Tag: Astrophysics
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IXPE X-ray observatory completes commissioning, eyes Cassiopeia A for calibration
The pioneering Imaging X-ray Polarimeter Explorer (IXPE) telescope, the first observatory in space to perform detailed polarimetry of some of the highest-energy objects the universe has to offer, has ended its highly-successful commissioning phase just over 30 days after lifting off from the Kennedy Space Center on December 9, 2021, on a SpaceX Falcon 9…
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Seeing the universe in the Mid-Infrared with James Webb’s MIRI instrument
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), presently tracking toward a launch no earlier than December 22 on an Ariane 5 rocket from the Guiana Space Centre in South America, will revolutionize in-space astronomy, particularly with its Mid-InfraRed Instrument, or MIRI. The instrument itself requires special cooling to drop its temperature to just 6 Kelvin —…
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New research finds first clear detection of circumplanetary disk surrounding an exoplanet
In recently published research using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers announced that they had found the first clear detection of a circumplanetary, moon-forming disk surrounding the exoplanet PDS 70c — a first in astrophysics. The circumplanetary disk, or CPD, has been seen in past research from other groups. However, due to the inability…
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With Hubble, astronomers use UV light for first time to measure a still-forming planet’s growth rate
In 2018, the exo-planet PDS 70b was observed using the Very Large Array. It’s discovery instantly placed it at the top of observation requests and telescope time for one quite profound reason: the exoplanet was still forming. For the first time, a still-accreting planet had been discovered, providing astrophysicists a unique opportunity to study how…
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NASA blames recent Hubble woes on aging hardware
The Hubble Space Telescope, seen from the space shuttle Columbia at the end of a 2002 servicing mission. The observatory’s door is open in this picture. Credit: NASA Hardware problems that cropped up earlier this month on the Hubble Space Telescope, now approaching the 31st anniversary of its launch, are the latest signs the observatory…
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Privately-funded mission takes off to begin space debris cleanup trials
The ELSA-d mission’s servicer and chaser satellites (bottom and top) during ground testing last year. Credit: Astroscale A commercial mission developed by the Japanese company Astroscale rocketed into space on a Russian Soyuz launcher Monday with 37 other payloads, ready to kick off an orbital “dance” with two small spacecraft demonstrating how satellite sweepers might…
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Live coverage: Soyuz launches with 38 satellites
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Russian Soyuz rocket on a rideshare mission with 38 international satellites. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. [tabby title=”Roscosmos webcast”] [tabby title=”GK Launch Services webcast”] [tabbyending] Roscosmos’s live video stream begins at approximately 0515 GMT (1:15 a.m. EDT) and will be available on…
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Soyuz rocket with special paint scheme rolls out to Baikonur launch pad
A Soyuz-2.1a rocket stands on the launch pad at Site 31 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan ahead of liftoff Saturday. Credit: Roscosmos Sporting a new blue and white paint scheme to mark the upcoming 60th anniversary of the first human spaceflight, a Russian Soyuz rocket loaded with 38 international satellites has rolled out to its…
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Hubble resumes science observations after software error
The Hubble Space Telescope in the payload bay of space shuttle Atlantis during the last servicing mission in May 2009. Credit: NASA NASA has partially restored the Hubble Space Telescope to science mode after a software error temporarily halted observations, but engineers continue studying a problem that kept the telescope’s aperture door from closing and…
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James Webb, OneWeb highlight Arianespace’s 2021 launch schedule
File photo of an Ariane 5 launch in January 2020. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – JM Guillon The planned Halloween launch of the James Webb Space Telescope — one of eight Ariane 5 launches left before the rocket’s retirement — and a series of flights to build out OneWeb’s satellite internet…