Pasadena, CA-(ENEWSPF)- Of the hundreds of moons in our solar system, Titan is the only one with a dense atmosphere and large liquid reservoirs on its surface, making it in some ways more like a terrestrial planet. Both Earth and Titan have nitrogen-dominated atmospheres — over 95 percent nitrogen in[Read More…]
Space
Four Lasers Over Paranal: First light for the Four Laser Guide Star Facility on ESO’s Very Large Telescope
European Southern Observatory-(ENEWSPF)- On 26 April 2016 ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile hosted an event to mark the first light for the four powerful lasers that form a crucial part of the adaptive optics systems on ESO’s Very Large Telescope. Attendees were treated to a spectacular display of cutting-edge laser technology[Read More…]
Profile of a Methane Sea on Titan
ESA-(ENEWSPF)- Saturn’s largest moon is covered in seas and lakes of liquid hydrocarbons – and one sea has now been found to be filled with pure methane, with a seabed covered by a sludge of organic-rich material, and possibly surrounded by wetlands. Of all the moons in the Solar System,[Read More…]
Curiosity Mars Rover Crosses Rugged Plateau
Pasadena, CA-(ENEWSPF)- NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has nearly finished crossing a stretch of the most rugged and difficult-to-navigate terrain encountered during the mission’s 44 months on Mars. The rover climbed onto the “Naukluft Plateau” of lower Mount Sharp in early March after spending several weeks investigating sand dunes. The plateau’s sandstone[Read More…]
STScI: Hubble Discovers Moon Orbiting the Dwarf Planet Makemake
Baltimore, MD-(ENEWSPF)- Peering to the outskirts of our solar system, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has spotted a small, dark moon orbiting Makemake, the second brightest icy dwarf planet — after Pluto — in the Kuiper Belt. The moon — provisionally designated S/2015 (136472) 1 and nicknamed MK 2 — is[Read More…]
“Lomonosov” Set To Embark To Orbit
Moscow-(ENEWSPF)- On April 27th, at 5:01 am Moscow time [02:01 UTC, 10:01 pm US Eastern Daylight Time on April 26th], the first launch from the Vostochny Cosmodrome will take place. A Soyuz-2.1a rocket will place into orbit the scientific satellite “Lomonosov” of Moscow State University, along with the Aist-2D spacecraft[Read More…]
Profile of a Methane Sea on Titan
Ligeia Mare EU–(ENEWSPF)–26 April 2016. Saturn’s largest moon is covered in seas and lakes of liquid hydrocarbons – and one sea has now been found to be filled with pure methane, with a seabed covered by a sludge of organic-rich material, and possibly surrounded by wetlands.Of all the moons in[Read More…]
Hubble Sees a Star ‘Inflating’ a Giant Bubble (STScI) – Video, Images, Story
Baltimore, MD-(ENEWSPF)- Twenty-six candles grace NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope’s birthday cake this year, and now one giant space “balloon” will add to the festivities. Just in time for the 26th anniversary of Hubble’s launch on April 24, 1990, the telescope has photographed an enormous, balloon-like bubble being blown into space by[Read More…]
Behemoth Black Hole Found in an Unlikely Place
Baltimore, MD-(ENEWSPF)- Astronomers have uncovered a near-record-breaking supermassive black hole, weighing 17 billion suns, in an unlikely place: in the center of a galaxy in a sparsely populated area of the universe. The observations, made by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and the Gemini telescope in Hawaii, could indicate that these monster[Read More…]
International Station Gets Ready for BEAM as Crew Researches Life Science
The SpaceX Dragon approaches the International Space Station. The round solar array of the Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft is in the left foreground. Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–April 15, 2016 By: Mark Garcia. The International Space Station will get a new module Saturday when the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) is removed from[Read More…]
