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Portal has developed a new satellite bus called Supernova that the company says will allow unprecedented mobility in Earth orbit and beyond.

Myopia is becoming so common some people deem it “epidemic.” Here’s why getting kids outside and treating nearsightedness early is crucial for healthy eyesight

Gateway’s Lunar I-Hab and HALO modules under construction at a Thales Alenia Space industrial plant in Turin, Italy. ESA/Stephane Corvaja

The Artemis IV mission is taking shape with major hardware for Gateway, humanity’s first space station to orbit the Moon, progressing in Turin, Italy.

NASA will launch HALO (Habitation and Logistics Outpost), center of image in background, along with the Power and Propulsion Element (not pictured) to lunar orbit ahead of the Artemis IV mission as the first elements of Gateway, the first space station to be assembled around the Moon. During that mission, astronauts will launch in the Orion spacecraft with the Lunar I-Hab, pieces of which are shown here in the foreground, and deliver it to Gateway. Lunar I-Hab is provided by ESA (European Space Agency) with significant hardware contributions from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and is one of four Gateway modules that astronauts will live and work inside as they orbit the Moon.

Thales Alenia Space completed major welding on HALO and began initial fabrication of Lunar I-Hab last year. The company is a subcontractor to Northrop Grumman for HALO, and prime contractor to ESA for Lunar I-Hab.

Along with HALO, I-Hab, and the Power and Propulsion Element, two additional Gateway modules provided by ESA and the Mohammad Bin Rashid Space Centre make up the core components of the space station. CSA (Canadian Space Agency) is providing the Canadarm3 advanced external robotic system and fixtures for science instruments.  

The international teams of astronauts living, conducting science, and preparing for missions to the lunar South Pole region from Gateway will be the first humans to make their home in deep space. 

Gateway’s Lunar I-Hab module under construction at a Thales Alenia Space industrial plant in Turin, Italy. ESA/Stephane Corvaja Gateway’s Lunar I-Hab module under construction at a Thales Alenia Space industrial plant in Turin, Italy. ESA/Stephane Corvaja

ESA ensures a ride into space for its Smile mission, with Arianespace signing up to launch the spacecraft on a Vega-C rocket

A report found data privacy problems with the vast majority of 30 companies that sell neurotechnology devices to consumers. New US state laws aim to change that

A report found data privacy problems with the vast majority of 30 companies that sell neurotechnology devices to consumers. New US state laws aim to change that

A declaration signed by dozens of scientists says there is “a realistic possibility” for elements of consciousness in reptiles, insects and mollusks

Gamma-ray bursts are the universe's most powerful explosions, generating more energy in seconds than the sun will in billions of years — and scientists are slowly learning more about these eruptions.

Four years after a mysterious respiratory virus jumped from animals into humans and launched the COVID pandemic, wary epidemiologists are keeping a close eye on a strain of avian influenza that is spreading among U.S. dairy cows

A joint investment by the Australian federal government and the government of Queensland makes PsiQuantum one of the largest dedicated quantum computing firms in the world

A joint investment by the Australian federal government and the government of Queensland makes PsiQuantum one of the largest dedicated quantum computing firms in the world

India’s space agency has been remarkably successful in recent years, growing the country’s prestige on the global stage – and the 2024 election is unlikely to change that

India’s space agency has been remarkably successful in recent years, growing the country’s prestige on the global stage – and the 2024 election is unlikely to change that

SpaceX's Starship will make space-based solar power cheaper than nuclear, gas and coal-based electricity generation, start-up Virtus Solis believes.

A new book by Penn and Kim Holderness seeks to correct misconceptions about ADHD and accentuate the plus side of the condition

As the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, climate policy decisions taken by India will shape the fate of the entire world. But can it continue to develop its economy while keeping carbon dioxide down?

As the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, climate policy decisions taken by India will shape the fate of the entire world. But can it continue to develop its economy while keeping carbon dioxide down?

On 9 January 2024, the Einstein probe was launched, its mission to study the night sky in X-rays. The first image from the probe that explores the Universe in these energetic wavelengths has just been released. It shows Puppis A, the supernova remnant from a massive star that exploded 4,000 years ago. The image showed the expanding cloud of ejecta from the explosion but now, Einstein will continue to scan the skies for other X-ray events. 

The Chinese and European probe was designed to revolutionise our understanding of the Universe in X-rays. Named after none other than Albert Einstein, it houses cutting edge technology that will enable the observation of black holes, neutron stars and other events and phenomena emitting X-ray radiation. To achieve this it has two science instruments on board; the Wide-field X-ray Telescope (WXT) to give large field views of the sky and the Follow-up X-ray Telescope (FXT) which homes in on objects of interest identified by WXT.

The Einstein probe has three main questions it hopes to address focusing on black holes, gravity waves and supernovae. The recent image just released shows the stunning Puppis A supernova remnant. Supernova are a common process that takes place at the end of a massive star’s life. A star like the Sun is fusing hydrogen in its core into helium. The process is known as thermonuclear fusion and it releases heat, light and an outward pressure known as the thermonuclear force. While a star is stable, the thermonuclear force balances the force of gravity which is trying to collapse the star. 

Massive stars will continue fusing different elements in the core until an iron core remains. It’s not possible to fuse iron so the thermonuclear force ceases allowing gravity to win. the core collapses and the inward rushing material crashes down onto the core and rebounds into a massive explosion known as a supernova. 

Puppis A is one such object that is thought to have exploded 4,000 years ago. It lies about 7,000 light years from us which means the light that the radiation detected by the Einstein probe left about 7,000 years ago. 

In the image released from Einstein, the cloud like structure is all that remains of the star that went supernova. It is possible to see a bright dot at the centre of the cloud, this is the core of the star that remains, a neutron star. The FXT image was accompanied by a spectrum to show the distribution of energy to help understand the elements present. 

Source : Supernova remnant Puppis A imaged by Einstein Probe

The post First Light from Einstein Probe: A Supernova Remnant appeared first on Universe Today.

What created this giant X in the clouds?

The hypothetical ninth planet may be slingshotting Oort Cloud objects onto orbits that come closer to the sun than Neptune does.