-
ScienceSpace & SpaceflightNew Solar Satellite Uses Pigment Found In Prehistoric Cave Paintings
The European Space Agency’s new solar satellite will be partially shielded using a bone-based pigment found in prehistoric cave paintings. The result will be a surreal cross between the earliest era of human cognition and creativity—that underground cinematic world of flickering animal images found in European caves—and the outer reaches of our current mechanical sciences. … Continued
-
ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
Meet the Flockers: ISS Launches Low-Cost Earth-Imaging Micro-Satellites
Since the launch of the Landsat program in 1972, generating images of Earth from space has been the near-exclusive domain of enormous, multi-million dollar satellites sponsored by nations and major defense corporations. But these new micro-satellites, recently launched from the ISS, aim to make real-time imaging available for a fraction of the price. Designed, built, … Continued
-
ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
A Rocket, a Meteor and the Milky Way, All in One Overwhelming Image
Pictures of rockets, meteors and the Milky Way are all amazing. But one with all three makes for an overwhelming image indeed. This amazing picture shows the night sky over Doi Inthanon National Park in Thailand. Within it, you can see the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy, hovering surreally. But there’s more: just … Continued
-
ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
This Beautiful Patchwork US Celebrates Landsat 8’s First Year in Space
A year ago, Landsat 8 rocketed into space. Since then it’s been beaming back data to Earth for NASA scientists to interpret—like these beautiful patchwork picture of the US. This series of images, acquired in August 2013 by the satellite’s Operational Land Imager, were pieced together by David Roy, from South Dakota State University. The … Continued
-
ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
How Space Heat Helps Us Hunt Down Alien Technologies
My colleagues and I have begun the Glimpsing Heat from Alien Technologies (G-HAT) SETI program, which has been written about here on Centauri Dreams and in other places, like in this nice summary article. I describe some of the foundations of the search here on my blog, but I have written up this short primer … Continued
Jason T. Wright - Centauri Dreams -
ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
Astronomers Discover Oldest Star in Known Universe
Well, here’s a superlative for you. With the help of Australia’s SkyMapper telescope, astronomers have discovered the oldest star in the known universe, some 6,000 light years away from Earth—and the star’s chemistry could change the way we understand the Big Bang. The star itself isn’t like our Sun and not just because it’s nearly … Continued
-
ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
8 of the Most Fascinating Items From Carl Sagan’s Personal Archives
As America’s foremost ambassador to space, Carl Sagan has continued to inspire our fascination with exploring beyond Earth. The Library of Congress has digitized its Carl Sagan archives, and several items just collectedonline give us an amazing new look into the mind of the astronomer. Some items from the Seth MacFarlane Collection of the Carl … Continued
By Sarah Zhang -
ScienceSpace & SpaceflightAll of Earth’s Water Comes From Space
If there’s one thing that makes our home planet special—other than the presence of you and me—it’s water. This is The Blue Marble after all. But for something that’s so characteristically Earth-y, its origins are positively extra-terrestrial. As MinuteEarth explains, the question isn’t so much whether our water came from space, but rather how it … Continued
By Eric Limer -
ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
A Stunning Picture of the Earth’s Atmosphere Is Better Than Any Sci-Fi
This image may look like the opening scene from a high-budget sci-fi film, but it is in fact a real photograph, snapped by astronaut Koichi Wakata from the International Space Station. Captured on February 1st, it shows the crescent moon rising and the stunning cusp of Earth’s atmosphere. The beautiful oranges and blue hues are … Continued
-
ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
The First Image From Gaia’s Mission to Scan the Entire Sky
This image of twinkling stars is the first picture to be beamed back to Earth by the Gaia telescope—whose mission is to scan the entire sky. It’s actually a test image, designed to help the European Space Agency fine-tune the behaviour of the instruments aboard the telescope before it gets down to the real task … Continued
-
ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
Why Hubble Has a Telescope Named After Him
Just about everyone has heard of the Hubble Space Telescope. A space-based observatory on “the highest mountain” the world can provide; it is the technology behind many of today’s great discoveries in space. Started in 1977 and launched into orbit in 1990, it has aided in humans determining the expansion rate of the universe, as … Continued
Emily Upton - TodayIFoundOut.com -
ScienceSpace & SpaceflightThis Bluegrass Cover of Elton John’s ‘Rocketman’ Is Finger-Pickin’ Good
In the Smoky Mountains, where I grew up, bluegrass is a way of life. Every Friday night, about a mile from my house, an abandoned old schoolhouse becomes one big jam session, and sometimes, when the weather is nice, it moves outside under the stars with the moonlight casting shadows onto the red Tennessee dirt. … Continued
-
ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
Spam, Silkworms, Hydroponics: The Speculative Future of Food on Mars
Last year, NASA held a recipe contest for cooking on Mars. Ordinary civilians like us were invited to submit recipes based on a list of available ingredients—heavy on freeze-dried produce and various meat-flavored “textured vegetable proteins”—to be cooked and judged by crew members of HI-SEAS. HI-SEAS wasn’t actually a mission on Mars, of course; it … Continued
By Sarah Zhang -
ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
Why Astronauts Were Banned From Drinking Wine In Outer Space
The story behind NASA’s brief embrace of extraterrestrial sherry is a curious one. In the early seventies, the agency’s focus was shifting from short, Moon-focused missions to the possibility of longer-term inhabitation of space. A revamped menu was among the most pressing challenges: food on the Gemini and Apollo programs came in dehydrated cube form, … Continued
-
ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
It’s Hard to Believe These Majestic Light Pillars Are Actually On Earth
Winter does all kinds of weird things to the sky, including make it look like we live on an exotic alien planet circling Vega. NASA just posted this mind-bending 360º view of light pillars in Finland. The agency describes the spectacle: The spherical panoramic image mosaic maps a view from Siilinjärvi in eastern Finland. Flat … Continued
-
ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
There’s a Solar Eclipse Happening Now That Can Only Be Seen From Space
This is a photo of what’s happening right now above our heads. It’s a solar eclipse near the moon. You just can’t see it, because you’re not in space. In-space solar eclipses are fairly common, but they’re not always caught on camera, and they’re not readily visible to us Earthlings. Besides, there’s always room in … Continued
By Leslie Horn -
ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
This Insanely Loud Sound System Can Actually Kill You
Being shot into space puts spacecraft under extreme stress—but did you know that the sound of the rocket launch can damage a craft? Inside the Large European Acoustic Facility, engineers recreate the incredible noise of a launch to make sure satellites can survive it. According to the ESA, “no human could survive” the sound. First … Continued