Category: Space Stations

Space stations in orbit or planned

Christmas solar flares erupt from the sun. Will they trigger aurora ‘fireworks’ as we close out 2024?

NeRD

In the final hours of Christmas Day, the sun fired off four solar flares within less than three hours. The biggest flare of the series, recorded at a M7.3, erupted from sunspot region AR3938 on Dec. 25 at 10:15 p,m. EST (0315 GMT on Dec. 26). Solar flares are ranked and categorized by their power on a 4-level classification scale, with M-class the second strongest to the beastly X-class at the top. According to Spaceweather.com, this was part of a group of four different flares that happened within two and…

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How to use monoculars for stargazing

NeRD

Monoculars are basically a half pair of binoculars and can be a super compact way for you to enjoy stargazing wherever your travels take you. Because of their small size, monoculars are highly portable, meaning that you don’t have to worry about lagging a heavy telescope to a dark sky site to enjoy some skywatching. Monoculars use a lens and prism system to magnify an image for the user. They are great for beginner stargazers due to their simple operation: point your monocular at your subject, and look through it.…

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Lego Marvel Avengers Helicarrier review

NeRD

Essential info Price: $79.99/£69.99 Model number: 76295 Number of pieces: 509 Dimensions: 7 x 13 x 8.5 inches (18 x 33 x 22cm) Recommended age: 18+ It’s safe to say that the Lego Marvel Avengers Helicarrier won’t be finding a place in our list of the best Lego Marvel sets any time soon. It’s a real shame too: when the Helicarrier was first announced, I was very excited about it. I’d missed out on the huge Helicarrier when it retired in 2017, so getting another model of it — a…

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‘Silo’ scores a third and fourth season from Apple TV+

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Apple TV+ has achieved a quiet confidence with its galaxy of science fiction programming over the past few years, bolstered by an impressive roster of compelling series such as “Foundation,” “Invasion,” “For All Mankind,” “Hello, Tomorrow!,” and the most recent must-watch endeavor, “Silo.” This past week, fans were thrilled to hear the fantastic pre-holiday news that Apple TV+ has shown its boundless confidence in the show’s future by ordering up not just one, but two more seasons to finish out its extraordinary survival saga. Now mid-way through its second season…

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Scientists await signal from NASA’s Parker Solar Probe after historic close sun flyby. Will it phone home?

NeRD

On the heels of a NASA spacecraft’s historic close flyby of the sun on Christmas Eve, scientists on Earth have one question on their minds: Did their probe survive as an epic Christmas gift, or is it a burned up lump of coal in space? For a few days, they simply won’t know, at least not until the spacecraft — NASA’s Parker Solar Probe — phones home with a simple “status beacon” on Friday (Dec. 27) to let its science team know it’s okay. But scientists behind the spacecraft’s sun…

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Just a fraction of the hydrogen hidden beneath Earth’s surface could power Earth for 200 years, scientists find

NeRD

A mountain of hydrogen is lurking beneath Earth’s surface — and scientists say that just a fraction of it could break our dependence on fossil fuels for 200 years. New research suggests the planet holds around 6.2 trillion tons (5.6 trillion metric tons) of hydrogen in rocks and underground reservoirs. That’s roughly 26 times the amount of oil known to be left in the ground (1.6 trillion barrels, each weighing approximately 0.15 tons) — but where these hydrogen stocks are located remains unknown. Most of the hydrogen is likely too…

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The ‘Doctor Who’ Christmas special 2024 is pure Steven Moffat: Here’s why ‘Joy’ is so important to the world

NeRD

The TARDIS is as much a part of Christmas as turkey, mince pies, and mulled wine, and former “Doctor Who” showrunner Steven Moffat certainly knows his way around a festive adventure. This year’s holiday offering, “Joy to the World”, is the writer’s ninth, and it comes with all the trimmings you’d expect. Alongside the obligatory festive moments, Moffat (the brains behind “Blink”, “The Girl in the Fireplace” and “Heaven Sent”) brings his trademark clockwork plotting to the holiday party. In “Joy to the World”, the Doctor spends Christmas in the…

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Astronauts on ISS beam holiday cheer to Earth for Christmas (video)

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Space Station Astronauts Deliver a Christmas Message for 2024 – YouTube Watch On Surrounded by floating candy canes and a makeshift snowman made out of stowage bags, the astronauts aboard the International Space Station gathered together to wish a Merry Christmas to everyone back on Earth. Expedition 72 commander Sunita “Suni” Williams, sporting a pair of festive reindeer antlers, joined fellow NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore, Don Pettit and Nick Hague to share some holiday cheer from their home away from home, 260 miles (420 kilometers) above the planet. “It’s…

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Piece of Apollo 11 spacecraft ‘lands’ in moon meteorite-lined wedding ring

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For better or for worse, a small part of the Apollo 11 spacecraft will now be Jon Mesick’s to have and to hold for all the days of his life. The strip of golden thermal polyimide tape, which made the trip to the moon with the first astronauts to land there in 1969, is now the centerpiece of Mesick’s custom wedding band made by the Honest Hands Rings Company of Morrison, Colorado. The ring, which also incorporates lunar meteorite, is the focus of a newly posted online video that highlights…

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ULA wants to upgrade Vulcan Centaur rocket into a ‘space interceptor’ to defend satellites

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United Launch Alliance (ULA) envisions its new, powerful Vulcan Centaur rocket as playing a key role in defending satellites from potential threats in space. Centaur, the upper stage of the Vulcan Centaur, is designed for orbit. During the recent Spacepower Conference in Orlando, Florida, ULA CEO Tory Bruno said that Centaur could be upgraded to function in a defensive capacity in orbit. If an adversary were to endanger U.S. Space Force assets, the Centaur could operate as a “space interceptor” that could act fast to provide defense. “What I’ve been…

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