A massive solar flare this week may prompt a Northern Lights display on Dec. 25.
Category: space – Page 108
Cosmic Origins of Complex Organic Molecules Unveiled
Recent studies indicate that the cosmos is rich in complex organic molecules, essential components for understanding the origins of life. The European Space Agency’s Rosetta probe, which examined the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko over a two-year mission, provided significant insights into the presence of these molecules in space.
Organic molecules, defined as compounds containing carbon, are abundant not only on Earth but also throughout the universe. Their structure allows carbon atoms to create stable chains, forming the backbone of various biological compounds. The findings from Rosetta have transformed our understanding of where these building blocks of life might originate.
During its mission, Rosetta detected over 44 distinct organic molecules, including glycine, a fundamental amino acid. Moreover, recent analyses of the data identified dimethyl sulfide, a gas associated exclusively with biological processes on Earth, suggesting that the conditions for life may be more widespread than previously assumed.
Watch the R Aquarii binary star system evolve in Hubble imagery time-lapse
The Hubble Space Telescope has captured imagery of the R Aquarii binary star system from 2014–2023. The images have been time-lapsed here to show the evolution of the region.
Credit: NASA, ESA, M. Stute, M. Karovska, D. de Martin \& M. Zamani (ESA/Hubble) | edited by Space.com.
Music: You Want Dark Tunes? by Ave Air / courtesy of http://www.epidemicsound.com
AI ‘artist’ pulls in millions — and may ‘create more interesting work than humans,’ co-creator says
Domo arigato, Mr. Botto.
The next artistic masterpiece may be more machine than man: An artificial intelligence design program called Botto has sold computerized works for megabucks and could revolutionize the creative space.
Since its creation in 2021, Botto has created more than 150 works of various disciplines that have cumulatively raked in over $5 million at auction, CNBC reported.
Robots In Space: Hayabusa2 at Ryugu asteroid
Journey into one of humanity’s most ambitious space missions as we explore JAXA’s groundbreaking Hayabusa2 mission to asteroid Ryugu! Discover how this remarkable spacecraft not only achieved the first successful deployment of rovers on an asteroid but also brought back precious samples that could reveal secrets about our solar system’s formation. From the dramatic touchdown on Ryugu’s surface to the revolutionary MASCOT and MINERVA rovers that hopped across its microgravity environment, this video breaks down the incredible technology and scientific discoveries from this historic asteroid sample return mission. Learn how these primitive asteroid samples are reshaping our understanding of the early solar system and what this means for future space exploration.
A NASA Spacecraft Will ‘Touch’ the Sun on Christmas Eve, Flying Closer to the Star Than Any Probe Before
Merry Christmas Holidays Everyone!
The holiday season is a busy time for humankind’s sun-surfing spacecraft. This Christmas Eve, the Parker Solar Probe will be going where no probe has gone before: a mere 3.8 million miles from the sun’s surface.
Around 6:53 a.m. Eastern time on December 24, it will pass the closest that any spacecraft has ever been to our roaring sun. And it will do so in another record-breaking fashion: traveling 430,000 miles per hour—the speed equivalent of traversing from Washington, D.C., to Tokyo in under a minute—making it the fastest human-made object to ever zip across the universe.
“It’ll be inside the upper atmosphere of the sun, literally touching the star,” Nicki Rayl, NASA’s deputy director of heliophysics, tells Julia Jacobo and Mary Kekatos of ABC News.
NASA spacecraft just plunged into the sun and broke stunning records
To make this record-breaking pass, the nearly 10-foot-long probe has made 22 orbits around the sun, allowing it to swoop ever deeper into the corona. And while doing so, the spacecraft has been continually picking up speed. When you repeatedly swing by such a massive and gravitationally powerful object — the sun is a sphere of hot gas 333,000 times as massive as our planet — you accrue lots of speed. Out in space, there’s nothing to stop this motion.
On this close flyby, the probe reached some 430,000 miles per hour (692,000 kilometers per hour).
“That’s like going from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. in one second,” marveled Raouafi. “It’s fascinating. It’s the fastest human-made object ever.”