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Latest by G. Torbet

New observations of WASP-39b with the JWST have provided a clearer picture of the exoplanet, showing the presence of sodium, potassium, water, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide in the planet's atmosphere. This artist's illustration also displays newly detected patches of clouds scattered across the planet.

James Webb gets most detailed look yet at an exoplanet’s atmosphere

James Webb gets most detailed look yet at an exoplanet’s atmosphere

Astronomers have used the James Webb Space Telescope to get the most in-depth look yet at the atmosphere of planet WASP-39 b.
This infrared image of the Orion Nebula features plenty of dust but no stars. In these infrared wavelengths, it’s possible to see hot spots where new stars are forming, while unseen bright, massive stars have carved out caverns of empty space.

See a stunning image of the Orion nebula stellar nursery

See a stunning image of the Orion nebula stellar nursery

Orion is one of the most recognizable constellations in the night sky, and within the constellation is a nebula that is a busy region of star formation.
The galaxy merger Arp-Madore 417-391 steals the spotlight in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The Arp-Madore catalog is a collection of particularly peculiar galaxies spread throughout the southern sky, and includes a collection of subtly interacting galaxies as well as more spectacular colliding galaxies. Arp-Madore 417-391, which lies around 670 million light-years away in the constellation Eridanus in the southern celestial hemisphere, is one such galactic collision. The two galaxies were distorted by gravity and twisted into a colossal ring, leaving their cores nestled side by side.

Hubble captures a pair of galaxies merging into an unusual ring shape

Hubble captures a pair of galaxies merging into an unusual ring shape

This week's image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows a collection of galaxies, with an unusual merging pair stealing the show.
The black hole in V404 Cygni is actively pulling material away from a companion star — with about half the mass of the Sun — into a disk around the invisible object. A burst of X-rays from the black hole detected in 2015 created the high-energy rings from a phenomenon known as light echoes, where light bounces off of dust clouds in between the system and Earth. In these images, X-rays from Chandra are shown, along with optical data from the Pan-STARRS telescope that depict the stars in the field of view.

Listen to the spooky echoes of a black hole

Listen to the spooky echoes of a black hole

As well as admiring beautiful pictures of space you can listen to them via sonifications, like these X-ray rings echoing around a black hole in V404 Cygni.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the company’s Dragon cargo spacecraft atop, is raised to a vertical position at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A on Nov. 21, 2022, in preparation for the 26th commercial resupply services launch to the International Space Station.

All the science that’s launching to the space station today

All the science that’s launching to the space station today

Today, a SpaceX Dragon craft will launch to the International Space Station. Packed inside are wide range of science experiments and technology demonstrations.
Artist’s conception of a gas giant exoplanet orbiting around a Sun-like star. The young exoplanet HD 114082 b revolves around its Sun-like star within 110 days at a distance of 0.5 astronomical units.

Strangely chonky exoplanet has astronomers puzzled

Strangely chonky exoplanet has astronomers puzzled

Astronomers recently discovered a hefty exoplanet orbiting a star similar to our sun, and it has researchers puzzled due to its tremendous density.
View of the Moon seen from ESA's European Service Module that is powering NASA's Orion spacecraft to the Moon and back, on flight day nine of the Artemis I mission, on 24 November 2022.

Orion spacecraft enters distant retrograde orbit around the moon

Orion spacecraft enters distant retrograde orbit around the moon

NASA's Orion spacecraft has entered orbit around the moon, marking the start of its week-long orbit as part of the Artemis I mission.
Visualization of the observable universe, using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.

See the entire observable universe represented in this interactive map

See the entire observable universe represented in this interactive map

A new interactive map will show you the entire observable universe using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon cargo capsule lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on the company’s 22nd Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station.

How to watch SpaceX launch a resupply mission to ISS on Tuesday

How to watch SpaceX launch a resupply mission to ISS on Tuesday

This week a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch to the International Space Station carrying research equipment and new solar arrays. Here's how to watch.
A small, dense cloud of gas and dust called CB 130-3 blots out the center of this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. CB 130-3 is an object known as a dense core, a compact agglomeration of gas and dust. This particular dense core is in the constellation Serpens and seems to billow across a field of background stars.

Hubble Space Telescope captures the earliest stage of star formation

Hubble Space Telescope captures the earliest stage of star formation

This week's image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows a beautiful cloud of dust and gas that could one day be the birthplace of a new star.
see lucy spacecraft slingshot past earth fly by

NASA team pauses efforts to deploy Lucy spacecraft’s unlatched array

NASA team pauses efforts to deploy Lucy spacecraft’s unlatched array

NASA's Lucy spacecraft has a solar array that hasn't fully deployed, and now, the team has had to pause their efforts to get the array into place.
Two of the most distant galaxies seen to date are captured in these Webb pictures of the outer regions of the giant galaxy cluster Abell 2744. The galaxies are not inside the cluster, but many billions of light-years behind it. 

James Webb spots two of the earliest galaxies ever seen

James Webb spots two of the earliest galaxies ever seen

The James Webb Space Telescope has discovered two of the earliest galaxies ever seen in the universe, and they are much brighter than expected.
An artist's depiction of the Orion spacecraft flying close to the moon.

How to watch Orion make its closest approach to the moon on Monday

How to watch Orion make its closest approach to the moon on Monday

NASA's Orion spacecraft is set to make a close approach to the moon on Monday. If you want to follow along, you'll be able to tune into a live stream.
The protostar L1527, shown in this image from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope.

See a new star being born in stunning James Webb image

See a new star being born in stunning James Webb image

The James Webb Space Telescope has captured a stunning image of the birth of a new star.
This image of “Yori Pass” was taken by a Hazcam imager aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover on Nov. 5, 2022.

Perseverance rover explores sandstone pass for evidence of ancient life

Perseverance rover explores sandstone pass for evidence of ancient life

The Perseverance rover recently arrived at a new area of Mars named the Yori Pass, which is an exciting opportunity to search for evidence of ancient life.
This artist’s conception shows the fully unfolded James Webb Space Telescope in space.

How NASA is dealing with micrometeoroids threatening James Webb

How NASA is dealing with micrometeoroids threatening James Webb

Earlier this year, James Webb Space Telescope suffered a micrometeoroid impact. Now, NASA has shared its plan to deal with such impacts as Webb ages.
On the second day of the 25.5-day Artemis I mission, Orion used its optical navigation camera to snap black and white photos of planet Earth. Orion uses the optical navigation camera to capture imagery of the Earth and the Moon at different phases and distances, providing an enhanced body of data to certify its effectiveness as a method for determining its position in space for future missions under differing lighting conditions.

Orion spacecraft is looking good for its mission to the moon

Orion spacecraft is looking good for its mission to the moon

Following its historic launch this week, NASA's Orion spacecraft is on its way to the moon for the Artemis I mission.
James Chong, infrastructure technician at Keck Observatory, assisting with the delicate lift of the Zerodur optics bench into the observatory basement where the instrument resides.

Super-sensitive exoplanet-hunting instrument captures its first light data

Super-sensitive exoplanet-hunting instrument captures its first light data

Astronomers will soon have a new tool for hunting exoplanets, as the Keck Observatory's Keck Planet Finder instrument recently took its first observations.
As a result of a phenomenon called gravitational lensing, three different moments in a far-off supernova explosion were captured in a single snapshot by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The light from the supernova, which was located behind the galaxy cluster Abell 370, was multiply lensed by the cluster’s immense gravity. This light took three different paths through the cosmic lens of the massive cluster. The three paths were three different lengths, so when the light arrived at Hubble (on the same day in December 2010), the supernova appeared at three different stages of evolution.

Hubble captures rare image of a supernova as it happens

Hubble captures rare image of a supernova as it happens

The Hubble Space Telescope recently managed to capture three different moments of a supernova in a single image.
The James Webb Space Telescope.

James Webb’s MIRI instrument is back to full operations

James Webb’s MIRI instrument is back to full operations

This summer there was a problem with one mode on James Webb's Mid-Infrared Instrument or MIRI. Now, engineers have found a way to deal with the issue.
An artist's impression of Mars Express. The spacecraft left Earth for Mars on 2 June 2003. It reached its destination after a six-month journey, and has been investigating the planet since early 2004.

Mars Express orbiter has relayed data from seven different Mars missions

Mars Express orbiter has relayed data from seven different Mars missions

Recently the European Space Agency's Mars Express set a new record for relaying data from seven different Mars surface missions.
The Cone Nebula is part of a star-forming region of space, NGC 2264, about 2500 light-years away. Its pillar-like appearance is a perfect example of the shapes that can develop in giant clouds of cold molecular gas and dust, known for creating new stars. This dramatic new view of the nebula was captured with the FOcal Reducer and low dispersion Spectrograph 2 (FORS2) instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), and released on the occasion of ESO’s 60th anniversary.

See the dark pillar of the Cone Nebula captured by the Very Large Telescope

See the dark pillar of the Cone Nebula captured by the Very Large Telescope

A stunning image of the dramatic Cone Nebula has been taken using the Very Large Telescope.
A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS)-2 civilian polar-orbiting weather satellite for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA's Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) tech demo lifts off from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 1:49 a.m. PST (4:49 a.m. EST) Nov. 10, 2022.

NASA launches weather satellite and inflatable heat shield test

NASA launches weather satellite and inflatable heat shield test

NASA has launched a new weather satellite, JPSS-2, into polar orbit. The launch also included a test of a new inflatable heat shield called LOFTID.
NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen atop the mobile launcher at Launch Pad 39B, Friday, Nov. 11, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Teams began walkdowns and inspections at the pad to assess the status of the rocket and spacecraft after the passage of Hurricane Nicole.

NASA sticks with Artemis I launch despite minor damage from Hurricane Nicole

NASA sticks with Artemis I launch despite minor damage from Hurricane Nicole

NASA has announced that the Space Launch System rocket is still set to be launched this week, despite suffering minor damage during Hurricane Nicole.
COSMO-SkyMed mission ready for launch.

How to watch SpaceX launch two media satellites this morning

How to watch SpaceX launch two media satellites this morning

This morning, Saturday November 12, there's a chance to catch an early SpaceX launch as the company sends two communications satellites into orbit.
Illustration of the Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite.

How to watch the launch of NASA’s JPSS-2 weather satellite this week

How to watch the launch of NASA’s JPSS-2 weather satellite this week

This Thursday, November 10, NASA will launch a weather satellite called JPSS-2 into a polar Earth orbit. Here's how to watch.
Artist’s impression of the old white dwarfs WDJ2147-4035 and WDJ1922+0233 surrounded by orbiting planetary debris, which will accrete onto the stars and pollute their atmospheres. WDJ2147-4035 is extremely red and dim, while WDJ1922+0233 is unusually blue.

Astronomers find remnants of planets around 10 billion-year-old stars

Astronomers find remnants of planets around 10 billion-year-old stars

Astronomers discovered something special orbiting two ancient white dwarfs: the remains of planets, making this one of the oldest known rocky planetary systems.
A Chinese Long March-5B rocket launches from Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in Hainan province, carrying the space station module Wentian on July 24, 2022.

Chinese rocket booster falls uncontrolled into the Pacific Ocean

Chinese rocket booster falls uncontrolled into the Pacific Ocean

A Chinese rocket booster has made an uncontrolled re-entry into the atmosphere for the second time this year.
A nearly total eclipse of November’s full “Beaver Moon” captured over the city of New Orleans before dawn on Nov. 19, 2021. The 97% eclipse clocked in at 3 hours, 28 minutes, and 24 seconds, making it the longest partial lunar eclipse in 580 years.

How to watch the total lunar eclipse this week

How to watch the total lunar eclipse this week

This week will see a total lunar eclipse visible in North America, South America, and Australasia, which will be the last total lunar eclipse until 2025.
A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket carrying a Cygnus spacecraft loaded with cargo bound for the International Space Station stands vertical on Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad-0A, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022, at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Northrop Grumman’s 18th contracted cargo resupply mission with NASA to the International Space Station will deliver more than 8,000 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew. The CRS-18 Cygnus spacecraft is named after the first American woman in space, Sally Ride, and is scheduled to launch at 5:50 a.m., Sunday, Oct. 6, 2022, EST.

How to watch the launch of the cargo craft ‘Sally Ride’ to the ISS on Monday

How to watch the launch of the cargo craft ‘Sally Ride’ to the ISS on Monday

Early tomorrow morning, a Northrop Grumman Antares rocket will launch carrying supplies and equipment to the International Space Station. Here's how to watch.
This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows two of the galaxies in the galactic triplet Arp 248 – also known as Wild's Triplet – which lies around 200 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo. The two large spiral galaxies visible in this image – which flank a smaller, unrelated background spiral galaxy – appear connected by a luminous bridge. This elongated stream of stars and interstellar dust is known as a tidal tail, and it formed by the mutual gravitational attraction of the two foreground galaxies.

Hubble captures a glowing bridge of stars in Wild’s Triplet

Hubble captures a glowing bridge of stars in Wild’s Triplet

This week's image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows two of a set of three interacting galaxies called Arp 248.
Shenzhou-14 astronauts Chen Dong (C), Liu Yang (L) and Cai Xuzhe waving inside the Mengtian lab module.

China’s new space station, Tiangong, gets its third module

China’s new space station, Tiangong, gets its third module

The third module of China's new station arrived in orbit and was added to the station, and astronauts entered it for the first time.
NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen atop the mobile launcher as it arrives at Launch Pad 39B, Friday, Nov. 4, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s Artemis I mission is the first integrated test of the agency’s deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, SLS rocket, and supporting ground systems. Launch of the uncrewed flight test is targeted for Nov. 14 at 12:07 a.m.

Space Launch System rocket back at the launchpad ready for Artemis I launch

Space Launch System rocket back at the launchpad ready for Artemis I launch

NASA's Space Launch System rocket has arrived back on the launch pad ahead of its launch later this month.
This illustration, updated as of March 2021, depicts NASA's Psyche spacecraft. Set to launch in August 2022, the Psyche mission will explore a metal-rich asteroid of the same name that lies in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

NASA’s Psyche mission goes ahead, but VERITAS mission is delayed

NASA’s Psyche mission goes ahead, but VERITAS mission is delayed

NASA's Psyche mission to the metal asteroid Psyche is on, but it'll mean pushing back the VERITAS mission to Venus.