space

Starwatch: wildly twinkling Sirius outshines the sun 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- December 29, 2020
Search out the brightest star in the night sky and its parent constellation

By David Aragorn
How future spacecraft might handle tricky landings on Venus or Europa 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- December 29, 2020
Fan-powered descents and nimble landing legs are just two ideas for touching down safely

By David Aragorn
The world’s oldest story? Astronomers say global myths about ‘seven sisters’ stars may reach back 100,000 years 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- December 29, 2020
In the northern sky in December is a beautiful cluster of stars known as the Pleiades, or the “seven sisters”. Look carefully and you will probably count six stars. So why do we say there are seven of them?

By David Aragorn
These science claims from 2020 could be big news if confirmed 0
- Ancient Archeology, From Around the Web, Space
- December 29, 2020
Findings in need of more proof include potential signs of life on Venus and Earth’s oldest parasites

By David Aragorn
OneWeb resumes satellite launches with flight from Russian cosmodrome 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- December 22, 2020
OneWeb, the satellite firm rescued by the British government and India’s Bharti Group, resumed flights on Friday in its push to provide global broadband coverage as 36 of its satellites blasted off into orbit from Russia’s Far East.

By David Aragorn
‘Guardians’ of the galaxy: US Space Force members get a new name 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- December 22, 2020
Mike Pence says “soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and guardians will be defending our nation for generations to come”.

By David Aragorn
The Milky Way is probably full of dead civilizations 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- December 22, 2020
Most of the alien civilizations that ever dotted our galaxy have probably killed themselves off already.

By David Aragorn
Winter solstice: Jupiter and Saturn ‘merge’ in rare celestial event 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- December 21, 2020
A very rare, once-in-a-lifetime celestial event will shine brightly in the sky on Monday evening – weather permitting, of course.

By David Aragorn
Chinese space probe returns to Earth with samples from the moon 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- December 19, 2020
China now joins the ranks of the U.S. and the former Soviet Union in pulling off the feat.

By David Aragorn
Hubble Monitors Weird Dark Vortex on Neptune 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- December 17, 2020
In 2018, astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope spotted a giant dark storm, which is 7,400 km (4,600 miles) across, in the northern hemisphere of Neptune. Observations a year later showed that the vortex began drifting southward toward the equator, where such storms are expected to vanish from sight. To the surprise of astronomers, Hubble spotted the vortex change direction by August 2020, doubling back to the north. At the same time as the spot’s stunning reversal, a new, slightly smaller dark feature appeared near its bigger cousin and later disappeared.

By David Aragorn