Asteroid Dirt is “Fluffier” Than We Thought

The strength of gravity is different on every body in the solar system. Whether it’s the crushing weight of Jupiter or the miniscule pull of a small asteroid, this fundamental force of physics still has a major impact on the material those bodies are made up of. A new paper from researchers at the University of Duisburg-Essen and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) showcases just how different it can be by letting planetary simulants freefall inside a giant drop tower and measuring how “fluffy” the space dirt got.

Scientists call for a secure lunar quarantine facility for extraterrestrial samples: ‘The moon may become humanity’s first line of biological defense’

Scientists propose that a moon base could act as an isolated first line of biological defense against extraterrestrial samples that might be harmful to Earth’s biosphere. Continue ReadingScientists call for a secure lunar quarantine facility for extraterrestrial samples: ‘The moon may become humanity’s first line of biological defense’

June 3, 1948: Hale Telescope dedicated

The brainchild of George Ellery Hale, the 200-inch Hale Telescope was dedicated June 3, 1948, at Palomar Observatory in California. In promoting and fundraising for the project, Hale had a firm science agenda for the scope, but also wrote more fancifully of “the lure of the uncharted seas of space”; though he died in 1938,Continue reading “June 3, 1948: Hale Telescope dedicated” The post June 3, 1948: Hale Telescope dedicated appeared first on Astronomy Magazine. Continue ReadingJune 3, 1948: Hale Telescope dedicated

How long will it take to rebuild Blue Origin’s launch pad? We asked some SpaceX vets.

A former NASA engineer named John Muratore sat on console as launch director in early September 2016 as propellant flowed onto a Falcon 9 rocket in Florida. Ahead of a planned launch two days later, SpaceX was preparing for a static fire test of the vehicle. Then, all of a sudden, the rocket exploded. “It came out of nowhere, and it was really violent,” Muratore said. This fireball resulted in the destruction of the rocket, much of its launch site, and the AMOS-6 satellite already attached to the vehicle. Nearly a decade later, on May 28, Blue Origin conducted a Continue ReadingHow long will it take to rebuild Blue Origin’s launch pad? We asked some SpaceX vets.

Violating the 3rd law of black hole mechanics in vacuum gravity

Black holes, regions in space where gravity is so strong that nothing can escape, have been widely studied over the past decades, due to their unique and intriguing properties. Einstein’s theory of general relativity predicts that black holes obey a set of rules, known as the laws of black hole mechanics. These rules somewhat resemble the laws of thermodynamics, which delineate how energy, heat, and entropy behave in our universe.

The Sky Today on Wednesday, June 3: Juno stands still

Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  June 2: Titan stands close to Saturn Asteroid 3 Juno is stationary at 3 P.M. EDT, standing still against the stars of Aquila the Eagle. The large main-belt world is in far eastern Aquila and doesn’t rise until an hour before midnight.Continue reading “The Sky Today on Wednesday, June 3: Juno stands still” The post The Sky Today on Wednesday, June 3: Continue ReadingThe Sky Today on Wednesday, June 3: Juno stands still

Are JWST’s early, overmassive black holes just normal-range outliers?

Ever since the JWST revealed a population of SMBH in the early universe that were overmassive, scientists have been working hard to explain them. These black holes existed when the universe was only about 2 billion years old, during Cosmic Noon, and according to our models of black hole growth, there simply wasn’t enough time for them to grow so massive.

Blue Origin vows to resume New Glenn flights by year’s end

An aerial view of launch complex 36 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station showing the aftermath of the New Glenn explosion last Thursday. The rocket itself virtually disintegrated in the blast leaving its transporter-erector in wreckage on the concrete pad’s surface. The large gantry suffered structural damage near its base while the mangled remains of a lightning tower are visible to the right of the pad surface. A large processing hangar (at left) came Continue ReadingBlue Origin vows to resume New Glenn flights by year’s end

Violent rocket particles could reshape future spacecraft design

When rockets fire into space, the insides of their engines become an extreme environment where temperatures soar and tiny particles are thrown around at hypersonic speeds. These particles behave in ways that break long-held assumptions, according to new research that could help improve the durability, safety and performance of future space and defense technologies.

Small Magellanic Cloud is being pulled apart, reshaping how astronomers read its past

Using more than a decade of observations from the VISTA Survey of the Magellanic Clouds (VMC), researchers measured the motions of millions of stars across the Small Magellanic Cloud with unprecedented precision. The new study, published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, provides direct evidence of a galaxy-wide tidal disruption of the Small Magellanic Cloud from its interaction with the Large Magellanic Cloud.