NASA instrument detects dozens of methane super-emitters from space

NASA instrument detects dozens of methane super-emitters from space

An orbital NASA instrument designed mainly to advance studies of airborne dust and its effects on climate change has proven adept at another key Earth-science function – detecting large, worldwide emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The device, called an imaging spectrometer, has identified more than 50 methane “super-emitters” in Central Asia, the Middle […]

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Space news weekly recap: Returning asteroid samples, birth of a black hole and more

Space news weekly recap: Returning asteroid samples, birth of a black hole and more

Sometimes it is hard to remember that we and everyone we know live on a rock that is rapidly moving across an endless and mysterious place that we still know very little about—space. From a gamma-ray burst sweeping across our planet due to the birth of a star to how some stars give a “warning” […]

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Webb Space Telescope renders Pillars of Creation with new depth, clarity

Webb Space Telescope renders Pillars of Creation with new depth, clarity

One of the most celebrated, awe-inspiring images of modern astronomy, revealing colossal spires of interstellar gas and dust called the Pillars of Creation, has been rendered anew with greater depth, clarity and color by the James Webb Space Telescope. The new view of the pillars, first made famous when captured in 1995 by Webb’s predecessor […]

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International Space Station to resume spacewalks, six months after incident

International Space Station to resume spacewalks, six months after incident

NASA has greenlit spacewalks outside of the International Space Station after a flight readiness review. Spacewalks were suspended for nearly seven months since March 23 when a small amount of water was found in ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer’s helmet. “Crew safety is the top priority of NASA and our international partners. I’m […]

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How NASA plans to return an asteroid sample to Earth

How NASA plans to return an asteroid sample to Earth

OSIRIS-REx, NASA’s first spacecraft designed for returning an asteroid sample, began its two-year journey back to Earth in 2021 and it is now on track to deliver a sample of the asteroid Bennu back to our planet on September 24, 2023. Here is how NASA plans to execute the “parcel drop” back to Earth. Precise […]

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Astronaut James McDivitt, Apollo 9 commander, dies at 93

Astronaut James McDivitt, Apollo 9 commander, dies at 93

James A. McDivitt, who commanded the Apollo 9 mission testing the first complete set of equipment to go to the moon, has died. He was 93. McDivitt was also the commander of 1965’s Gemini 4 mission, where his best friend and colleague Ed White made the first U.S. spacewalk. His photographs of White during the […]

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NASA missions detect ‘exceptional’ cosmic blast from birth of new black hole

NASA missions detect ‘exceptional’ cosmic blast from birth of new black hole

An unusually bright and long-lasting pulse of radiation swept over our planet on Sunday, October 9, according to NASA. This cosmic blast came from a “gamma-ray burst,” (GRB) which is one of the most powerful kinds of explosions in the universe. As the wave of X-rays and gamma rays passed through the solar system, it […]

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Space news weekly recap: Martian microbes, black hole ‘burp’, and more

Space news weekly recap: Martian microbes, black hole ‘burp’, and more

According to research published in the journal Nature Astronomy, ancient Mars could have had an environment which was capable of harbouring underground microscopic organisms. Elsewhere, astronomers say they have witnessed a “never seen before” event where a black hole “burped” out stellar material three years after consuming a star. Read about all that and more […]

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James Webb Space Telescope captures curious concentric rings in space

James Webb Space Telescope captures curious concentric rings in space

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope continues to reveal images that give a look at the distant universe. The latest is an image of concentric dust rings emitted by a pair of stars, which are over 5,000 light years away from Earth. The pair is collectively known as Wolf-Rayet 140 and Webb Space telescope captures the […]

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