outer space Archives - Disasters News

Dec192024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Astronomers Discover Twin Stars Orbiting Galactic Black Hole: A World-First Revelation

Breaking News, Learning & Developments, Space

In an unprecedented discovery, astronomers led by Florian Peißker from the University of Cologne, Germany, have identified a binary star system named D9 orbiting the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* at the center of the Milky Way. This groundbreaking find, published in Nature Communications, unravels mysteries surrounding hypervelocity stars and the extreme environment near black holes. Binary star systems, where two stars orbit each other, are common in the universe, but none have been observed near a supermassive black hole until now. Using the Very Large Telescope, the team detected D9 through subtle shifts in its starlight, known as the Doppler effect, confirming its binary nature. The D9 system, approximately 2.7 million years old, likely formed elsewhere in the galaxy bef...

Dec52024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Could a Rogue Planet Join Our Solar System? Scientists Explore the Possibility

Breaking News, Space

In 2017, the first confirmed interstellar visitor, Oumuamua, zipped through our Solar System, followed by Comet 2I/Borisov in 2019. These fleeting guests sparked curiosity about interstellar objects (ISOs) and rogue planets uncharted wanderers that could traverse space and potentially interact with our Sun. New research explores the tantalizing idea that the Solar System could permanently capture one of these cosmic drifters, and what such an event might mean. The study, published in Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy by Edward Belbruno and James Green, delves into the dynamics of phase space an intricate mathematical framework used to describe the possible states of a system like our Solar System. Phase space reveals pathways where an interstellar object could become gravitati...

Dec52024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Jupiter to Light Up the Night Sky in a Rare Celestial Event on December 7

Breaking News, Space

A spectacular astronomical event is set to captivate stargazers on December 7 as Earth aligns directly between the Sun and Jupiter. This rare occurrence, known as Jupiter’s Opposition, will illuminate the largest planet in our solar system like never before. Throughout the night, Jupiter will dominate the skies, its brilliance unmatched and its details visible to anyone with even a basic telescope or binoculars. During this phenomenon, Jupiter’s sunlit side will face Earth in its entirety, creating a breathtaking view that resembles the full moon in its glory. As Earth’s faster orbit brings it into perfect alignment with the gas giant, the planet will appear larger and brighter than at almost any other time. The result is a celestial show that will keep skywatchers enchanted from dusk t...

Nov202024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

SpaceX’s Sixth Starship Test Flight Marks Key Milestone for NASA’s Artemis Program

Breaking News, Space, Tech

SpaceX achieved another major milestone on Wednesday with the successful sixth flight test of its Starship spacecraft. Launched from SpaceX’s Starbase in Texas, the uncrewed mission demonstrated the spacecraft's advanced capabilities, achieving a suborbital trajectory before reentering over the Indian Ocean. Meanwhile, the Super Heavy booster executed a planned splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. “Splashdown confirmed! Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on an exciting sixth flight test of Starship!” the company announced on X (formerly Twitter). The mission tested Starship’s endurance under extreme conditions, including a steeper reentry angle and reduced protective shielding. The spacecraft's Raptor engines successfully restarted in space, a critical step toward achieving orbit...

Nov192024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Discovery of ‘Red Monster’ Galaxies Challenges Understanding of Early Universe Formation

Breaking News, Learning & Developments, Space

Astronomers have uncovered three colossal galaxies dubbed "red monsters" from the early Universe, defying existing models of galactic formation. Almost as large as the Milky Way, these galaxies were discovered using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and are believed to have formed during the Cosmic Dawn, within the first billion years after the Big Bang. Galactic Giants in the Cosmic Dawn The findings have raised significant questions about how galaxies could have grown so rapidly in the nascent stages of the Universe. “This is akin to finding a toddler weighing 100 kilograms,” remarked Ivo Labbé, an astronomer from Swinburne University of Technology. “JWST has now proven monsters do roam the early Universe.” Conventional theories suggest galaxies form gradually, as dark matte...

Nov62024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Mysterious Tessera Terrain on Venus Could Be the Remains of Giant Ancient Impacts

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Space

In the chaotic early days of the Solar System, planets endured a relentless barrage of cosmic collisions. Most of the rocky worlds including Mercury, Mars, and Earth's Moon still bear scars of these ancient impacts in the form of vast craters and impact basins. However, Venus has been a strange outlier, with scientists finding no evidence of large craters over 300 kilometers wide. This missing piece of Venus's violent past has puzzled researchers for years. A recent study now suggests that these long-sought impact structures may indeed exist on Venus but look very different from our expectations. Geologist Vicki Hansen of the Planetary Science Institute and her team propose that a peculiar formation called the Haastte-Baad Tessera could be Venus’s largest and oldest impact structure. Lo...

Nov52024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Japan Launches LignoSat the World’s First Wooden Satellite, Aiming for Space Sustainability

Breaking News, Space

In a groundbreaking move Japan has sent the world’s first wooden satellite, LignoSat into space. Developed by Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry, this palm-sized satellite was launched on a SpaceX mission to the International Space Station (ISS), where it will later be released into Earth’s orbit at around 400 km altitude. LignoSat’s mission is to explore timber's viability as a space-grade material, a concept Takao Doi, a former astronaut and professor at Kyoto University, believes could revolutionize off-Earth habitation. Doi envisions a 50-year plan where timber structures on the Moon or Mars could support human life. “With timber, a material we can produce ourselves, we could live and work in space indefinitely,” he remarked. Kyoto University scientists chose honoki wood, nat...

Oct162024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Sun Enters Solar Maximum Triggering Strongest Geomagnetic Storm in Two Decades

Breaking News, Disasters, Space

NASA, NOAA, and the International Solar Cycle Prediction Panel have confirmed that the Sun has entered the peak phase of its 11-year cycle, known as Solar Cycle 25. This period, called the solar maximum, is characterized by heightened solar activity, including an increase in sunspots and solar eruptions. The solar maximum, which began earlier this year, is expected to last for about a year, posing both exciting research opportunities and challenges for technology and infrastructure on Earth. What is Solar Maximum? During the solar maximum, the Sun’s magnetic poles flip, and the number of sunspots and solar flares surge. These flares, along with coronal mass ejections (CMEs), can send vast amounts of charged particles into space, which interact with Earth's magnetic field. When these ...

Oct112024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

NASA Downplays Safety Concerns Despite Watchdog’s Warning on International Space Station Cracks and Leaks

Breaking News, Environment, Space

Despite its own inspector general's report warning of significant air leaks and cracks in the International Space Station (ISS), NASA appears to be minimizing the gravity of the situation. The Washington Post reported that NASA's recent internal assessment highlighted aging issues in the Russian segment of the ISS, pointing out cracks in the tunnel leading to that section. The report expressed concerns about the increasing severity of air leaks, which have grown worse over time. The inspector general’s report identified these leaks as a "top safety concern," citing that their ongoing increase could pose long-term risks to the space station's integrity and the safety of astronauts. While cracks in space station structures can result in air loss, endangering the crew's environment, NASA h...

Oct22024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Astronomers Discover Tiny Exoplanet Orbiting Barnard’s Star, Just 6 Light-Years Away

Breaking News, Disasters, Space

In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists have found a new exoplanet orbiting Barnard’s Star, the nearest single star to our Solar System, located just 5.96 light-years away. This small, rocky world, named Barnard b, has a mass of only 37% that of Earth, making it one of the smallest exoplanets ever detected. Although uninhabitable, the discovery marks a significant step toward finding Earth-sized planets scattered across the galaxy. Barnard b is incredibly close to its host star, completing an orbit every 3.15 days at just 0.02 astronomical units (AU) from the red dwarf. Despite Barnard’s Star being much cooler than our Sun, this proximity makes the planet too hot to sustain liquid water or life as we know it. However, the discovery is still a scientific marvel, as detecting such small...