NASA doesn’t say the Boeing Starliner astronauts are ‘stranded’ on the space station, but it’s a word that a lot of people are using. If you go somewhere expecting an eight-day trip and end up not being able to leave for eight months, most people would consider that “stranded.” That is what has happened to…

Astronomers have succeeded in forecasting the meal timings of a colossal black hole after watching it devour a nearby star in bits and pieces, they announced earlier this week, marking a step forward in understanding the elusive eating behavior of these cosmic voids. The data behind the forecasts was beamed home in 2018, when an…

A sample location from the Sampling Quadrangle Assemblages Research Experiment (SQuARE), Square 03 in the starboard Maintenance Work Area of the International Space Station. An open crew berth is visible at right. The yellow dotted line indicates the boundaries of the sample area. Credit: NASA/ISSAP/Walsh et al., 2024, PLOS ONE, CC-BY 4.0 New results from…

The Perseids, one of the year’s most prolific meteor showers, peaked this week, raining dozens of “shooting stars” per hour through Earth’s skies. Some lucky stargazers caught a double feature of meteors and dazzling auroras, which were triggered by a spree of powerful solar eruptions earlier in the week. Others, like U.K.-based astrophotographer Josh Dury,…

<a href="https://physicsworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/14-8-24-Lunar-positioning-system.jpg" data-fancybox data-src="https://physicsworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/14-8-24-Lunar-positioning-system.jpg" data-caption="Lunar positioning system Artist’s impression of an artificial satellite orbiting the Moon. (Courtesy: NASA)”> Lunar positioning system Artist’s impression of an artificial satellite orbiting the Moon. (Courtesy: NASA) Atomic clocks on the Moon. It might sound like a futuristic concept, but atomic clocks already abound in space. They can be found…

COLUMBUS, Ga. (WTVM) -The Coca-Cola Space and Science Center invites community members to one of their free “Astronomy Nights.” The event will be held Aug. 17. It will begin at 9 p.m. in the Omnisphere Planetarium at the center. During the event, Dr. Rosa Williams will point out constellations and bright objects in the sky.…

Rachel Feltman: If you’re listening to this podcast, chances are pretty good that you’ve heard about the problem of space junk—the countless pieces of trash from dead satellites, old rockets and other assorted space infrastructure orbiting our planet that can travel as fast as 22,000 miles per hour or more. You may also know that…

Explore the fascinating realm of astronomy and space science with our comprehensive guide to essential terms and concepts. Whether you’re a stargazer, a budding astronomer, or simply curious about the universe, understanding these fundamental terms will enrich your knowledge of how our cosmos operates.From the origins of the universe described by the Big Bang Theory…

14. Diamonds are found all over the Galaxy  Diamond, one of the hardest and most lustrous materials on Earth, is formed under extreme pressure and heat deep beneath the surface of the planet. But it turns out that diamonds are not exclusive to our own planet and may be found throughout the Solar System, Galaxy…

On a Sunday evening in late February 2021, a fluorescent green fireball flashed across the skies of Gloucestershire, heading in the direction of the village of Winchcombe. The 4.6 billion-year-old meteorite pre-dated the Earth and offered invaluable insights into the formation of the solar system. But weighing less than a bag of sugar and spread…