Spaaaaace

Voyager 1, the first human-created object to leave our Solar System, has quietly knocked off another milestone: it’s now more than 150 Astronomical Units from our Sun.

The 150 AU mark is essentially meaningless – there’s nothing out there to mark the distance. But the mere fact that the probe is still out there and still working 45 years after its launch is always worth celebrating!

Socially distant Voyager party tonight!

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So many stars, so little time: Machine learning helps astroboffins spot the most oxygen-starved galaxy yet

Astronomers have spied a tiny galaxy with the lowest oxygen levels yet observed, a discovery made possible thanks to a machine-learning algorithm.

Amazon gets green-light to blow $10bn on 3,000+ internet satellites. All so Americans can shop more on Amazon

Amazon got the stamp of approval this week from America’s communications watchdog to operate thousands of internet-relaying satellites into low Earth orbit.

You know, I think more and more that it will be this sort of thing that will trigger a Kessler event, not testing space weapons.

Welcome home Bob and Doug!


Splashdown Gulf of Mexico 18:48 UTC

screen shots from NASA TV

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The results are in: Science says the Solar System’s magnetic heliosphere looks like a deflated croissant

NASA has dubbed it a depressed pastry.

Band name?

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Austria astroboffins shed a little light on how we might track orbital junk hurtling at spacecraft during daytime

Researchers in Austria say they may have found a way to better track space debris with the hope of eventually helping to warn of impacts, assist in avoidance manoeuvres, and even remove the orbiting junk.

I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe – because we used astrometry: A Saturn-like world hugging its star

Astronomers discovered an exoplanet for the first time using the astrometry technique with ground-based radio telescopes, according to fresh research published in The Astronomical Journal on Tuesday.

Astrometry involves tracing tiny, irregular motions of a star to spot the telltale sign that it’s being tugged by the gravitational pull of an orbiting planet. It’s notoriously difficult to detect these slight movements, however, since stars are much more massive than their companions. Many objects claimed to have been discovered using astrometry have often later been flagged as false positives.

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Q: What’s big, red and pulses UV light into the cosmos three times a night? A: Mars

Mars pulses with ultraviolet light three times a night during spring and autumn, according to boffins from the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP).

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NASA to stop using names like ‘Eskimo Nebula’ and ‘re-examine’ what it calls cosmic objects

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Why so salty, Ceres? Is it on account of your underground oceans and cryovolcanism?

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Rocket Lab to bounce back from July’s orbital fail with bulging payloads and parachuting Electrons

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Includes link to a PDF of the doctrine document.

Klendathu

Now we’ll show those bugs who’s boss!

giphy

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Are you doing your part?

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Neat!
 

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I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Winking red supergiants sneezing hot gas 650 light years away

The light from the red supergiant Betelgeuse dimmed to a record low earlier this year, leading stargazers to speculate it was about to explode as a supernova. But now it appears the aging sun merely had a stellar sneeze.

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