Space, NASA and Science News

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Probe captures stunning up-close views of Mercury's landscape

A series of images taken by two satellites flying past Mercury captured multiple "tectonic and volcanic curiosities" as well as an impact crater on the planet. 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mercury-photos-bepicolombo-satellites/?

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Stars collided in galactic “demolition derby,” produced oddball gamma-ray burst

Such oddball events tell astronomers a lot about spectacular diversity of cosmic explosions.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/06/stars-collided-in-galactic-demolition-derby-produced-oddball-gamma-ray-burst/?

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NASA’s Mars Sample Return has a new price tag—and it’s colossal

"It is better to not do it than to torch the whole science community."

https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/06/the-mars-sample-return-mission-is-starting-to-give-nasa-sticker-shock/?

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Webb Makes First Detection of Crucial Carbon Molecule

A team of international scientists has used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to detect a new carbon compound in space for the first time. Known as methyl cation (pronounced cat-eye-on) (CH₃⁺), the molecule is important because it aids the formation of more complex carbon-based molecules. Methyl cation was detected in a young star system, with a protoplanetary disk, known as d203-506, which is located about 1,350 light-years away in the Orion Nebula.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2023/webb-makes-first-detection-of-crucial-carbon-molecule

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Scientists have finally ‘heard’ the chorus of gravitational waves that ripple through the universe

NEW YORK (AP) — Scientists have observed for the first time the faint ripples caused by the motion of black holes that are gently stretching and squeezing everything in the universe.

https://apnews.com/article/gravitational-waves-black-holes-universe-cc0d633ec51a5dc3acb0492baf7f818a?

Galactic gobble: Star swallows planet in one big gulp

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — For the first time, scientists have caught a star in the act of swallowing a planet — not just a nibble or bite, but one big gulp.

https://apnews.com/article/star-eats-planet-galactic-gulp-660ef9e64e15e35f8ad820e032494704?

Webb Space Telescope spots early galaxies hidden from Hubble

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s Webb Space Telescope is finding bright, early galaxies that until now were hidden from view, including one that may have formed a mere 350 million years after the cosmic-creating Big Bang.

https://apnews.com/article/astronomy-space-exploration-science-business-galaxies-83bed779651f9346b9efa55806f11dc0?

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The universe is rippling with a faint 'gravitational wave background' created by colliding black holes, huge international study suggests

A 15-year search reveals the first evidence of a cosmic 'gravitational wave background' emitted by ancient, colliding black holes.

https://www.livescience.com/space/black-holes/the-universe-is-rippling-with-a-faint-gravitational-wave-background-created-by-colliding-black-holes-huge-international-study-suggests?

Scientists find 'ghost particles' spewing from our Milky Way galaxy in landmark discovery (video)

'This observation of high-energy neutrinos opens up an entirely new window to study the properties of our host galaxy.'

https://www.space.com/high-energy-neutrinos-milky-way-galaxy-icecube?

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Saturn’s rings are glowing in Webb Space Telescope’s latest cosmic shot

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Saturn has a fresh new look thanks to NASA’s Webb Space Telescope.

https://apnews.com/article/saturn-webb-space-telescope-rings-792b812e7106206aa36d79a2f9269026?

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NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Phones Home

The intrepid rotorcraft may head skyward again within the next couple of weeks.

https://mars.nasa.gov/news/9430/nasas-ingenuity-mars-helicopter-phones-home/?

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🔭 Our "cosmic epoch"

Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI

The hunt for dark matter and dark energy in the universe is expanding, Axios' Alison Snyder and Miriam Kramer report. Gravity from dark matter holds gas and dust together in stars and galaxies. Dark energy pushes galaxies away from one another. Scientists think the two make up 95% of our universe — but what exactly they are remains elusive. A new generation of tools to spot evidence of dark matter and dark energy is coming online, adding space-based telescopes and new ground observatories to the hunt. "We're very lucky that we live in this cosmic epoch," says Timothy Tait, a particle physicist at U.C. Irvine. The European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope launched Saturday from Cape Canaveral aboard a SpaceX rocket with a destination 1 million miles away — the Webb Space Telescope neighborhood. Travel time: 1 month. It'll survey more than one-third of the sky — collecting data from 1 billion galaxies that existed as far back as when the universe was a mere 3.8 billion years old. Keep reading.

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How to get your name engraved on a NASA spacecraft bound for Europa

The Europa Clipper is scheduled to launch in October 2024, but you can reserve a space for your name now.

https://www.popsci.com/science/europa-clipper-name-signup/?

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Incredible view of the Milky Way and more — June’s best science images

The month’s sharpest science shots — selected by Nature’s photo team.

https://www.nature.com/immersive/d41586-023-02046-1/index.html?

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California Science Center to start complex process to display space shuttle Endeavour vertically

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The lengthy process of putting the retired space shuttle Endeavour on display in the vertical launch position will begin this month in Los Angeles.

https://apnews.com/article/space-shuttle-endeavour-vertical-display-los-angeles-993866226a4ab0a47447620a552d0f90?

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NASA’s shuttle arc

Data: General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects; Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals Today marks the 12th anniversary of the last Space Shuttle mission. 🧮 By the numbers: Over three decades, the five NASA space shuttles were launched on 135 flights to orbit. The shuttles collectively traveled more than 537 million miles and spent more than three and half years in orbit, Axios' Erin Davis writes. 355 people flew aboard the shuttles, including Sally Ride, the first American woman to fly to space. Mission objectives included building the International Space Station, carrying large satellites to space and maintaining equipment like the Hubble Space Telescope. The bottom line: Ultimately, the fatalities on Challenger in 1986 and Columbia in 2003 helped bring about the end of the Shuttle program.

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James Webb Space Telescope discovers most distant active supermassive black hole

Astronomers are still curious why some of the oldest blackholes are still "lightweights."

https://www.zmescience.com/science/most-distant-active-supermassive-black-hole/?

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Metal clouds turn scorching hot exoplanet into the universe's largest mirror

"It's a planet that shouldn't exist."

https://www.space.com/exoplanet-largest-mirror-metal-clouds?

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🔭 Parting shot: Baby stars

Rho Ophiuchi, as seen by the Webb telescope. Photo: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/Klaus Pontoppidan and Alyssa Pagan (STScI) A dramatic new photo from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope shows dozens of stars at their moment of birth, 390 light-years from Earth. Why it matters: The young stars are similar in mass to our sun. That lets scientists peer into the early history of our nearest star, Axios Space author Miriam Kramer writes. NASA says the photo — released to honor one year of cosmic photos from the Webb — shows Rho Ophiuchi, the closest star-forming region to Earth. Read NASA's narrative ... Share this story.

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Stunning star nursery is latest JWST image to amaze astronomers

Powerful space telescope reveals star-forming region — image of the week.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02289-y

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Perseverance finds more evidence of life’s building blocks on Mars

NASA’s Perseverance rover has found evidence of diversity among the organic molecules on Mars.

https://cosmosmagazine.com/space/exploration/more-organic-molecules-on-mars/?

Mars 2020 Landing Site: Jezero Crater Flyover

 

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Two planets sharing same orbit around their star? Astronomers find strongest evidence yet

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Astronomers reported Wednesday the discovery of what could be two planets sharing the same orbit around their star.

https://apnews.com/article/double-planets-same-orbit-6c9a49378b0333724d01b08dc422d9aa?

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Scientists discover secret of virgin birth, and switch on the ability in female flies

For the first time, scientists have managed to induce virgin birth in an animal that usually reproduces sexually: the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster.

https://phys.org/news/2023-07-scientists-secret-virgin-birth-ability.html

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SpaceX Launches Enormous Satellite for Faster Rural Broadband

The Jupiter 3, a bus-size spacecraft designed to quadruple Hughes' satellite broadband speeds, is in orbit after two launch delays.

https://www.cnet.com/home/internet/spacex-launches-enormous-satellite-for-faster-rural-broadband/?

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How Flies Develop Sight: Scientists Use Single-Cell Sequencing to Identify Cell Types in the Visual System

New York University researchers have discovered new cell types in the visual system of flies, made possible by their creation of a tool that finds and labels neurons during development.

https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2023/july/how-flies-develop-sight.html?

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NASA hears signal from Voyager 2 spacecraft after mistakenly cutting contact

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — After days of silence, NASA has heard from Voyager 2 in interstellar space billions of miles away.

https://apnews.com/article/nasa-voyager-spacecraft-regains-contact-addc3ad28f1d6bec03210b587f69663d?

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James Webb Space Telescope reveals the colorful Ring Nebula in exquisite detail (photos, video)

"We are witnessing the final chapters of a star's life, a preview of the sun's distant future."

https://www.space.com/james-webb-space-telescope-ring-nebula-dead-star?

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Scientists Discover a Unique Group of Neurons With a Remarkable Ability

A group of nerve cells in the brain displays a remarkable ability to halt all forms of movement, as revealed by a recent study conducted on mice. This finding contributes significantly to our understanding of how the nervous system exercises control over our movements.

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-discover-a-unique-group-of-neurons-with-a-remarkable-ability/?