A change of scenery can do wonders for us humans when we are stuck in a rut. Imagine the impact a trip to space can have. Just changing my usual lunch spot gives me a new lease on life, which NASA astronauts like Ron Garan probably find ridiculous. He is one of the few people … Read more
The first manned mission of Boeing’s Starliner capsule has been in orbit for more than a month, and there is still no date set for its return. Starliner launched on June 5 on Crew Flight Test (CFT), carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station (ISS) for a planned week-long … Read more
Astronomers have discovered a world that they believe has ideal conditions for a thick atmosphere and an ocean half the size of the Atlantic Ocean. The Exoplanet — a world that orbits a star other than the sun — is LHS 1140 b, and is located about 48 light-years from Earth, in the constellation Cetus. … Read more
A study suggests Mars had a cold, subarctic climate similar to Newfoundland, based on soil analyses of Gale Crater. The finding offers new insights into the preservation of amorphous materials and Mars’ potential to support life. (Artist’s concept.) Credit: SciTechDaily.com A new study has found important clues in the Red Planet’s soil. Recent research examining … Read more
For thousands of years, people have watched the vibrant auroras dance across the night sky. But these magnificent displays are more than just a pretty sight. They are a warning sign of a hidden danger: geomagnetically induced currents. Auroras are caused by particles from the sun hitting the Earth’s magnetic field. These forces can compress … Read more
Neutron stars are among the most extreme objects in the universe. Formed from the collapsed cores of supergiant stars, they weigh more than our sun and yet are compressed into a sphere the size of a city. The dense cores of these exotic stars contain matter compressed into unique states that are impossible for us … Read more
You can imagine what thoughts go through an astronaut’s mind when he or she looks at our planet from space. But I think that ‘that’s still far away’ might be a good option. But for 62-year-old former NASA space cadet Ron Garan, there was only one thing on his mind… the “sobering realization” that we … Read more
A Rydberg atom has an electron that is far away from the nucleus. Credit: TU Wien Researchers have created an extremely exotic state of matter. The atoms have a diameter that is a hundred times larger than normal. Time crystals, originally proposed by Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek in 2012, have now been successfully created using … Read more
Enlarge / Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft made its final landing on the International Space Station last month. Before Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule is allowed to leave the International Space Station and head back to Earth, NASA managers want to make sure the spacecraft’s troubled control engines can guide the two-person crew home. The two astronauts who … Read more
One of the most sought-after objects in the universe has just been discovered in our Milky Way galaxy. At the center of a densely packed globular cluster called Omega Centauri, about 17,000 light-years away, astronomers have found evidence for the existence of an intermediate-mass black hole. The mass of this black hole is at least … Read more