Latest News

-
Construction of Roman Continues With the Addition of its Sunshade
NASA continues to progress with the development of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (RST), the next-generation observatory with a target launch date of 2027. As the direct successor to the venerable Hubble Space Telescope, Roman will build on the successes of Hubble and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Named after NASA’s first chief …
Continue reading "Construction of Roman Continues With the Addition of its Sunshade"
The post Construction of Roman Continues With the Addition of its Sunshade appeared first on Universe Today.
-
A Flaming Flower in the Large Magellanic Cloud
Our neighbour, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), is rich in gas and dust and hosts regions of extremely robust star formation. It contains about 700 open clusters, groups of gravitationally bound stars that all formed from the same giant molecular cloud. The clusters can contain thousands of stars, all emitting vibrant energy that lights up …
Continue reading "A Flaming Flower in the Large Magellanic Cloud"
The post A Flaming Flower in the Large Magellanic Cloud appeared first on Universe Today.
-
A Bola Robot Could Provide Stable Jumping Capability on Low-Gravity Bodies
New research on locomotion techniques that could be used in space exploration is constantly coming out. A lab from UCLA known as the Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa) is presenting a paper at the upcoming IEEE Aerospace Conference in March that details a unique system. The Space and Planetary Limbed Intelligent Tether Technology Exploration Robot …
Continue reading "A Bola Robot Could Provide Stable Jumping Capability on Low-Gravity Bodies"
The post A Bola Robot Could Provide Stable Jumping Capability on Low-Gravity Bodies appeared first on Universe Today.
-
White Dwarfs Could Be More Habitable Than We Thought
White dwarfs are the remnants of once brilliant main sequence stars like our Sun. They’re extremely dense and no longer perform any fusion. The light they radiate is from remnant heat only. Astronomers have doubted that white dwarfs could host habitable planets, partly because of the tumultuous path they follow to become white dwarfs, but …
Continue reading "White Dwarfs Could Be More Habitable Than We Thought"
The post White Dwarfs Could Be More Habitable Than We Thought appeared first on Universe Today.
-
Dramatically Decreasing the Time it Takes to Measure Asteroid Distances
We all know that asteroids are out there, that some of them come dangerously close to Earth, and that they’ve struck Earth before with catastrophic consequences. The recent discovery of asteroid 2024 YR4 reminds us of the persistent threat that asteroids present. There’s an organized effort to find dangerous space rocks and determine how far …
Continue reading "Dramatically Decreasing the Time it Takes to Measure Asteroid Distances"
The post Dramatically Decreasing the Time it Takes to Measure Asteroid Distances appeared first on Universe Today.
-
Should Astronauts Add Jumping to their Workout Routine?
It’s a familiar sight to see astronauts on board ISS on exercise equipment to minimise muscle and bone loss from weightlessness. A new study suggests that jumping workouts could help astronauts prevent cartilage damage during long missions to the Moon and Mars. They found that the knee cartilage in mice seems to grow stronger after …
Continue reading "Should Astronauts Add Jumping to their Workout Routine?"
The post Should Astronauts Add Jumping to their Workout Routine? appeared first on Universe Today.
-
Do We Live in a Special Part of the Universe? Here’s How to Find Out
One of the basic principles of cosmology is the Cosmological Principle. It states that, no matter where you go in the Universe, it will always be broadly the same. Given that we have only explored our own Solar System there is currently no empirical way to measure this. A new study proposes that we can …
Continue reading "Do We Live in a Special Part of the Universe? Here’s How to Find Out"
The post Do We Live in a Special Part of the Universe? Here’s How to Find Out appeared first on Universe Today.
-
A Hyper Velocity Star Found with an Exoplanet Hanging on for Dear Life
Hypervelocity stars have been seen before but NASA scientists have just identified a potential record-breaking exoplanet system. They found a hypervelocity star that has a super-Neptune exoplanet in orbit around it. This discovery could reshape our understanding of planetary and orbital mechanics. Understanding more about these fascinating high velocity stars challenges current models of stellar …
Continue reading "A Hyper Velocity Star Found with an Exoplanet Hanging on for Dear Life"
The post A Hyper Velocity Star Found with an Exoplanet Hanging on for Dear Life appeared first on Universe Today.
-
Efforts to Detect Alien Life Advanced by Simple Microbe Mobility Test
Finding alien life may have just got easier! If life does exist on other worlds in our Solar System then it’s likely to be tiny, primative bacteria. It’s not so easy to send microscopes to other worlds but chemistry may have just come to the rescue. Scientists have developed a test that detects microbial movement …
Continue reading "Efforts to Detect Alien Life Advanced by Simple Microbe Mobility Test"
The post Efforts to Detect Alien Life Advanced by Simple Microbe Mobility Test appeared first on Universe Today.
-
Curiosity’s Other Important Job: Studying Martian Clouds
MSL Curiosity is primarily a rockhound. It’s at Gale Crater, examining the rocks there and on Mt. Sharp, which sits in the middle of the crater and rises 5.5 km above the crater floor. But Curiosity is also a skywatcher, and its primary camera, Mastcam, was built with Martian clouds in mind. When the sun …
Continue reading "Curiosity’s Other Important Job: Studying Martian Clouds"
The post Curiosity’s Other Important Job: Studying Martian Clouds appeared first on Universe Today.