Science news - latest news and events

Confirmation: Human Footprints in New Mexico, 21,500 Years Old

New research has recently affirmed that human footprints in what is now the New Mexico desert are no older than 21,500 years, settling a controversial discovery made in 2021. Back then, the revelation of these ancient imprints in White Sands, New Mexico left many astonished but also somewhat skeptical. However, a team, which includes some of the same scientists, has now co...

Expanding Tiangong: China's Space Station Ambitions

China has ambitious plans to expand its space station from three modules to six over the next few years. This move aims to provide astronauts from various countries with an alternative hub for missions in the near-Earth region, as the aging NASA-led International Space Station (ISS) approaches the end of its operational life. The China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), a...

Easily Locate Optimal Viewing Spots for the 2024 Solar Eclipse

Get ready for an exciting celestial event on April 8, 2024! A total solar eclipse is coming, and it's going to be visible across a large part of the United States. Thanks to a brand-new map created by The Planetary Society and The Eclipse Company, photographers and skywatchers can now find the perfect spot to witness this incredible event. Why is this eclipse so speci...

Boise, Idaho will witness an annular solar eclipse this October

As the sky darkens and the sun transforms into a fiery "ring of fire" later this month, rest assured that it's not the end of the world. What you'll witness is a rare event known as an annular solar eclipse, casting a shadow over the United States on the morning of October 14. This celestial spectacle marks the first annular solar eclipse in the United States since Ma...

Hubble's Glimpse into G35.2-0.7N's Massive Star Formation

The Hubble Space Telescope has captured a stunning image of G35.2-0.7N, a region renowned for its formation of massive stars. Situated about 7,200 light-years away in the Aquila constellation, this area is home to at least one B-type star. This particular star emits a potent protostellar jet, which can be seen as a dazzling display in the image. This awe-inspiring picture...

Captivating Moments from Perseverance Rover's 899th Day

A fresh collection of pictures sent back by NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover seems to reveal a swirling dust devil moving across the surface of the red planet, located approximately 2.5 miles away from the six-wheeled geologist. This intriguing phenomenon was spotted on August 30, 2023, as only the lower part of the dust devil was observed meandering along the western r...

NASA's psyche mission launch delay

NASA has recently announced a delay in the launch of its Psyche mission, pushing the liftoff date from October 5 to October 12. This mission, set to explore a distant asteroid rich in metal, is now temporarily grounded due to an issue with the spacecraft's thrusters. The rescheduled launch, targeted for October 12 at 10:16 a.m. ET from Kennedy Space Center's Laun...

AI-driven model decodes dinosaurs extinction

To settle the long-standing scientific dispute about whether dinosaurs and countless other species were wiped out by a colossal asteroid or volcanic eruptions 66 million years ago, Dartmouth researchers adopted a fresh strategy. They took scientists out of the equation and allowed computers to make the call. Their findings, published on September 29th in the journal Scienc...

Unveiling asteroid treasures and TAGSAM challenges

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft's return capsule successfully landed on Earth this past Sunday, marking the beginning of the process to retrieve its precious cargo. After transport to NASA's Johnson Space Center, the capsule's lid was carefully opened within a specialized glovebox to ensure no contamination. NASA's initial inspection inside the capsule unveiled what they&ap...

Recent CERN experiment challenges sci-fi notions

Antimatter has recently lost some of its mysterious allure. In the realm of physics, there's a known counterpart to every fundamental particle - an antiparticle. These antiparticles share the same mass as their ordinary counterparts but possess opposite qualities, such as charge and spin. When these pairs collide, they annihilate each other, releasing energy in the process. ...

NASA's Artemis II. Arrival and preparation of SLS rocket boosters

NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida has recently received the 10 booster motor segments for NASA's SLS rocket, which will play a crucial role in propelling the Artemis II mission around the Moon. These segments will combine to form the twin, five-segment solid rocket boosters of the SLS rocket, responsible for generating over 75% of the thrust during liftoff for NASA's...

42nd starlink mission launches, unveils v2 mini satellites

SpaceX has just completed its 42nd Starlink mission this year, using a Falcon 9 rocket that took off from the West Coast at 1:48 a.m. PDT (4:48 a.m. EDT / 0848 UTC) on a Monday morning. The Falcon 9 rocket launched from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, heading southeast towards a specific orbit measuring 185x178 miles (297x286 km) and i...

India's lunar exploration setback

As the sun ascended over the lunar landscape where India's Vikram lander and Pragyan rover are stationed, these robotic explorers remained inactive. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), often referred to as India's equivalent of NASA, reported on Friday that mission controllers on Earth had sent a signal to wake up Vikram. As anticipated,...

Historic return with Alien Rock, unraveling life's origins

A NASA spacecraft is set to complete its round-trip journey to an asteroid this weekend, returning to Earth after a seven-year expedition to retrieve pristine rock specimens from an alien world, potentially shedding light on the origins of life. The touchdown, scheduled for Sunday at 8:55 am local time in Utah (10:55 am EDT or 14:55 UTC), marks the culmination of NAS...