Tag: Astronomy
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Space science in 2024: Moon missions, Martian milestones, astrophysics discoveries, and more
2024 was another busy year for space science, with many new missions, successes, and discoveries across the solar system and beyond. Three new missions were launched to the Moon, while one mission was canceled, and Curiosity and Perseverance continued to explore and make discoveries in their respective regions on Mars. Beyond the Earth-Moon system and…
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Nearly three years since launch, Webb is a hit among astronomers
From its halo-like orbit nearly a million miles from Earth, the James Webb Space Telescope is seeing farther than human eyes have ever seen. In May, astronomers announced that Webb detected the most distant galaxy found so far, a fuzzy blob of red light that we see as it existed just 290 million years after…
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Nearly three years since launch, Webb is a hit among astronomers
From its halo-like orbit nearly a million miles from Earth, the James Webb Space Telescope is seeing farther than human eyes have ever seen. In May, astronomers announced that Webb detected the most distant galaxy found so far, a fuzzy blob of red light that we see as it existed just 290 million years after…
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‘We have a telescope!’ Rubin Observatory construction team installs its huge mirror
The Simonyi Survey Telescope now has its mirrors and a camera in place. (Credit: Rubin Observatory) The Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s 8.4-meter Simonyi Survey Telescope in Chile has now been equipped with all three of its mirrors, plus a camera for good measure. Last week’s installation of the telescope’s combined primary/tertiary mirror represented a major…
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“Not a bluff”—NASA’s budget would shut down long-lived Chandra telescope
NASA launched the Chandra X-ray Observatory 25 years ago this week, opening a new eye on the Universe and giving astronomers vision into unimaginably violent cosmic environments like exploding stars and black holes. But Chandra’s mission may soon end as NASA’s science division faces a nearly billion-dollar budget shortfall. NASA says it can no longer…
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NASA Selects SpaceX for 2027 Launch of Gamma-Ray Astronomy Mission
NASA has chosen SpaceX to launch the Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI) spacecraft, a small gamma-ray astronomy mission, in August 2027, the agency announced on July 2. The contract, valued at approximately $69 million, includes launch services and related activities. “The agency could not release details on the number of companies that bid on the…
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UN Committee to Probe Satellite Constellation Threat to Astronomy, Overcoming Past Setback
The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) has greenlit a pioneering move to scrutinize the looming risks that satellite constellations pose to astronomy, a year subsequent to a thwarted similar endeavor. Marking a pivotal stride in diplomatic avenues concerning celestial research, COPUOS, in a recent session of its scientific and…
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The Unistellar Odyssey smart telescope made me question what stargazing means
It’s been 300 years since Galileo and Isaac Newton started fiddling around with lenses and parabolic mirrors to get a better look at the heavens. But if you look at many of the best amateur telescopes today, you’d be forgiven for thinking they haven’t progressed much since. Though components have certainly improved, the basic combination…
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Three options for seeing the solar eclipse, from expensive to iffy to absolutely free
Skywatchers gather at Seattle’s Gas Works Park to watch the progress of 2017’s solar eclipse. (GeekWire Photo) After a seven-year gap, a total solar eclipse is once again due to make a coast-to-coast run across North America, boosting popular interest (and airfares) to astronomical proportions. The track of totality for the April 8 eclipse doesn’t…
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New app always points to the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy
On Thursday, designer Matt Webb unveiled a new iPhone app called Galactic Compass, which always points to the center of the Milky Way galaxy—no matter where Earth is positioned on our journey through the stars. The app is free and available now on the App Store. While using Galactic Compass, you set your iPhone on…