After the retirement of NASA's space shuttle in 2011, the Delta IV Heavy became the most powerful operational rocket in the world, with a lift capacity of nearly 29 metric tons to low-Earth orbit. Only a handful of government-developed vehicles, including NASA's Saturn V lunar rocket and Russia's Energia vehicle, had more lift capacity, Ars Technica reports: https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/04/the-most-metal-of-rockets-has-gone-into-the-great-mosh-pit-in-the-sky/
Russia aborts planned test launch of new heavy-lift space rocket.
AP reports: "The Angara-A5 rocket was scheduled to lift off from the Vostochny space launch facility at 0900 GMT Tuesday, but the launch was aborted two minutes before."
Millions of viewers across North America are witnessing a historic total solar eclipse, and images and videos are coming in. Check out some of the best at Live Science: https://flip.it/42UTWX #Science#Space#Eclipse#Sun#Moon
The same moon that will block the sun over large swaths of North America today also turned inside out billions of years ago, scientists reveal. Science Alert explains: https://flip.it/uV9LkM #Science#Sun#Moon#Eclipse#Space
Scientists discovered dark energy over two decades ago and since then have been studying what they thought was an invisible substance that appeared to be pulling the universe apart. But a large 3D map may have highlighted a major flaw — dark energy might not even be a substance. "If this is true,” one scientist said, “this just turns cosmology upside down." And quell some of those fears about the destruction of the universe. Space.com has more: https://flip.it/-xfySS #Science#Universe#Space#DarkMatter
NASA test drove suitcase-sized rovers as part of a technology demonstration called Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Exploration (CADRE). The autonomous robots aren’t much bigger than a child’s remote-control car, but they will soon fly to the moon and map its surface. Live Science has more, including photos: https://flip.it/EGGozH #Science#NASA#Moon#Space#SpaceExploration
For over two decades, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory — humanity's most powerful telescope of its kind — has provided astronomers with a better understanding of the structure and evolution of the universe. But stringent spending caps could force NASA to shut it down. Futurism has more: https://flip.it/OaulLn #Science#Space#NASA#ChandraXRay
Thirty years after the first exoplanets were discovered, hundreds of additional exoplanets have been identified within the “habitable zone,” a place where liquid water and maybe even life may exist. The MIT Press Reader asks, could a self-sustaining starship carry humans to distant worlds? https://flip.it/0q093h #Science#Space#SolarSystem#Planets#Humans#SpaceExploration
On March 28, Earth was hit by a powerful solar flare that caused a radio blackout over the Pacific Ocean. Live Science has more on the explosion that came “on the heels of a double X-class flare that occurred Monday [March 25], triggering the most powerful geomagnetic storm on our planet in six years.” https://flip.it/Qcz25T #Science#Space#Sun#Earth#SolarFlare
The Event Horizon Telescope has unveiled how Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy, looks like in polarised light, which tells us a lot about the magnetic field around this monster.
The lines overlaid on the image below mark the orientation of the polarisation, from which astronomers can work out the structure of the magnetic field around the black hole.
Turns out you can do more than be a spectator during the total solar eclipse that will pass across much of North America on April 8. You can be a contributor to NASA research, too. The agency is asking people who live in the path of totality to partake in the SunSketcher program that aims to better understand the sun’s shape. More from Popular Science: https://flip.it/IYlozE #Science#Space#NASA#Sun
Cosmic explosion will be visible to the naked eye in once-in-a-lifetime stargazing event.
NBC News reports: "The event, known as a nova, will be so bright that a 'new' star will seem to appear in the night sky temporarily, visible to the naked eye."
Are you planning a trip to see the solar eclipse on April 8? You may be on your way to becoming an umbraphile, a name for die-hard eclipse-chasers meaning “shadow lover.” Read about some of the most prolific eclipse chasers from USA Today, and find out where to go for the best chance to see the astronomical event.
Thomas P. Stafford, who took part in four space missions, has died at 93. Stafford retired as an Air Force three-star general and remained the agency’s go-to guy for independent advice on everything from human Mars missions to safety issues. “The most impressive sight, I think, that really changed your view of things is when you first see Earth,” Stafford once said about the view from lunar orbit. AP has more: https://flip.it/YMDk_Z #Space#NASA#Astronauts#SpaceExploration#Moon
Total solar eclipses, like the upcoming one slated for April 8, have fascinated and terrified people for centuries. But the events have more purposes than providing amusement or panic. Live Science tells us how total solar eclipses help researchers date mysterious events from ancient history. https://flip.it/.aWO-M #Science#Sun#Moon#Eclipse#Space