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NASA’s Orion crew capsule had heat shield issues during Artemis 1 − an aerospace expert weighs in (op-ed)

NeRD

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Marcos Fernandexz Tous is a professor of aerospace technology at the University of North Dakota. Off the coast of Baja California in December 2022, sun sparkled over the rippling sea as waves sloshed around the USS Portland dock ship. Navy officials on the deck scrutinized the sky in search of a sign. The glow appeared suddenly. A tiny spot at first, it gradually grew to a round circle falling at…

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Sci-fi movies and TV shows to be excited for in 2025

NeRD

Okay, every year is a big year for sci-fi these days, but 2025 is looking particularly exciting. Outer space is set to be a major theme in Hollywood this year, whether you’re watching in the cinema or at home on your personal viewscreen (sorry, TV). Most of the major franchises will be represented, with “Andor”‘s second season taking us back to the grittier corners of that galaxy far, far away, and “Strange New Worlds” season 3 and TV movie “Section 31” representing “Star Trek”‘s final frontier. In the world of…

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Panasonic Leica DG Elmarit 200mm f/2.8 POWER O.I.S. review

NeRD

Key specs Type: Prime lens Focal length: 200mm (400mm equivalent) Maximum aperture: f/2.8 Lens mount: Micro Four Thirds Weight: 43.92 oz / 1245 g Dimensions: 6.85×3.44 in / 174×87.5 mm Filter thread: 77mm Release date: November 2017 One of the undeniable advantages of Micro Four Thirds (MFT) systems is the range of compact, lightweight lenses that are available. Sure, the cameras can be as hefty as full-frame, but the lenses significantly reduce the overall size and weight of your kit. The Panasonic Leica DG Elmarit 200mm f/2.8 POWER O.I.S. is…

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Get ready for the ‘New Year Comet’: What to expect from Comet ATLAS (C/2024) G3

NeRD

In the second week of 2025, we could see a new object grace the skies as comet ATLAS (C/2024) G3 gets close to the sun. In the wake of comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) in October, comet G3 is due to reach perihelion — its closest to the sun — on Jan. 13, 2025. That day, this icy visitor to the inner solar system will get to within just 8.3 million miles (13.5 million kilometers) from the sun. For context, Mercury orbits the sun from as close as 29 million miles…

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‘Dune: Prophecy’s’ Faoileann Cunningham talks about Sister Jen’s harrowing series journey (exclusive)

NeRD

Amid the sacred stone walls of the Sisterhood’s fortress-like headquarters on the planet Wallach IX, the acolytes of Mother Superior Valya Harkonnen (Emily Watson) and Reverend Mother Tula Harkonnen (Olivia Williams) in “Dune: Prophecy” struggle to make sense of the strange happenings of their order as forces internal and external try to destroy their influential heritage. Sister Jen is one of the foremost academy students, who displays an uncanny level of common sense, uncensored intuition, and outspokenness that might make her one of the frontrunners to claim a leadership role…

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Watch India launch 2 satellites on a space docking test flight on Dec. 30 (video)

NeRD

India will launch an ambitious space docking test flight on Monday (Dec. 30) that could set the stage for a future mission to the moon. The India Space Research Organisation will launch the two small satellites of its Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) atop an Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle on Monday. Liftoff is set for 11:28 a.m. EST (9:58 p.m. IST, 1628 GMT) from ISRO’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. You can watch the SpaDeX mission launch live online via ISRO’s YouTube livestream, which is expected to begin at 11…

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Watch SpaceX launch its last Falcon 9 rocket of 2024 overnight tonight

NeRD

SpaceX is preparing to launch its last mission of the year and you can watch it live. A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 21 Starlink broadband internet satellites, including 13 with direct-to-cell capability, is poised to lift off from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday (Dec. 30). The 3.5-hour launch window opens at 12 a.m. EST (0500 GMT). A live webcast of Monday’s mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch on SpaceX’s website and on the social…

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Rocket launch today: Is there a rocket launch and what time?

NeRD

Dec. 28: SpaceX launching 2 rockets today (Image credit: Astranis) SpaceX is planning two rocket launches in the next 12 hours, one from California and the other from Florida. The first launch is a Falcon 9 rocket launching Saturday, Dec. 28, from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 5:48 p.m. PST (8:48 EST, 0148 GMT). You can watch the launch on SpaceX’s X account and mission page starting about 15 minutes before liftoff. This mission, called Starlink 11-3, will launch 22 new Starlink…

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