Category: Solar System

Our solar system

Youthful galaxy in the early universe was a heavy metal rebel

NeRD

The most distant carbon ever seen has been discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) in a galaxy that we see as it existed just 350 million years after the Big Bang. The detection is notable because not only is it the oldest carbon known, it is the first time that an element heavier than hydrogen or helium — what astronomers call “metals” — has been confirmed in the very early universe. “Earlier research suggested that carbon started to form in large quantities relatively late — about one billion…

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The Milky Way’s last major act of galactic cannibalism was surprisingly recent

NeRD

New findings from the Gaia space telescope indicate the Milky Way may have cannibalized a small galaxy not too long ago, cosmically speaking. In fact, the last major collision between our galaxy and another seems to have occurred billions of years later than previously suspected. The Milky Way has been long understood to have grown via a series of violent collisions, which see smaller galaxies ripped apart by the immense gravitational influence of our solar system’s spiral home. These collisions distribute stars from the devoured galaxy across the halo that…

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Sandworms rise from the sands of Arrakis in exclusive sneak peek at ‘Dune: The Graphic Novel, Book 3’

NeRD

The wonderfully rich world of Frank Herbert’s “Dune” has enjoyed a renaissance of sorts in the past few years. There’s Denis Villeneuve’s big-screen saga, “Dune: Part One” and “Dune: Part Two,” for starters and Boom! Studios’ “Dune” comic book titles adapted from Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson’s “Dune” prequel and sequel novels. There’s even an upcoming “Dune: Awakening” open world survival video game. Adding to the resurgence are the gorgeous hardback “Dune: The Graphic Novel” releases from Abrams ComicArts, accented with the fine work of artists Raúl Allén and…

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What is the 3-body problem, and is it really unsolvable?

NeRD

A rocket launch. Our nearest stellar neighbor. A Netflix show. All of these things have something in common: They must contend with the “three-body problem.” But exactly what is this thorny physics conundrum? The three-body problem describes a system containing three bodies that exert gravitational forces on one another. While it may sound simple, it’s a notoriously tricky problem and “the first real worry of Newton,” Billy Quarles, a planetary dynamicist at Valdosta State University in Georgia, told LiveScience. In a system of only two bodies, like a planet and…

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Astronauts test SpaceX Starship hardware and spacesuits for Artemis 3 moon mission (photos)

NeRD

Come 2026, NASA plans to land humans on the moon for the first time since 1972. Times have changed, as can be gauged from the new rockets, spacecraft and spacesuits.  To prepare for the Artemis 3 moon-landing mission, in late April two astronauts donned Axiom Space’s new spacesuits and for the first time tested out a mock version of the vehicle that will get them to the moon. Scientists and engineers say the test — the first of its kind since the Apollo era — provided feedback on how well…

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At long last: Europe’s new Ariane 6 rocket set to debut on July 9

NeRD

Europe’s new Ariane 6 heavy-lift rocket is set to launch for the first time on July 9 after a series of delays.  The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Ariane 6 rocket, developed by ArianeGroup, will lift off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The date of the rocket‘s long-awaited inaugural flight was announced at the ILA Berlin air show on June 5; however, a specific launch time or window has not yet been released.  “Ariane 6 marks a new era of autonomous, versatile European space travel,” Josef Aschbacher, ESA’s director general,…

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This Week In Space podcast: Episode 114 —Starliners & Starships

NeRD

On Episode 114 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik talk about the launches of Boeing’s Starliner and SpaceX’s Starship. Well, we waited, we waffled, and we joked… but Boeing’s Starliner finally made good! Seven or so years after their projected crewed flight date, the second provider of crew delivery to the International Space Station finally succeeded in sending two astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, to the ISS. Despite a few problems with (sigh) valves, helium tanks, and thrusters, the mission appears to be going swimmingly.…

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SpaceX wants to build 1 Starship megarocket a day with new Starfactory

NeRD

Sure, the test flight of the world’s most powerful rocket this week was nail-biting. But it was also a massive win for SpaceX with a successful fourth test for Starship. The company’s goals for this test flight were accomplished as Starship’s first-stage booster, Super Heavy, made a soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico and the 165-foot tall (50 m) upper stage, referred to simply as Ship, made a controlled landing burn during reentry before landing in the Indian Ocean. SpaceX now aims to build on the progress with its…

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Scientists find slowest spinning ‘radio neutron star’ — it breaks all the dead-star rules

NeRD

Astronomers have discovered the slowest spinning radio wave-blasting neutron star ever seen; it takes almost an hour to complete a full rotation.  That may sound rather fast, but these dead stars are known to spin so rapidly that some experience 700 full turns every second. Even the most leisurely of the about 3,000 radio-emitting neutron stars, or “pulsars,” discovered so far complete a full rotation in a second or so. This ultra-leisurely neutron star, however, designated ASKAP J1935+2148 and located 16,000 light-years from Earth, is emitting radio light at a rate…

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‘Sudden, brief, and unexpected:’ dearMoon crew laments cancellation of private SpaceX Starship moon mission

NeRD

The dearMoon crew has shared their disappointment on social media following the mission’s abrupt cancellation.  Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa canceled his planned flight around the moon on June 1 due to delays with SpaceX’s Starship megarocket, which has yet to fly a single crewed test flight. Maezawa initially booked the private trip in 2018 and invited eight artists to join him with the expectation that the project, called dearMoon, would launch by the end of 2023.  “I can’t plan my future in this situation, and I feel terrible making the…

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