The universe is like a safe to which there is a combination. But the combination is locked up in the safe.

— Peter De Vries

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SpaceX quiz: Test your private rocket knowledge

Space.com - Tue, 07/29/2025 - 10:00am
Whether you're a Falcon 9 fan or want to go to Mars, this quiz is your chance to prove it.
Categories: Astronomy

James Webb Space Telescope finds black holes that waited patiently before devouring stars in dusty galaxies

Space.com - Tue, 07/29/2025 - 9:00am
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers hunted supermassive black holes devouring stars in dusty galaxies — but laying in wait for their stellar victims.
Categories: Astronomy

Solar-powered ambush drones can wait for targets like land mines

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Tue, 07/29/2025 - 8:02am
Russian ambush drones have been seen in Ukraine fitted with cheap solar panels, which enable them to lurk indefinitely, waiting for a target to come near
Categories: Astronomy

NASA’s Artemis Albatross

Universe Today - Tue, 07/29/2025 - 7:43am

While all the technology of the Apollo program still exists in the form of blueprints and designs, all the human expertise that went into crafting those rockets and spaceships is now either retired or passed away.

Categories: Astronomy

NASA's Junocam Heals Its Radiation Damage

Universe Today - Tue, 07/29/2025 - 7:43am

The JunoCam on NASA's Juno spacecraft has given us fantastic images of Jupiter and its moons, especially volcanic Io. But the instrument is suffering after years of exposure to Jupiter's intense radiation. There are few options for repairing that damage from such a great distance, but it looks like NASA's done it.

Categories: Astronomy

Zero-Boil Fuel Storage Undergoes System Testing

Universe Today - Tue, 07/29/2025 - 7:43am

From an engineering perspective, space is surprisingly hot. Or, more specifically, solar energy can make systems that need to be kept at a very cold temperature heat up much more quickly than expected, given the reputation that space has of being cold. In some cases, this heating causes issues with long-term missions, which is why NASA is actively testing a two-stage active cryogenic system to keep one important consumable as cold as possible - fuel.

Categories: Astronomy

Astronomers Discover Mysterious Radio Pulsing White Dwarf

Universe Today - Tue, 07/29/2025 - 7:43am

A team of astronomers using the Netherlands' powerful LOFAR radio telescope has found a white dwarf that's defying everything we thought we knew about them. Located over 3,500 light-years away, it’s pulsing out radio signals every 14 minutes with a twist, its radio waves mysteriously switch between spinning in circles and vibrating in straight lines. It's like discovering a lighthouse that randomly changes the shape of its beam, except this lighthouse is a star that died long ago and should be quietly cooling in space.

Categories: Astronomy

Tomb of Ancient Maya City’s First Ruler Has Been Uncovered by Archaeologists

Scientific American.com - Tue, 07/29/2025 - 6:45am

A team of archaeologists excavating the ancient Maya city of Caracol discovered the tomb of its first ruler, which contained pottery, jadeite jewelry and a rare death mask

Categories: Astronomy

VV27 road to liftoff

ESO Top News - Tue, 07/29/2025 - 5:00am
Video: 00:07:00

Highlights and liftoff of Vega-C flight VV27 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, at 23:03 local time on 25 July (03:03 BST/04:03 CEST on 26 July).

Flight VV27 was operated by Arianespace and launched Airbus’s four CO3D satellites and the French space agency CNES MicroCarb mission.

The four small satellites in the CO3D constellation (an abbreviation of the French 'Constellation Optique en 3D') are set to map the globe in three dimensions from low Earth orbit, to serve public and private sector needs.

MicroCarb is designed to map sources and sinks of carbon dioxide on a global scale. ESA coordinated and procured the launch of MicroCarb on behalf of the European Commission, as part of its In-Orbit Demonstration / In-Orbit Validation (IOD/IOV) programme.

Categories: Astronomy

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APOD - Mon, 07/28/2025 - 4:00pm

Can some supernovas explode twice?


Categories: Astronomy, NASA