Tags: Astronomy

Hubble Spots Collisions and Cosmic Disarray At the Center of Black Hole

When it comes to high-speed collisions, nobody here on Earth has anything on black holes. Astronomers have witnessed a new first: two high-speed knots of matter colliding in a sort of rear-end impact. They saw this after creating a time-lapse video of a super-speed jet of plasma as it shot out of a supermassive black hole. The knots of matter were inside the black hole until it blasted them out-and into each other.

NASA Begins Testing Its Next Generation Mars Lander, InSight

NASA has begun testing its latest Mars Lander, called InSight, that is set to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and land on Mars approximately six months later. Once on the surface, the mission is scheduled to last approximately two Earth years, or 720 Earth days and is expected to begin delivering data in October 2016.

NASA Orders First Ever Commercial Human Spaceflight from Boeing

Since the retirement of the shuttle program, the restoration of launching American astronauts to the International Space Station from American soil by 2017 has been a goal of NASA. Now, that goal has taken a giant leap forward as NASA has ordered its first commercial spaceflight mission from Boeing.

The ESA Finds Champagne Nebula And Brighter Sets of Stars

This stunning nebula, called RCW 34 and visualized by the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT), is home to young stars that heat gases, causing them to expand outward. In this brightest area of the nebula heated hydrogen bursts into the vacuum outside the gas cloud, "uncorking" the nebula. This kind of process is called a champagne flow, and the entire area provides rich fodder for astronomers as it continuously produces new, brilliant stars.

New Horizon's Beams Back New Images of Pluto

NASA's New Horizon's spacecraft is already on target for an historic rendezvous with Pluto in July, but while it travels it continues to snap new images of the little dwarf planet. The new images reveal even more detail about its complex and high contrast surface.

SpaceX Earns Certification for the Pentagon

Although it took millions of dollars, some heated words and even a court case, Elon Musk's SpaceX has finally earned the right to launch satellites for the Pentagon. The Air Force announced that SpaceX has completed and won certification from the Pentagon after a long certification process.

The Deceptive Surface of Mars

The team in charge of the Curiosity rover recently had to find a new route to some interesting rocks that they wanted to study because the original path proved too difficult for the rover to safely traverse.

See What Tools Made the Cut Aboard the Upcoming Europa Clipper Mission

What would you pack for the 390 million mile trip to Jupiter's icy moon, Europa? Last year, NASA posed that question to a bevy of scientists and after whittling down the final 33 proposals, they have decided on nine items that will rocket aboard the Europa Clipper, which is set to blast off sometime after 2020.

New App Brings Pluto to the Palm of Your Hand

New Horizons is currently closing in on its historic meeting with Pluto, the dwarf planet situated at the very edge of our Solar System, and now a new app will let you follow its progress right on your smartphone or tablet.

Methane Spike on the Red Planet Baffles Scientists

Scientists have wondered for over 50 years if Mars contained and was emitting Methane. Now, a spike in methane has scientists puzzled. Did the spike come from the Red Planet or was it simply caused by the rovers scouring the planet?

The Question Continues: The Bright Spots on Ceres, What Could They Be?

Ceres' mysterious bright spots are clearer and sharper than ever, thanks to NASA's Dawn mission. The mission will need to get much closer to answer all of our questions and provide all of the details, but these recent views provide some interesting insights.

NASA's Curiosity Rover Adjusts Route Up A Mountain

NASA's Curiosity Rover has been on the move heading towards some interesting rocks for further study. However, its chosen path proved to be too difficult for it to traverse due to the slippery slopes of the Martian mountain. However, scientists in charge of the mission were able to find a new path to the rocks that proved much safer and easier for the rover.

European Space Agency May Have Discovered a Supervolcano on Mars

The European Space Agency has found what it believes to be a supervolcano on the surface of Mars that could be the Red Planet's equivalent of Yellowstone. The massive crater has been measured to be 40 kilometers by 30 kilometers and drops as low as 1,750 meters.

NASA Spacecraft Now Closer to the Moon Than Ever Before

The NASA probe known as the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has moved closer to the moon than it ever has before, and it could set the stage for a new round of discoveries about the body that faithfully lights the night sky here on Earth each and every night.

Brightest Galaxy Ever Discovered Could Contain 300 Trillion Suns

Scientists have discovered an ultra bright galaxy that while very far away at an estimated 12.5 billion light years, is still considered to be the most luminous galaxy every found in the universe and scientists believe it could contain more than 300 trillion suns.

A Bird’s Eye View Aboard an Aborted SpaceX Test Mission

SpaceX is one step closer to being the first privately-owned company to send astronauts to space. And one of the most important aspects of any mission is protecting the lives of the crew. So they recently tested an abort system that would propel astronauts to safety in the event of an emergency. And a point-of-view camera let us come along for the ride.
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