Friday, December 20News That Matters

Tag: space time

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

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...
NASA Announces $20,000 Reward for Lunar Rescue System Design

NASA Announces $20,000 Reward for Lunar Rescue System Design

Breaking News, Idea & Innovations, Space
NASA has launched a unique challenge to engage creative minds worldwide in designing a life-saving system for rescuing astronauts stranded on the Moon. With a prize of up to $20,000, the agency is seeking innovative ideas to transport astronauts in spacesuits across the Moon’s treacherous south pole terrain. This initiative, part of NASA’s South Pole Safety Challenge: Lunar Rescue System, comes as preparations intensify for the Artemis mission, slated for launch in September 2026. NASA aims to ensure astronaut safety in extreme lunar conditions, where rocky surfaces, large craters, and steep inclines pose significant challenges. The Challenge Participants must develop a system capable of: Safely transporting an incapacitated astronaut in a spacesuit over a distance of at leas...
Sunita Williams Engages Students with Insights on Life in Space

Sunita Williams Engages Students with Insights on Life in Space

Breaking News, Learning & Developments, Space
Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams recently held an inspiring virtual session with students from Sunita Williams Elementary School in her hometown of Needham, Massachusetts. Williams, a seasoned space traveler, shared fascinating insights about life aboard the International Space Station (ISS), focusing on the unique challenges of drinking liquids in microgravity. During the session, Williams explained how fluids behave differently in space due to the absence of gravity. Using special pouches designed for space use, she demonstrated how astronauts drink without spilling. The interactive demonstration offered students a captivating glimpse into the adaptations required for living and working in space. A video of the event shows Williams explaining these concepts while interacting...
ISRO Successfully Launches PROBA-3 Satellite for European Space Agency

ISRO Successfully Launches PROBA-3 Satellite for European Space Agency

Breaking News, Space, Tech
In a significant achievement, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched the European Space Agency’s (ESA) PROBA-3 satellite aboard its trusted Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C59) on its 61st commercial mission. The launch signifies another milestone in India’s growing prominence in the global space sector and highlights international collaboration in cutting-edge space exploration. PROBA-3, short for Project for Onboard Anatomy, is a groundbreaking solar mission by the ESA. The mission is specifically designed to study the Sun's corona, the outermost layer of the Sun's atmosphere, with unprecedented precision. The mission consists of two spacecraft, each designed to perform a unique and interdependent role. The Coronagraph Spacecraft (CSC), weighing 31...
Could a Rogue Planet Join Our Solar System? Scientists Explore the Possibility

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

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...
Venus Never Had Oceans Study Confirms Ending Decades of Speculation

Venus Never Had Oceans Study Confirms Ending Decades of Speculation

Breaking News, Learning & Developments, Space
Venus often referred to as Earth’s twin due to its similar size and rocky composition has been at the center of one of astronomy’s most enduring mysteries: Did it ever host oceans? A new study has finally provided an answer, and it’s not what some scientists had hoped. According to research published in the journal Nature Astronomy, Venus has likely been a dry, desolate world throughout its history. By analyzing the chemical composition of Venus’s atmosphere, scientists concluded that the planet’s interior has a remarkably low water content. This finding contradicts earlier hypotheses suggesting Venus might once have harbored oceans or even supported conditions favorable for life. The key lies in volcanic activity. On Earth, volcanic eruptions release large amounts of water vapor, wh...
Solar Orbiter Captures Most Detailed Images of the Sun Yet

Solar Orbiter Captures Most Detailed Images of the Sun Yet

Breaking News, Learning & Developments, Space
From a staggering distance of 74 million kilometers, the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter has delivered breathtaking new images of the Sun, showcasing unprecedented details of our closest star. Despite the vast distance, the Orbiter's advanced instruments have captured some of the highest-resolution images ever taken, shedding light on the Sun's magnetic and plasma dynamics. Launched in 2020, the Solar Orbiter is on a mission to unravel the Sun's mysteries, from its solar wind to the complex behavior of its magnetic field and dynamic eruptions like solar flares. Among its objectives is producing detailed, high-resolution imagery of the Sun's surface, a feat it accomplishes using cutting-edge instruments: Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager (PHI): A German contribution capturing the Sun's ma...
SpaceX’s Sixth Starship Test Flight Marks Key Milestone for NASA’s Artemis Program

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

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...