https://skyandtelescope.com

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Comet ATLAS Caught in the Act of Disintegration -

Nucleus falls to pieces, but the comet continues on!

The post Comet ATLAS Caught in the Act of Disintegration appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

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Supernovae May Have Shaped the Early Universe, Webb Finds -

Astronomers have discovered one of the earliest supernovae yet and found that exploding stars may have contributed to the enrichment of the young universe.

The post Supernovae May Have Shaped the Early Universe, Webb Finds appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

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This Week's Sky at a Glance, January 17 – 26 -

Brilliant Mars, just past opposition, outshines its neighbors Pollux and Castor in the east. Venus and Saturn pull apart in the southwest. Orion dominates the high southeast after dinnertime, with searing white Sirius sparkling below it.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, January 17 – 26 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

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Mysterious “Little Red Dots” Give Clues to Early Black Holes’ Formation -

A new look at small red galaxies known as “little red dots” reveals that they’re surprisingly abundant in the early universe.

The post Mysterious “Little Red Dots” Give Clues to Early Black Holes’ Formation appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

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Celebrate Hubble’s 35th Year with This Observing Challenge -

Join NASA and the Astronomical League in a fun new observing challenge that celebrates Hubble's 35th anniversary.

The post Celebrate Hubble’s 35th Year with This Observing Challenge appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

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Webb Telescope Watches Rippling Dust Shells -

After more than a year in production, a new cosmic film, starring the massive star Wolf-Rayet 140, is out.

The post Webb Telescope Watches Rippling Dust Shells appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

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Grab Your Binoculars for Comet ATLAS's Brief Sunset Show -

Northern Hemisphere skywatchers can now spot this horizon-skirting comet. It's a beauty.

The post Grab Your Binoculars for Comet ATLAS's Brief Sunset Show appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

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Blue Ghost Lunar Lander Heads to the Moon -

The first two lunar missions of 2025 — Firefly's Blue Ghost and iSpace's second Hakuto R mission — are now headed to the Moon.

The post Blue Ghost Lunar Lander Heads to the Moon appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

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Galaxy-mapping Gaia Satellite Ends Science Operations -

After more than a decade in space, the European Gaia spacecraft will end its observations this week. Astronomers are still busy preparing final data blasts.

The post Galaxy-mapping Gaia Satellite Ends Science Operations appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

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Industrial Project Threatens Dark Chilean Skies -

An industrial megaproject in Chile is threatening the pristine darkness over Paranal, one of the world’s most important observatories.

The post Industrial Project Threatens Dark Chilean Skies appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

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https://spaceflightnow.com

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SpaceX launches 21 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center - The mission is the first that will populate the 13th group of Starlink satellites in SpaceX’s megaconstellation. Liftoff from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center happened at 12:24 a.m. EST (0524 UTC).

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Live coverage: SpaceX to launch 27 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 flight from California - The mission will feature the most Starlink V2 Mini satellites launched on one mission. Liftoff from pad 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base is set for Tuesday, Jan. 21, at 7:24 a.m. PST (10:24 p.m. EST, 1524 UTC).

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SpaceX successfully catches Super Heavy booster, loses Starship upper stage during Flight 7 - SpaceX founder Elon Musk said that their initial assessment is that there was "an oxygen/fuel leak in the cavity above the ship engine firewall that was large enough to build pressure in excess of the vent capacity." The company is pursuing a launch in February, assuming the Federal Aviation Administration accepts their mishap investigation report.

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Launch preview: SpaceX to launch its Starship rocket on a 7th suborbital test flight from Starbase - The mission will launch the first big block upgrade to the rocket since its first flight in 2023. Liftoff from SpaceX’s Starbase facilities in southern Texas is set for 4 p.m. CST (5 p.m. EST, 2200 UTC).

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History made: Blue Origin becomes first new space company to reach orbit on its first launch - Blue Origin was unsuccessful in recovering its first stage booster, but was able to achieve its primary goal of reaching orbit. Liftoff from pad 36 occurred at 2:03 a.m. EST (0703 UTC).

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American, Japanese robotic landers share rocket launch to the Moon - Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander will deploy first and is designated as the primary payload and ispace’s Resilience lander will follow about 30 minutes after. Liftoff from pad 39A happened at 1:11 a.m. EST (0611 UTC).

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SpaceX launches 131 spacecraft on Transporter-12 Falcon 9 rideshare mission from California - The mission features orbital transfer vehicles that are carrying 30 of the payloads with 14 being deployed after the initial mission launch. Liftoff from pad 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base happened at 10:49 a.m. PST (1:49 p.m. EST, 1849 UTC).

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SpaceX launches 21 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral - The mission comes as SpaceX is preparing for a week that includes a rideshare flight; a dual-manifest, Moon bound missions; and Starship Flight 7. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is set for 11:47 a.m. EST (1647 UTC).

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Blue Origin scrubs first New Glenn launch attempt due to “vehicle subsystem issue” - Blue Origin stood down from launch after multiple adjustments to the launch time. It ultimately determined that a technical issue was insurmountable in the time remaining on Monday.

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SpaceX launches, lands first stage booster for record-setting 25th time during Starlink flight - The launch includes 13 Starlink V2 Mini satellites that have Direct to Cell capabilities. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 2:11 p.m. EST (1911 UTC).

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https://www.space.com

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SpaceX launches 21 Starlink satellites to orbit on 1st flight since Starship explosion - SpaceX launched 21 of its Starlink internet satellites early Jan. 21, five days after a test flight of the company's Starship megarocket ended in an explosion.

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Hubble Telescope spies newborn stars in famous Orion Nebula (photo) - A recent photo from the Hubble Space Telescope captures two protostars called HOPS 150 and HOPS 153, which are located in the stellar nursery of the Orion Nebula.

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'We will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars.' President Trump wants astronauts to raise the American flag on Mars - "Americans are explorers, builders, innovators, entrepreneurs and pioneers. The spirit of the frontier is written into our hearts," Trump says.

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DC's new 'Superman Unlimited' comic lands prior to James Gunn's 'Superman' movie - A preview of DC Comics' new ongoing series coming in May, "Superman Unlimited"

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Scientists call on UN to help solve Earth's space junk problem - An international group of researchers is calling on the United Nations to include the protection of Earth's orbit in the U.N.'s sustainable development goals.

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Monocular vs binocular: Which is best for stargazing - From magnification to light-gathering, here’s how to make the decision between buying binoculars or a monocular for stargazing and astronomy.

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'Heavy' dark matter would rip our understanding of the universe apart, new research suggests - Dark matter can't be too heavy or it might break our best model of the universe, new research suggests.

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3D structure of iconic Ring Nebula gives 'a brand new view of an old astronomical friend' - We are staring "right down the barrel of it, which is really quite surprising to me — we're just lucky."

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How President Trump could change NASA - The new Trump administration could upend NASA's priorities, reshaping the Artemis moon program, climate science funding and the role of commercial space players.

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'Silo' Season 2's explosive finale teases season 3 with a cliffhanger and a Pez dispenser - A recap of "Silo" Season 2's finale, "Into the Fire," and all its reveals and secrets exposed

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'Predator: Hunting Grounds' is the perfect template for another modern-day Predator movie - It took a few updates, but Predator: Hunting Grounds has become a notable asymmetrical multiplayer game with a refreshing and cohesive take on the sci-fi universe.

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Gravitational waves offer a 'cosmic DNA test' for black holes - The size and spin of black holes can reveal how and where they were born, and gravitational waves offer a way to decode this information like a cosmic DNA test.

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Scientists discover 'sunken worlds' hidden deep within Earth's mantle that shouldn't be there - A new way of measuring structures deep inside Earth has highlighted numerous previously unknown blobs within our planet's mantle. These anomalies are surprisingly similar to sunken chunks of Earth's crust but appear in seemingly impossible places.

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How 'quantum foam' may have inflated the early universe - For decades, scientists assumed that the expansion of the universe was powered by a new entity, known as the inflaton, but new research suggests that it may have been possible without it.

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World's largest telescope gets its protective shell (photos) - The mighty telescope is expected to see its "first light" by 2028.

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20 years after crashing in the Utah desert, NASA's Genesis mission is still teaching us about solar wind - Despite crashing in the Utah desert in 2004, NASA's Genesis mission is still helping scientists study the effects of solar wind.

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This Week In Space podcast: Episode 144 —The great lunar armada - On Episode 144 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik take a look a pair of private moon missions by Firefly Aerospace and ispace that lifted off this week and so much more.

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Nikon 5x15 HG monocular review - The Nikon 5x15 HG monocular is tiny, but it promises the same high-quality build and lens of Nikon's other optical devices.

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Satellites watch 'ghost island' solidify in the Caspian Sea before disappearing (photos) - The Kumani Bank mud volcano in the Caspian Sea created an island in early 2023 that had almost disappeared by the end of 2024, according to Landsate satellite imagery.

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World's largest telescope threatened by light pollution from renewable energy project - Astronomers are sounding alarm bells as the world's most precious sky-observing location faces a light pollution risk due to a new renewable energy project.

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SpaceX launching 27 Starlink satellites from California on Jan. 21 - SpaceX is set to launch 27 more of its Starlink internet satellites from California's central coast on Tuesday (Jan. 21).

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Step inside a virtual reality art piece inspired by the James Webb Space Telescope - Ashley Zelinskie's VR artwork Twin Quasar was inspired by the iconic deep-space image from the James Webb Space Telescope that introduced a new audience to gravitational lensing.

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NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab to open next week after LA fires - NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California has come through the L.A. fires in one piece. It will open next week to employees who need to work on site.

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Space Force to march in Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration, a 1st for the new military branch - On Jan. 20, the U.S. Space Force will participate in the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, a first for the nation's newest military branch.

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Major telescope makers hit by class action lawsuit over alleged price fixing - Amateur astronomers who have purchased telescopes from leading suppliers in the U.S. may be entitled to a payment from a class action settlement.

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FAA requiring investigation into SpaceX Starship's Flight 7 explosion - The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is requiring an investigation into the explosion of SpaceX's Starship upper stage during the vehicle's seventh test flight on Jan. 16.

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Fastest disintegrating world ever seen 'spills its guts' for NASA's exoplanet hunter - NASA's TESS exoplanet hunter has found the fastest-disintegrating planet ever. Losing a moons-worth of matter every million years, it is a prime target for the James Webb Space Telescope.

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Save 20% on the Lego Space Astronaut, one of our favorite space sets of 2024 - Bag an $11 saving on Lego Creator 3-in-1 Space Astronaut, which can also be turned into a dog or a space shuttle.

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Europe's new Ariane 6 heavy-lift rocket set for 2nd launch in February - Europe is moving towards the second launch of its new Ariane 6 launcher after finding and addressing anomalies following its debut flight.

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25 biggest space conspiracy theories: Debunked - Here we debunk some of the most common and enduring space conspiracies.

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Bushnell Equinox X650 5x32mm digital night vision monocular review - The Bushnell Equinox X650 digital night vision monocular is an entry-level 5x32mm monocular capable of night vision. Is it worth considering?

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Bright comet G3 ATLAS seen from space in new astronaut photo - A photo taken from the International Space Station captures the brilliant comet known as C/2024 G3 ATLAS, which could be the brightest of 2025.

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'Star Trek: Voyager' at 30: Why it was the right show at the wrong time - The fourth live-action "Star Trek" TV show made some mistakes along the way, but it was arguably held back by the time it was made

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Venus and Saturn take a sunset stroll tonight. Here's how to see it - Venus and Saturn will appear extraordinarily close together in the night sky overnight on Jan. 17 during a celestial event known as a conjunction.

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Feeding supermassive black holes may have ended the cosmic 'dark ages' billions of years ago - NASA's Chandra and NuSTAR telescopes have teamed up to study a supermassive black hole-powered quasar that could have played a key role in ending the cosmic dark ages.

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SpaceX Starship explosion likely caused by propellant leak, Elon Musk says - SpaceX has traced the likely cause of the explosion that destroyed its Starship vehicle during its Jan. 16 test flight to a leak of liquid oxygen or liquid methane.

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100 years ago, Edwin Hubble proved our Milky Way galaxy isn't alone - A century ago, humans didn't know other galaxies existed. Here's how Edwin Hubble changed that view.

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Watch SpaceX Starship explode over Atlantic Ocean on Flight Test 7 (videos) - The upper stage of SpaceX's Starship megarocket exploded over the Atlantic Ocean during the vehicle's Flight 7 test today (Jan. 16), and lots of people saw the sky show.

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SpaceX catches Super Heavy booster on Starship Flight 7 test but loses upper stage (video, photos) - SpaceX pulled off a launch-tower catch of Starship's Super Heavy booster during a test flight today (Jan. 16) but lost the vehicle's upper stage.

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'Dune' director David Lynch dies at 78 - An obituary for iconic filmmaker David Lynch who died Jan. 16, 2025.

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Centuries-old supernova guides James Webb Space Telescope through an interstellar gap - The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured the first exquisite images of an interstellar patch of sky, about 11,000 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia.

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Major milestone! India becomes 4th nation to dock satellites in orbit - India successfully docked its two SpaDex satellites in Earth orbit yesterday (Jan. 15), becoming just the fourth country to pull off such a satellite meetup.

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Astronauts repair black hole observatory, inspect cosmic ray detector on ISS spacewalk - NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Suni Williams completed a six-hour spacewalk to repair and upgrade equipment outside the International Space Station on Thursday (Jan. 16).

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Our warming Earth: 2024 was hottest year on record, NASA says - 2024 was the warmest year on record, according to NASA data. The global average temperature was 2.3 degrees Fahrenheit above the mid-20th-century baseline.

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Trump's space policy won't catch Europe off guard, ESA chief says - The head of the European Space Agency says that ESA is ready for any changes in NASA's direction that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump may make.

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Photographer captures rare Comet G3 ATLAS from UK in dramatic 'once-in-a-lifetime' image - Photographer Josh Dury captured rare Comet C/2024 G3 (Atlas) in a dramatic 'once-in-a-lifetime' image after a challenging chase across UK skies at dusk.

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What is a monocular and how do they work? - For stargazers and wildlife watchers, monoculars can be an effective alternative to telescopes or binoculars. Here's how they work.

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NASA wants a 'Super-Hubble' space telescope to search for life on alien worlds - The Habitable Worlds Observatory is a flagship NASA telescope that could answer the ultimate question.

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James Webb Space Telescope watches planet-forming dust shells zooming through space - The shells of carbon-rich dust are expanding outward into space at the breakneck velocity of 1,600 miles per second.

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Are James Webb Space Telescope images really so colorful? - How do images taken by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) appear so colorful, and where do the colors come from?

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https://www.nasa.gov

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Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) Independent Assessment - NASA’s Office of the Chief Health and Medical Officer (OCHMO) assembled a small working group to review hydrogen sulfide (H2S) Spacecraft Maximum Allowable Concentration (SMAC) values. The group met virtually three times during February and March 2023, and panel members submitted individual opinion statements in April 2023. Toxicology subject matter experts were chosen to result in a balanced panel with respect to expertise in SMAC determinations and specific H2S considerations, from both clinical and epidemiological perspectives. Panel members were Dr. Terry Gordon, Dr. Tee Guidotti, and Dr. Joyce Tsuji; OCHMO team members who facilitated the discussions were Dr. Doug Ebert, Dave Francisco, Sarah Childress, Kristin Coffey, and Kim Lowe.

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NASA Scientists, Engineers Receive Presidential Early Career Awards  - President Biden has named 19 researchers who contribute to NASA’s mission as recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). These recipients are among nearly 400 federally funded researchers receiving the honor.   Established in 1996 by the National Science and Technology Council, the PECASE Award is the highest honor given by […]

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NASA Opens New Challenge to Support Climate-Minded Business Models - NASA’s Sustainable Business Model Challenge is looking for entrepreneurs, startups, and researchers to leverage the agency’s publicly available Earth system science data to develop commercial solutions for climate challenges. This opportunity, with a submission deadline of June 13, bridges the gap between vast climate data and actionable solutions by inviting solvers to transform data into […]

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NASA’s Planetary Defenders Head to the Sundance Film Festival - NASA is bringing the high-stakes world of planetary defense to the Sundance Film Festival, highlighting its upcoming documentary, “Planetary Defenders,” during a panel ahead of its spring 2025 premiere on the agency’s streaming service. “We’re thrilled that NASA is attending Sundance Film Festival for the first time – a festival renowned for its innovative spirit,” […]

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Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial - The Stone of Hope, a granite statue of civil rights movement leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is seen in this image from Jan. 5, 2025. The statue is part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington. Dr. King inspired millions to answer the righteous call for racial equality and to build a […]

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Peak Performance in Microgravity - Science in Space January 2025 At the start of a new year, many people think about making positive changes in their lives, such as improving physical fitness or learning a particular skill. Astronauts on the International Space Station work all year to maintain a high level of performance while adapting to changes in their physical […]

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NASA Kennedy Ground Systems Prepping Hardware for Artemis II, Beyond - Teams with NASA are gaining momentum as work progresses toward future lunar missions for the benefit of humanity as numerous flight hardware shipments from across the world arrived at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the first crewed Artemis flight test and follow-on lunar missions. The skyline at Kennedy will soon see added […]

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Sustainable Business Model Challenge - Climate change presents one of the most urgent crises of our time, with increasing threats to life, infrastructure, economies, and ecosystems worldwide. Climate change is no longer a distant concern; its effects are being felt now and are projected to intensify if emissions continue unabated. The consequences are severe and irreversible for people today, with […]

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35 Years Ago: NASA Selects its 13th Group of Astronauts  - On Jan. 17, 1990, NASA announced the selection of its 13th group of astronaut candidates. The diverse group comprised 23 candidates – seven pilots and 16 mission specialists. The group included one African American, one Asian American, and five women including the first female pilot and the first Hispanic woman. Following one year of astronaut […]

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NASA Names David Korth as Deputy, Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate - NASA has selected David Korth as deputy for Johnson Space Center’s Safety and Mission Assurance directorate. Korth previously served as deputy manager of the International Space Station Avionics and Software Office at Johnson Space Center prior to serving as acting deputy for Safety and Mission Assurance. I’m excited to embark on my new role as deputy […]

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https://astronomynow.com

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The Quadrantids: a strong meteor shower to start the year - The Quadrantid meteor shower kicks off the meteor-watching calendar, peaking this year on 3 January. Renowned for its reliability, it consistently ranks among the best annual meteor displays.

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Catch Mercury’s end of year pre-dawn show - Mercury ends the year on a high as a pre-dawn object during primarily the second half of December.

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Brilliant Jupiter rides high in Taurus - The observing year comes to a close with a bang as brilliant Jupiter comes to opposition on 7 December. Across the whole of the month the dominant gas giant planet offers its best observing circumstances of the year.

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Venus is a dazzling evening ‘star’ - Brilliant and beautiful Venus is an increasingly conspicuous sight soon after sunset.

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The Dark Tower - This eerie, dark silhouette is a cometary globule designated GN 16.43.7.01. Despite their name, cometary globules have nothing to do with comets, beyond having a similar shape of a dusty head with a tail.

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Legendary star lacks evidence for large planet formation - In the 1997 movie "Contact," adapted from Carl Sagan's 1985 novel, the lead character, scientist Ellie Arroway, takes a space-alien-built wormhole ride to the star Vega. She emerges inside a snowstorm of debris encircling the star – but no obvious planets are visible. It looks like the filmmakers got it right.

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Going south in Sculptor - The innocuous visual appearance of the southern constellation of Sculptor, even at far southerly climes, sharply contrasts its true nature as home to some great galaxies, including the magnificent Silver Coin Galaxy.

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‘Blood-soaked’ eyes: Webb and Hubble examine galaxy pair - By teaming up, these two space telescopes have delivered the highest resolution image of IC 2163 and NGC 2207 to date in a combination of mid-infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light.

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Messier 103: one of Cassiopeia’s rich retinue of clusters - Messier 103 is an impressive object located in Cassiopeia, Autumn’s home for outstanding open clusters.

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A trio of elusive Local Group galaxies - The mighty Andromeda and Triangulum galaxies dominate deep-sky observer’s view of our Local Group of Galaxies. If you’re looking for more of a Local Group challenge however, check out Cassiopeia’s IC 10, NGC 147 and NGC 185.

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https://www.marsdaily.com

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The Mars Pivot - Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 20, 2025
Just two weeks ago, in these very pages, I outlined what seemed then a bold prediction about America's space strategy. President Trump's inaugural declaration to 'pursue our manifest destiny into the stars' and 'plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars'- is not anymore campaign rhetoric it's the ultimate cosmic mic drop!

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Signatures of Ice-Free Ancient Ponds and Lakes Found on Mars - Pasadena CA (SPX) Jan 17, 2025
Researchers have discovered two sets of ancient wave ripples on Mars, signatures of long-dried bodies of water preserved in the rock record. Wave ripples are small undulations in the sandy shores of lakebeds, created as wind-driven water laps back and forth. The two sets of ripples indicate the former presence of shallow water that was open to the Martian air, not covered by ice as some climate

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Samples from Mars to reveal planet's evolutionary secrets - Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 13, 2025
Mars exhibits a unique blend of geological features reminiscent of both the moon and Earth, making it a fascinating subject of study for scientists. Current insights into the Red Planet's evolution stem largely from spacecraft observations and meteorite analysis. These meteorites, primarily found in deserts and Antarctica, were once part of Mars before being ejected into space and eventual

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NASA to evaluate dual strategies for bringing Mars samples back to Earth - Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 10, 2025
NASA has unveiled a revised strategy for its Mars Sample Return Program, introducing a dual approach to increase the likelihood of successfully delivering Martian rock and sediment samples to Earth. This initiative will simultaneously develop two landing architectures during the program's formulation phase, fostering competition and innovation while aiming for cost efficiency and adherence to sc

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NASA eyes SpaceX, Blue Origin to cut Mars rock retrieval costs - Washington (AFP) Jan 7, 2025
NASA announced Tuesday it may turn to Elon Musk's SpaceX or Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin to help reduce the soaring costs of returning Martian rocks collected by the Perseverance rover to Earth. Originally planned to deliver 30 sample tubes to Earth by the 2030s, the Mars Sample Return mission has faced rising expenses and delays, prompting the US space agency to explore more streamlined solutio

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January's Night Sky Notes: The Red Planet - San Francisco CA (SPX) Jan 06, 2025
Have you looked up at the night sky this season and noticed a bright object sporting a reddish hue to the left of Orion? This is none other than the planet Mars! January will be an excellent opportunity to spot this planet and some of its details with a medium-sized telescope. Be sure to catch these three events this month. h3>Martian Retrograde /h3> Mars entered retrograde (or backward

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Frosty landscape captured at Mars' South Pole - Paris, France (SPX) Dec 26, 2024
The latest image from ESA's Mars Express offers a stunning glimpse of Mars' south pole, resembling a winter wonderland with its icy hilltops and snow-like layers. However, this scenic view belies the reality of summer on Mars, where the Sun's heat drives the retreat of seasonal ice formations. A closer examination of the left side of the image reveals dark areas where the carbon dioxide ic

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Evidence exists for hidden water reservoirs and rare magmas on ancient Mars - Houston TX (SPX) Dec 26, 2024
A new study explores how variations in Mars' crustal thickness during its ancient history may have influenced the planet's magmatic evolution and hydrological systems. The research, published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, suggests that the thick crust of Mars' southern highlands formed billions of years ago generated granitic magmas and sustained vast underground aquifers, challenging

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University of Houston scientists solving meteorological mysteries on Mars - Houston TX (SPX) Dec 26, 2024
A groundbreaking achievement by scientists at the University of Houston is changing our understanding of climate and weather on Mars and providing critical insights into Earth's atmospheric processes as well. The study, led by Larry Guan, a graduate student in the Department of Physics at UH's College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, under the guidance of his advisors, Professor Liming

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Perseverance blasts past the top of Jezero Crater rim - Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 23, 2024
I have always loved the mountains. Growing up on the flat plains of Midwestern USA, every summer I looked forward to spending a few days on alpine trails while on vacation. Climbing upward from the trailhead, the views changed constantly. After climbing a short distance, the best views were often had by looking back down on where we had started. As we climbed higher, views of the valleys below e

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Webb Telescope detects new population of small Main Belt Asteroids - Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 23, 2024
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has expanded its role in solar system research, revealing a previously undetectable population of small asteroids within the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. A team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) used Webb's observations of the star TRAPPIST-1 to identify 138 new asteroids ranging in size from a bus to a stadium. These

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Sols 4402-4415: Rover Decks and Sequence Calls for the Holidays - Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 20, 2024
Welcome to the 2024 holiday plan for Curiosity! This year we're spanning 14 sols to last us through the Earth new year. And this is my fourth year operating Mastcam during the holidays (throwback to 2023 Marsmas!). I already knew to expect a long day, so I got my lunch prepared - blew Mars a kiss in the pre-dawn sky - and headed to work at 0600 Pacific time to start planning prep. Luckily my tea

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NASA honours Algerian parks with Martian namesakes - Algiers (AFP) Dec 19, 2024
NASA's mapping of Mars now bears the names of three iconic Algerian national parks, Algerian physicist Noureddine Melikechi, a member of the US space agency's largest Mars probe mission, has told AFP. The Tassili n'Ajjer, Ghoufi and Djurdjura national parks have found their Martian namesakes after a proposition by Melikechi, which he sought as both a tribute to his native Algeria and a call

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Anthropologists urge preservation of human artifacts on Mars - Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 17, 2024
Are the spacecraft, rovers, and debris from human exploration of Mars merely trash cluttering the Red Planet, or are they invaluable artifacts chronicling humanity's steps into interplanetary exploration? University of Kansas anthropologist Justin Holcomb contends these items deserve preservation and cataloging to document this significant phase of human history. Holcomb's new study, title

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New study questions the potential for liquid brines on Mars - Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 17, 2024
More than a century after astronomer Percival Lowell speculated about water canals on Mars, researchers continue to grapple with the question of liquid water on the red planet. Liquid water is essential for habitability, but Mars' low temperatures, minimal atmospheric pressure, and limited water vapor make its presence unlikely under current conditions. Dark surface features called recurri

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