Space

Amazon owner’s Blue Origin to buy asteroid mining company Honeybee Robotics

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Amazon owner Jeff Bezos’s aerospace company Blue Origin is to acquire a robotic asteroid mining startup called Honeybee Robotics.

Honeybee Robotics has operations in Longmont, Colorado and Altadena, California, and will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Blue Origin, headquartered in Kent, Washington.

The deal between Honeybee’s parent organization, Ensign-Bickford Industries, and Blue Origin is expected to close in mid-February. [Read more…] about Amazon owner’s Blue Origin to buy asteroid mining company Honeybee Robotics

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Motion capture is guiding the next generation of extraterrestrial robots

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“How do we build robots that can optimally explore space?” is the core question behind Dr Frances Zhu’s research at the University of Hawai’i. One part of the answer is, “with motion capture”.

“It is my hope that my research contributes to the way extraterrestrial robots move and make decisions on other planets,” explains Zhu (main picture), an assistant researcher and deputy director at the University’s Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology.

That research is in its early stages, but NASA has seen the value in it and awarded Zhu an EPSCoR grant by the name “Autonomous Rover Operations for Planetary Surface Exploration using Machine Learning Algorithms”. [Read more…] about Motion capture is guiding the next generation of extraterrestrial robots

Perseverance’s first year on Mars: Purdue professor, mission team member looks at what is ahead

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Almost one year into the Mars rover mission, accomplishing its goal is on the horizon for Purdue University’s Briony Horgan and the Perseverance team.

February 18 will mark one year since the rover landed on the red planet following a seven-month, 300-million-mile flight across space.

Horgan, associate professor of planetary science in the Purdue College of Science’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, says anticipation is building as the team focuses on the mission goal: researching a now-dry large river delta. [Read more…] about Perseverance’s first year on Mars: Purdue professor, mission team member looks at what is ahead

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  • ABB provides Ty-Rap cable ties for NASA Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Mission
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    ABB provides Ty-Rap cable ties for NASA Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover MissionAs NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover begins exploring its new planetary home after landing on February 18, 2021, it’s operating with the world’s most advanced technology while being equipped with Ty-Rap cable ties from ABB, the same ties that are widely used on earth. Found in buildings, subways, the deepest oceans…
    Tags: space, mars, rover, perseverance, mission, features

Citizen scientists spot Jupiter-like planet in Nasa telescope data

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Tom Jacobs of Bellevue, Washington, loves treasure hunts. Since 2010, the former US naval officer has participated in online volunteer projects that allow anyone who is interested – “citizen scientists” – to look through NASA telescope data for signs of exoplanets, planets beyond our solar system.

Now, Jacobs has helped discover a giant gaseous planet about 379 light-years from Earth, orbiting a star with the same mass as the Sun.

The Jupiter-size planet is special for astronomers because its 261-day year is long compared to many known gas giants outside our solar system. The result also suggests the planet is just a bit farther from its star than Venus is from the Sun. [Read more…] about Citizen scientists spot Jupiter-like planet in Nasa telescope data

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  • Aurora-chasing citizen scientists help discover a new feature of aurora
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    Aurora-chasing citizen scientists help discover a new feature of auroraIn 2018, a new aurora-like discovery struck the world. From 2015 to 2016, citizen scientists reported 30 instances of a purple ribbon in the sky, with a green picket fence structure underneath. Now named STEVE, or Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement, this phenomenon is still new to scientists, who are…
    Tags: scientists, citizen, light, features, space

Black hole size revealed by its eating pattern

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The feeding patterns of black holes offer insight into their size, researchers report. A new study revealed that the flickering in the brightness observed in actively feeding supermassive black holes is related to their mass.

Supermassive black holes are millions to billions of times more massive than the sun and usually reside at the center of massive galaxies. When dormant and not feeding on the gas and stars surrounding them, SMBHs emit very little light; the only way astronomers can detect them is through their gravitational influences on stars and gas in their vicinity.

However, in the early universe, when SMBHs were rapidly growing, they were actively feeding – or accreting – materials at intensive rates and emitting an enormous amount of radiation – sometimes outshining the entire galaxy in which they reside, the researchers said. [Read more…] about Black hole size revealed by its eating pattern

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  • Supermassive black holes put a brake on stellar births
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    Supermassive black holes put a brake on stellar birthsBlack holes with masses equivalent to millions of suns do put a brake on the birth of new stars, say astronomers. Using machine learning and three state of the art simulations to back up results from a large sky survey, the researchers resolve a 20-year long debate on the formation…
    Tags: black, mass, holes, news, space
  • Australian research shows NASA's James Webb telescopes will reveal hidden galaxies
    30
    Australian research shows NASA's James Webb telescopes will reveal hidden galaxiesTwo new studies from the University of Melbourne will help the largest, most powerful and complex space telescope ever built to uncover galaxies never before seen by humanity. The papers are published in The Astrophysical Journal and the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society and show that NASA's James Webb Space…
    Tags: black, space, mass, holes, news

Planetary defense: Physicists propose new way to defend Earth against cosmic impacts

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Is Planetary Defense PI in the Sky?

In February of 2013, skywatchers around the world turned their attention toward asteroid 2012 DA14, a cosmic rock about 150 feet (50 meters) in diameter that was going to fly closer to Earth than the spacecraft that bring us satellite TV.

Little did they realize as they prepared for the once-in-several-decades event that another bit of celestial debris was hurtling toward Earth, with a more direct heading.

On February 15, 2013, the Chelyabinsk meteor, a roughly 62-foot (19 meter)-diameter asteroid exploded over the city of Chelyabinsk, Russia, as it entered Earth’s atmosphere at a shallow angle. The blast shattered windows and damaged buildings, and nearly two thousand people were hurt, though thankfully no one died. [Read more…] about Planetary defense: Physicists propose new way to defend Earth against cosmic impacts

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  • Did heat from impacts on asteroids provide the ingredients for life on Earth?
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    Did heat from impacts on asteroids provide the ingredients for life on Earth?A research group from Kobe University has demonstrated that the heat generated by the impact of a small astronomical body could enable aqueous alteration and organic solid formation to occur on the surface of an asteroid. They achieved this by first conducting high-velocity impact cratering experiments using an asteroid-like target…
    Tags: impact, asteroid, asteroids, earth, space

Space scientists reveal secret behind Jupiter’s ‘energy crisis’

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New research published in Nature has revealed the solution to Jupiter’s ‘energy crisis’, which has puzzled astronomers for decades.

Space scientists at the University of Leicester worked with colleagues from the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA), Boston University, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) to reveal the mechanism behind Jupiter’s atmospheric heating.

Now, using data from the Keck Observatory in Hawai’i, astronomers have created the most-detailed yet global map of the gas giant’s upper atmosphere, confirming for the first time that Jupiter’s powerful aurorae are responsible for delivering planet-wide heating. [Read more…] about Space scientists reveal secret behind Jupiter’s ‘energy crisis’

Astronomers probe layer-cake structure of brown dwarf’s atmosphere

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Jupiter may be the bully planet of our solar system because it’s the most massive planet, but it’s actually a runt compared to many of the giant planets found around other stars.

These alien worlds, called super-Jupiters, weigh up to 13 times Jupiter’s mass. Astronomers have analyzed the composition of some of these monsters, but it has been difficult to study their atmospheres in detail because these gas giants get lost in the glare of their parent stars.

Researchers, however, have a substitute: the atmospheres of brown dwarfs, so-called failed stars that are up to 80 times Jupiter’s mass. These hefty objects form out of a collapsing cloud of gas, as stars do, but lack the mass to become hot enough to sustain nuclear fusion in their cores, which powers stars. [Read more…] about Astronomers probe layer-cake structure of brown dwarf’s atmosphere

Supermassive black holes put a brake on stellar births

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Black holes with masses equivalent to millions of suns do put a brake on the birth of new stars, say astronomers. Using machine learning and three state of the art simulations to back up results from a large sky survey, the researchers resolve a 20-year long debate on the formation of stars.

Joanna Piotrowska, a PhD student at the University of Cambridge, will present the new work today (Tuesday 20 July) at the virtual National Astronomy Meeting (NAM 2021).

Star formation in galaxies has long been a focal point of astronomy research. Decades of successful observations and theoretical modelling resulted in our good understanding of how gas collapses to form new stars both in and beyond our own Milky Way. [Read more…] about Supermassive black holes put a brake on stellar births

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  • Australian research shows NASA's James Webb telescopes will reveal hidden galaxies
    46
    Australian research shows NASA's James Webb telescopes will reveal hidden galaxiesTwo new studies from the University of Melbourne will help the largest, most powerful and complex space telescope ever built to uncover galaxies never before seen by humanity. The papers are published in The Astrophysical Journal and the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society and show that NASA's James Webb Space…
    Tags: galaxies, black, space, mass, holes, news
  • Hubble inspects a contorted spiral galaxy
    46
    Hubble inspects a contorted spiral galaxyThis striking image showcases the unusually contorted appearance of NGC 2276, an appearance caused by two different astrophysical interactions – one with the superheated gas pervading galaxy clusters, and one with a nearby galactic neighbour. The interaction of NGC 2276 with the intracluster medium – the superheated gas lying between…
    Tags: galaxies, star, formation, stars, news, space
  • Black hole size revealed by its eating pattern
    42
    Black hole size revealed by its eating patternThe feeding patterns of black holes offer insight into their size, researchers report. A new study revealed that the flickering in the brightness observed in actively feeding supermassive black holes is related to their mass. Supermassive black holes are millions to billions of times more massive than the sun and…
    Tags: black, holes, mass, news, space
  • How nearby galaxies form their stars
    42
    How nearby galaxies form their starsStars are born in dense clouds of molecular hydrogen gas that permeates interstellar space of most galaxies. While the physics of star formation is complex, recent years have seen substantial progress towards understanding how stars form in a galactic environment. What ultimately determines the level of star formation in galaxies,…
    Tags: galaxies, star, formation, stars, universe
  • Study shows unexpected effect of black holes beyond their own galaxies
    42
    Study shows unexpected effect of black holes beyond their own galaxiesAt the heart of almost every sufficiently massive galaxy there is a black hole whose gravitational field, although very intense, affects only a small region around the centre of the galaxy. Even though these objects are thousands of millions of times smaller than their host galaxies our current view is…
    Tags: galaxies, black, holes, universe

A bug’s life: Millimeter-tall mountains on neutron stars

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New models of neutron stars show that their tallest mountains may be only fractions of millimetres high, due to the huge gravity on the ultra-dense objects. The research is presented today at the National Astronomy Meeting 2021.

Neutron stars are some of the densest objects in the Universe: they weigh about as much as the Sun, yet measure only around 10km across, similar in size to a large city.

Because of their compactness, neutron stars have an enormous gravitational pull around a billion times stronger than the Earth. This squashes every feature on the surface to miniscule dimensions, and means that the stellar remnant is an almost perfect sphere. [Read more…] about A bug’s life: Millimeter-tall mountains on neutron stars

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  • Astronomers confirm solar system’s most distant known object – appropriately named ‘Farfarout’
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    Astronomers confirm solar system’s most distant known object – appropriately named ‘Farfarout’The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Astronomers have confirmed the solar system’s most distant known object. Appropriately named “Farfarout”, the object is not large enough to be categorized as a planet, but does orbit the sun, taking 798 Earth years to do so. With the help of the…
    Tags: news, space
  • Supermassive black holes put a brake on stellar births
    36
    Supermassive black holes put a brake on stellar birthsBlack holes with masses equivalent to millions of suns do put a brake on the birth of new stars, say astronomers. Using machine learning and three state of the art simulations to back up results from a large sky survey, the researchers resolve a 20-year long debate on the formation…
    Tags: stars, objects, news, space
  • Hubble inspects a contorted spiral galaxy
    32
    Hubble inspects a contorted spiral galaxyThis striking image showcases the unusually contorted appearance of NGC 2276, an appearance caused by two different astrophysical interactions – one with the superheated gas pervading galaxy clusters, and one with a nearby galactic neighbour. The interaction of NGC 2276 with the intracluster medium – the superheated gas lying between…
    Tags: stars, news, space