Space – Lifeboat News: The Blog

Jun 1
2019

Earth From Space: 10 stunning views of Earth from space

A satellite view of how beautiful this planet is.

Planet Earth is just incredible. 🌍

May 31
2019

NASA Invites Public to Submit Names to Fly Aboard Next Mars Rover

From now till Sept. 30, the public can submit names to be stenciled on microchips that will fly on the Mars 2020 rover and receive a souvenir boarding pass.

May 31
2019

A home air purifier with a cool twist — cold plasma

The Squair portable air cleaner promises to use cold plasma to fill your space with pollution-gobbling, bacteria-zapping oxygen atoms.

May 31
2019

Why ‘Cosmic Nothingness’ May Hold Secrets of the Universe

Why avoid the cosmic void?

May 30
2019

Earth’s seafloor may be destined to become diamonds

By mimicking how the planet cooks up the sparkly gems, scientists discovered what may be a key ingredient for their formation.

May 30
2019

Found: Exoplanet in the “Neptunian Desert” & Exocomets Around Beta Pictoris

Two teams of astronomers have announced the discovery of a Neptune-size planet in an unexpected orbit and three exocomets whizzing around nearby star Beta Pictoris.

May 30
2019

Is this 3D-printed building the future home for astronauts on Mars?

NASA has chosen the winner in its contest to design habitation for humans on Mars. It will be built on the red planet using a 3D printer and concrete made from pulverised Martian rocks.

May 30
2019

Scientists Cook Up a New Way to Make Breathable Oxygen on Mars

The tech could someday aid crewed Red Planet exploration.

May 29
2019

Astronomers Find Distant “Forbidden Planet” In “Neptunian Desert”

And more Earth-like planets could be found hiding in nearby star systems.

An international team of astronomers says it’s discovered a rogue exoplanet three times the size of Earth — in an orbit that was thought to be impossible, meaning more Earth-like planets could be found hiding in nearby star systems.

No exoplanets with gas atmospheres were previously thought be able to orbit this close to a star — a region known as the “Neptunian Desert” — as the gas would evaporate and leave just a rocky core. Until, that is, this team located NGTS-4b, which they’re calling a “forbidden planet.”

Air Gap

The astronomers believe NGTS-4b could’ve either just moved into position in the last million years, or that its atmosphere could be in the process of evaporating.

May 28
2019

Astronomers find ‘Forbidden’ planet in ‘Neptunian Desert’ around its star

An exoplanet smaller than Neptune with its own atmosphere has been discovered in the Neptunian Desert around its star by an international collaboration of astronomers, with the University of Warwick taking a leading role.

The rogue planet was identified in the new research, led by Dr Richard West including Professor Peter Wheatley, Dr Daniel Bayliss and Dr James McCormac from the Astronomy and Astrophysics Group at the University of Warwick.

NGTS is situated at the European Southern Observatory’s Paranal Observatory in the heart of the Atacama Desert, Chile. It is a collaboration between UK Universities Warwick, Leicester, Cambridge, and Queen’s University Belfast, together with Observatoire de Genève, DLR Berlin and Universidad de Chile.