Gather one and all for the current Carnival of Space! We’re here to inspire and enlighten you. Your ticket is right here…
Musk Gives an Update on When a Mars Colony Could be Built
Matt Williams | Universe Today
Elon Musk is well-known for his ability to create a media sensation. Scarcely a week goes by that the founder of SpaceX and Tesla doesn’t have an announcement or update to make – often via his social media outlet of choice, twitter. And as a major figure in the NewSpace industry, anything he says is guaranteed to elicit reactions (both critical and hopeful) from the space community and general public.
Just last week (on Monday, Sept. 17th), he revealed new information about the Big Falcon Rocket (BFR) and who its first passenger would be when it conducts its first lunar mission (which is planned for 2023). And on Friday (Sept. 21st), Musk shared some updated plans on when a SpaceX Martian colony could be established. According to the tweet he posted, his company could build a base on…
Matter is Going Into this Black Hole at 30% the Speed of Light
Evan Gough | Universe Today
A team of researchers in the UK have observed matter falling into a black hole at 30% the speed of light. This is much faster than anything previously observed. The high velocity is a result of misaligned discs of material rotating around the black hole.
The galaxy in the study is named PG211+143 and it’s about a billion light years away from our Solar System. It’s a Seyfert galaxy, which means it is very bright and has a supermassive black hole (SMBH) in its center. Matter falling into the hole from accretion discs causes its…
Astronomers are Tracking the Interstellar Asteroid ‘Oumuamua to its Home System
Matt Williams | Universe Today
On October 19th, 2017, the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System-1 (Pan-STARRS-1) in Hawaii announced the first-ever detection of an interstellar asteroid – I/2017 U1 (aka. ‘Oumuamua). Since that time, multiple studies have been conducted to determine the asteroid’s origin, what it encountered in interstellar space, its true nature (is it a comet or an asteroid?), and whether or not it is an alien spacecraft (it’s not).
In all this time, the question of ‘Oumuamua’s origin has remained unanswered. Beyond theorizing that it came from the direction of the Lyra Constellation, possibly from the Vega system, there have been no definitive answers. Luckily, an international team led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) have…
The Milky Way is Still Rippling from a Galactic Collision Millions of Years Ago
Evan Gough | Universe Today
Between 300 million and 900 million years ago, our Milky Way galaxy nearly collided with the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy. Data from the ESA’s Gaia mission shows the ongoing effect of this event, with stars moving like ripples on the surface of a pond. The galactic collision is part of an ongoing cannibalization of the dwarf galaxy by the much-larger Milky Way.
Gaia’s main science objective is to survey one billion stars in our galactic neighborhood. It’s creating a precision 3D map of the Milky Way, and answering questions about the origin and evolution of our galaxy. The ESA launched Gaia in…
Astronauts Could Use the ScanMars Device to Search for Water on Mars
Evan Gough | Universe Today
There’s solid evidence for the existence of water on Mars, at least in frozen form at the planet’s poles. And a more recent study confirms the existence of liquid water at the south pole. But visitors to Mars will need to know the exact location of usable water deposits at other Martian locations. A ground-penetrating radar called ScanMars may be up to the task.
Italian scientists at the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) Planetologia Spaziali and the University of Perugia are developing the device. In February 2018 they tested ScanMars at the Dhofar region in Oman. The test was part of the AMADEE-18 Mission led by the Austrian Space Forum. Alessandro Frigeri of INAF presented the results of that test at the European Planetary Science Congress (EPSC) in Berlin. The abstract of that presentation is…
Here are the First Pictures From the Parker Solar Probe. Wait… That’s Not the Sun
Matt Williams | Universe Today
On August 12th, 2018, NASA launched the first spacecraft that will ever “touch” the face of the Sun. This was none other than the Parker Solar Probe, a mission that will revolutionize our understanding of the Sun, solar wind, and “space weather” events like solar flares. Whereas previous missions have observed the Sun, the Parker Solar Probe will provide the closest observations in history by entering the Sun’s atmosphere (aka. the corona).
And now, just over a month into the its mission, the Parker Solar Probe has captured and returned its first-light data. This data, which consisted of images of the Milky Way and Jupiter, was collected by the probe’s four instrument suites. While the images were not aimed at the Sun, the probe’s primary focus of study, they successfully demonstrated that…
Here are the First Pictures From the Parker Solar Probe. Wait… That’s Not the Sun
Allen Versfeld | Urban Astronomer
Welcome to this special Equinox edition of the Urban Astronomer Podcast! This episode I share the microphone with Clem Unger for the first of a quarterly series. Clem has been on the show before, and he’ll be back every equinox and every solstice.
In this episode
We start with a look at…
Japan Lands on an Asteroid
Mark R. Whittington |The Hill
The Japanese have achieved a space first: exploring an asteroid up close.
The Japanese Space Agency probe, the Hayabusa 2, arrived in the vicinity of an Earth-approaching asteroid called 162173 Ryugu in June. The mission achieved a greater milestone on Sept. 21 when it deployed two “rovers” on the surface of the asteroid that are currently hopping about, taking images and temperature readings.
By not only remotely examining an asteroid but, at the same time, exploring its surface, the Japanese have set a new precedent for asteroid exploration. The two rovers have already…
HOW SEN. BILL NELSON LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THIS NASA ADMINISTRATOR
Mark whittington | The Daily Caller
The Senate Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness recently held a hearing entitled, “Global Space Race: Ensuring the United States Remains the Leader in Space.” As is his privilege as the ranking member of the full Senate Commerce Committee, Florida Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, attended the hearing.
Nelson was seen schmoozing with NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, the sole witness, before the hearing and participated for just a few minutes during the proceedings before departing for some other appointment.
Nelson also left an opening statement that had some very interesting things to say about…
Some really important discoveries this time. Watch for Carnival of Space #582 next week over on Photon Fishing!
