Meet the People Who Paid $55 Million Each to Fly to the International Space Station | Travel +

It's the dawn of a new era in human spaceflight — one where pretty much anyone with deep enough pockets can fly to space. Private company Axiom Space has announced its first all-commercial astronaut crew, which is scheduled to fly to the International Space Station (ISS) for an eight-day mission early next year.

The three paying customers — each of whom shelled out $55 million for the trip — are American investor Larry Connor, who will serve as pilot, Canadian investor Mark Pathy, and Israeli investor Eytan Stibbe. The three will fly under the command of former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría, now a vice president at Axiom Space and veteran of four spaceflights.

Publisher: Travel + Leisure

Twitter: @TravelLeisure

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Quite a lot has been going on:

Six space missions to look forward to in 2021

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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The coming year is shaping up to be just as interesting. Here are some of the missions to keep an eye out for.

Artemis 1 is the first flight of the Nasa-led, international Artemis program to return astronauts to the Moon by 2024. This will consist of an uncrewed Orion spacecraft which will be sent on a three-week flight around the Moon. IT will reach a maximum distance from Earth of 450,000km – the farthest into space that any spacecraft that can transport humans will have ever flown.

Publisher: The Conversation

Author: Gareth Dorrian

Twitter: @ConversationUK

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Remembering Space Shuttle Challenger 35 years later; 5 things to know

1. Space Shuttle Challenger's Jan. 28, 1986, launch was its 10th launch. Overall the shuttle, spent 62 days, 7 hours, 56 minutes and 22 seconds in space, CBS News reported , after being first launched in April 1983.

On board were astronauts Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, Judith Resnik, Michael Smith, Francis (Dick) Scobee, Ronald McNair and schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe, the "Today" show reported .

* * *

2. It was initially supposed to be a test vehicle. The building of the shuttle was started by Rockwell Internation in November 1975, then was sent to Lockheed Martin for structural testing in April 1978, Space.com reported .

Publisher: KIRO

Date: 2021-01-28T14:27:37.560Z

Author: Natalie Dreier Cox Media Group National Content Desk

Twitter: @KIRO7Seattle

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SpaceX targeting April to launch 4 astronauts from 3 countries to space station

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – Two American, one French and a Japanese astronaut will liftoff from Kennedy Space Center in April marking the third human spaceflight for SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft, NASA announced in a blog post.

The NASA, European Space Agency and Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) crew are slated to launch atop the Falcon 9 rocket from launchpad 39A no earlier than April 20 and travel to the International Space Station, where four other astronauts, who also arrived via SpaceX, will be waiting.

Publisher: WKMG

Date: 2021-01-29T19:54:53.408Z

Author: Emilee Speck

Twitter: @WKMG

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Quite a lot has been going on:

Lake County News,California - Space News: NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission plans for May asteroid

Publisher: Lake County News

Author: NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

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Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

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Dayton business mogul to use first private space mission to invest in the birthplace of aviation

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) – A Dayton business mogul has been named a crew member on the first private flight to the International Space Station , and he plans to invest what he learns back into his community. 

Dayton real estate and technology entrepreneur, Larry Connor, who will be the second-oldest person to fly into space, said he gained interest in the private mission after hearing the story of an American who made international connections to travel outside of Earth.

Publisher: WDTN.com

Date: 2021-01-27T20:23:38 00:00

Author: Lauren Mixon

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What space exploration missions are happening in 2021? | World Economic Forum

Publisher: World Economic Forum

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Happening on Twitter

Only 25 of Trump's almost 240 pardons and commutations were reviewed and approved by DOJ. The rest went to Trump a… https://t.co/55jAsflDYe ChrisLu44 Tue Jan 26 12:31:34 +0000 2021

NASA's Mars 'Mole' Probe Bites the Dust - The Atlantic

NASA's Mars 'Mole' Probe Bites the Dust - The Atlantic

Troy Hudson didn't want to think about Mars. It was Christmas, he had taken some time off, and this planet had enough going on at the end of 2020. But Mars was difficult to escape, he told me. It twirled in a mobile of the solar system in his home. It sat right there on his skin, tattooed on his arm, below the elbow. Hudson had spent more than a decade working on a robot that was currently parked on the surface of Mars, and NASA was about to decide whether to give up on it.

Publisher: The Atlantic

Date: 2021-01-29T16:20:25Z

Author: Marina Koren

Twitter: @theatlantic

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Not to change the topic here:

NASA may change MRO orbit to support Mars 2020 - SpaceNews

WASHINGTON — NASA is considering changing the orbit of one of its oldest Mars spacecraft, a move intended to support the Mars 2020 mission after landing but which could affect both its science and support of other missions.

NASA launched the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) in 2005 with a suite of six science instruments, including a high-resolution camera. The spacecraft has increasingly been used as a communications relay, supporting spacecraft on the surface of Mars.

Publisher: SpaceNews

Date: 2021-01-29T12:20:55 00:00

Author:

Twitter: @SpaceNews_Inc

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NASA's MAVEN Continues to Advance Mars Science and Telecommunications Relay Efforts – NASA's Mars

With a suite of new national and international spacecraft primed to explore the Red Planet after their arrival next month, NASA’s MAVEN mission is ready to provide support and continue its study of the Martian atmosphere.

MAVEN launched in November 2013 and entered the Martian atmosphere roughly a year later. Since that time, MAVEN has made fundamental contributions to understanding the history of the Martian atmosphere and climate. A few science highlights include:

Publisher: NASA's Mars Exploration Program

Date: 2021-01-28 21:06:48 UTC

Author: mars nasa gov

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Mineral often found on Mars discovered deep in Antarctic ice

The researchers suggest the mineral formed in ice pockets that also held small amounts of dust. Under the ice, they had eroded, the researchers noted. The finding brought to mind another site where jarosite is found—the surface of Mars. It was found there by the Opportunity rover back in 2004 and has been found to be abundant. Finding jarosite on Mars created a lot of excitement at NASA and around the world, because prior research had shown that water must be present for jarosite formation.

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Comparing sound on Earth and Mars | weareiowa.com

Publisher: weareiowa.com

Date: 1/30/2021 12:17:39 AM

Twitter: @weareiowa5news

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Mission to Mars Student Challenge - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Twitter: @NASAJPL_Edu

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Solis Dorsum, Mars – ExoMars Orbiter's 20,000th Image

The image, taken on December 13, 2020, features Solis Dorsum, a segment of a prominent wrinkle ridge system in a vast volcanic plateau, known as Tharsis. Wrinkle ridges are tectonic features that form in layered basalt lavas due to loading and flexure of the planet’s crust and upper mantle. These tectonic stresses are caused by the planet’s interior cooling and subsequent contraction.

The study of wrinkle ridges, and in particular their distribution and orientation, can reveal details of the complex and dynamic geological history of Mars.

Publisher: SciTechDaily

Date: 2021-01-29T03:28:54-08:00

Author: Mike O

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Extreme black holes probably have 'hair' | Space

According to a leading idea known as the "no hair" or "black hole uniqueness" theorem, black holes can be fully characterized using just three data points — their mass, spin and electric charge. There's no other observable information to be had about these light-gobbling behemoths, which therefore seem to be sleekly and uniquely "bald."

But a new study casts doubt on the no-hair idea , or at least its universal application: Computer simulations suggest that "extreme" black holes — the ones whose spin or electrical charge is fully maxed out — do sport a few wispy hairs here and there.

Publisher: Space.com

Date: 2021-01-28T12:17:27 00:00

Author: https www facebook com spacecom

Twitter: @SPACEdotcom

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Check out this next:

Humans Can Theoretically Harness Energy From Black Holes

Wait, they can accelerate plasma particles to . . . negative energy? That’s right. The scientists compare it to the idea of eating candy that somehow removes calories from your body instead of adding them—black holes “eat” particles with negative energy that then pulls out a discharge of energy. The black holes are, to follow the analogy, losing proverbial “weight” in the form of energy.

As magnetic fields disconnect and reconnect, like an unfathomably large cosmic version of regular refrigerator magnets, energy accumulates and is smashed out both against the black hole’s spin and with it. The energy that travels with the black hole’s spin is accelerated, and it’s this portion of energy that can clear the black hole to be gathered by some keen-eyed future builders.

Publisher: Popular Mechanics

Date: 2021-01-29 08:02:00

Twitter: @PopMech

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Alternatives to black holes are scarce and strange | Science

Publisher: Science

Date: 2021-01-08

Author: Copyright 2021 The Authors some rights reserved exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science No claim to original U S Government Works

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New Black Hole Merger Simulations Could Power Next-Gen Gravitational Wave Detectors

Color map of the curvature on the large black hole horizon generated by the near merging small black hole. Credit: Nicole Rosato

Rochester Institute of Technology scientists have developed new simulations of black holes with widely varying masses merging that could help power the next generation of gravitational wave detectors. RIT Professor Carlos Lousto and Research Associate James Healy from RIT’s School of Mathematical Sciences outline these record-breaking simulations in a new Physical Review Letters paper.

Publisher: SciTechDaily

Date: 2021-01-28T21:52:09-08:00

Author: Mike O

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Many things are taking place:

Are primordial black holes really giant gravitinos? | Space

Astronomers don't understand the origins of the biggest black holes in the universe. These black holes appear so early in the cosmological record that we might have to invoke new physics to explain their appearance.

New research proposes an intriguing origin story: the first black holes didn't come from stars but from clumps of super-exotic, super-hypothetical particles known as gravitinos that managed to survive the first chaotic years of the Big Bang .

Publisher: Space.com

Date: 2021-01-06T12:08:45 00:00

Author: https www facebook com spacecom

Twitter: @SPACEdotcom

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Extreme black holes have hair that can be combed

This quantity constitutes "gravitational hair" and potentially measurable by recent and upcoming gravitational wave observatories like LIGO and LISA. The structure of this new hair follows the development of a similar quantity that was found by Angelopoulos, Aretakis, and Gajic in the context of a simpler "toy" model using a scalar field and spherical black holes, and extends it to gravitational perturbations of rotating ones.

"This new result is surprising," said Burko, "because the black hole uniqueness theorems are well established, and in particular their extension to extreme black holes. There has to be an assumption of the theorems that is not satisfied, to explain how the theorems do not apply in this case.

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Black Holes Could Get So Humongous, Astronomers Came Up With a New Size Category

There are supermassive black holes . There are ultra massive black holes. How large can these strange objects grow? Well, there could be something even bigger than ultramassive: stupendously large black holes, according to the latest research.

Such hypothetical black holes - larger than 100 billion times the mass of the Sun - have been explored in a new paper which names them SLABs, an acronym that stands for "Stupendously LArge Black holeS".

"We already know that black holes exist over a vast range of masses, with a supermassive black hole of 4 million solar masses residing at the centre of our own galaxy," explained astronomer Bernard Carr of Queen Mary University London.

Publisher: ScienceAlert

Author: Michelle Starr

Twitter: @ScienceAlert

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Galaxies Hit Single, Doubles, and a Triple (Growing Black Holes) | NASA

Publisher: NASA

Date: 2021-01-13T19:31-05:00

Twitter: @NASA

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Happening on Twitter

This is why the #NobelPeacePrize has lost its legitimacy and credibility- Black Lives Matter movement is nominated… https://t.co/jNCFUOUlRw BernardKerik (from NYC) Sat Jan 30 14:52:17 +0000 2021

'Black swan' events are unforeseen occurrences that lead to extreme consequences. And some experts are predicting m… https://t.co/1CXaAt8reQ RT_com Wed Jan 27 05:45:00 +0000 2021

Moon phases may affect sleep, study finds - The Washington Post

Moon phases may affect sleep, study finds - The Washington Post

Sleep and circadian rhythms have long been associated with the powerful effects of the sun cycle. But in recent years, a growing number of studies have suggested that another familiar celestial body might also be impacting your ability to get a restful night's sleep: the moon.

A paper published this week in the journal Science Advances found that people tend to have a harder time sleeping in the days leading up to a full moon. Researchers reported that sleep patterns among the study's 98 participants appeared to fluctuate over the course of the 29½ -day lunar cycle, with the latest bedtimes and least amount of rest occurring on nights three to five days before the moon reaches its brightest phase.

Publisher: Washington Post

Date: 2021-01-29T02:05:50Z

Twitter: @WashingtonPost

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While you're here, how about this:

Photos: 2021 Wolf Moon over St. Louis and past moons | Local | stltoday.com

The full "Wolf Moon" rises over the Arch in St. Louis on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021. According to The Old Farmer's Almanac Native Americans and Colonial Americans named this Moon because it appeared when wolves were howling at night outside their villages. This was the first full Moon of 2021. Gallery also features some images of past full Moons over St. Louis and an eclipse Moon.

* * *

The full "Wolf Moon" rises over the Arch in St. Louis on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021. According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac Native Americans and Colonial Americans named this Moon because it appeared when wolves were howling at night outside their villages. This was the first full Moon of 2021. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com

Publisher: STLtoday.com

Author: David Carson

Twitter: @stltoday

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Full moon in January 2021: When to see the Wolf Moon - CNN

(CNN) The first full moon of the year will light up the night sky on Thursday. The moon will be 100% full at 2:16 p.m. ET.

Publisher: CNN

Date: 2021-01-28T09:17:52Z

Author: Ashley Strickland CNN

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The Moon's water is blowin' in the wind : Research Highlights

Some of the water on the Moon (pictured rising over Earth in an artist's illustration) might originate from charged particles in the terrestrial magnetic shield. Credit: Detlev Van Ravenswaay/SPL

* * *

Charged particles flowing from the Sun bombard the Moon's surface. Among them are protons, which bond with oxygen to make some of the Moon's water. But for several days a month, Earth lies between the Moon and the Sun, blocking the flood of solar particles.

Date: 2021-01-20

Twitter: @nature

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And here's another article:

Earth's Homemade Rocket Turned 'Mini-Moon' Is Back To Say Goodbye

The object was first presumed to be an asteroid and was designated 2020 SO. It approached earth and was officially captured by our gravity in November, beginning the first of two orbits around us.

It made a very close approach on December 1, 2020, coming almost as close to the surface of Earth as the ring where many of our larger telecommunications satellites orbit. This allowed professional sky watchers to get a closer look at the object and determine that it was a relatively new denizen of space.

Publisher: Forbes

Date: 2021-01-29

Author: Eric Mack

Twitter: @forbes

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The first full moon of 2021 — the "Wolf Moon" — shines bright in the

According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, January's full moon is often referred to as the "wolf moon" as a reference to wolves that used to howl at night around this time of year, although it remains unclear if the name stemmed from a Native American tribe, as moon names typically do. 

There is a large number of other names used to describe this month's moon, including Candles Moon, Snow Moon, Hunger Moon, Center Moon, Cold Moon, Frost Exploding Moon, Freeze Up Moon, Severe Moon and Hard Moon, among others. 

Twitter: @CBSNews

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Earth's Second 'Moon' Will Take a Final Lap Before Waving Bye-Bye to Us For Good

Earth's second moon will make a close approach to the planet next week before drifting off into space, never to be seen again.

This non-moon minimoon made its closest approach to Earth on Dec. 1 (the day before NASA identified it as the long-lost booster), but it's coming back for one more victory lap, according to EarthSky.org .

Minimoon 2020 SO will make a final close approach to Earth on Tuesday (Feb. 2) at roughly 140,000 miles (220,000 kilometers) from Earth, or 58 percent of the way between Earth and the moon.

Publisher: ScienceAlert

Author: _____

Twitter: @ScienceAlert

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Sun pillar leaves skywatchers beaming before and after the Wolf Moon lights the night sky | WWMT

Publisher: WWMT

Date: 2021-01-29T12:30:17 00:00

Author: Meteorologist Will Haenni News Channel 3

Twitter: @wwmtnews

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NASA mission will zoom by asteroid Bennu before returning sample to Earth - CNN

(CNN) A NASA spacecraft that took a sample from an asteroid 200 million miles away now has a plan to come back home.

Publisher: CNN

Date: 2021-01-29T18:52:34Z

Author: Ashley Strickland CNN

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Were you following this:

NASA's OSIRIS-REx Mission Plans for May Asteroid Departure to Return Bennu Sample to Earth

This illustration shows the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft departing asteroid Bennu to begin its two-year journey back to Earth. Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

“Leaving Bennu’s vicinity in May puts us in the ‘sweet spot,’ when the departure maneuver will consume the least amount of the spacecraft’s onboard fuel,” said Michael Moreau, OSIRIS-REx deputy project manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Publisher: SciTechDaily

Date: 2021-01-28T14:54:40-08:00

Author: Mike O

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Space news: Asteroid 2021 AG7 set to whizz past Earth | 7NEWS.com.au

The space rock is dubbed 2021 AG7 and while it will come close, we'll all be fine, there's no chance of it hitting us.

At its closest point, it will be 11 times the distance between the Earth and the Moon - that's about 4.2 million kilometres from us.

Publisher: 7NEWS.com.au

Date: 2021-01-28T01:48:08.000Z

Twitter: @7NEWS.com.au

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Should I worry about an asteroid hitting Earth? - CGTN

Every so often there are reports that an asteroid is passing close to Earth, with the most recent story claiming one the size of the Eiffel Tower will be zooming past our planet. Dinosaurs also famously became extinct after an asteroid collided with our planet 66 million years ago. But what is the likelihood of it happening again? 

To answer this question, CGTN Europe spoke to Doug Millard, the space curator at the Science Museum in London.

* * *

"It may be fairly small, anything from a meter upwards, or it may be very big," he says, adding that the biggest asteroid is "about the size of the UK." These minor planets, which can also be referred to as planetoids, are normally found in the inner solar system.

Twitter: @CGTNOfficial

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And here's another article:

'Asteroid' 2020 SO mini-moon set to make close approach to Earth before leaving our

On December 1, Asteroid 2020 SO flew by Earth at an extremely close distance. The object came within just 13 percent of the distance between the Earth and the Moon. As it did so, it got caught in orbit around Earth, giving our planet a new 'mini-moon'.

NASA analysis revealed the 'asteroid' in question was actually a rocket booster from the launch of Surveyor 2 in 1966.

The rocket was a Centaur rocket booster, which was used to launch Surveyor 2 in what was NASA's second time landing an uncrewed machine on the Moon.

Publisher: Express.co.uk

Date: 2021-01-29T06:18:00 00:00

Author: Sean Martin

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We are the asteroid! | Columns | northstarmonthly.com

"Where are these birds?" Two years ago, several Chimney Swift pairs abandoned nesting in our chimney. Over four years, Tree Swallows have not returned to our nesting boxes. For 11 years, I was assigned to conduct a nocturnal survey in Peacham and Groton to locate Whip-poor-wills. Found none. What's the story?

Climate change, urbanized habitats, toxic chemicals in the air, soil, and water, and displaced species of plants and animals (humans being the most displaced), scientists have determined that a global loss of birds has been underway since the beginning of the industrial era. Elizabeth Kolbert addressed this concern in her 2014 book "The Sixth Extinction," and in her Eddy Lecture in St. Johnsbury the same year.

Publisher: The North Star Monthly

Author: Charlie Browne

Twitter: @northstarpublis

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Asteroid naming contest sparks discussion of women in astronomy - SpaceFlight Insider

The late astronomer Ada Carrera, who now has a near-Earth asteroid named for her. Her name selected as the winner of an asteroid-naming contest sparked an online panel discussion by the contest’s sponsors about the role of women in astronomy Credit: Unistellar

In a joint project, the SETI Institute and the company Unistellar sponsored a “ Name the Asteroid ” contest in late 2020 for near-Earth asteroid 1999 AP10, also known as Asteroid 159402, which drew over 120 entries.

Publisher: SpaceFlight Insider

Date: 2021-01-26T06:00:27-05:00

Author: Laurel Kornfeld

Twitter: @SpaceflightIns

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Two Asteroids Bigger Than the Great Pyramid of Giza to Fly Past Earth

Two huge asteroids will sail past the Earth in the next few days, NASA data shows. Both of the space rocks are around the same size as the Empire State Building, and roughly three times larger than the Great Pyramid of Giza.

The first of the two asteroids to fly past our planet is known as 2020 PP. It will make its closest approach on January 23 at 6:26 a.m. ET, according to NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS.)

At this point, the object will be located around 4.3 million miles from us—which is equivalent to roughly 18 times the average distance between the Earth and the moon .

Publisher: Newsweek

Date: 2021-01-20T12:54:22-05:00

Author: https www facebook com Aristos Georgiou 135003530684171 modal admin_todo_tour

Twitter: @newsweek

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TESS discovers four exoplanets orbiting a nearby sun-like star | MIT News | Massachusetts

MIT researchers have discovered four new exoplanets orbiting a sun-like star just over 200 light-years from Earth. Because of the diversity of these planets and brightness of their star, this system could be an ideal target for atmospheric characterization with NASA's upcoming James Webb Space Telescope. Tansu Daylan, a postdoc at the MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, led the study published in The Astronomical Journal on Jan. 25.

With further study, says Daylan, this bright star and its many planets could be critical to understanding how planets take shape and evolve. "When it comes to characterizing planetary atmospheres around sun-like stars, this is likely one of the best targets we will ever get," he says of the results he presented earlier in the month at the 237th meeting of the American Astronomical Society.

Publisher: MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Author: Kelso Harper MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research

Twitter: @mit

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This may worth something:

Mars-orbiting spacecraft delivers 20,000th image, and it's a beauty - CNET

The image comes from the Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS) camera. It managed to snap a particularly scenic spot for the visual milestone.

The snapshot comes from Dec. 13, 2020, and shows part of a "wrinkle ridge system" on a volcanic plateau. It gives scientists a peek at the history of Martian geology in the region.

Publisher: CNET

Author: Amanda Kooser

Twitter: @CNET

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Angara's launch confirms possibility of orbiting 23-tonne payloads — top brass - Science &

MOSCOW, January 29. /TASS/. The recent launch of the heavy space rocket Angara-A5 from the Plesetsk cosmodrome has confirmed the possibility of putting payloads of up to 23 tonnes into low orbits, Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Krivoruchko said on Friday.

"The launch of the heavy class rocket Angara-A5 within the framework of flight tests confirmed the possibility of putting in space payloads of up to 23 tonnes," he said.

Under the 2020 program for launches Russia’s Aerospace Forces in the 4th quarter of last year orbited space satellites Glonass-K and a cluster of three space satellites Gonets-M using Soyuz-2.1b rockets.

Publisher: TASS

Date: C05302AEC20336D89FE678451D9C5CDC

Twitter: @tass_agency

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hot mini-Neptune in the radius valley orbiting solar analogue HD 110113 | Monthly Notices of the

H P Osborn, D J Armstrong, V Adibekyan, K A Collins, E Delgado-Mena, S B Howell, C Hellier, G W King, J Lillo-Box, L D Nielsen, J F Otegi, N C Santos, C Ziegler, D R Anderson, C Briceño, C Burke, D Bayliss, D Barrado, E M Bryant, D J A Brown, S C C Barros, F Bouchy, D A Caldwell, D M Conti, R F Díaz, D Dragomir, M Deleuil, O D S Demangeon, C Dorn, T Daylan, P Figueira, R Helled, S Hoyer, J M Jenkins, E L N Jensen, D W Latham, N Law, D R Louie, A W Mann, A Osborn, D L Pollacco, D R Rodriguez,

Publisher: OUP Academic

Date: 2021-01-25

Author: Osborn H P

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This may worth something:

Teen Interning at NASA Discovered a New Planet Which Orbits Two Stars

During the summer of 2019, a 17-year-old high school student named Wolf Cukier arrived at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center ready for a summer of learning at their new prestigious, coveted internship. He was put in charge of examining data collected by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), which searches the universe for systems with two stars.

TOI-1338 b is considered a Neptune-like gas exoplanet, about 6.9 times larger than Earth. An exoplanet is a planet outside of our solar system. This example lies 1,317 light years away from Earth and orbits its two stars roughly every 95 days. Discovery of planets such as TOI-1338 b are a main function of NASA's TESS. The system documents dual-star systems to track the variations in light.

Publisher: My Modern Met

Date: 2021-01-29T16:10:43 00:00

Twitter: @mymodernmet

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Star System With Five Wildly Different Planets Orbiting In Harmony Discovered | IFLScience

Artist's impression of the TOI-178 system with the planet in the foreground orbiting most distantly around the star. Image Credit: ESO CC BY 4.0

An international team of astronomers has discovered an incredible star system. Six planets orbit star TOI-178 and the outer five orbit in perfect harmony, a phenomenon known as resonance. Other planetary systems have been seen to be in resonance but this is the first time the planets involved are so wildly different from one another.

Publisher: IFLScience

Twitter: @IFLScience

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Peering inside the birthplaces of planets orbiting the smallest stars

Publisher: Space Daily

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Temperature Management in Space

The universe is merciless and infinite, and satellites orbiting the earth are witnessing this first hand. Extreme temperature differences between the side of the earth facing towards and away from the sun pose a significant challenge for orbiting satellites, and because repair or maintenance of active satellites is impossible, the satellite, its components and materials must undergo extensive testing, including temperature and vacuum resistance.

Vacuum and temperature extremes place immense demands on both technology and materials. For example, the moon sees temperatures of up to +120 °C during the long solar phase, while it becomes subject to temperatures as low as -130 °C in the shadow phase.

Publisher: AZoM.com

Date: 2020-12-14T03:54:00.0000000-05:00

Twitter: @AZoM

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Top 12 brightest objects in the solar system | Astronomy Essentials | EarthSky

Can you name the top 12 brightest objects in the solar system? How many have you seen without the aid of binoculars or a telescope?

* * *

What are the brightest objects in our solar system that you can see in your sky? The sun is the very brightest, of course, but you might be surprised by some of the other objects that make the list. You can see the first seven objects on this list using just your eyes, even from cities and suburbs. The last items on the list are fainter and therefore more challenging, and likely require a dark-sky site and some optical aid.

Publisher: EarthSky

Date: 2021-01-27T06:37:27-06:00

Author: Kelly Whitt

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Quite a lot has been going on:

What Did The Solar System Look Like Before All The Planets Migrated? - Universe Today

The researchers, led by postdoc Jan Render, had three key realizations. First, that almost all the meteorites that have fallen to Earth originated from the asteroid belt . Second, that the asteroid belt is known to have formed by sweeping material up from all over the solar system. And third, and perhaps most importantly, that they could analyze the isotopic signatures in meteorites to help determine where a given asteroid had formed in the solar system.

With that knowledge, they could then extrapolate out to other asteroids of the same type. There are approximately 100 different types of asteroids, with different isotopic signatures , in the asteroid belt. The team used a technique to measure the nucleosynthetic isotope signatures of several samples of basaltic achondrites , a type of stony meteorite.

Publisher: Universe Today

Date: 2021-01-27T11:55:04-05:00

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NASA solar observation spacecraft capture unique views of the solar system - SlashGear

Publisher: SlashGear

Date: 2021-01-28T12:19:25 00:00

Twitter: @slashgear

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Scientists discover solar system with planets in a strange 'rhythm', Science News |

A handout photo made available by the European Southern Observatory on January 25, 2021 shows an artist's impression of the view from the planet in the TOI-178 system found orbiting furthest from the star Photograph:( AFP )

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The solar system hosts stars that seem to be performing a "rhythmic dance" as they continue to dance around the orbits. 

Also read:  Scientists want to turn Mars green. How will they do it?

"It is not what we are used to", Hara added.

Publisher: WION

Twitter: @WIOnews

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A shocker in the plan to finally update residential solar rates: No complaints

Connecticut is on the verge of changing one of the key financial underpinnings for residential solar electric systems, and, for the first time in more than a decade, it appears no one is complaining.

The change is in how solar owners are compensated for the excess power their systems produce at certain times. The rates for how that is calculated and structured will be altered, but in exchange, systems will be allowed more flexibility to accommodate future larger electricity needs.

Publisher: The CT Mirror

Date: 2021-01-29T10:00:48 00:00

Twitter: @CTMirror

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Solar flare-style rocket thruster 'could send astronauts to outer solar system'

A new type of rocket thruster that replicates the mechanism behind solar flares could send humans to Mars and beyond, a researcher has claimed.

Fatima Ebrahimi, a principal research physicist at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) in New Jersey, proposed the concept. The thruster would apply magnetic fields to cause particles of plasma to shoot out the back of the rocket, propelling it forward. Current space-proven plasma thrusters use electric fields to propel the particles.

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Exoplanetary System Found With 6 Worlds in Orbital Resonance - Universe Today

200 light-years away from Earth, there’s a K-type main-sequence star named TOI (TESS Object of Interest) 178. When Adrian Leleu, an astrophysicist at the Center for Space and Habitability of the University of Bern, observed it, it appeared to have two planets orbiting it at roughly the same distance. But that turned out to be incorrect. In fact, six exoplanets orbit the smallish star.

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Five of the planets are engaged in a rare rhythmic, dance around the star. In astronomical terms, they’re in an unusual orbital resonance , which means their orbits around their star display repeated patterns. That property makes them an intriguing object of study and one that could tell us a lot about how planets form and evolve.

Publisher: Universe Today

Date: 2021-01-28T16:21:42-05:00

Author: https www facebook com evan gough 3

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LOOK: Solar System Planets Share The Spotlight In Stunning Images From Solar Missions

NASA and the European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter captured stunning footage of our planet and its two neighbors. The spacecraft is just one of the three missions aimed at studying the sun, and the other two also captured their own stunning images of the solar system's planets. 

In the Solar Orbiter footage, one can see three bright star-like objects. The leftmost and brightest one is Venus, the one on the right is Mars, while our Earth is the one in the middle, ESA explained.

Publisher: International Business Times

Date: 2021-01-27T06:40:32-05:00

Author: Athena Chan

Twitter: @IBTimes

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