Featured News
ESA Top News
19 Jun 2019, 13:20 UTC
‘Comet Interceptor’ has been selected as ESA’s new fast-class mission in its Cosmic Vision Programme. Comprising three spacecraft, it will be the first to visit a truly pristine comet or other interstellar object that is only just starting its journey into the inner Solar System.
ESA’s new mission to intercept a comet
19 Jun 2019, 13:20 UTC
‘Comet Interceptor’ has been selected as ESA’s new fast-class mission in its Cosmic Vision Programme. Comprising three spacecraft, it will be the first to visit a truly pristine comet or other interstellar object that is only just starting its journey into the inner Solar System.
NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory
18 Jun 2019, 18:20 UTC
We have seen intricate patterns that milk makes in coffee and much smoother ones that honey makes when stirred with a spoon. Which of these cases best describes the behavior of the hot gas in galaxy clusters? By answering this question, a new study using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has deepened our understanding of galaxy clusters, the largest structures in the Universe held together by gravity.
Does the Gas in Galaxy Clusters Flow Like Honey?
18 Jun 2019, 18:20 UTC
We have seen intricate patterns that milk makes in coffee and much smoother ones that honey makes when stirred with a spoon. Which of these cases best describes the behavior of the hot gas in galaxy clusters? By answering this question, a new study using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has deepened our understanding of galaxy clusters, the largest structures in the Universe held together by gravity.
Planetary Habitability Laboratory
18 Jun 2019, 09:58 UTC
Zechmeister et al. (2019) report as part of the CARMENES project the discovery of two potentially habitable planets around Teegarden's Star, an old nearby red dwarf star 12 light-years away in the Aries constellation. Both planets have minimum masses similar to Earth and orbit within the star's habitable zone.
Teegarden's Star: A Nearby System with two Potentially Habitable Worlds
18 Jun 2019, 09:58 UTC
Zechmeister et al. (2019) report as part of the CARMENES project the discovery of two potentially habitable planets around Teegarden's Star, an old nearby red dwarf star 12 light-years away in the Aries constellation. Both planets have minimum masses similar to Earth and orbit within the star's habitable zone.
Max Planck Institute for Astronomy
18 Jun 2019, 02:00 UTC
An international team of astronomers has found two Earth-like planets around one of the smallest known stars known as “Teegarden’s star.” The planets, which orbit in the star’s habitable zone where liquid water is possible, are only a quarter and a third more massive than the Earth, respectively. The discovery helps complete our picture of the statistics of exoplanet prevalence, correcting implicit biases in earlier observations. Incidentally, hypothetical observers on those planets would soon be in a uniquely favorable position to detect our Earth, using the so-called transit method. The results have just been published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
Two Earth-like planets around one of the smallest stars, and a slim chance someone there might see Earth
18 Jun 2019, 02:00 UTC
An international team of astronomers has found two Earth-like planets around one of the smallest known stars known as “Teegarden’s star.” The planets, which orbit in the star’s habitable zone where liquid water is possible, are only a quarter and a third more massive than the Earth, respectively. The discovery helps complete our picture of the statistics of exoplanet prevalence, correcting implicit biases in earlier observations. Incidentally, hypothetical observers on those planets would soon be in a uniquely favorable position to detect our Earth, using the so-called transit method. The results have just been published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
17 Jun 2019, 15:14 UTC
The Sun is why we’re here. It’s also why Martians or Venusians are not.
NASA Scientists Find Sun’s History Buried in Moon’s Crust
17 Jun 2019, 15:14 UTC
The Sun is why we’re here. It’s also why Martians or Venusians are not.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory News and Features
14 Jun 2019, 15:09 UTC
As NASA's Cassini dove close to Saturn in its final year, the spacecraft provided intricate detail on the workings of Saturn's complex rings, new analysis shows.
NASA's Cassini Reveals New Sculpting in Saturn Rings
14 Jun 2019, 15:09 UTC
As NASA's Cassini dove close to Saturn in its final year, the spacecraft provided intricate detail on the workings of Saturn's complex rings, new analysis shows.
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
14 Jun 2019, 12:31 UTC
When massive stars die at the end of their short lives, they light up the cosmos with bright, explosive bursts of light and material known as supernovae. A supernova event is incredibly energetic and intensely luminous — so much so that it forms what looks like an especially bright new star that slowly fades away over time.
Hubble Sets Sights on an Explosive Galaxy
14 Jun 2019, 12:31 UTC
When massive stars die at the end of their short lives, they light up the cosmos with bright, explosive bursts of light and material known as supernovae. A supernova event is incredibly energetic and intensely luminous — so much so that it forms what looks like an especially bright new star that slowly fades away over time.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory News and Features
13 Jun 2019, 16:28 UTC
After nearly 16 years of exploring the cosmos in infrared light, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope will be switched off permanently on Jan. 30, 2020. By then, the spacecraft will have operated for more than 11 years beyond its prime mission, thanks to the Spitzer engineering team's ability to address unique challenges as the telescope slips farther and farther from Earth.
How NASA's Spitzer Has Stayed Alive for So Long
13 Jun 2019, 16:28 UTC
After nearly 16 years of exploring the cosmos in infrared light, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope will be switched off permanently on Jan. 30, 2020. By then, the spacecraft will have operated for more than 11 years beyond its prime mission, thanks to the Spitzer engineering team's ability to address unique challenges as the telescope slips farther and farther from Earth.
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
13 Jun 2019, 15:21 UTC
For 10 years, NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has scanned the sky for gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), the universe’s most luminous explosions. A new catalog of the highest-energy blasts provides scientists with fresh insights into how they work.
NASA’s Fermi Mission Reveals its Highest-energy Gamma-ray Bursts
13 Jun 2019, 15:21 UTC
For 10 years, NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has scanned the sky for gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), the universe’s most luminous explosions. A new catalog of the highest-energy blasts provides scientists with fresh insights into how they work.
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
13 Jun 2019, 15:00 UTC
On June 12, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft performed another significant navigation maneuver—breaking its own world record for the closest orbit of a planetary body by a spacecraft.
