In May 2020, some unusual rocks containing distinctive greenish crystals were found in the Erg Chech sand sea, a dune-filled region of the Sahara Desert in southern Algeria. On close inspection, the rocks turned out to be from outer space: lumps of rubble billions of years old, left over from the dawn of the Solar ...
There is no denying humans are singularly responsible for causing so much pollution on Earth. However, from the time they started exploring space, the problem of space debris has also emerged as a major concern. Over the decades, satellites have been launched into Earth’s orbit to offer GPS service, spying, and security surveillance. However, they ...
There is no denying humans are singularly responsible for causing so much pollution on the earth. However, from the time they started exploring space, the problem of space debris has also emerged as a major concern. Over the decades, satellites have been launched into earth’s orbit to offer GPS service, spying, and security surveillance. However, ...
What do shooting stars and astronaut safety have in common? Both stem from the sub-microscopic rock fragments found throughout the solar system, sometimes called interplanetary dust. When these particles collide with Earth’s atmosphere, they create meteors, better known as shooting stars, as the (usually) microscopic fragments vaporize and leave flaming trails through the air. When ...
From the broadcasting of major events to tracking major developments on the planet and in the atmosphere, satellites launched by various countries benefit the human population in many ways. However, few are aware that these satellites are also causing light pollution. Results of a new study show that the satellites placed in orbit around the ...
When we think of space, we think of big and empty, but when it comes to Earth’s orbit, it’s cluttered with millions of pieces of garbage that we call space junk. The junk — or space debris — is made up of uncontrollable human-made items that remain in orbit long after they’ve served their original ...
In 2017, the first interstellar object from beyond our solar system was discovered via the Pan-STARRS astronomical observatory in Hawaii. It was named ‘Oumuamua, meaning “scout” or “messenger” in Hawaiian. The object was like a comet, but with features that were just odd enough to defy classification. Two Arizona State University astrophysicists, Steven Desch and Alan Jackson of the School ...
Data from NASA spacecraft Juno‘s journey to Jupiter suggests that Mars may be shedding dust into interplanetary space. Look up to the night sky just before dawn, or after dusk, and you might see a faint column of light extending up from the horizon. That luminous glow is the zodiacal light, or sunlight reflected toward ...
Over the past century, human beings have polluted the environment in every way possible. The seas are replete with plastics, the land is contaminated with poisonous pesticides, and the air is filled with harmful gases. We have taken this habit outside of the Earth as well, with humans now polluting space in an increasingly dangerous ...
Observers watching January’s total eclipse of the Moon saw a rare event, a short-lived flash as a meteorite hit the lunar surface. Spanish astronomers now think the space rock collided with the Moon at 61,000 km/h, excavating a crater 10 to 15 meters across. Prof. Jose Maria Madiedo of the University of Huelva, and Dr. ...