[embedded content] By Brittany EnosUniversity of Arizona Captured on Oct. 20, 2020 during the OSIRIS-REx mission’s Touch-And-Go (TAG) sample collection event, this series of images shows the SamCam imager’s field of view as the NASA spacecraft approaches and touches down on asteroid Bennu’s surface, over 200 million miles (321 million km) away from Earth. The sampling event […]
A dying star’s magnetic racing stripes
I have an enduring affection for planetary nebulae, despite their rather gloomy origin: They are clouds of gas blown out when stars like the Sun die. The details are a bit complicated — aren’t they always — but when a star runs out of fuel in its core, the core contracts and heats up. The outer layers […]
When to Watch NASA's OSIRIS-REX Mission to Bennu Asteroid
On Tuesday, a NASA spacecraft, OSIRIS-REX, will attempt to briefly touch an asteroid, Bennu, and suck up some rocks and dirt. If it succeeds, it will bring those materials back to Earth for closer study, potentially unlocking secrets to what the solar system was like when it first formed 4.5 billion years ago. “The asteroids […]
What’s Happening with Betelgeuse? Astronomers Propose a Specialized Telescope to Watch the Star Every Night
Starting in late 2019, Betelgeuse began drawing a lot of attention after it mysteriously started dimming, only to brighten again a few months later. For a variable star like Betelgeuse, periodic dimming and brightening are normal, but the extent of its fluctuation led to all sorts of theories as to what might be causing it. […]
Astronomers see the Milky Way eating one of its own
The globular cluster M92 is a gorgeous example of its kind. A roughly spherical ball of hundreds of thousands of stars held together by their mutual gravity, it’s one of about 160 such that orbit the Milky Way. Well, for now. It turns out our galaxy is eating it. More Bad Astronomy Astronomers have discovered […]
Rogue Rocky Planet Found Adrift in the Milky Way
Not all planets orbit stars. Some are instead “free-floating” rogues adrift in interstellar space after being ejected from their home systems. For decades astronomers have sought to study such elusive outcasts, hoping to find patterns in their size and number that could reveal otherwise hidden details of how planetary systems emerge and evolve. Of the […]
Operating a Rover in Real-time From a Distance
There are instances other than pandemics when it is necessary to work remotely. Spacecraft operators are forced to do most of their work remotely while their charges travel throughout the solar system. Sometimes those travels take place a little closer to home. Engineers at DLR, Germany’s space agency, recently got to take the concept of […]
Game Theory Focuses the Hunt for Alien Civilizations Onto Just One Star
The question of whether to send messages to the stars is fraught with difficulty. The big fear is attracting a more advanced civilization with nefarious intent. Why take the risk? Indeed, various commentators have pointed out that this fear might explain the famous Fermi Paradox which asks why we haven’t heard from other civilizations. The […]
Pluto’s snowcapped mountains are unlike any on Earth
<!– googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display(‘post_link_unit’); }); –> Comparison of snowcapped mountains in Cthulhu Macula on Pluto (left) with the Alps on Earth (right). Image via NASA/ Johns Hopkins APL/ SWRI/ Thomas Pesquet/ ESA/ EurekAlert!. With their tall peaks reaching into the sky and and their snow glistening in the sun, snowcapped mountains on Earth are beautiful. […]
Landing Coverage Set for NASA Astronaut Chris Cassidy, Space Station Crew
NASA: Space Shuttle and International Space Station News: