Category: The Moon

Our moon

Sun erupts with powerful X2.3 solar flare, triggers radio blackouts (video)

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The sun erupted with an X2.3-class solar flare this morning, triggering radio blackouts  The X-class solar flare was released from a sunspot region AR 3883 at 8:40 a.m. ET (1340 UTC) on Wednesday morning (Nov. 6). Sunspots are darker, cooler locations on the sun that measure the size of planets and denote where the sun’s strong magnetic field roils up to its surface. It was the sunspot region’s strongest flare yet. According to Spaceweather.com, the wait is on for scientists to receive data from the coronagraph on the joint NASA/European Space…

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Supernova hides in new Hubble Telescope galaxy ‘light show’ image (photo)

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A celestial light show illuminates a distant spiral galaxy, where a hidden supernova briefly outshines its stellar neighbors in a new image from the Hubble Space Telescope. The galaxy, called NGC 1672, is a barred spiral galaxy located 49 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Dorado. Billions of stars fueled by hydrogen gas in the swirling arms glow brightly across the galaxy, with newly formed and extremely hot stars emitting powerful radiation that creates a vibrant red light, according to a statement from the European Space Agency (ESA). (Hubble…

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NASA’s Chandra X-ray telescope sees ‘knots’ blasting from nearby black hole jets

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Astronomers have scoured decades-old data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, finding bright, lumpy features dotting a jet of energy spit out by a nearby black hole. Puzzlingly, the “knots” clock a faster speed when seen in X-rays than they do in radio wavelengths. scientists said. “The X-ray data traces a unique picture that you can’t see in any other wavelength,” study lead author David Bogensberger, an astrophysicist at the University of Michigan, who led the new study, said in a recent news release. “We’ve shown a new approach to studying…

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World’s 1st wooden satellite arrives at ISS for key orbital test

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This new spaceflight tech has a very retro feel. The world’s first wooden satellite, a tiny Japanese spacecraft called LignoSat, arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) today (Nov. 5) aboard a SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule. LignoSat measures just 4 inches (10 centimeters) on each side, but it could end up having a big impact on spaceflight and exploration down the road. “While some of you might think that wood in space seems a little counterintuitive, researchers hope this investigation demonstrates that a wooden satellite can be more sustainable and…

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Save $300 on the HTC VIVE Pro 2 VR headset, the best high-resolution option

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Save $300 on the HTC VIVE Pro 2 VR headset when you get it from Walmart. We rate it as the best high-resolution VR headset on the market in our best VR headsets guide and you can save big before Black Friday by grabbing it now. The HTC VIVE Pro 2 VR headset is now $300 off at Walmart ahead of Black Friday. This deal is also available on Vive’s website. In our review of the HTC VIVE Pro 2, we found a lot to like, especially now it’s heavily…

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Asteroid-mining company AstroForge gets 1st-ever FCC license for commercial deep-space mission

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Asteroid prospecting company AstroForge has been awarded the first-ever commercial license for operating and communicating with a spacecraft in deep space, ahead of its Odin mission that’s set to launch and rendezvous with a near-Earth asteroid in early 2025. The license, granted by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Oct. 18, pertains specifically to setting up a communication network with radio ground stations on Earth, to enable commands to be sent up to Odin and data to be transmitted back to Earth. In this case, deep space is defined…

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Watch 31st SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule arrive at the ISS today

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The space station will receive a new shipment of supplies this morning (Nov. 5), and you can watch the event live. A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft laden with 6,000 pounds (2,700 kilograms) of food, equipment and experiments will dock with the International Space Station (ISS) today around 10:15 a.m. EST (1415 GMT), if all goes according to plan. Coverage will run live on NASA+ and, if possible, Space.com will simulcast the events here. NASA’s broadcast will begin at 8:45 a.m. EST (1245 GMT). SpaceX launched the robotic Dragon aboard a…

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Astronomers urge FCC to halt satellite megaconstellation launches

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Over 100 astronomers from leading U.S. universities have signed an open letter calling for an assessment of potential impacts of satellite megaconstellations on Earth’s environment. The researchers urge the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which approves satellite deployments in the U.S., to halt megaconstellation launches and conduct a thorough assessment of their possible environmental impacts before awarding further licenses. U.S. government agencies are bound by the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA), which requires them to consider the environmental impacts of their decisions. A 1986 categorical exclusion, however, means that satellites…

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Watch Rocket Lab launch mystery mission early on Nov. 5

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Rocket Lab plans to launch a hush-hush mission early Tuesday morning (Nov. 5), and you can watch the action live. The mission, for a “confidential commercial customer,” is set to lift off atop an Electron vehicle from Rocket Lab‘s New Zealand site on Tuesday at 5:30 a.m. EST (0930 GMT). Rocket Lab will webcast the launch live, beginning 30 minutes before liftoff. Space.com will carry the feed if Rocket Lab makes it available. Tuesday’s mission, which Rocket Lab calls “‘Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes,” will send one commercial satellite…

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Japan launches military communications satellite on 4th flight of H3 rocket

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Japan’s new H3 rocket flew for the fourth time ever on Monday morning (Nov. 4). The H3 launched Kirameki 3, a military communications satellite also known as DSN-3, from Tanegashima Space Center on Monday at 1:48 a.m. EST (0548 GMT; 3:48 p.m. local Japan time). The flight was apparently a success: Kirameki 3 deployed at about 29 minutes after liftoff as planned, eliciting cheers and handshakes in mission control, as seen in the launch webcast by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The two-stage H3 is Japan’s new workhorse medium-lift…

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