Latest Space Stories
ASTRON An international team of scientists led by astronomer Adam Deller (ASTRON) have used the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) to set a new distance accuracy record, pegging a pulsar called PSR J2222-0137 at 871.4 light-years from Earth. They did this by observing the object over a two-year period to detect its parallax, the slight shift in apparent position against background objects when viewed from opposite ends of Earth's orbit around the Sun. With an uncertainty less than four...
WASHINGTON, June 13, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have found compelling evidence of a planet forming 7.5 billion miles away from its star, a finding that may challenge current theories about planet formation. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) Of the almost 900 planets outside our solar system that have been confirmed to date, this is the first to be found at such a great distance from its star. The...
Award honors organizations dedicated to employee education and engagement NEW YORK, June 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Dimension Data, the $5.8 billion global ICT solutions and services provider, today announced that it has won the 2013 Helios Apollo Award for its dedication to employee development and engagement programs. The award is given every year to organizations in the greater Washington, D.C. area that demonstrate innovative employee leadership and development programs. Dimension...
April Flowers for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Astronomers have discovered an unprecedented number of black holes in the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), one of the Milky Way’s nearest cosmic neighbors, using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. By analyzing more than 150 Chandra observations taken over 13 years, the research team has identified 26 black hole candidates. This is the largest number discovered to date in a galaxy outside our own. Many scientists consider...
John P. Millis, Ph.D. for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online A major field of study in astronomy seeks to understand how galaxies form and evolve. One advantage that we possess is that as we study the light from the most distant galaxies, we are effectively looking back in time, seeing the oldest galaxies in the Universe when they were still young. But there is a problem: the farther away the galaxies are, the more difficult they are to study. This is the issue faced by astronomers...
WASHINGTON, June 12, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have discovered an unprecedented bonanza of black holes in the Andromeda Galaxy, one of the nearest galaxies to the Milky Way. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) Using more than 150 Chandra observations, spread over 13 years, researchers identified 26 black hole candidates, the largest number to date, in a galaxy outside our own. Many consider...
Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Researchers writing in the Astrophysical Journal say they have discovered one very light and sunny super-Earth. Dubbed GJ3470b, the team says the planet is about 14 times the mass of our own planet but is the second lightest of the existing exoplanets that have already been surveyed. Their data revealed that this planet is most likely not covered by thick clouds but is a place where sunscreen would be a necessity. GJ3470b orbits its...
Rebekah Eliason for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online A Martian meteorite discovered in Antarctica was found to contain some of the early building blocks of life. The Antarctic Search for Meteorites (ANSMET) team discovered that this meteorite was clearly of Martian origin during its 2009-2010 field season. Contamination from the earth was ruled out and the meteorite was sent to the University of Hawaii at Manoa NASA Astrobiology Institute (UHNAI) for further study. The findings from...
Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research The balloon-borne solar observatory Sunrise has lifted off - and will now begin its unique journey to the active Sun. The balloon-borne solar observatory Sunrise has lifted off successfully from Esrange Space Center in the north of Sweden. Today at 7.37 a.m. CEST the launching vehicle released the gondola and the huge balloon lifted Sunrise into the sky. Ever since the last ground-based tests had been completed during the past week, the...
April Flowers for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online A new study from the space scientists at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) reports that data collected by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) reveals that lighter materials like plastics provide effective shielding against the radiation hazards faced by astronauts during extended space travel. The findings, published in the journal Space Weather, could help reduce human health risks...
Latest Space Reference Libraries
The prominent feature that allows for the existence of life on Earth is the Sun. Radiation from our closest star provides heat and energy to our planet, driving biological processes and providing the necessary conditions for liquid water to naturally exist. But our Sun is only but one star in this vast Universe. And as it turns out, most stars are quite different than the one that illuminates our day. For this reason, scientists have, for hundreds of years, attempted to study the other...
Image Caption: Artistic concept of a planetary system. Credit: Wikipedia/NASA/JPL-Caltech The term Astronomy encompasses a broad range of topics, including the study of stars, galaxies, and planets. In order to focus on the different areas of study, many subfields of astronomy emerge. One such area is the study of planets known, appropriately, as Planetary Astronomy. Observational Planetary Astronomy Even within the field of Planetary Astronomy, there are several divisions to...
Ad Astra is a quarterly-published journal of the National Space Society (NSS). The name “ad astra” means “to the stars.” The journal was established following the merger of the L5 Society and the National Space Institute, which formed the NSS in 1987. The NSS is a non-profit aerospace advocacy and educational institution based in Washington DC. On November 28, 2007, the NSS announced MM Publishing Inc. as the newest publisher of Ad Astra. MM Publishing officially took on the role...
Columbia launched from Kennedy Space Center on October 22, 1992 at 1:09 PM EDT and landed at Kennedy on November 1 at 9:05 AM EST. The shuttle orbited 159 times at an altitude of 163 nautical miles at an inclination of 28.45 degrees and travelled 4.1 million miles. The mission lasted 9 days, 20 hours, 56 minutes, and 13 seconds. The mission launched several satellites for international partners. The primary mission objectives were the deployment of the Laser Geodynamic Satellite II...
Columbia launched from Kennedy Space Center on June 25,1992 at 12:23 PM EDT and landed at Kennedy on July 9 at 7:42 AM EDT. The shuttle orbited 221 times at an altitude of 160 nautical miles at an inclination of 28.45 degrees and travelled 5.8 million miles. The mission lasted 13 days, 19 hours, 30 minutes, and 4 seconds. This was the longest mission to date, close to 14 days. The mission's primary purpose was to study the effects of microgravity on humans. The primary payload was the...
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