The White House has directed NASA to establish a new time zone for the moon and other celestial bodies, aiming to standardize timekeeping for future space missions. This initiative, known as Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC), seeks to enhance navigation precision and scientific endeavors in space. Arati Prabhakar, head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), outlined the mandate in a letter, … Continue reading NASA tasked with creating a time zone for the moon

Arizona has officially declared Pluto as its state planet, honoring its significant role in the state’s astronomical history. The decision stems from Pluto’s discovery at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff in 1930 by astronomer Clyde Tombaugh. Although Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), Arizona chose to commemorate its discovery and contributions to astronomy. The bill, signed … Continue reading Gov. Hobbs signs bill making Pluto Arizona’s official state planet

A group of scientists recently discovered the faintest and lowest-mass Milky Way satellite ever observed, located approximately 30,000 light-years away. This stellar collection, named Ursa Major III / UNIONS 1 (UMa3/U1), consists of around 60 stars, estimated to be around 10 billion years old, within a space spanning about 10 light-years. Despite its small size and low luminosity, the stars in UMa3/U1 are gravitationally bound … Continue reading Astronomers Uncover Micro ‘Galaxy’ Orbiting the Milky Way

For the past six years, the Parker Solar Probe has been on a mission to explore the inner solar system and provide unprecedented insights into the Sun’s behavior. During a 2021 encounter, the probe captured a coronal mass ejection (CME) in remarkable detail, offering new clues about the Sun’s mysterious outbursts. This encounter revealed turbulent eddies known as Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities (KHI), a rare phenomenon that … Continue reading NASA Probe’s Daring Flight Through Sun’s Eruption Sheds Light on Solar Storms

NASA’s Perseverance rover has uncovered a mystery on Mars: thousands of white rocks scattered across the Jezero Crater. These “floats” have intrigued scientists, who believe they hold clues to the planet’s past. Initial analyses reveal the rocks are dehydrated and possibly heated and metamorphosed elsewhere on Mars before landing in the crater. Despite their prevalence, Perseverance hasn’t found similar bedrock outcrops, raising questions about their … Continue reading NASA’s Perseverance rover spots thousands of ‘unusual’ white rocks on Mars

A Florida resident, Alejandro Otero, narrowly escaped injury when debris from the International Space Station (ISS) crashed through his house. The incident occurred when a pallet of used batteries, heaviest trash dump yet, dropped from the ISS and survived re-entry, causing damage to Otero’s home in Naples, Florida. Despite the shock, no one was harmed, but Otero shared his ordeal on social media, catching the … Continue reading Space junk crashes through man’s house and almost hits his son

SpaceX successfully launched another group of Starlink internet satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California after two previous attempts were foiled by bad weather. The Falcon 9 rocket carrying 22 Starlink spacecraft took off at 10:30 p.m. EDT. The mission aimed for the Falcon 9’s first stage to return to Earth for a vertical landing on the drone ship “Of Course I Still Love … Continue reading SpaceX launches 22 Starlink satellites from California

Earlier this month, an abrupt atmospheric warming event induced a reversal in the trajectory of the Arctic’s polar vortex. This swirling mass of cold air is now spinning in the opposite direction, resulting in a remarkable “ozone spike” and potentially influencing global weather patterns. The unexpected warming in the upper atmosphere led to a significant reversal event, marking one of the most dramatic atmospheric shifts … Continue reading Polar vortex is ‘spinning backwards’ above Arctic after major reversal event

NASA has unveiled plans to launch three scientifically oriented rockets into the moon’s shadow on Monday, April 8, coinciding with a partial solar eclipse spanning North America. During this celestial event, which will feature a total solar eclipse along a 115-mile-wide path across parts of Mexico, 15 U.S. states, and Canada, and a partial eclipse throughout the Americas, there will be a noticeable decrease in … Continue reading NASA program named after Egyptian serpent deity to launch 3 rockets at the Eclipse

Exploration Labs (ExLabs), a startup based in Southern California, is gearing up for a 2028 mission to intercept the asteroid Apophis before it approaches Earth. The mission aims to deploy three cubesats into Apophis’ orbit while also testing systems and software for future endeavors to redirect near-Earth asteroids for resource extraction. ExLabs CEO Matthew Schmidgall emphasizes a collaborative approach with government and commercial partners to … Continue reading ExLabs plans mission to rendezvous with asteroid Apophis

Scientists propose that China should enhance its asteroid research efforts, prioritizing low-cost, high-frequency sample return missions. Published in the Chinese Journal of Space Sciences, the paper advocates for the establishment of scientific design teams to bolster China’s asteroid exploration endeavors. Such missions not only deepen our understanding of the solar system’s early stages and the origins of life but also pave the way for future … Continue reading Chinese scientists call for focus on asteroid missions

SpaceX successfully launched another group of its broadband satellites into orbit on the evening of March 25. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 Starlink internet satellites took off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 7:42 p.m. EDT (2342 GMT). Following liftoff, the Falcon 9’s first stage returned to Earth as planned, executing a precise vertical landing on SpaceX’s drone ship A Shortfall … Continue reading SpaceX launches 23 Starlink satellites from Florida

The Russian Soyuz crew ferry ship successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) two days after launch, bringing two short-duration crew members and a NASA astronaut for a six-month stay. The spacecraft, piloted by Oleg Novitskiy, Marina Vasilevskaya from Belarus, and NASA’s Tracy Dyson, docked at the Earth-facing Prichal module. Upon arrival, they were greeted by ISS commander Oleg Kononenko, cosmonauts Nikolai Chub and … Continue reading Russian Soyuz brings crew of 3 to the International Space Station

A severe geomagnetic storm hit the planet recently, reaching the second-highest level on NOAA’s rating system. This event caused significant disruption to Earth’s magnetic field, potentially affecting infrastructure and expanding the visibility of the northern lights. NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center issued a warning about the storm after detecting a coronal mass ejection (CME) from the sun’s corona, which occurred alongside a solar flare. Although … Continue reading Earth just experienced a severe geomagnetic storm

On Wednesday, China achieved a significant milestone in its lunar exploration program by launching a satellite designed to facilitate communication between ground operations on Earth and an upcoming mission on the far side of the moon. According to state media reports, a Long March 8 rocket carrying the 1.2-metric ton Queqiao-2 satellite, named after a mythological bridge made of magpies, along with two miniature satellites, … Continue reading China launches signal relay satellite for mission to moon’s hidden side

The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is gearing up for the launch of new satellites designed to enhance the U.S. military and intelligence community’s ability to monitor moving vehicles and individuals from space. The Air Force aims to replace its aging E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) aircraft, which provide targeting data, with more resilient space assets. A portion of the ground moving target … Continue reading Spy Agency Spy Ready to Launch New Vehicle-tracking Satellites

NASA has unveiled its budget for 2025, maintaining the funding level at $25,383,700,000, consistent with allocations in 2023 and 2024. While $25 billion may appear substantial, it accounts for less than 0.4 percent of the United States’ total expenditure for the upcoming year. To put it in perspective, for every $100 spent by the U.S. government, NASA receives a mere 34 cents, while the Defense … Continue reading NASA To End Chandra After 24 Years Due To New Budget, Hubble May Not Be Far Behind

NASA’s groundbreaking asteroid mission has unveiled that Bennu harbors minerals containing ingredients conducive to the formation of life. A recent comprehensive examination of samples dating back 45 million years revealed the presence of magnesium phosphate, a compound also found in Earth’s oceans, alongside phyllosilicates commonly observed in tectonic plates. Additionally, glycine, a crucial component in proteins, was detected. Moreover, scientists confirmed the existence of water-bearing … Continue reading NASA’s asteroid contains ‘ingredient of life’ – finds new analysis of Bennu space rock 

Several remarkable asteroids exhibit “activity,” displaying comet-like tails or enveloping gas and dust. NASA’s Active Asteroids project recently unveiled the discovery of such activity on 15 asteroids, challenging established notions about the solar system. The identification of these 15 rare objects involved the collaborative efforts of over 8,000 volunteers who meticulously examined 430,000 images captured by the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) mounted on the Victor … Continue reading NASA volunteers find 15 rare ‘active asteroids’

During the 55th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference held in The Woodlands, Texas, scientists unveiled a groundbreaking discovery: a colossal volcano and potentially a buried glacier ice sheet in the eastern sector of Mars’ Tharsis volcanic province, situated near the planet’s equator. Despite being imaged repeatedly by spacecraft orbiting Mars since Mariner 9 in 1971, the immense volcano remained obscured by extensive erosion, eluding recognition … Continue reading Giant volcano discovered on Mars

NASA is set to send a unique “message in a bottle” to Jupiter later this year in its pursuit of discovering potential alien life on Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons. The Europa Clipper spacecraft, scheduled for launch from Florida’s Kennedy Space Station in October, will transmit 2.6 million soundwaves of human names into space. The spacecraft’s six-year journey to cover 0.6 billion miles is expected … Continue reading NASA sending ‘message in a bottle’ to possible alien life hiding on Jupiter’s moon Europa

On Sunday night, SpaceX achieved a successful launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The launch occurred at 9:09 p.m. and involved carrying 23 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E). Notably, this marked the 17th flight for the first stage booster, which had previously supported missions such as Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, DART, Transporter-7, Iridium OneWeb, … Continue reading SpaceX successfully launches Falcon 9 rocket on Sunday

On April 8, during the occurrence of a rare total solar eclipse, skygazers may be treated to the sight of the “devil comet,” officially known as 12P/Pons-Brooks. This comet, named after the astronomers Jean-Louis Pons and William Robert Brooks, who first observed it in 1812 and 1883 respectively, has earned its demonic moniker due to the horn-shaped gas and dust trail it leaves behind. While … Continue reading Horned ‘devil comet’ eruption may coincide with April 8 total solar eclipse

On Sunday, the Sun exhibited intense activity, emitting a potent M-Class solar flare with the potential to induce radio blackouts. The Solar Ultraviolet Imager on NOAA’s GOES East satellite captured the M7.4 X-ray flare, indicating its strength as the second-most-intense type. While powerful solar flares can cause high-frequency radio blackouts and pose risks to space missions and satellites, the impact on the general public is … Continue reading Strong solar flare sent blasting from Sun causing limited radio blackouts

According to scientists, the minuscule black holes causing red dots in the sky could revolutionize our comprehension of the formation of supermassive black holes and provide insights into the enigmatic processes involved. Initially observed as specks through the Hubble Space Telescope, these distant phenomena appeared akin to regular galaxies. However, the unveiling of their true nature has been made possible by NASA’s James Webb Space … Continue reading Small red dots in the sky are tiny black holes, scientists say