Archive for the ‘space’ category: Page 560
Is it a new asteroid mini–moon or a human-made mini-moon? That’s the question about a small object approaching Earth, called 2020 SO. NASA’s Small Body Database predicts the object will captured by Earth’s gravity in October 2020 and temporarily be trapped in orbit.
But a few unusual characteristics of 2020 SO suggest it might not be a small asteroid, like the two previously known temporary mini-moons that have briefly orbited our planet. Instead, this new object might in fact be an old object from Earth—an old second-stage rocket part from the Surveyor 2 lunar lander mission, launched in 1966.
Mini-moons, or TCOs (Temporarily Captured Objects) have probably occurred more over history than we know, but only two have ever been confirmed: 2006 RH120, which hung out in Earth orbit from 2006 to 2007, and the one discovered earlier this year, 2020 CD3, in Earth orbit from 2018 to 2020. Those objects were definitely small space rocks.
Sep 30, 2020
Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko Has A Tiny Moon
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: particle physics, space
Comet 67P/C-G is a dusty object. As it neared its closest approach to the Sun in late July and August 2015, instruments on Rosetta recorded a huge amount of dust enshrouding the comet.
This is tied to the comet’s proximity to our parent star, its heat causing the comet’s nucleus to release gases into space, lifting the dust along. Spectacular jets were also observed, blasting more dust away from the comet. This disturbed, ejected material forms the ‘coma’, the gaseous envelope encasing the comet’s nucleus, and can create a beautiful and distinctive tail.
A single image from Rosetta’s OSIRIS instrument can contain hundreds of dust particles and grains surrounding the 4 km-wide comet nucleus. Sometimes, even larger chunks of material left the surface of 67P/C-G — as shown here.
Sep 30, 2020
Buried lakes of water discovered on Mars
Posted by Muhammad Furqan in categories: biological, space
Liquid water is vital for biology, so the finding will be of interest to researchers studying the potential for life elsewhere in the Solar System.
The underground lakes were detected in the Red Planet’s south polar region.
Sep 30, 2020
NASA plans to land the first Woman on the Moon by 2024
Posted by Alberto Lao in category: space
Sep 30, 2020
Stars Without Planets Are More Numerous Than You Might Think
Posted by Bruce Dorminey in category: space
Sep 29, 2020
NASA finally tracks down persistent ISS air leak that ‘appeared to grow in size’
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: space
Sep 29, 2020
The Newest Picture of Jupiter and Europa Captured by Hubble
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: space
Hubble has released new images of Jupiter as part of OPAL: Outer Planets Atmospheres Legacy program. New storms are forming on the gas giant.
The venerable Hubble Space Telescope has given us another gorgeous picture of Jupiter and its moon Europa. The incredibly sharp image was captured on August 25th, and shows some of the stunning detail in Jupiter’s stormy atmosphere. Hidden in all that stormy activity is something new: a bright white storm plume travelling at about 560 km/h (350 MP/h).
Jupiter was 653 million km (406 million mi) away from Earth when the image was taken. The image is part of OPAL, the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy program. Each year, Hubble images the entire planet to watch for changes in the atmosphere and in the storm activity.
Continue reading “The Newest Picture of Jupiter and Europa Captured by Hubble” »
Sep 29, 2020
Air leaking from International Space Station but no danger to crew: Roscosmos agency
Posted by Quinn Sena in category: space
MOSCOW (Reuters) — The International Space Station is leaking air in above-normal volumes, but the leak presents no danger to the Russian-American crew, the Russian space agency Roscosmos said on Tuesday.
The leak has been localised to one section of a service module and the crew, made up of U.S. astronaut Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner, plan to eliminate it in the coming days, Russia’s RIA news agency quoted Roscosmos executive director Sergei Krikalev as saying.
Roscosmos said additional air may be delivered to the station.
Soyuz 11 was the only crewed mission to board the world’s first space station, Salyut 1. The crew, Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev, arrived at the space station on 7 June 1971 and departed on 29 June. The mission ended in disaster when the crew capsule depressurized during preparations for reentry, killing the three-man crew. The three crew members of Soyuz 11 are the only humans known to have died in space.
Music: epic background music / epic music no copyright by MUSIC4VIDEO.