Science news - latest news and events

Unveiling New Mexico's Ancient Tyrannosaurus Species

A recent breakthrough in paleontology has unveiled a new dinosaur species calling New Mexico home. Notably, this discovery is reshaping our understanding of the timeline for dinosaur existence in North America. Dr. Anthony Fiorillo, the executive director of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, expressed, "This discovery has been in the works for deca...

Unveiling Uranus and Neptune's True Colors

Duck-egg blue, a favorite among interior designers, seems to be the true color of both Uranus and Neptune, challenging the common belief that Neptune possesses a deep blue hue. Contrary to popular perception, recent research indicates that both planets share a similar color palette, with Neptune only marginally bluer than Uranus. Professor Patrick Irwin from the University...

NASA's Stellar Year: Pushing Frontiers in Space Exploration

NASA has had a dynamic year filled with remarkable missions and significant achievements that continually push the boundaries of human exploration. Throughout this year, NASA has accomplished a series of historic missions and noteworthy milestones, showcased in a recently released video highlighting the agency's achievements in 2023. These range from the triumphant re...

Celestial Spectacle to Illuminate 2023's Final Night Sky

Get ready for a spectacular celestial show as the final meteor shower of 2023 is poised to illuminate the night sky, just in time for the holiday season. Scheduled to reach its peak on Thursday night through the early morning hours of Friday, the Ursids meteor shower promises a dazzling display for those willing to brave the chilly night air. According to the American Mete...

NASA's Lucy Mission unveils astonishing asteroid duo near Mars

In October 2021, NASA's Lucy spacecraft was sent into space on a mission to study asteroids around Jupiter. Recently, it captured an image of a smaller asteroid near Mars, revealing a surprising find for scientists. This newfound asteroid, named Dinkinesh, had an unexpected companion – a tiny moon orbiting around it. The discovery occurred during a flyby of Dinkin...

Revealing the origins. Earth's collision birthed the moon

New research has uncovered an intriguing connection between Earth and the moon's creation. It appears that the formation of the moon can be attributed to the collision between Earth and a protoplanet. This collision, which happened when Earth was still in its infancy, may have left massive fragments of the protoplanet near the Earth's core, potentially the size of continents....

Starlink's Falcon 9: Second launch attempt set

SpaceX had to cancel its first launch attempt on Sunday, October 29, due to a problem with the Falcon 9 rocket's stage separation system. They plan to make a second attempt on Monday, October 30. On Monday, October 30, SpaceX is all set for the launch of 23 Starlink internet satellites using their Falcon 9 rocket. This comes as their second attempt following the p...

NASA's sample extraction challenge. Bennu's secrets locked

"Houston, we have a problem" – scientists are having a tough time trying to open the lid on the sample capsule from the Bennu asteroid. Even though NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission successfully transported valuable space dust over 200 million miles, they're stuck due to a lack of appropriate tools. The space agency reported that "af...

Roman telescope. unveiling the heart of the milky way

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is set to unveil an unprecedented look at the heart of our Milky Way galaxy. This mission will keep a watchful eye on hundreds of millions of stars, searching for subtle changes that hint at the presence of planets, faraway stars, icy objects lingering around our solar system's outskirts, solitary black holes, and more. Roman might even...

Chaco canyon's ancient eclipse gathering

Eclipse enthusiasts and experts in ancient astronomy gathered at Chaco Canyon in New Mexico to witness a rare event – an annular solar eclipse visible from the site famous for its 'Rock of the Sun' petroglyph. Chaco Canyon, located in New Mexico, is a place where time unfolds in remarkable ways. Although solar eclipses operate on cycles that far surpass a sin...

SpaceX's Monday Marvel: 21 Satellites Soar

On an early Monday morning at Vandenberg Space Force Base, a Falcon 9 rocket embarked on a journey into orbit, carrying an impressive payload of 21 Starlink satellites. The force of its launch was so strong that it caused windows to rattle in the vicinity. This SpaceX rocket took off precisely at 12:43 a.m. from Space Launch Complex-4 located on South Base. Within just...

SpaceX's Falcon 9: Dual Launches and Windy Setbacks

A Falcon 9 rocket took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 12:43 a.m. PDT (0743 UTC). The first stage booster, which was on its 14th flight, successfully landed on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately, strong upper-level winds forced SpaceX to cancel the Starlink 6-22 mission that was scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral. SpaceX is star...

Unveiling the Enigma: The Finch, a Cosmic Spectacle

A dazzling burst of light, generated by a mysterious cosmic explosion, illuminated the vast expanse between two galaxies, each more than 3 billion light-years away. This remarkable optical flash, a radiant blue spectacle, shone briefly but brilliantly, marking a new instance of a rare and enigmatic astronomical event known as a luminous fast blue optical transient (LFB...

Chandrayaan-3: Dodging Space Debris, A Lunar Journey

India's Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission experienced a slight delay in liftoff, shifting its launch time by four seconds to steer clear of potential collisions with other objects in space. The spacecraft embarked on its journey on July 14, riding a LVM-3 heavy-lift rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre and entering an initial highly-elliptical Earth orbit. This marked the beginning...