Nothing makes me feel more connected to the rest of the human race than seeing the Earth from space at night. National borders vanish, and rivers of light unite our towns and cities into a single glowing tapestry. Just look at this incredible view of Europe, sparkling with artificial light: Er, wait a minute. …
Impossibly detailed views of Earth from space at night and day Read More »
For us, mere mortals, Mars is a no man’s land where survival seems like a distant dream. After all, no man has ever walked on its surface (as far as we know) and plans to send one to the red planet are only in the early stages of its development. However, humans have touched Mars …
NASA’s Curiosity Has Been On Mars For More Than 7 Years And Here Are Its 30 Best Photos Read More »
An Israeli spacecraft called Beresheet almost made it to the moon in April. It took a selfie with the lunar surface in the background, but then lost contact with Earth and presumably crashed onto the lunar surface. Now it’s been revealed that the mission was carrying a cargo of dehydrated microscopic lifeforms known as tardigrades. Beresheet was the first …
Tardigrades: We’re now polluting the moon with near indestructible little creatures Read More »
On July 21st, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to ever set foot on the moon. The third member of the historic Apollo 11 mission was Command Module Pilot, Michael Collins, whose mission was to bring everyone home. In this animated Google Doodle, Collins reflects on the 50th anniversary of the …
The Unsung 3rd Member of the Apollo 11 Crew Reflects on the 50th Anniversary Read More »
Photographer Andrew McCarthy has created one of the most beautiful images of the moon you will ever see. Stitched and stacked from nearly 50,000 images of the night sky (taken on Feb 12, 2019), this 81 megapixel composite image of the moon is simply breathtaking. On reddit, where McCarthy shared the image he explains: This image was …
Artist Stitches 50,000 Photos Into One Incredible Composite of the Moon Read More »
Voyager 2 has fulfilled its fate to leave the heliosphere and become the second interstellar spacecraft after Voyager 1, according a statement from NASA. NASA’s Voyager 2 probe now has exited the heliosphere – the protective bubble of particles and magnetic fields created by the Sun. The Voyager 2 probe was launched on August 20, 1977, 16 …
After 41 Years, Voyager 2 Has Just Entered Interstellar Space Read More »
Parting is such sweet sorrow. A farewell photo taken by a tiny satellite shows its final view of Mars as it flew by the red planet on Monday. The satellite — called a cubesat — that took the photo is named MarCO-B and it performed quite the service for humanity before saying goodbye to Mars. …
A tiny satellite says goodbye to Mars with gorgeous new photo Read More »
A pair of tiny experimental satellites trailing NASA’s InSight spacecraft all the way to Mars face their biggest test yet. Their mission: Broadcast immediate news, good or bad, of InSight’s plunge through the Martian atmosphere on Monday. Named WALL-E and EVE after the main characters in the 2008 animated movie, the twin CubeSats will pass …
Big test coming up for tiny satellites trailing Mars lander Read More »
A new commercial Rocket Startup has just made history. Rocket Lab successfully launched its Electron rocket on Nov. 10 on a long-delayed first commercial mission for the small launch vehicle. The Electron lifted off from the company’s Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula at 10:50 p.m. Eastern (4:50 p.m. local time Nov. 11) …
Rocket Lab Nails It’s First Commercial Launch And Is Ready For Business Read More »
NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio (SVS) has released a stunning video that shows Earth in a way you may have never seen before. The video is a time-lapse simulation that depicts seven days in 2005 when a category-4 typhoon developed off the coast of China. The seven-day period is repeated several times during the course of …
A splendid video by NASA shows earth as a living creature Read More »
How could a galaxy become shaped like a ring? The rim of the blue galaxy pictured on the right is an immense ring-like structure 150,000 light years in diameter composed of newly formed, extremely bright, massive stars. That galaxy, AM 0644-741, is known as a ring galaxyand was caused by an immense galaxy collision. When galaxies collide, they pass through each other …
Explanation: Kona, a young boxer, is a dog who loves splashing in the waves along Solana Beach near San Diego, planet Earth. But he paused here, at least briefly, during an early evening romp on October 7. Along with two people friends he gazes skyward in this snapshot, dazzled by the flight of a Falcon 9 rocket. Their seaside view …
Got some spare time this weekend? Why not build yourself a working rover from plans provided by NASA? The spaceniks at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory have all the plans, code, and materials for you to peruse and use — just make sure you’ve got $2,500 and a bit of engineering know-how. This thing isn’t made out of …
NASA’s Open Source Rover lets you build your own planetary exploration platform Read More »
Pillars of Creation is one of the most famous photographs ever taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. In this amended version by reddit user TopalthePilot we get an appreciation for their amazing scale. Per Wikipedia: Pillars of Creation are elephant trunks of interstellar gas and dust in the Eagle Nebula, specifically the Serpens constellation, some 6,500–7,000 light years from Earth. They are so named …
Putting the Pillars of Creation Into Perspective Read More »
Scientists don’t expect to get their hands on Martian soil anytime soon, so they’re making their own. Created by University of Central Florida astrophysicists, this red soil, called Mars “simulant,” is designed to give researchers a useful approximation of the actual, far-off extraterrestrial soil. This might be especially relevant for testing the growth of crops, …
Scientists make artificial Martian dirt, will sell it to you for $20 Read More »
Sarah Hörst, an Assistant Prof of Planetary Science at Johns Hopkins University, recently got to hold a piece of the Moon and Mars in her hand and shared her excitement on Twitter: For those curious, Sarah also took time to answer some of the most common questions: – The black one is the Martian one, the …
