New data received from NASA’s Cassini probe suggests that Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus may have tilted or tipped over in the past after a collision with some other celestial body such as an asteroid. In the past, NASA had said that Enceladus had all the basic ingredients to support life. It has a warm subterranean […]
Science
Australian Researchers Rediscover a ‘Faceless’ Fish that was Missing for More than 100 Years
Researchers from Museums Victoria and the Australian government’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) have discovered a ‘faceless’ deep-sea fish in Australia that was missing for more than 100 years. The fish, according to experts, had not been spotted in waters off Australia since 1873. These researchers are currently on a month-long mission off […]
Giant Crack in Antarctica’s Larsen C Ice Shelf Grew by 11 Miles in One Week
There has been a major turn in Antarctica’s big crack cutting across the Larsen C Ice Shelf. New updates from researchers from Swansea University and Aberystwyth University in Wales who are currently working with Project MIDAS show that the crack grew 11 miles in just 6 days between May 25 and May 31. These researchers […]
Japan Launches Second ‘Michibiki’ Navigation Satellite to Build a Homegrown, Precise Navigation System
Japan has launched its second ‘Michibiki’ satellite to build a homegrown precise geolocation system that will help boost accuracy of car navigation systems and smartphone maps. The satellite was launched through an H-IIA rocket that blasted off from the Tanegashima space centre in southern Japan. “The launch was a success,” a Cabinet Office spokeswoman […]
Carcass of a 79-Foot Blue Whale Found Washed up at Agate Beach in Bolinas, California
Carcass of a 79-foot blue whale was found washed up on Friday at Agate Beach in Bolinas along the Marin County Coast, about 10 miles north of San Francisco, California. According to experts, the animal died to blunt force trauma following a collision with a large boat. Experts from the Marine Mammal Center also performed […]
European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT): Construction of the world’s largest optical telescope starts in Chile
[Image:ESO] On Friday, Michelle Bachelet, the President of Chile, inaugurated the construction of the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT), the world’s largest optical telescope that will be located on mountain in the middle of the Atacama desert and will start operating in 2024. “What is being raised here is more than a telescope. Here we […]
NASA astronauts Peggy Whitson and Jack Fischer Ready for Emergency Spacewalk outside ISS today
NASA astronauts Peggy Whitson and Jack Fischer are getting ready to perform the emergency spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday, May 23 to replace a relay box, known as a multiplexer-demultiplexer (MDM), that failed on May 21. There are two MDM devices installed outside ISS, and their job is to control exterior […]
NASA Plans a Spacewalk for Astronauts on Tuesday to Replace Failed MDM Unit
NASA has planned a spacewalk for astronauts on International Space Station (ISS) to replace failed data relay box outside space station. NASA astronauts Peggy Whitson and Shane Kimbrough had installed this multiplexer/demultiplexer (MDM) device on March 30 during her spacewalk. Shane Kimbrough, then-flight engineer, has now returned to Earth. Tuesday’s spacewalk repair will be accomplished […]
Solibacillus kalamii: Bacteria Found on ISS Named After APJ Abdul Kalam
American space agency NASA has named a new bacteria found on International Space Station (ISS) after famous Indian scientist and former Indian President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. The new bacteria has been named Solibacillus kalamii and according to scientists, this spore forming bacteria was never found earlier on Earth. Scientists also suggest that this new […]
Astronomers Find a New Moon Orbiting the Third Largest Dwarf Planet 2007 OR10 in the Kuiper Belt
Astronomers have found a moon circling the third largest dwarf planet 2007 OR10 in the Kuiper Belt in the outskirts of our solar system. The discovery was made possible using the combined power of three space observatories, including NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Kuiper Belt is a realm of icy debris—beyond Neptune—left over from our solar […]
Mysterious Giant Squid Measuring 19 feet Caught off Dingle in Ireland
On Monday, a six-meter giant squid, one of the most elusive and mysterious creatures of the oceans, was caught accidentally off the coast off Co Kerry, about 190 km off Dingle. The Cú na Mara fishing vessel was trawling for prawns on the Porcupine Basin when the giant squid was accidentally netted by it. […]
Australian Citizen Scientists Join the Hunt for Exploding Supernovas to Help Astronomers Understand Secrets of Dark Energy
Amateur star-gazers from Australia are leading the large-scale search for exploding stars to help scientists understand the secrets of dark energy and measure the growth of the universe. The search for exploding stars is part of a project launched by Australian National University to speed up the search for supernovae. The supernovae explosions are used […]
KalamSat: Indian Teen Rifath Sharook Builds the World’s ‘lightest satellite’
An Indian teen has made the country proud by building the world’s lightest and smallest satellite for the American Space Agency NASA. Dubbed KalamSat, this satellite was created via 3D printing and is named after India’s former president and nuclear scientist, APJ Abdul Kalam. Rifath Sharook, 18, comes from Tamil Nadu’s Pallapatti area, and his […]
Okanagan Lake Water Level is Quickly Approaching Flood Mark
Okanagan Lake’s water level is quickly approaching flood mark (343 m), thus causing concerns among officials. Okanagan Lake is currently at 342.65 m above sea level, and if it rises to its flood mark, the low-lying areas near the lake will flood. The lake’s water level is now just 35 cm away from flood mark, […]
American Researchers Discover Fossils of a Snake Species that had Wings
Researchers have found fossils of a new species of snakes, named Zilantophis schuberti, in the US. According to researchers, this species existed about five million years ago, and featured broad wing-shaped projections. The fossils were found from Gray Fossil Site in the US, one of the richest fossil localities in the US. Fossils commonly found […]
China Starts Trials of Bioregenerative Life Support System (BLSS) or Yuegong-1 Space Cabin in Beijing
China wants to send its astronauts on the moon in the next two decades, and is currently testing a simulated space cabin dubbed Yuegong-1 to allow for longer lunar stays. According to the official Xinhua news agency, eight Chinese volunteers will live in this cabin to test its abilities to support life sustainability on […]
Aalto University Researchers Create Nanorefrigerator for Quantum Computers
A team of researchers from Aalto University have invented a quantum-circuit refrigerator, which according to the team, can help reduce errors in quantum computing. Quantum computers differ from present-day computers in the sense that they use quantum bits, or qubits, for computation purpose. A qubit can exist in both zero and one state simultaneously compared […]
NASA Super Pressure Balloon Mission Takes Flight from Wanaka Airport in New Zealand
NASA’s super-pressure balloon finally took flight on April 25 from New Zealand’s Wanaka Airport, and now NASA scientists expect this balloon to break previous flight record and to stay in the air for up to 100 days. The football-stadium-sized, balloon carries with it a telescope that will be used by scientists at the University of […]
This Purple Streak of Light is a Newly Discovered Astronomical Phenomenon Named Steve
A few months back, a new astronomical phenomenon, in the form of a purple streak of light, was discovered. This phenomenon has unofficially been named as Steve, by members of Alberta Aurora Chasers—a group of aurora enthusiasts on Facebook—who were reportedly inspired by a scene in move ‘Over the Hedge’ in which a hedge […]
Cassini will meet Titan today for the last time and then will move on its final journey to Saturn
Today, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft will pass Saturn’s icy moon Titan for the last time and then will move on its final journey to Saturn. Cassini was launched in 1997, and since reaching Saturn in 2004, it has been completing circles around the Saturn. For the past 13 years, it has collected and sent huge amount […]
ISRO Planning to Send a Mission to Venus after 2020
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is planning to send a spacecraft around Venus. The agency has invited scientists to suggest studies for a potential orbiter mission to Venus. Scientists have one month time to suggest space-based studies to IRSO. ”The formal mission on Venus may not happen before 2020 since the study need to be […]
This Metallic Space Fabric has been Created Using 3-D Printing Technology
NASA scientists have created a metallic “space fabric” using 3-D printing techniques, and according to scientists, this new material would be used in space missions. Recently, NASA revealed about the prototype of the fabric developed by a team of researchers under the supervision of a systems engineer Raul Polit Casillas at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory […]
NASA Atlas V Rocket Takes Adelaide-built CubeSat Miniaturized Satellite into Space
An Adelaide-built CubeSat miniaturized satellite is on its way to International Space Station (ISS). On Wednesday morning, the satellite was blasted into space on board a NASA Atlas V rocket that is scheduled to reach ISS on Saturday. The CubeSat satellite has been built by a team of 50 students and staff from the University […]
You are Safe! Asteroid 2014 JO25 will Cruise by Earth Today at a Distance of 1.1 Million Miles
A huge 2000-foot-long asteroid 2014 JO25 will cruise by Earth today at a distance of about 1.1 million miles, according to NASA. Asteroid 2014 JO25 was discovered by astronomers in 2014. NASA says the distance between 2014 JO25 and the Earth today will be shortest in the past 400 years. This distance will be about […]
Solar-Powered Harvester Device Can Suck Drinking Water out of Air
Solar power harvester device can even work when humidity levels are as low as 20%. A team of researchers from MIT and University of California (UC) Berkeley have got success in creating a device that can pull water out of thin air. Dubbed solar power harvester, this device can even work in conditions when humidity […]
Huge, Dinner Plate-sized Spider Discovered in the Remote Wilderness in Australia
Researchers have discovered over fifty new spiders species in Australia, and one of these newly found species includes a spider as big as a dinner plate. Other spiders include one that knows the art of dancing to attract a mate and a tarantula which goes “scuba diving” to catch its prey. The area […]
NASA’s Super Pressure Balloon Launch Being Delayed due to Low Pressure System
NASA’s super pressure balloon launch is getting delayed due to the build-up of a low pressure system over different regions in New Zealand. According to experts, these areas of low pressure are also associated with unfavorable winds and precipitation. Chris Schwantes, NASA’s on-site meteorologist for the 2017 Wanaka Super Pressure Balloon Campaign, says conditions are […]
Venus Lookalike, Dubbed Kepler-1649b, Discovered by Astronomers
Astronomers claim to have discovered a possible Venus twin, dubbed Kepler-1649b, which is located about 219 light years away from us and orbits a dim star Kepler 1649. According to scientists, the discovery was made using NASA’s Kepler space telescope. The Venus lookalike is slightly larger than Earth, and complete one orbit around Kepler-1649 in […]
Coral Bleaching has Damaged Two-thirds of the Great Barrier Reef
About two-thirds of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has been damaged by back-to-back years of “severe” coral bleaching, a series of aerial surveys carried out by the team of Australian Research Council’s Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies has revealed. The 2016 survey of the reef had revealed bleaching to be most severe in the […]
NASA Extends Peggy Whitson’s Space Trip by Three Months
NASA has announced to extend Peggy Whitson’s space trip by three months. The US astronaut will now remain in orbit until September. Peggy is the world’s oldest and most experienced spacewoman, and is currently onboard the International Space Station (ISS). She arrived at ISS last November, and now her current mission – third – will […]