Earth will capture 'second moon' this weekend | Space Quiz! How long will Earth's new 'mini moon' travel alongside our planet? | Helene to bring floods, tornadoes, 'devastating' winds
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NASA scientists have calculated that Earth will capture a "second moon" on Sunday (Sept. 29). The "mini-moon" comes in the form of the tiny asteroid 2024 PT5, which usually orbits the sun as part of a small asteroid belt that follows Earth. While Earth's primary companion, the moon, has lingered around our planet for around 4 billion years since its formation in the solar system's infancy, this asteroid will be a temporary fixture that won't even see the year out.
The NHC warns that impacts of Helene have the potential to be "life-threatening." Those life-threatening conditions include possible flash and urban flooding this week in areas of northwestern and northern Florida as well as the U.S. Southeast in general, the southern Appalachians and the Upper Tennessee Valley. In some places, flooding could reach about 10 feet (3 meters) above ground level.
(Sergio Pitamitz / robertharding via Getty Images)
Would you travel 8,467 miles to see a ring around the moon for less than six minutes? On Oct. 2, 2024, a few hundred eclipse chasers will be on the volcanic Easter Island - called Rapa Nui by natives and one of the most remote places on Earth - to witness an annular solar eclipse.
Japan's workhorse H-2A rocket flew for the second-to-last time early Thursday morning (Sept. 26). An H-2A topped with a secret spy satellite called IGS-Radar 8 lifted off from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center on Thursday at 1:24 a.m. EDT (0524 GMT and 2:24 p.m. local Japan time). The rocket deployed the satellite as planned, according to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which builds and operates the H-2A.
Astronomers have used the wide-field view of the Dark Energy Camera to confirm that supermassive-black-hole-powered quasars in the early universe were packed into dense neighborhoods. However, it seems these cosmic beasts weren't exactly the best neighbors. The team behind this research found quasars are "noisy neighbors" blasting out radiation that can cut off star formation, thus "killing" galaxies that live in their close cosmic neighborhoods. As a result, the closest companion galaxies around some quasars fail to grow and are thus too small and dim to see.
SpaceX continues to engage the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in a heated and very public debate over launch licensing and alleged violations. Earlier this month, the FAA announced that it planned to fine SpaceX a total of $630,000 for violations stemming from two launches in 2023. SpaceX fired back with a letter to the U.S. Congress contesting the fines, arguing that the two alleged infractions were frivolous and should not be viewed as violations at all. In addition to the letter, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said in a post on X, the social media company he owns, that his company intendeds to sue the FAA for "regulatory overreach."
Blue Origin carried out a hotfire test for its New Glenn rocket second stage on Monday (Sept. 23) as the company moves toward the huge vehicle's debut flight. The 15-second hotfire test was conducted on Sept. 23 to validate interactions between the subsystems on the New Glenn second stage, its two BE-3U engines and the ground control systems. The company is now into the final stretch of preparations for the upcoming launch attempt in November. New Glenn will carry the company's new Blue Ring spacecraft platform on a National Security Space Launch certification flight.
A striped rock that looks out of place in its surroundings on the slopes of the inner wall of Jezero crater has scientists excited about what it may reveal about the Red Planet's history. NASA's Perseverance Mars rover spotted the striped rock, and the rover's initial measurements suggest it could be volcanic in origin. The rock, which has been nicknamed 'Freya Castle,' may originate from an outcropping of more of this strange material further up the slopes of Jezero.
Orion can shield astronauts from radiation, study shows | Space Perspective completes 1st uncrewed balloon flight | 1 week until dramatic 'ring of fire' annular solar eclipse
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A recent paper published by an international team, including researchers from the European Space Agency (ESA), the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and NASA, reveals that Orion's shielding is effective in protecting astronauts in deep space. The study analyzed radiation data collected over the 25-day Artemis 1 mission from sensors placed throughout the spacecraft and inside two life-size mannequin torsos, named Helga and Zohar.
Spaceship Neptune Excelsior, the first of the company's teardrop-shaped pressure pods, lifted off from Space Perspective's Marine Spaceport (MS) Voyager vessel off the coast of Saint Petersburg, Florida, on Sept. 15. and completed its first full flight test from takeoff to landing. Over the course of six hours, Space Perspective's trademarked "SpaceBalloon" ascent system carried Excelsior to an altitude of approximately 100,000 feet (30,480 meters) before its slow descent to a safe ocean splashdown and recovery.
On Wednesday, Oct. 2, an annular solar eclipse will be visible over parts of the Pacific Ocean, southern Chile and southern Argentina. Though the path of annularity - a 165 to 206-mile (265 to 331-kilometer) wide route where the moon will cover up to about 93% of the sun's disk - passes over a small portion of land, eager eclipse chasers unable to watch in person will be able to follow along here on Space.com's solar eclipse live blog and watch the action unfold via numerous livestreams.
While that mysterious Chinese space plane rolled to full stop on a landing strip earlier this month, little is known about the craft. It was hurled into orbit on Dec. 14, 2023 atop a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. The whatever it is and does spacecraft touched down after 268 days of in-orbit operation, making its touchdown on Sept. 6, 2024.
For astronomers, finding a new black hole orbiting an aged red dwarf star is an exciting find in itself, but when that black hole seems to be a "missing link" stellar-mass black hole, you can crank the excitement up to 11! That is exactly what seems to be lurking in binary system G3425, estimated to be around 5,800 light-years away.
SpaceX's next astronaut mission has been delayed by a powerful storm. The company had been planning to launch the Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday afternoon (Sept. 26). However, that target date has slipped by at least two days, thanks to a maelstrom named Helene. Helene is a tropical storm at the moment, but it's expected to slam into Florida's Gulf Coast on Thursday as a Category 3 hurricane. Thus, NASA and SpaceX now aim to launch Crew-9 on Saturday (Sept. 28) at the earliest. Liftoff that day would be at 1:17 p.m. EDT (1717 GMT).
The United States Space Force is partnering with the Indian government to establish a new factory that will manufacture semiconductors, which are microchips essential for building next-generation technologies.
A leading astrobiologist melds her passion with the weighty nature of trying to grasp for answers to two key questions: Are we alone in the universe? How did life on Earth begin in the first place? Nathalie Cabrol's book, "The Secret Life of the Universe: An Astrobiologist's Search for the Origins and Frontiers of Life" (Scribner/Simon & Schuster), released last month, offers an insightful and reflective view of the search for life - a mind-stretching quest not only looking "out there" but also right here on Earth.
