Astronomers at a Chilean observatory were rudely interrupted earlier this week when a SpaceX satellite train consisting of 60 Starlink satellites drifted overhead, in what scientists are apparently going to have to accept as the new normal. Launched into orbit on November 11, the Starlink smallsat train took five minutes to pass over the Cerro Read more about Elon Musk’s Starlink Satellites Are Already Causing a Headache for Astronomers[…]

SpaceX’s first full-scale Starship prototype – Mk1 – has experienced a failure at its Boca Chica test site in southern Texas. The failure occurred late in the afternoon on Wednesday, midway through a test of the vehicle’s propellant tanks. As of a few weeks ago, the Mk1 Starship – which was shown off to the Read more about SpaceX Starship Mk1 explodes during cryogenic loading test[…]

In recent weeks, China’s space program has made news by revealing some of its long-term ambitions for spaceflight. These include establishing an Earth-Moon space economic zone by 2050, which, if successful, could allow the country to begin to dictate the rules of behavior for future space exploration. Some have questioned whether China, which has flown six Read more about China now launches more rockets than anyone in the world: Russia 2nd, US 3rd[…]

While one key official has sought to blame a single individual for the system going dark, insiders warn that organizational chaos, excessive secrecy and some unusual self-regulation is as much to blame. Combined with those problems, a battle between European organizations over the satellite system, and a delayed independent report into the July cock-up, means Read more about EU beurocracy, One man’s mistake, missing backups and complete reboot: What we can figure out about Europe’s Galileo satellites going dark[…]

Explore the scale of the universe Source: The Size of Space

A team led by Carnegie’s Scott S. Sheppard has found 20 new moons orbiting Saturn.  This brings the ringed planet’s total number of moons to 82, surpassing Jupiter, which has 79. The discovery was announced Monday by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center. Each of the newly discovered moons is about five kilometers, or Read more about Saturn surpasses Jupiter after the discovery of 20 new moons and you can help name them![…]

In a paper published on the online research archive arXiv in August, Columbia astronomy students Zephyr Penoyre and Emily Sandford proposed the idea of a “lunar space elevator,” which is exactly what it sounds like—a very long elevator connecting the moon and our planet. The concept of a moon elevator isn’t new. In the 1970s, Read more about A Moon Space Elevator Is Actually Feasible and Inexpensive: Study[…]

The European Space Agency was forced to perform a “collision avoidance maneuver” to prevent its Aeolus spacecraft from potentially smashing into one of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites, in what is quickly becoming an all-too-common occurrence. According to SpaceX, it never received the expected alert that a collision was possible. ESA pumped out a series of Read more about SpaceX Says a ‘Bug’ Prevented It From Receiving Warning of Possible ESA Satellite Collision. For the first time ESA had to unexpectedly avoid a satellite constellation.[…]

The European Space Agency (ESA) accomplished a first today: moving one of its satellites away from a potential collision with a “mega constellation”. The constellation in question was SpaceX’s Starlink, and the firing of the thrusters of the Aeolus Earth observation satellite was designed to raise the orbit of the spacecraft to allow SpaceX’s satellite Read more about ESA satellite dodges a “mega constellation” – Musks cluster satellites[…]

A team of Polish astronomers has created the most accurate three-dimensional map of the Milky Way to date, revealing surprising distortions and irregularities along the galactic disk. Building an accurate map of the Milky Way is not easy. Our location deep inside the gigantic structure means we can’t observe our galaxy externally, forcing us to Read more about Another Study Finds Our Galaxy Is ‘Warped and Twisted’[…]

Since unfurling the spacecraft’s silver solar sail last week, mission managers have been optimizing the way the spacecraft orients itself during solar sailing. After a few tweaks, LightSail 2 began raising its orbit around the Earth. In the past 4 days, the spacecraft has raised its orbital high point, or apogee, by about 2 kilometers. Read more about LightSail 2 Spacecraft Successfully Demonstrates Flight by Light[…]

Over half of the 88 constellations the IAU recognizes today are attributed to ancient Greek, which consolidated the earlier works by the ancient Babylonian, Egyptian and Assyrian. Forty eight of the constellations we know were recorded in the seventh and eighth books of Claudius Ptolemy’s Almagest, although the exact origin of these constellations still remains Read more about The Constellations | IAU[…]

Stars have served as a basis for navigation for thousands of years. Polaris, also dubbed the North Star in the Ursa Minor constellation, is arguably one of the most influential, even though it sits 434 light years away. […] n the star map above, the orange lines denote the twelve signs of the Zodiac, each Read more about Every Visible Star in the Night Sky, in One Giant Map[…]

We may be able to survive and live on Mars in regions protected by thin ceilings of silica aerogel, a strong lightweight material that insulates heat and blocks harmful ultraviolet radiation while weighing almost nothing. Researchers at Harvard University in the US, NASA, and the University of Edinburgh in Scotland envision areas of Mars enclosed Read more about Humans may be able to live on Mars within walls of aerogel – a wonder material that can trap heat and block radiation[…]

Amazon wants the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to give it the go-ahead to launch 3,236 satellites that would be used to establish a globe-spanning internet network. Seeking Alpha reported that Amazon expects “to offer service to tens of millions of underserved customers around the world” via the network, which the company is developing under the Read more about Amazon Seeks Permission to Launch 3,236 Internet Satellites – awesome! more trash metal in low earth orbit![…]

Last week, the LightSail 2 officially made its first contact with Earth. The solar-powered spacecraft will be sailing around Earth’s orbit for the next year, all part of a mission to prove that solar sailing is a viable mode of space exploration. If successful, the hope is that solar sailing could be used in other Read more about How to Track the LightSail 2 as It ‘Sails’ Around Earth[…]

Launch occurred at 0630 UTC on 25 June and the side boosters of the heavy lifter were shut down and separated from the centre core approximately 2 minutes 30 seconds later. The boosters, previously used for the last Falcon Heavy launch, headed back to briefly light up Landing Zones 1 and 2 with a synchronised Read more about SpaceX launches successfully but still can’t land – explody centre stage and only half a fairing caught[…]

According to new research, Antlia 2’s current position is consistent with a collision with the Milky Way hundreds of millions of years ago that could have produced the perturbations we see today. The paper has been submitted for publication and is undergoing peer review. Antlia 2 was a bit of a surprise when it showed up Read more about We Have Detected Signs of Our Milky Way Colliding With Another Galaxy[…]

The first batch of satellites were launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and deployed to orbit by a Falcon 9 rocket on May 23. Each contains a single solar array, which both captures and bounces sunlight off the satellites and, as a result, can sometimes be seen from Earth. On May 25, as the drifting luminescent Read more about SpaceX Starlink satellites dazzle but pose big questions for astronomers – Musk thought things out well again, not.[…]