Category: Solar System

Our solar system

Where is the center of the universe?

NeRD

The universe is undeniably vast, and from our perspective, it may seem like Earth is in the middle of everything. But is there a center of the cosmos, and if so, where is it? If the Big Bang started the universe, then where did it all come from, and where is it going? To start tackling these questions, let’s go back about 100 years. In the 1920s, astronomer Edwin Hubble made two amazing back-to-back discoveries: Early in the decade, he found that “island universes,” now known as galaxies, sit very…

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Could nearby stars have habitable exoplanets? NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory hopes to find out

NeRD

The search for life beyond Earth dutifully continues. Astronomers using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, as well as the European Space Agency‘s XMM-Newton, are contributing some new research to the hunt — and hoping to lay the groundwork for future projects. The researchers are using Chandra to study radiation emitted from nearby stars to establish whether or not an exoplanet orbiting those stars could be habitable. X-rays and ultraviolet light could, at high-enough levels, damage an exoplanet’s atmosphere, reducing the possibility of supporting life (as we know it, anyway). “Without characterizing X-rays…

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This Week In Space podcast: Episode 115 —Our Friendly Mr. Sun

NeRD

On Episode 115 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik talk about the sun and solar activity cycles. We see the sun every day as it rises and sets… it’s one of the few constants in life. But it’s a very dynamic body, throwing minor temper tantrums regularly. As it happens, we’re at the peak of its 11-year cycle of activity and there’s a lot going on!  Dr. Alex Young, the Associate Director for Science in the Heliophysics Science Division at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, joins…

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Space weather forecasting needs an upgrade to protect future Artemis astronauts

NeRD

NASA has set its sights on the moon, aiming to send astronauts back to the lunar surface by 2026 and establish a long-term presence there by the 2030s. But the moon isn’t exactly a habitable place for people. Cosmic rays from distant stars and galaxies and solar energetic particles from the sun bombard the surface, and exposure to these particles can pose a risk to human health. Both galactic cosmic rays and solar energetic particles, are high-energy particles that travel close to the speed of light. While galactic cosmic radiation…

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Soviet-era cosmonaut Vyacheslav Zudov, who survived only Soyuz splashdown, dies

NeRD

Soviet-era cosmonaut Vyacheslav Zudov, whose failed docking with a Russian space station ended with the first and only emergency splashdown in a Soyuz spacecraft, has died at the age of 82. Zudov’s death on Wednesday (June 12) was reported by Roscosmos, Russia’s federal space corporation. “[His] two-day spaceflight became, without exaggeration, dramatic,” read a statement from the space agency. “The landing of ‘Radon’ (the call sign that the cosmonaut chose for himself) turned out to be no less dangerous.” The Soyuz 23 descent module, dragging its parachute, is lifted by…

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Boeing’s 1st Starliner astronaut mission return delayed to June 22

NeRD

Boeing’s first crewed Starliner mission, that ferried astronauts to the International Space Station, will need to wait a little longer before returning its crew to Earth.  On June 5, the Crew Flight Test (CFT) for Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft launched with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on board; the spacecraft docked at the International Space Station (ISS) the next day. The mission’s objective was to complete a full on-orbit shakedown of the spacecraft, and it was originally set to last about a week. Now, the pair won’t return home…

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How China’s Chang’e 6 minirover snapped its epic photo on the moon’s far side

NeRD

China has revealed details about a miniature rover tucked away on the country’s pioneering Chang’e 6 lunar far side sample-return mission. Chang’e 6 launched on May 3 on a Long March 5 rocket. While being a repurposed backup to the successful 2020 Chang’e 5 mission, it was revealed after launch that the new spacecraft also packed a surprise rover.  The Chang’e 6 lander touched down in Apollo crater with the South Pole-Aitken basin on June 1. The rover was deployed around two days later, after sampling operations on the moon…

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Scientists find a surprise ingredient in exoplanet cake mix — sulfur dioxide

NeRD

A ‘hot Neptune’ exoplanet has been found to contain sulfur dioxide in its atmosphere — an atmosphere that’s also gushing into space as the planet loops over its star’s poles on a steeply inclined orbit every three-and-a-third days. The existence of sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere of the exoplanet, dubbed GJ 3470b and located 96 light-years from Earth, came as a shock when it was spotted by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). “We didn’t think we’d see sulfur dioxide on planets this small, and it’s exciting to see this…

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Hubble Telescope maps high-speed ‘burps’ from nearby feeding supermassive black hole for 1st time

NeRD

Using the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have, for the first time ever, mapped the plasma “burps” of a feeding supermassive black hole-powered quasar that dwells relatively close to Earth.  While supermassive black holes with masses millions or billions of times that of the sun are thought to dwell at the heart of all galaxies, not all of these cosmic titans power quasars. Some, like the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way, called Sagittarius A*, are relatively quiet because they are not greedily feeding on matter around…

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Secrets of radioactive ‘promethium’ — a rare earth element with mysterious applications — uncovered after 80-year search

NeRD

For the first time, scientists have revealed crucial properties of the mysterious, radioactive substance promethium — nearly eight decades after the elusive rare earth element was discovered. Promethium is one of the 15 lanthanide elements at the bottom of the periodic table. Also known as the rare earths, these metals exhibit a number of useful properties, including strong magnetism and unusual optical characteristics, making them particularly important in modern electronic devices.  “They are used in lasers; they are part of the screens of your smartphone. They are also used in…

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