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☆ Pluto’s heart was likely created by an ancient collision
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

A deep basin called Sputnik Planitia, which makes up the “left lobe” of the heart, is home to much of Pluto’s nitrogen ice. The New Horizons spacecraft took an image of Pluto's heart on July 14, 2015. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/NASAThrough new research on Sputnik Planitia, an international team of scientists has determined that a cataclysmic event created the heart. The teardrop shape of Sputnik Planitia is a result of the frigidity of Pluto’s core, as well as the relatively low velocity of the impact itself, the team found. The researchers believe that the new theory regarding Pluto’s heart could shed more light on how the mysterious dwarf planet formed.

Persons: Clybe Tombaugh, Pluto, it’s, ”, Harry Ballantyne, Erik Asphaug, ” Asphaug, “ That’s, Sputnik Planitia, Martin Jutzi, Kelsi Singer, ” Singer Organizations: CNN, Regio, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Research Institute, NASA, Sputnik, Pluto, University of Bern, University of Arizona’s, Laboratory, University of Bern’s Physics, Kelsi, Southwest Research, New Locations: United States, Switzerland, Boulder , Colorado

☆ February full moon peaks this weekend
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Taylor Nicioli | Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —February’s full moon, known as the snow moon, is set to peak on Saturday, shining bright around the world in the night sky. It’ll just be a little bit smaller than your average full moon that you look up at.”The full moon phase occurs when the moon, Earth and the sun are in alignment, in that order. A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between Earth and the sun, completely blocking the sun’s face. A total solar eclipse won’t be visible across the contiguous United States again until August 2044. A lunar eclipse, which causes the moon to look dark or dimmed, occurs when the sun, Earth and moon align so that the moon passes into Earth’s shadow.

Persons: CNN —, “ It’s, ”, Rachel Klima, “, ” Klima, Klima, “ We’re, Buck, Lyrids, Capricornids Organizations: CNN, Farmers, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics, American Meteor Society, Taurids Locations: United States, Laurel , Maryland, Mexico, Canada, South America, Europe, North, East Asia, Australia, Africa, North America, Earth’s, Asia

☆ Webb telescope detects mysterious water vapor in a nearby star system
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The James Webb Space Telescope has detected water vapor around a rocky exoplanet that orbits a star located 26 light-years away from Earth. The presence of water vapor could suggest that GJ 486 b somehow has an atmosphere, despite its heat and proximity to the star. “Water vapor in an atmosphere on a hot rocky planet would represent a major breakthrough for exoplanet science. The results from the Webb data analysis pointed to water vapor being present around GJ 486 b. Future observations of the planet using different instruments on the Webb telescope could reveal additional details about the source of the water vapor.

☆ Live Updates: SpaceX Prepares Again to Launch Starship Rocket
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

PinnedSpaceX’s first attempt on Monday to launch Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, was called off. During a livestream for a different SpaceX launch on Wednesday, the company noted that another Starship postponement was possible. Credit... Patrick T. Fallon/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesWhy didn’t Starship launch on Monday? Splashdown Near Hawaii Launch SpaceX Starbase Boca Chica, TexasStarship is designed to be entirely reusable. About eight minutes after the launch on Thursday, the Super Heavy booster will splash into the Gulf of Mexico.

☆ Studies show how asteroid-bashing spacecraft was 'phenomenally successful'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/4] This image depicts NASA's DART spacecraft and its two long solar panels over the spot where it impacted asteroid Dimorphos in September 2022. "The DART test was phenomenally successful. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft collided on Sept. 26 at about 14,000 miles per hour (22,530 kph) into Dimorphos, an asteroid about 490 feet (150 meters) in diameter, roughly 6.8 million miles (11 million km) from Earth. Finally, the spacecraft bus - the box between the solar panels - hit between these two boulders," Daly said. The research also clarified details such as the precise location of the impact and the angle of impact.

“Now, we have a better understanding of the kind of benefits that operating in cislunar space can bring countries back home.”Though definitions sometimes differ, cislunar space generally refers to the space between Earth and the moon, including the moon's surface and orbit. In 2021, Holzinger co-authored a report titled “A Primer on Cislunar Space“ to help U.S. government officials understand the ins and outs of cislunar space. That interest is apparent: Last year, the Space Force identified cislunar operations as a development priority, and in April established the 19th Space Defense Squadron to oversee cislunar space. In November, the White House released its own strategy for interagency research on "responsible, peaceful, and sustainable exploration and utilization of cislunar space." Together, these factors could make it difficult to manage traffic in cislunar space, particularly if adversaries intentionally try to mask their activities there.

There's a new heavy hitter in the hunt for planets beyond our solar system. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope — the next-generation observatory that has already beamed back some of the clearest and most stunning views of the universe — was used for the first time to confirm the existence of an exoplanet, scientists announced Wednesday. The exoplanet confirmation marks an important milestone for the $10 billion Webb telescope, which launched into space in December 2021 and began science operations less than a year ago. “These first observational results from an Earth-size, rocky planet open the door to many future possibilities for studying rocky planet atmospheres with Webb,” Mark Clampin, director of the astrophysics division at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C., said in a statement. “Webb is bringing us closer and closer to a new understanding of Earth-like worlds outside our solar system, and the mission is only just getting started.”

☆ On Pluto you could throw a baseball over the Great Pyramid of Giza, a scientist's animation reveals
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An astronomer's animation reveals how far the average person could throw a ball on different worlds. On Pluto, your baseball could clear the Great Pyramid of Giza. Watch a ball throw on each planet in our solar system, plus Pluto and the moon, below. At just two-thirds the diameter of our moon, Pluto has such weak gravity that your baseball could clear the 455-foot-tall Great Pyramid of Giza — with room to spare. The video plays out in "real time," showing how long each ball throw would take, O'Donoghue said.

☆ The Taurids meteor shower is expected to peak this weekend. Here's how to watch bright fireballs dazzle the night sky.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Paola Rosa-Aquino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Northern Taurids meteor shower will be at its best overnight, between November 11 and 12. In the Southern Hemisphere, the meteor shower reached another peak in mid-October. The Southern and Northern Taurids' last peaks were in 2015. NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington/Southwest Research InstituteIn 2005, a Taurids meteor struck the surface of the moon. During the peak, the American Meteor Society says you might see around five meteors per hour under clear, dark skies.

A DART view of the Dimorphos asteroid right before impact. NASA via YouTubeThe DART spacecraft, which is about the size of a vending machine, crashed into Dimorphos at 7:14 p.m. "Oh my goodness," said Elena Adams, a DART mission systems engineer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. The DART mission is functioning as a proof of concept of asteroid deflection as a planetary defense strategy. Betts said he hopes the DART mission will continue to raise awareness about the importance of planetary defense.

☆ NASA’s DART Spacecraft to Smash Into Asteroid in Planetary Defense Test
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Aylin Woodward | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An uncrewed spacecraft is on track to smash into and deflect a distant asteroid on Monday, the dramatic climax of a National Aeronautics and Space Administration mission to test whether the technique could one day be used to protect Earth. “For the first time ever we will measurably change the orbit of a celestial body in the universe,” said Bobby Braun, head of the space exploration sector at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. The research center built the Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission spacecraft and is responsible for its operation at the direction of NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office.

☆ NASA's asteroid-deflecting DART spacecraft nears planned impact with its target
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft prior to impact at the Didymos binary asteroid system showed in this undated illustration handout. NASA/Johns Hopkins/Handout via REUTERSSept 26 (Reuters) - Ten months after launch, NASA's asteroid-deflecting DART spacecraft neared a planned impact with its target on Monday in a test of the world's first planetary defense system, designed to prevent a doomsday collision with Earth. Neither object presents any actual threat to Earth, and NASA scientists said their DART test cannot create a new existential hazard by mistake. Also, their relative proximity to Earth and dual-asteroid configuration make them ideal for the first proof-of-concept mission of DART, short for Double Asteroid Redirection Test. ROBOTIC SUICIDE MISSIONThe mission represents a rare instance in which a NASA spacecraft must ultimately crash to succeed.

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