A group of astronomers has discovered a system of super-Earth planets that are orbiting a nearby star called Gliese 887. That star is the brightest red dwarf in the sky. A super-Earth planet is one that has a mass higher than that of the Earth, but substantially lower those than the ice giant planets in our solar system, Uranus and Neptune.
NASA has announced that on June 24, engineers completed the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket's structural testing process for the Artemis lunar mission. The testing process was specifically for the liquid oxygen structural test article to find its point of failure. SLS program manager John Honeycutt said that the completion of that test was a significant milestone for both the SLS and Artemis programs.
NASA has published images that reveal the blanket of dust from the Saharan dust storm as it moves across the ocean toward the Americas. This isn't a new phenomenon -- the dust has gravitated this way before many times. However, NASA notes that this particular dust storm's resulting blanket has been 'quite expansive.' Using the NASA-NOAA Suomi NPP satellite, the space agency is able to give the public a detailed look at this event.
Humanity has found itself within another global pandemic, one involving a respiratory virus that can be easily transmitted from a surface to its next victim simply by touching one's own face. There's an obvious preventative method to avoid this issue, which is that you shouldn't touch your face, at least not if you haven't thoroughly washed your hands first. Developing this new habit is harder than it sounds, however, so here to help is a new DIY project from NASA.
Anyone with a passing familiarity with black holes knows that they are said to have such high levels of gravity that even light can't escape. A new theory suggests that a black hole merger could produce light. Astronomers from the American Museum of Natural History describe what may be the first light ever detected from a black hole merger.
Scientists working in Australia have discovered a giant marsupial that roamed prehistoric Australian 25 billion years ago. The giant marsupial is so different from other wombats that scientists had to create a new family to accommodate it. The wombat-like marsupial was named Mukupirna nambensis. Scientists say that it was placed in a whole new family of marsupials because it's so different from all other previously known extinct animals of the type.
NASA has launched another challenge for the public, this one seeking concepts for a toilet design that could be used by astronauts on the Moon. Suitably called the Lunar Loo challenge, this competition is offering up $35,000 in prizes for teams who propose effective designs for toilets that can operate in both microgravity and lunar gravity environments.
Astronomers have confirmed using NASA's retired Spitzer Space Telescope and the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) that a planet is orbiting a nearby star called AU Microscopii (AU Mic). That star is surrounded by disc debris leftover from its formation. Using data from TESS and Spitzer, the team has discovered a planet orbiting the star about as large as Neptune.
NASA has released a new simulation revealing what sunsets look like on other planets and moons, including ones in our solar system. Each simulation is based on data about the planet or moon's atmosphere, according to the space agency, which includes simulations of Earth's sunsets (including on hazy days) for comparison. Uranus, Mars, Titan, and Venus are among the planets and moons featured in the simulation.
For ten years now, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory has maintained its unflinching gaze at our Sun, and while staring directly at Earth's closest star really isn't advisable, watching the space agency's new time-lapse marking its changes over that decade absolutely is. Orbiting our planet, the SDO's focus has been on just one goal: figuring out how solar activity shapes the broader solar system.
For many years astronomers have wondered about a gap that lies between a neutron star and black holes. The heaviest known neutron star is no more than 2.5 times the mass of the sun, and the lightest known black hole is about five solar masses. The mystery for scientists is what exactly lies in the so-called mass gap between those two objects. A new study from the LIGO and Virgo detectors has discovered an object that is 2.6 solar masses putting it firmly in the mass gap that has puzzled scientists for so many years.
One of the coolest things that NASA will put on the surface of Mars is hitching a ride along with the Perseverance rover. It is called the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter. The goal of the Ingenuity helicopter is to prove that controlled flight can happen on the surface of another planet. One of the most challenging parts of the journey for the helicopter will be the very final stage where it's deployed on the surface of the Red Planet.