SpaceRef Editor, Author at SpaceNews https://spacenews.com Covering the business and politics of space Mon, 15 Jul 2024 09:58:52 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://spacenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/cropped-SN_forza_star-32x32.png SpaceRef Editor, Author at SpaceNews https://spacenews.com 32 32 80681979 Hubble Captures a Galaxy Face-On https://spacenews.com/hubble-captures-a-galaxy-face-on/ Sat, 21 Oct 2023 00:06:03 +0000 https://spaceref.com/?p=211535 NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captures the face-on spiral galaxy, IC 5332. ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Chandar, J

This glittering image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the spiral galaxy IC 5332. The galaxy lies about 30 million light-years away in the constellation Sculptor and has an […]

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]]> 211535 Webb Discovers New Feature in Jupiter’s Atmosphere https://spacenews.com/webb-discovers-new-feature-in-jupiters-atmosphere/ Fri, 20 Oct 2023 13:23:36 +0000 https://spaceref.com/?p=211523 Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, R. Hueso (University of the Basque Country), I. de Pater (University of California, Berkeley), T. Fouchet (Observatory of Paris), L. Fletcher (University of Leicester), M. Wong (University of California, Berkeley), J. DePasquale (STScI)

“This is something that totally surprised us,” said Ricardo Hueso of the University of the Basque Country in Bilbao, Spain, lead author on the paper describing the findings. “What we […]

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]]> 465412 Lucy Spacecraft Preparing for its First Asteroid Flyby https://spacenews.com/lucy-spacecraft-preparing-for-its-first-asteroid-flyby/ Fri, 20 Oct 2023 13:21:26 +0000 https://spaceref.com/?p=211521 Dinkinesh flyby

NASA’s Lucy spacecraft is preparing for its first close-up look at an asteroid. On Nov. 1, it will fly by asteroid Dinkinesh and test its instruments in preparation for visits […]

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]]> 465411 International Team Reveals Source Of Largest Ever Mars Quake https://spacenews.com/international-team-reveals-source-of-largest-ever-mars-quake/ Fri, 20 Oct 2023 13:01:46 +0000 https://spaceref.com/?p=211518 Mars InSight Landing Site View

A global team of scientists have announced the results of an unprecedented collaboration to search for the source of the largest ever seismic event recorded on Mars. The study, led […]

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]]> 465410 NOAA Scientists Link Exotic Metal Particles In The Upper Atmosphere To Rockets, Satellites https://spacenews.com/noaa-scientists-link-exotic-metal-particles-in-the-upper-atmosphere-to-rockets-satellites/ Thu, 19 Oct 2023 14:52:07 +0000 https://spaceref.com/?p=211501 Credit: Chelsea Thompson/NOAA

NOAA scientists investigating the stratosphere have found that in addition to meteoric ‘space dust,’ the atmosphere more than seven miles above the surface is peppered with particles containing a variety […]

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]]> 211501 Virgin Galactic Announces Flight Date for Galactic 05 https://spacenews.com/virgin-galactic-announces-flight-date-for-galactic-05/ Wed, 18 Oct 2023 22:45:24 +0000 https://spaceref.com/?p=211499 Galactic 05

Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SPCE) today announced the ‘Galactic 05’ flight window will open November 2, 2023. This would be the Company’s sixth spaceflight this year and tenth to […]

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]]> 211499 Younger Trees Champion Carbon Capture As Seen By ESA’s Biomass Earth Explorer satellite https://spacenews.com/younger-trees-champion-carbon-capture-as-seen-by-esas-biomass-earth-explorer-satellite/ Wed, 18 Oct 2023 14:48:55 +0000 https://spaceref.com/?p=211467 Carrying a novel P-band synthetic aperture radar, ESA’s Biomass Earth Explorer satellite mission delivers completely new information on forest height and above-ground forest biomass from space. This information will provide new insight into the state of our forests and how they are changing, and further our knowledge of the role forests play in the carbon cycle. -- ESA

Thanks to their ability to absorb and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, forests have long been recognised as a key tool in the fight against climate change – but […]

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]]> 211467 Roman Mission Gears Up For A Torrent Of Future Data https://spacenews.com/roman-mission-gears-up-for-a-torrent-of-future-data/ Tue, 17 Oct 2023 22:00:03 +0000 https://spaceref.com/?p=211473 This series of images shows how astronomers find stellar streams by reversing the light and dark, similar to negative images, but stretched to highlight the faint streams. Color images of each of the nearby galaxies featured are superposed to scale to highlight the easily visible disk. Galaxies are surrounded by enormous halos of hot gas sprinkled with sporadic stars, seen as the shadowy regions that encase each galaxy here. NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is expected to improve on these observations by resolving individual stars to understand each stream’s stellar populations and see stellar streams of various sizes in even more galaxies. Credit: Carlin et al. (2016), based on images from Martínez-Delgado et al. (2008, 2010)

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope team is exploring ways to support community efforts that will prepare for the deluge of data the mission will return. Recently selected infrastructure teams […]

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]]> 211473 Pulsar Emits The Highest-energy Radiation Ever Observed https://spacenews.com/pulsar-emits-the-highest-energy-radiation-ever-observed/ Mon, 16 Oct 2023 21:59:14 +0000 https://spaceref.com/?p=211471 Artist's impression of the Vela pulsar, in the centre, and its magnetosphere, whose edge is marked by the bright circle. The blue tracks travelling outwards represent the paths of accelerated particles. These produce gamma radiation along the arms of a rotating spiral by colliding with infrared photons emitted in the magnetosphere (in red). © Science Communication Lab for DESY

Pulsars, small, very dense dead stars, emit electromagnetic radiation in the form of beams that sweep through space at regular intervals, rather like cosmic lighthouses. Now, recent observations of one […]

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]]> 211471 NASA Hosts Unveiling of Plans for New Silicon Valley Innovation Hub https://spacenews.com/nasa-hosts-unveiling-of-plans-for-new-silicon-valley-innovation-hub/ Mon, 16 Oct 2023 21:56:58 +0000 https://spaceref.com/?p=211469 Aerial view of NASA’s Ames Research Center, NASA Research Park, and Moffett Field in California’s Silicon Valley. NASA

A new campus, called Berkeley Space Center, aims to offer lab, office, and educational spaces along with student and faculty housing, a conference center, and retail space on 36 acres […]

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]]> 211469 Fly Across Mars’ ‘Labyrinth Of Night’ With Mars Express https://spacenews.com/fly-across-mars-labyrinth-of-night-with-mars-express/ Mon, 16 Oct 2023 14:55:13 +0000 https://spaceref.com/?p=211454 Fly Across Mars’s ‘Labyrinth Of Night’

Nestled between the colossal martian ‘Grand Canyon’ (Valles Marineris) and the tallest volcanoes in the Solar System (the Tharsis region) lies Noctis Labyrinthus – a vast system of deep and […]

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]]> 211454 How To Make Roads On The Moon https://spacenews.com/how-to-make-roads-on-the-moon/ Mon, 16 Oct 2023 14:52:15 +0000 https://spaceref.com/?p=211452 ESA's PAVER project investigated the creation of paved surfaces on the Moon

When astronauts return to the lunar surface they are probably going to be doing more driving than walking – but to keep billowing moondust at bay they are going to […]

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]]> 211452 Dozens of Student Teams Worldwide to Compete in NASA Rover Challenge https://spacenews.com/dozens-of-student-teams-worldwide-to-compete-in-nasa-rover-challenge/ Mon, 16 Oct 2023 14:49:40 +0000 https://spaceref.com/?p=211450 Students from Alabama A&M University near Huntsville, Alabama, pilot their vehicle through the obstacle course at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center during NASA’s Human Exploration Rover Challenge event on April 22, 2023.

NASA has selected 72 student teams to begin an engineering design challenge to build human-powered rovers that will compete next April at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, […]

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]]> 211450 Over 40 Percent Of Antarctica’s Ice Shelves Reduced In Volume Over 25 Years https://spacenews.com/over-40-percent-of-antarcticas-ice-shelves-reduced-in-volume-over-25-years/ Thu, 12 Oct 2023 23:28:55 +0000 https://spaceref.com/?p=211434 The graphic shows the water temperatures around the Antarctic. On the western side of Antarctica, water temperature at the sea floor is approaching 2 degrees C - and that is warm enough to melt the ice that is flowing on top of it. Sea temperatures on the eastern flank are colder. Credit: Dr Benjamin Davison/University of Leeds. CREDIT Dr Benjamin Davison, University of Leeds

71 of the 162 ice shelves that surround Antarctica have reduced in volume over 25 years from 1997 to 2021, with a net release of 7.5 trillion tonnes of meltwater […]

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]]> 211434 Space Set To Keep People Safer During Emergencies https://spacenews.com/space-set-to-keep-people-safer-during-emergencies/ Thu, 12 Oct 2023 15:01:34 +0000 https://spaceref.com/?p=211421 Artists impression of a synthetic aperture radar satellite over a wildfire

Governments and international disaster response teams have long relied on satellites to assess the impacts of disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes. Now ESA has partnered with ICEYE, a Finnish […]

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]]> 211421 Webb Captures An Ethereal View of NGC 346 https://spacenews.com/webb-captures-an-ethereal-view-of-ngc-346/ Wed, 11 Oct 2023 23:20:25 +0000 https://spaceref.com/?p=211398 NGC 346

One of the greatest strengths of the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope is its ability to give astronomers detailed views of areas where new stars are being born. The latest […]

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]]> 211398 Measuring Nutrition In Crops From Space https://spacenews.com/measuring-nutrition-in-crops-from-space/ Tue, 10 Oct 2023 23:16:45 +0000 https://spaceref.com/?p=211396 Measuring Nutrition In Crops From Space

With many people around the world suffering from various forms of malnutrition it’s important that the absolute basics such as rice, soya and wheat are as nourishing as possible. ESA-funded […]

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]]> 211396 Finding An Explanation For The Milky Way’s Warp https://spacenews.com/finding-an-explanation-for-the-milky-ways-warp/ Tue, 10 Oct 2023 23:12:16 +0000 https://spaceref.com/?p=211394 The galaxy ESO 510-G13 has a clearly warped shape. Credit: NASA

The Milky Way is often depicted as a flat, spinning disk of dust, gas, and stars. But if you could zoom out and take an edge-on photo, it actually has […]

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]]> 211394 New Model Explains Precious Metals In Earth’s Mantle https://spacenews.com/new-model-explains-precious-metals-in-earths-mantle/ Tue, 10 Oct 2023 23:05:32 +0000 https://spaceref.com/?p=211391 Southwest Research Institute’s Dr. Simone Marchi collaborated on a new study finding the first geophysically plausible scenario to explain the abundance of certain precious metals — including gold and platinum — in the Earth’s mantle. Based on these simulations, scientists found an impact-driven mixing of mantle materials scenarios that could prevent the metals from completely sinking into the Earth’s core.

Southwest Research Institute’s Dr. Simone Marchi collaborated on a new study finding the first geophysically plausible scenario to explain the abundance of certain precious metals — including gold and platinum […]

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]]> 211391 IAC 2023: Connecting @ll Space People at the Most Diverse IAC in History https://spacenews.com/iac-2023-connecting-ll-space-people-at-the-most-diverse-iac-in-history/ Mon, 09 Oct 2023 15:04:42 +0000 https://spaceref.com/?p=211365 IAC 2023

The 74th International Astronautical Congress, organized by the IAF and hosted in the vibrant city of Baku by Azercosmos, the Space Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan was a resounding […]

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]]> 211365 23rd Vega Launch Completed https://spacenews.com/23rd-vega-launch-completed/ Mon, 09 Oct 2023 15:02:36 +0000 https://spaceref.com/?p=211363 23rd Vega Launch

Today at 22:36 local time (02:36 BST, 03:36 CEST) the 23rd Vega flight saw its two main satellites launched and released into Earth orbit. The rocket’s main passengers were the […]

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]]> 211363 ESA Wants Bright Ideas To Develop The Lunar Economy https://spacenews.com/esa-wants-bright-ideas-to-develop-the-lunar-economy/ Mon, 09 Oct 2023 14:59:51 +0000 https://spaceref.com/?p=211361 Future Lunar Commerce

ESA is calling for visionary ideas for how to use a constellation of communication and navigation satellites around the Moon to establish lunar businesses – and unlock opportunities on Earth. […]

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]]> 211361 Hubble Finds A Bizarre Explosion In An Unexpected Place https://spacenews.com/hubble-finds-a-bizarre-explosion-in-an-unexpected-place/ Mon, 09 Oct 2023 14:56:52 +0000 https://spaceref.com/?p=211359 This is an artist’s concept of one of the brightest explosions ever seen in space. Called a Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transient (LFBOT), it shines intensely in blue light and evolves rapidly, reaching peak brightness and fading again in a matter of days, unlike supernovae which take weeks or months to dim.

A very rare, strange burst of extraordinarily bright light in the universe just got even stranger – thanks to the eagle-eye of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The phenomenon, called […]

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]]> 211359 Researchers 3D Print Moon Rover Wheel Prototype With NASA https://spacenews.com/researchers-3d-print-moon-rover-wheel-prototype-with-nasa/ Mon, 09 Oct 2023 14:54:01 +0000 https://spaceref.com/?p=211357 In just a few days, ORNL researchers used powder bed printing to create this lunar rover wheel based on a NASA design. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in collaboration with NASA, are taking additive manufacturing to the final frontier by 3D printing the same kind of wheel […]

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