ScientistPankaj: Watch the 'Christmas Tree Cluster' twinkle in X-rays (video)

Watch the 'Christmas Tree Cluster' twinkle in X-rays (video) | Hubble Telescope gifts us a dazzling starry 'snow globe' | Camera Christmas gift guide 2023: Capture the cosmos

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

December 22, 2023

CONNECT WITH SPACE.COM

Something amazing every day.

The Launchpad

Watch the 'Christmas Tree Cluster' twinkle in X-rays (video)

(NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: T.A. Rector (NRAO/AUI/NSF and NOIRLab/NSF/AURA) and B.A. Wolpa (NOIRLab/NSF/AURA); Infrared: NASA/NSF/IPAC/CalTech/Univ. of Massachusetts; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare & J.Major)

This month, space feels a bit more festive. That could be because of a new composite image of the Christmas Tree Cluster that shows star formation in a merry way, complete with green pine needles and twinkling lights. This image, in fact, arrives to our computer screens just after we laid eyes on the James Webb Space Telescope's cosmic Christmas ornament portrait and shortly before the Hubble Space Telescope released its version of a Christmas "globe."

Full Story: Space (12/21)

Hubble Telescope gifts us a dazzling starry 'snow globe'

(ESA/Hubble, NASA, ESA, Yumi Choi (NSF's NOIRLab), Karoline Gilbert (STScI), Julianne Dalcanton (Center for Computational Astrophysics/Flatiron Inst., UWashington))

'Tis the season for twinkling lights, both in your neighborhood and deep in space. To celebrate the festive season, NASA has published this composite image, which resembles something of a wonderland of Christmas lights - or perhaps a colorful snow globe. The image's subject is the billion-star-containing UGC 8091, an irregular dwarf galaxy located within the constellation Virgo, some 7 million light-years from Earth.

Full Story: Space (12/21)

Space Deal of the Day

Camera Christmas gift guide 2023: Capture the cosmos

(Getty, Nikon, Sigma, Peak Design, Benro, Sandisk, LaCie, COOWOO, BioLite, K&F Concept, Anker, JJC)

You'll find an affordable sub-$20 option, which is great if you're looking for a cheap stocking filler or you're buying a Secret Santa gift and don't have much knowledge about cameras and photography. Then there's a sub-$100 price tier for great quality gifts that don't break the bank, and finally, a $100+ category for if you really want to splurge.

Full Story: Space (12/14)

Star projector Christmas gift guide 2023: Bring space home

(Getty Images, Pococo, Future)

Some star projectors are more toys or night lights than science instruments, suitable for children with an interest in space to help soothe them at bedtime. But other star projectors are great tools for adults, acting either as a relaxation tool with in-built Bluetooth to synchronize with music, podcasts or audiobooks, or a powerful scientific device that can turn your living room into a home planetarium.

Full Story: Space (12/13)

Skywatching

The Ursids peak tonight, the last meteor shower of 2023

(Chris Vaughan/Starry Night)

The annual December meteor shower, the Ursids, peaks on Saturday (Dec. 23), offering skywatchers willing to brave the cold the opportunity to see meteors in the form of bright streaks of light and the occasional fireball.

Full Story: Space (12/22)

Spaceflight

Private moon lander's SpaceX launch delayed a month

(Intuitive Machines)

Intuitive Machines, which had hoped to launch its robotic IM-1 mission no earlier than Jan. 12, 2024, will now wait an extra month to launch with SpaceX. The new launch window begins no earlier than mid-February, Intuitive representatives said in a release on Tuesday (Dec. 19). Once the launch window opens, it will last several days.

Full Story: Space (12/21)

Science & Astronomy

Can stars form around black holes?

(X-ray: NASA/CXC/University of Alberta/A.Bahramian et al.; Illustration: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss)

In the 1930s, when physicist and engineer Karl Jansky pointed his radio antenna towards the center of our galaxy, he detected a continual source of radio waves. After some analysis, scientists realized these radio waves were being emitted by something vastly further from our planet than the sun -- but oddly enough, they were comparable in energy to the waves we do receive from the sun. With this information, they began to suspect something truly powerful must be lurking in the center of the Milky Way.

Full Story: Space (12/21)

SpaceX

Launch of Axiom's 3rd private astronaut mission delayed

(Axiom Space)

SpaceX's next private astronaut launch has been delayed until mid-January. The company had been planning to launch Axiom Space's Ax-3 mission to the International Space Station on Jan. 9. However, the timeline has slipped by a little over a week, to Jan. 17, NASA announced today (Dec. 21). The delay is "due to recent unfavorable weather conditions and changes in SpaceX's launch manifest," agency officials said.

Full Story: Space (12/21)

Technology

Chinese startup LandSpace to begin rocket landing tests

(LandSpace)

Chinese launch startup Landspace appears ready to test launching and landing rockets. The company launched its third Zhuque-2 methane-fueled rocket on Dec. 8, successfully sending two satellites into orbit. It also revealed plans following the launch for a large stainless steel Zhuque-3 reusable rocket that it aims to launch for orbit for the first time in 2025.

Full Story: Space (12/21)

Search for Life

Finding life on Enceladus might be easier than we thought

(NASA)

New research suggests there are locations on the surface of Saturn's moon, Enceladus, where spacecraft could land to scoop up pristine traces of the key ingredients for life. It's believed that these biosignatures come from subsurface oceans within the world's icy shell.

Full Story: Space (12/20)

Telescopes & Binoculars

Telescopes Christmas gift guide 2023: Best for all budgets

(Celestron, Unistellar, Future)

This guide aims to ensure that the telescope you choose meets the requirements of the astronomer in your life, with the instrument not being too difficult or simple to use while ensuring that the buyer -- that's you -- doesn't have to break the bank in order to tick a telescope off your list.

Full Story: Space (12/20)

Binoculars Christmas gift guide 2023

(Leica, Celestron, Future)

Buying astronomical equipment as a gift for a loved one can be a tricky task if you don't know much about the equipment. Binoculars are a lower-cost alternative to telescopes that can provide hours of enjoyment while stargazing, but how can you tell the good models from the bad ones?

Full Story: Space (12/21)

Entertainment

Adam Sandler ventures into the cosmos in 'Spaceman'

(Netflix)

Netflix just offered up a curious sneak peek at director Johan Renck's ("Chernobyl") off-planet odyssey, which arrives March 1, 2024 starring Sandler, Carey Mulligan and Paul Dano.

Full Story: Space (12/21)