A pair of spacewalking astronauts completed a four-year effort to modernize the International Space Station’s power grid on Monday, installing one last battery. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-02-spacewalkers-years-power-station.html…
Tag: INTERNATIONAL
Watch an ISS spacewalk February 1
On Monday, February 1, 2 NASA astronauts will perform the 2nd in a pair of International Space Station spacewalks to finish installing a European science platform and complete long-term battery upgrade work. How to watch live. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/watch-iss-spacewalk-feb2021…
NASA’s MAVEN continues to advance Mars science and telecommunications relay efforts
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. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-01-nasa-maven-advance-mars-science.html…
Astronomers find possible exoplanet-in-the-making within its own whirlpool
Astronomers have discovered a possible newly-born planet forming within its own “whirlpool” of dust and pebbles, in orbit around a young star 330 light-years from Earth. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/star-hd-163296-new-planet-seen-forming-within-whirlpool…
Sextuply-eclipsing sextuple star system uncovered in TESS data with an assist from AI
An international team of researchers led by Brian P. Powell at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and Veselin P. Kostov at the SETI Institute has identified a unique system consisting of six stars. The three binary stars form a gravitationally-bound system and each pair is producing eclipses. The star system, known as TYC 7037-89-1, was uncovered in data from the Transiting…
Monarch butterflies are in trouble: Here’s how to help in your own yard
The 2020 annual count of monarch butterflies in the western United States found shockingly few, confirming fears that the insect is on the brink of extinction. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/monarch-butterflies-of-western-us-nearing-extinction-what-you-can-do…
A giant undersea sand worm’s fossilized lair
In 20-million-=year-old rock off the coast of Taiwan, researchers have discovered what they think is the fossilized burrow of a giant, predatory sand worm. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/scientists-find-evidence-of-giant-predatory-sand-worms…
Police Dismantle World’s ‘Most Dangerous’ Criminal Hacking Network
International law enforcement agencies said on Wednesday they had dismantled a criminal hacking scheme used to steal billions of dollars from businesses and private citizens worldwide. Reuters reports: Police in six European countries, as well as Canada and the United States, completed a joint operation to take control of Internet servers used to run and control a malware network known as…
Top 12 brightest objects in the solar system
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? Source: https://earthsky.org/space/what-are-the-brightest-objects-in-our-solar-system…
Axiom Names First Private Crew Paying $55 Million For a Trip To the ISS
An American real estate investor, a Canadian investor, and a former Israeli Air Force pilot are paying $55 million each to be part of the first fully private astronaut crew to journey to the International Space Station. The Verge reports: The trio will hitch a ride on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule early next year, with a veteran NASA astronaut as the…