Just Like Stars, Open Clusters Can Form Binary Pairs
Open star clusters are prevalent stellar structures in the Milky Way. Astronomers think their could be 100,000 of them. But they’re not all the same: some are binary clusters, and…
Setting up a permanent lunar presence needs investment in biology
In December 1972, Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt spent 75 hours on the lunar surface during Apollo 17. They drove a rover, conducted three spacewalks and collected samples across the…
Revolv Space enters in-orbit servicing market with Infinite Orbits deal
WARSAW, Poland — The Italian-Dutch company Revolv Space has announced that French in-orbit services provider Infinite Orbits has selected its Solar Array Drive Assemblies (SADAs), the devices used to manage…
Germany pushes European military space command initiative
AMSTERDAM — A senior German military official said Europe needs a coordinated approach to military space operations and proposed the creation of a European Space Component Command hosted by Germany…
Astrophotographer spends 115 hours capturing Horsehead Nebula in striking detail with backyard telescope
The Horsehead Nebula cuts a dark silhouette against glowing clouds in the constellation Orion.
Astrophysical Calibration Could “Autotune” Gravitational Wave Detection
The LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA (LVK) detector network has a new trick up its sleeve to improve the instruments’ sensitivity to gravitational waves: it’s called Astrophysical Calibration and it plays a role similar…
Something Just Passed Between Us and a Distant Star.
In December 2019, astronomers detected a one hour brightening of a star in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a classic gravitational microlensing event. These occur when a compact object bends a…
When Spacetime Crystallises, a Black Hole is Born
Physicists have thought for decades that microscopic black holes can theoretically emerge not from exploding stars but from delicate “critical states” in which space and time organise themselves into a…
House Armed Services draft bill eliminates SDA, Space RCO as separate entities
HASC 2027 NDAA supports realignment of the Space Development Agency and the Space Rapid Capabilities Office under a portfolio-based acquisition structure The post House Armed Services draft bill eliminates SDA,…
NASA Develops Sensor to Improve Firefighter Safety
5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Alabama Forestry Commission wildland firefighter Jason Berry teaches NASA Wildland Fires Technology Program Manager Teresa Kauffman how to drive…