Space

A ‘lake’ on Mars may be surrounded by more pools of water 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- September 29, 2020
New radar data add to evidence of water under Mars’ south pole, but it’s not “a slam dunk yet”

By David Aragorn
Finding Martian Microbes Could Require Digging Miles Underground 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- September 26, 2020
NASA’s Perseverance rover is flying to Mars as you read this sentence. It will land there in February 2021 and set aside rocks with promising signs of ancient life, for a future mission to pick up for analysis.

By David Aragorn
New measurements show moon has hazardous radiation levels 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- September 25, 2020
Future moon explorers will be bombarded with two to three times more radiation than astronauts aboard the International Space Station, a health hazard that will require thick-walled shelters for protection, scientists reported Friday.

By David Aragorn
NASA on Bennu asteroid touchdown: Everything we know about TAG 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- September 25, 2020
NASA held an online conference to talk about TAG, an upcoming event under the OSIRIS-REx mission.

By David Aragorn
NASA and US Space Force team up for planetary defense, moon trips and more 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- September 25, 2020
NASA and the United States Space Force are banding together for the future of human spaceflight.

By David Aragorn
Asteroid 2020 SW Flew Safely Past Earth Today 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- September 24, 2020
A small near-Earth asteroid designated 2020 SW made its closest approach to Earth today at 7:12 a.m. EDT (4:12 a.m. PDT) at a distance of about 22,000 km (13,000 miles).

By David Aragorn
Crescent Shadow of Messier 87’s Supermassive Black Hole is Wobbling 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- September 24, 2020
In 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) delivered the first resolved images of M87*, the supermassive black hole in the center of the giant elliptical galaxy Messier 87 (M87). Those images were produced using EHT observations performed in April 2017. Additional observations were required to investigate the persistence of the primary image feature and to quantify the image variability. To address this need, astronomers analyzed M87* data collected with the proto-EHT array of telescopes in 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2013. The analysis reveals the behavior of the black hole image across this period, indicating persistence of the crescent-like shadow feature, but also variation of its orientation — the crescent appears to be wobbling.

By David Aragorn
ISS forced to move to avoid space debris 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- September 24, 2020
Nasa says astronauts sheltered in the Soyuz spacecraft so they could evacuate if necessary during the ‘avoidance manoeuvre’

By David Aragorn
Can ripples on the sun help predict solar flares?0
- From Around the Web, Space
- September 24, 2020
Scientists analyze sunquakes to pinpoint flare energy source, perhaps predict flare severity

By David Aragorn
A three-agent robotic system for Mars exploration 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- September 23, 2020
Mars, also known as the red planet, has been the focus of numerous research studies, as some of its characteristics have sparked discussions about its possible inhabitability. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and a few other space agencies have thus sent a number of rovers and other spacecraft to Mars with the hope of better understanding its geology and environment.

By David Aragorn