All posts tagged: space science

Before India’s space milestone, Isro had to put a 673kg satellite on a bullock cart

Before India’s space milestone, Isro had to put a 673kg satellite on a bullock cart

Published by Parlour News

Decades ago, Isro scientists placed the Indian space agency’s first communication satellite on a bullock cart. It was steered into an open field, as an improvised solution to a problem the agency had no facility to solve at the time. A bullock cart was used during the testing of APPLE’s antenna prior to the launch. (Isro) The satellite’s antenna had run into trouble. Issues were detected in its Telemetry, Tracking and Control (TT&C) links, crucial for maintaining communication. But testing called for a proper antenna range, with the satellite structure placed under a thermal blanket, a kind of facility Isro did not have then. So, the scientists came up with an indigenous fix — they put the satellite on a bullock cart to ensure a non-magnetic environment and ran the test in the open. That satellite was APPLE. Forty-five years ago, on June 18, 1981, India’s space effort cleared a milestone after the experimental satellite was placed in orbit, taking the country to the doorstep of a domestic satellite communication system. The Ariane Passenger Payload …

NASA’s SWOT Satellite Reveals Big Impact of Small Ocean Currents and Waves in n Marine Ecosystems

NASA’s SWOT Satellite Reveals Big Impact of Small Ocean Currents and Waves in n Marine Ecosystems

Published by Webster

Small-scale ocean features once overlooked are now seen as powerful forces shaping Earth’s climate and marine life. Developed in association with the French space agency CNES, the SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography) satellite caught two-dimensional images of submesoscale waves and eddies about a mile across in a recent NASA-led study. Now clearly seen in before-unheard-of clarity, these currents are essential in moving carbon, nutrients, and heat across the ocean. The high-resolution data of the satellite provides the most comprehensive picture yet of how small-scale vertical currents affect the ecosystems and climatic systems of the world. NASA SWOT Satellite Discovers Vertical Ocean Currents Driving Climate and Ecosystem Change As per a recent report from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, SWOT revealed how vertical ocean circulation, previously too fine for satellite observation but too broad for ship-based tools, drives exchanges between ocean depths and the atmosphere. “Vertical currents can bring heat from deep layers to the surface, warming the atmosphere,” notes oceanographer Matthew Archer in a statement. SWOT tracked a submesoscale eddy in the Pacific’s Kuroshio Current …

The Universe’s Brightest Lights Have Surprisingly Dark and Mysterious Origins

The Universe’s Brightest Lights Have Surprisingly Dark and Mysterious Origins

Published by Webster

Some of the brightest lights in the universe shine from some of its darkest corners — so-called supermassive black holes. Invisible to the human eye, these high-energy powerhouses light up the cosmos with emissions that are detected by space telescopes. Thousands of such light sources have been discovered with NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, which has been observing since 2008. These aren’t just stars — they are active galactic nuclei (AGN) where large gravitational forces fling matter around black holes, creating intense radiation blasts all across the electromagnetic spectrum. Blazars and AGN Jets Reveal How Black Holes Shape and Light Up the Universe As per NASA’s observational data, black holes lurk at the centres of most galaxies and are hundreds of thousands to billions of times the mass of the sun. In AGN, gas and dust fall into an inward-spiralling disk. Second, the disks experience friction and magnetic forces that produce light from radio to gamma rays. About one in ten AGN produce powerful jets of particles that move at nearly the speed of light, and it’s still a mystery to …

Juno Mission Sheds Light on Jupiter’s Storms and Volcanic Activity on Io

Juno Mission Sheds Light on Jupiter’s Storms and Volcanic Activity on Io

Published by Webster

NASA’s Juno mission has discovered a world of cyclones at Jupiter’s north Jovian pole, a region of cooler stratospheric haze. The cyclones drift to the pole through a process the researchers refer to as “beta drift” via JunoCam and Jovian Infrared Aurora Mapper. The cyclones oscillate around their centres and can drift clockwise around the pole. Juno has also been making recurring flybys of the innermost Jovian moon, Io, revealing evidence of subterranean magma flows below its surface. These cooling flows could explain how Io’s volcanoes erupt, as about 10% of the moon’s subsurface has these flows. Juno Spots Colliding Jupiter Cyclones and Magma Beneath Io’s Surface As per the data presented by NASA at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly on April 29, Juno has observed a large central cyclone over 1,800 miles wide, encircled by eight slightly smaller cyclones. These weather systems, blowing at speeds over 100 miles per hour, interact through a phenomenon called beta drifts — similar to Earth’s cyclones but progressing to Jupiter’s pole. Once enabled, researchers could visualise both visible …

New Study Uncovers Shadowy Origins of Universe’s Most Luminous Phenomena

New Study Uncovers Shadowy Origins of Universe’s Most Luminous Phenomena

Published by Webster

Some of the brightest lights in the universe shine from some of its darkest corners — so-called supermassive black holes. Invisible to the human eye, these high-energy powerhouses light up the cosmos with emissions that are detected by space telescopes. Thousands of such light sources have been discovered with NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, which has been observing since 2008. These aren’t just stars — they are active galactic nuclei (AGN) where large gravitational forces fling matter around black holes, creating intense radiation blasts all across the electromagnetic spectrum. Blazars and AGN Jets Reveal How Black Holes Shape and Light Up the Universe As per NASA’s report ,observational data, black holes lurk at the centres of most galaxies and are hundreds of thousands to billions of times the mass of the sun. In AGN, gas and dust fall into an inward-spiralling disk. Second, the disks experience friction and magnetic forces that produce light from radio to gamma rays. About one in ten AGN produce powerful jets of particles that move at nearly the speed of light, and it’s still a mystery …

Firefly’s Blue Ghost Moon Lander Mission Unveils Surprising Discoveries on the Lunar Surface

Firefly’s Blue Ghost Moon Lander Mission Unveils Surprising Discoveries on the Lunar Surface

Published by Webster

Unexpected findings from Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Moon Lander have unveiled new challenges and opportunities for future lunar missions. On March 2, a successful landing on Mare Crisium, the Blue Ghost spacecraft delivered ten payloads as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. The lander operated for over 14 days during lunar daylight and stretched operations briefly into the frigid lunar night. Aimed to open the path for long-term human and robotic exploration of the moon, the successful landing is the first for an all-commercial mission. Blue Ghost Lander Nails Precision Landing, Reveals Lunar Discoveries As per Space.com, Firefly’s CEO, Jason Kim, mentioned at the 40th Space Symposium that managing the lander’s shifting centre of gravity was critical to mission success. A custom four-tank propellant system was key in maintaining balance during descent, a challenge that required innovative solutions beyond traditional satellite approaches. The spacecraft made seven crucial in-house engine burns using its innovations to accomplish a pinpoint landing. Kim emphasised that decisions are all automated and that the Blue Ghost lands in perfect …

New Study Finds Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall Bigger and Nearer Than Thought

New Study Finds Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall Bigger and Nearer Than Thought

Published by Webster

Astronomers have revealed that the Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall, a massive network of galaxies, might be bigger than they realised. By mapping the cosmos with gamma-ray bursts (GRBs)—the brightest explosions in the universe—astronomers found that this structure is even bigger than previously estimated. Surprisingly, portions of it also lie significantly closer to Earth than previously believed, challenging fundamental assumptions about how the universe is structured and evolves.This cosmic structure was first observed in 2014 — a dense galaxy forming a filament of a supercluster. A new study now extends the researchers’ previous work, but with a wider GRB sample. Hakkila and Zsolt Bagoly, authors of the study, have refined the measurements. They detected a number of relatively nearby GRBs in their sample. The evidence also shows the Great Wall is larger and wider than previously predicted. Gamma-Ray Bursts Expose Structure Too Large for Current Models According to a Space.com report, the GRBs figure prominently in the early discovery and more recent growth of the Hercules–Corona Borealis Great Wall. These explosive outbursts — from either collapsing massive stars or colliding …

Did Black Hole Radiation Shape the Universe?

Did Black Hole Radiation Shape the Universe?

Published by Webster

A theoretical form of radiation first proposed by Stephen Hawking may have played a role in shaping the universe after the Big Bang, as suggested by recent research. The phenomenon is known as Hawking radiation. It was introduced in the 1970s when Hawking theorised that black holes could emit radiation despite their widely accepted nature as objects that absorb all matter. The study suggests that primordial black holes which are believed to have existed in the early universe, may have released intense radiation. This emission could have influenced cosmic structures in ways previously unaccounted for. Findings from the Study According to the study published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, a phase may have occurred in the early universe where primordial black holes dominated the energy density before evaporating through Hawking radiation. The researchers state that ultra-light primordial black holes could have rapidly gained prominence during expansion, leaving behind observable effects. The research suggests that the impact of these black holes was powerful enough to influence the formation of galaxies and cosmic structures. …

New Polar Cataclysmic Variable Identified by Astronomers: What You Need to Know

New Polar Cataclysmic Variable Identified by Astronomers: What You Need to Know

Published by Webster

A new cataclysmic variable system of the polar subclass has been identified by astronomers using the ROentgen SATellite (ROSAT). The system, designated ZTF J0112+5827, has been observed with an orbital period of approximately 81 minutes. The discovery, which provides key insights into the characteristics of this binary system, has been detailed in a research paper. Researchers have highlighted the system’s strong magnetic field and its potential as a future source of gravitational waves. Findings on ZTF J0112+5827 According to the study published on arXiv, the research was led by Jiamao Lin of Sun Yat-sen University in Zhuhai, China. The team conducted an in-depth analysis of ZTF J0112+5827, including X-ray and time-domain spectroscopic observations. The findings confirmed that the system belongs to the polar subclass of cataclysmic variables, where a white dwarf and a companion star interact without forming an accretion disk. Instead, emissions are generated from the accretion stream and magnetic field lines. As reported, light curve analysis revealed double-spiked variations, attributed to cyclotron radiation from charged particles on the white dwarf’s surface. The system’s …

Black Hole Singularities May Not Exist, Say Scientists

Black Hole Singularities May Not Exist, Say Scientists

Published by Webster

The existence of singularities at the heart of black holes has been challenged by physicists, with new modifications to Einstein’s general relativity equations suggesting that these infinite density points may not be physically real. Singularities, which imply a breakdown of space, time, and matter, create a fundamental issue in physics. If they were to exist, the predictive nature of scientific laws would be compromised. Addressing this, researchers have proposed adjustments to relativity, introducing a new perspective on black hole interiors. Refinements to General Relativity Proposed According to the study published in Physics Letters B, the researchers incorporated an approach rooted in quantum gravity to modify general relativity’s core equations. The standard model of general relativity, while successfully explaining black holes, neutron stars, and cosmic evolution, encounters issues when applied at extreme conditions. Quantum mechanics, which governs subatomic particles, contradicts the existence of singularities, making their resolution crucial. Speaking to Live Science, Robie Hennigar, a postdoctoral researcher at Durham University, stated that the singularities are regions of the universe where space, time, and matter are crushed …