ScientistPankaj: SpaceX is launching over 200 experiments to space with Crew-3 astronauts on Halloween

Saturday, October 30, 2021

SpaceX is launching over 200 experiments to space with Crew-3 astronauts on Halloween

Created for ceo.studentlike.spuniv@blogger.com | Web Version

October 29, 2021

CONNECT WITH SPACE.COM

Something amazing every day.

The Launchpad

Huge solar flare could bring supercharged northern lights on Halloween

(NASA/GSFC/SDO)

A massive solar flare from the sun could lead to a dazzling (and maybe spooky) northern lights display for parts of the northern United States this Halloween, according to a NASA scientist. The sun storm, a powerful X1-class solar flare, erupted from the sun on Thursday (Oct. 28) and sent a vast cloud of charged particles toward Earth that should arrive over Halloween weekend, and possibly even the haunted day itself. Those particles will slam into the Earth's atmosphere to amplify the regular northern lights caused by the sun's solar wind.

Full Story: Space (10/29)

SpaceX is launching over 200 experiments to space with Crew-3 astronauts on Halloween

Four astronauts are headed to the International Space Station (ISS) this Halloween (Oct. 31), where they'll spend six months conducting research for scientists back on Earth. During their stay, the international crew will work on more than 200 different research investigations.

Full Story: Space (10/29)

Science & Astronomy

This is what Earth looks like from the moon's south pole (video)

(NASA)

The weird motions of planet Earth and its sun will be a fun sight for future NASA astronauts standing on the south pole of the moon, if a new agency animation is any indication. NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland released the short video compressing a simulated viewpoint over three months (or a little over three lunar days) into two minutes. You can see Earth bobbing up and down while the sun does a more graceful glide around the horizon.

Full Story: Space (10/29)

What would happen if an asteroid were going to hit Earth? A NASA scientist explains.

What would happen if an asteroid were on its way to crash into our planet? With NASA's DART asteroid deflection mission about to launch and a new movie asteroid disaster movie coming to Netflix, this question is hot on many people's minds. Now, a NASA scientist has weighed in on what the agency would do if there really was an asteroid about to collide with Earth. Thankfully, NASA has found no imminent asteroid threats to Earth during its many decades of searching. But just in case, the agency always has a backup plan (or multiple), as NASA program scientist Kelly Fast says in a new video.

Full Story: Space (10/29)

Technology

Balky solar array still troubling NASA's Lucy asteroid probe

(NASA)

NASA's Lucy asteroid probe continues to fly with a partially unfurled wing. Shortly after Lucy's Oct. 16 liftoff, mission team members determined that one of the spacecraft's two huge solar arrays had not fully deployed. Lucy's handlers have been working hard on the problem, but it remains unsolved at present.

Full Story: Space (10/28)

The environmental impact of rocket launches: The 'dirty' and the 'green'

When it comes to their environmental impacts, not all rocket fuels are equal. Which are the industry's 'dirty secrets' and which technologies might satisfy even Greta Thunberg? Here's a look at commonly used rocket propellants and their impact on the environment. The research is limited and experts caution that not enough data has been gathered to precisely assess the impacts of various types of rocket propellants and rocket engines on the climate and the environment.

Full Story: Space (10/28)

Skywatching

'Godzilla' monster spotted in colorful nebula by zombie space telescope

(NASA/JPL-Caltech)

A dead space telescope's data reveals a gas cloud that looks like the iconic sci-fi monster Godzilla. If you look carefully at a new infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, you can spot monster features such as glowing eyes, a roaring mouth and even a dramatic hand or paw glowing in the dark.

Full Story: Space (10/29)

This creepy photo of a dying star looks like a portal to the underworld

Just in time for Halloween, the long-running Hubble Space Telescope has captured a creepy image of a star surrounded by soot. The star, an aging red giant called CW Leonis, appears to be embedded in orange spider webs. The image shows sunbeams penetrating the sooty carbon surrounding the star, which is running out of fuel. You can zoom into the spooky star in this video.

Full Story: Space (10/29)

Entertainment

10 Earth impact craters you must see

(Matt Deakin via Getty Images)

Planet Earth holds some of the strangest, natural tourist destinations in the solar system. Earth is perpetually bombarded with debris from outer space. Luckily for us, most of it burns up during entry through our atmosphere and we enjoy this bright burn in the night sky in the form of fleeting meteor showers. But on occasion, an object is so big it survives its entry through the atmosphere and it leaves its mark on the planet, literally.

Full Story: Space (10/29)

Was the 'War of the Worlds' radio broadcast an early deepfake?

How close was the infamous "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast of 1938 to a modern-day deepfake? A new podcast episode argues the Orson Welles-narrated recast of a classic science fiction tale was a very early example of synthetic media, also known as a "deepfake."

Full Story: Space (10/29)