Space – Lifeboat News: The Blog

Aug 29
2023

Major Cyberattack Disables Telescopes in Hawaii and Chile

This post is also available in: עברית (Hebrew)

Prominent National Science Foundation (NSF) space telescopes worldwide have been shut down due to a major cyberattack, the reason for which is unknown. For over two weeks, ten telescopes have been impacted, while some on-site operatives were able to keep some operational. These shutdowns have caused chaos in the astronomy sphere due to many essential windows of opportunity being missed for space observations.

NOIRLab (the NSF-run coordinating center for ground-based astronomy) said in a press release “Our staff are working with cybersecurity experts to get all the impacted telescopes and our website back online as soon as possible and are encouraged by the progress made thus far.”

Aug 29
2023

Jupiter X Core WordPress plugin vulnerabilities affect 172,000 websites

Accounts may be hijacked and data can be uploaded without authentication if a certain version of Jupiter X Core, a premium plugin for setting up WordPress and WooCommerce websites, is used. These vulnerabilities impact various versions of the plugin.

Jupiter X Core is a visual editor that is both simple and powerful, and it is a component of the Jupiter X theme. The Jupiter X theme is used in more than 172,000 websites.

The second flaw, identified as CVE-2023–38389, makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to gain control of any WordPress user account so long as they are in possession of the user’s email address. The vulnerability has been given a critical severity level of 9.8 and affects all versions of Jupiter X Core beginning with 3.3.8 and below.

Aug 29
2023

Private company wants to clean up space junk with ‘capture bags’ in Earth orbit

Space junk could one day be snatched in orbit with a strong bag, if a new contract to test the technology ends up flying in space.

Aug 29
2023

The CIA knows a lot about other nations’ space programs. You can too with its new ‘World Factbook’ update

The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has released a new entry in its World Factbook that catalogues the programs and milestones of space agencies around the world.

Aug 29
2023

Hackers shut down 2 of the world’s most advanced telescopes

Some of the world’s leading astronomical observatories have reported cyberattacks that have resulted in temporary shutdowns.

The National Science Foundation’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory, or NOIRLab, reported that a cybersecurity incident that occurred on Aug. 1 has prompted the lab to temporarily halt operations at its Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii and Gemini South Telescope in Chile. Other, smaller telescopes on Cerro Tololo in Chile were also affected.

Aug 29
2023

Colorful Ring Nebula shines in new Webb images

The James Webb Space Telescope has revealed colorful new portraits of the iconic Ring Nebula that capture unprecedented details a dying star creates glowing structures.

Aug 29
2023

How old is the universe exactly? A new theory suggests that it’s been around for twice as long as believed

A new hypothesis suggests that the universe may be twice as old as we had believed. Observations from the James Webb Space Telescope provide new information on the rate of the universe’s expansion.

Aug 29
2023

New discovery could change our understanding of the universe

How a cup of water can unlock the secrets of our Universe?

Aug 28
2023

India’s Chandrayaan-3 takes the moon’s temperature near lunar south pole for 1st time

Chandrayaan-3 creates first temperature profile near the moon’s south pole; ISRO offers more updates on the historic lunar mission.

Aug 28
2023

Astronaut’s Breathtaking View: Moonglint, Volcanic Aleutians, and Aurora Borealis

The aurora borealis and moonglint shine bright in this astronaut photo of the Alaskan island chain.

An astronaut aboard the International Space Station.

The International Space Station (ISS) is a large spacecraft in orbit around the Earth that serves as a research laboratory and spaceport for international collaboration in space exploration. It was launched in 1998 and has been continuously occupied by rotating crews of astronauts and cosmonauts from around the world since 2000. The ISS is a joint project of five space agencies: NASA (USA), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), and CSA (Canada). It orbits the Earth at an altitude of approximately 400 kilometers (250 miles), and provides a unique platform for scientific research, technological development, and human space exploration.