Space

Space and science coverage including asteroids, galaxies, planets, NASA and SpaceX launches.

Hubble enjoyed a colorful view of the Southern Crab Nebula to celebrate 29 years in space

April 24th, 2019

The Hubble Space Telescope has provided mankind with some of the most incredible views of space that we’ve ever seen. It’s shown us breathtaking images of distant objects and structures for nearly three decades, and to celebrate the 29th anniversary of its launch NASA took the time to show us some of the best galactic …

Science

NASA’s InSight lander may have just captured a ‘Marsquake’ for the first time

April 23rd, 2019

Mike Wehner

NASA’s Mars rovers have provided breathtaking images from the surface of Mars for many years, but listening to Mars is a whole other story. The InSight lander, which touched down on Mars in late 2018, is designed to listen closely to the inner workings of the planet, and it may have just nailed a huge …

Science

SpaceIL’s lunar lander crashed because of ‘manual command’

April 23rd, 2019

Mike Wehner

It’s now been a couple of weeks since Israel’s first attempt to land on the Moon was met with disaster at the last possible moment. The SpaceIL Beresheet lander crashed onto the Moon after what appeared to be some kind of engine failure in the final moments of approach, but new information is coming to …

Science

NASA plans to study this galactic ‘jellyfish’ with its new James Webb Space Telescope

April 22nd, 2019

Mike Wehner

Galaxies come in many different shapes and sizes, but you’d be hard pressed to find one more interesting than ESO 137-001. What the galaxy lacks in a flashy name it more than makes up for with an eye-catching appearance, looking like some kind of massive jellyfish floating through space. A blurry spiral trailed by long …

Science

Yes, there’s a full moon tonight, but it won’t be pink

April 19th, 2019

Mike Wehner

If you’re an aspiring skywatcher looking for a good reason to stay up past your bedtime and gaze into the cosmos, I have good news: Friday, April 19th will feature a full moon. However, if you’re eagerly anticipating tonight’s full moon because it carries the nickname “Pink Moon,” I have a devastating truth to reveal: …

Science

This is the last photo Israel’s Beresheet lunar lander captured before it was smashed into oblivion

April 19th, 2019

Mike Wehner

Last week’s attempted lunar lander by SpaceIL’s Beresheet spacecraft didn’t quite go as planned. Actually, that’s putting it mildly; it totally crashed. Nevertheless, the privately funded mission accomplished a number of firsts, and returned some lovely images from its descent as an added bonus. First we were treated to a view from high above the …

Science

New ISS astronaut assignments mean Christina Koch will break a huge NASA record

April 18th, 2019

Mike Wehner

A few weeks back, NASA had anticipated conducting the first all-female spacewalk with astronauts Christina Koch and Anne McClaine on the International Space Station. Unfortunately, due to some last-minute preference changes with McClaine’s space suit sizing the spacewalk was instead conducted by NASA’s Nick Hague and Koch, but it looks like Koch may indeed get …

Science

Watch a massive fireball light up the sky over the East Coast

April 17th, 2019

Mike Wehner

Not all meteor sightings are create equal. Seeing any space rock streaking across the night sky is pretty darn cool, but some of them put on more of a show than others. East Coasters who were in the right place at the right time last night got to see one of the more impressive fireballs …

Science

NASA plans to send astronauts to the Moon’s South Pole in five years

April 17th, 2019

Mike Wehner

NASA is moving forward with plans to send a crewed mission to the lunar surface by 2024, a goal that will be impossible to achieve without additional funding and support that the U.S. government has not yet confirmed it is willing to offer. Nevertheless, the agency is working hard on many of the preliminary aspects …

Science

Earth may have been struck by an interstellar meteor way back in 2014

April 16th, 2019

Mike Wehner

It was late 2017 when the astronomy world was buzzing over what appeared to be the first-ever interstellar visitor observed by mankind. It was a long, cigar-shaped object which its discoverers named Oumuamua, and it swooped around our Sun and back out towards interstellar space so rapidly that scientists had to scramble to study it. …