Space

Is The Red Giant Betelgeuse About To Explode?

Every season has its characteristic star constellations in the night sky. Orion – one of the most recognizable – is distinctly visible on crisp, clear winter nights in the northern hemisphere. The constellation is easy to spot even in light-polluted citie ...

Article - The Conversation - Jan 15 2020 - 6:30am

First Signs IF Betelgeuse Were to Supernova.

A burst of gravitational waves followed closely by neutrinos and then the light.  While light's speed, in vacuum, is constant in all inertial reference frames, it does vary depending on the medium.  The same is not necessarily true of all waves which ...

Blog Post - Hontas Farmer - Jan 15 2020 - 6:12pm

NGC 4490: The Cocoon Galaxy Turns Out To Have A Double Nucleus Structure

NGC 4490, nicknamed the "Cocoon Galaxy" because of its shape, has "a clear double nucleus structure," according to a new paper. It's only realized now because while one nucleus can be seen in optical wavelengths, the other is hidde ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 5 2020 - 3:32pm

Chang'E-4 Probes 120 Feet Into The Dark Side Of The Moon

The Chang'E-4 mission (CE-4) landed on the eastern floor of the Van Kármán crater, near the Moon's south pole, on Jan. 3, 2019. It deployed its Yutu-2 rover, which uses Lunar Penetrating Radar (LPR) to investigate the underground it roams and fou ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 27 2020 - 5:08pm

Why A Ball Thrown To Earth From Orbit "Boomerangs". Can Astronauts Hit Earth With A Ball, Arrow Or Bullet?

Can an astronaut throw a ball to the Earth? The answer is Yes, and No. Depends what you mean by hitting the Earth. First, if you throw a ball towards the Earth- yes it's traveling that way when you throw it. So, it is natural to think that no matter ...

Article - Robert Walker - Feb 28 2020 - 12:36pm

LNT: We Can Now Grow Lettuce In Space, And Even Bathed In High Energy Cosmic Rays, It's Just Fine

A new paper reports again about the successful cultivation of red romaine lettuce, Lactuca sativa cv ‘Outredgeous’ plants from surface-sterilized seeds grown in Vegetable Production Systems growth chambers on the International Space Station during the year ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Mar 7 2020 - 8:00am

WASP-76b, The Planet Where It Rains Iron

640 light-years away in the constellation of Pisces is a planet where the day side temperature exceeds 4,300 degrees Fahrenheit, hot enough enough to vaporize metal. And it does. Then, on planet tidally locked planet WASP-76b, winds carry the vapor to the ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 11 2020 - 7:07pm

NASA's Plan To Reduce Planetary Protection For Mars Risks Accidentally Extinguishing Second Genesis Of Life Before We Find It

Right now all our missions to Mars are sterilized to protect it from any Earth life that could hitch a ride and confuse the searches. A report by the “Planetary Protection Independent Review Board” recommends that NASA treats most of Mars similarly to the ...

Article - Robert Walker - Mar 19 2020 - 7:19pm

Urea In Astronaut Pee Could Be Used To Build Moon Bases

I'm not all that excited about manned missions in space because it is a struggle for NASA to even build a space telescope without going 13 years over budget, but it's worth doing basic research on how an outpost on Luna might be built. It will re ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Mar 30 2020 - 2:30pm

Projects To Get To Space As Easily As We Cross Oceans- A Million Flights A Year Perhaps- Will We Be Ready?

Elon Musk's ideas are in the news right now, rockets with first stages that fly back to a soft landing under auto pilot. But you might be surprised to learn how many other ideas there are under active development, for low cost ways to get into orbit. ...

Article - Robert Walker - May 18 2020 - 1:13pm