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