Last year, data from the James Webb Space Telescope soured hopes that TRAPPIST-1 c had an atmosphere that could support life. But recent results have revived those earlier atmospheric hopes. Read more from Big Think. https://flip.it/ClyATt #Science#Space#JWST
The mission to retrieve a Mars sample is running into turbulence.
@theverge reports: "NASA’s Mars Sample Return mission is already running over budget and behind schedule. But it may also be our best chance of finding extraterrestrial life."
"The sun produced its biggest flare in nearly two decades Tuesday, just days after severe solar storms pummeled Earth and created dazzling northern lights in unaccustomed places."
AP reports: "The good news is that Earth should be out of the line of fire this time because the flare erupted on a part of the sun rotating away from Earth."
Wow 300 images captured by Curiosity to build a panoramic survey at her Sol 4175 location, ten days ago. This video shows them at a rate of 10/second. It took about 50 minutes for the rover to complete this scan with her left mast camera.
Citizen scientist Gerald Eichstädt made these images using raw data from the JunoCam instrument, applying processing techniques to enhance the clarity of the images.
Image credit: Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS Image processing by Gerald Eichstädt
A rare severe geomagnetic storm watch is issued for the first time in nearly 20 years amid "unusual" solar event.
CBS News quotes the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): "Geomagnetic storms can impact infrastructure in near-Earth orbit and on Earth's surface, potentially disrupting communications, the electric power grid, navigation, radio and satellite operations."
"Over the weekend the crew of the upcoming Polaris Dawn mission shared a wealth of details about the intriguing private mission that will send humans farther than they have flown from Earth in half a century."
Here's an article by Eric Berger of @arstechnica: "Why a rich guy going to space for a second time actually matters."
"Boeing called off its first astronaut launch because of a valve problem on the rocket Monday night."
AP reports: "The two NASA test pilots had just strapped into Boeing’s Starliner capsule for a flight to the International Space Station when the countdown was halted, just two hours before the planned liftoff."
Venus wasn’t always hot and uninhabitable. Scientists think the second planet from the sun could have had as much water as Earth billions of years ago, and may have even supported life if any of that water was in liquid form. But researchers have a new theory as to how our neighbor in the solar system lost nearly all of its water and why it may have happened far faster than initially thought. The Conversation has more on the study.
If you’re looking for something other than binge-watching to keep you up into the wee hours of the morning, check your weather forecast. If it’s clear, you could be in for a treat: The Eta Aquariid meteor shower is expected to be one of the best shows in recent years. Read more at CNN: https://flip.it/dnbgYT #Science#Space#Meteors#MeteorShower
Were those "alien farts" that the James Webb Space Telescope detected in an Earth-like planet's atmosphere last year, or were they just clouds of methane? A new study makes the case for the latter, potentially dampening hopes that life has already been discovered beyond our solar system. Live Science has more: https://flip.it/yo.FL2 #Science#Space#Aliens
The Eta Aquarid meteor shower, debris of Halley’s comet, peaks this weekend. Here’s how to see it.
From AP: "The Southern Hemisphere will have the best view of Eta Aquarids, but a waning moon just 14% full will allow for clear viewing in both hemispheres, according to the American Meteor Society."
New research has revealed huge “tiger stripe” fault lines on Saturn’s moon, Enceladus. How did they get there, and is there life lurking beneath the moon’s icy shell? Live Science has more: https://flip.it/.4uXWY #Science#Space#Saturn#Astronomy
The so-called “great instability” event that sent gas giants careening through space until they settled into orbits occurred between 60 and 100 million years after the birth of the solar system. Migrating planets primarily Jupiter, it turns out, may have led to the formation of Earth’s moon. Live Science explains: https://flip.it/wWBTEy #Science#Space#Jupiter#Earth#Moon#SolarSystem