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Tag: Astronomy

  • The Good—and Bad—News About Next Week’s Total Lunar Eclipse

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    On March 3, skywatchers in North America, Australia, New Zealand, and eastern Asia will be treated to a special total lunar eclipse when the full Moon will don a spooky reddish hue.

    Next week, the Moon will enter behind Earth’s shadow and become illuminated by the Sun’s light as it passes through the planet’s atmosphere. The filtered sunlight will cast a warm glow on the Moon’s disk, giving it a temporary deep orange to red color.

    Where can I watch the total lunar eclipse

    The full blood Moon will be visible in North America and is the last one we’ll see for nearly three years until December 2028. While totality will be visible in the evening for viewers in eastern Asia and Australia and throughout the night in the Pacific, it will occur in the early morning hours in North and Central America and far western South America, according to NASA.

    The Moon will begin to enter Earth’s shadow at 3:44 a.m. ET, and the partial eclipse will occur at 4:50 a.m. ET. During the partial eclipse, it will appear as though a piece of the Moon has been bitten off as one side of the lunar disk appears very dark.

    Totality, when the entire Moon is in the Earth’s umbra, begins at 6:04 a.m. ET and lasts for around an hour. That’s when the Moon turns a bloody, copper red.

    Visibility map of the March 3 total lunar eclipse. Credit: NASA

    For skywatchers in eastern North America, the blood Moon may not appear as dramatic as it will along the west coast or in other parts of the world. That’s because totality will occur around the same time as sunrise, and the skies won’t be dark enough to view the blood Moon in all its glory. The blood Moon will sink in the west right before dawn. This presents yet another challenge for skywatchers in the Eastern Time Zone, as the Moon will set before the eclipse reaches its maximum.

    A partial lunar eclipse will also appear in Central Asia and parts of South America.

    How to view the total lunar eclipse

    Despite these challenges, you can still try to catch a glimpse of the blood Moon. A total lunar eclipse doesn’t require any special equipment—you can see it with the naked eye. For the best view, head somewhere dark and give your eyes time to adjust to the night sky.

    At the time of the eclipse, the Moon will be in the constellation Leo. As the Moon’s light is dimmed by Earth’s shadow, it’s also an opportune time to view other celestial objects in the sky, as constellations appear brighter when they’re not competing with the natural satellite.

    The next total lunar eclipse will take place on New Year’s Eve in 2028. It will be the first in a series of three lunar eclipses in a row, with the following one on June 26, 2029, and the next on December 20, 2029.

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  • A ‘ring of fire’ solar eclipse will dazzle people and penguins in Antarctica

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    NEW YORK — The first solar eclipse of the year will grace Antarctica, and only a lucky few will get to bask — or waddle — in its glow.

    Tuesday’s annular solar eclipse, known as a “ ring of fire,” will only be visible in the southernmost continent, home to research stations and diverse wildlife.

    “The penguins down there are going to have a great show,” said astronomer Joe Llama with Lowell Observatory.

    Clear skies permitting, more people can catch a partial eclipse with small bites taken out of the sun from the tips of Chile and Argentina and bits of southeastern Africa including Madagascar, Lesotho and South Africa.

    Solar eclipses happen when the sun, moon and Earth align just so. The moon casts a shadow that can partially or totally block out the sun’s light from Earth.

    It’s “this beautiful coincidence between the size and the distance of the moon and the sun,” said astrophysicist Emily Rice with the City University of New York.

    During an annular, or ring-shaped, eclipse, the moon just happens to be farther away from Earth in its orbit so it doesn’t totally cover the sun. Only a thin sliver remains visible.

    “The sun essentially gets its core taken out,” Llama said.

    Solar eclipses happen a few times a year, but are only visible from places in the path of the moon’s shadow. Two partial eclipses happened last year, and the last total solar eclipse swept across North America in 2024.

    Looking directly at the sun is dangerous even when most of it is covered so make sure to grab eclipse glasses. They block out ultraviolet light from the sun and nearly all visible light. Sunglasses and binoculars aren’t protective enough.

    Eclipse glasses should say they comply with ISO 12312-2 standards, though fake suppliers can also list this on their products.

    There are also ways to enjoy solar eclipses indirectly. Make a pinhole projector using household materials or hold up a colander or cheese grater to the sky and look down to see images of the eclipse projected onto the ground.

    There is a total solar eclipse in the cards in August for skygazers in Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Russia and part of Portugal. Swaths of Europe, Africa and North America will be treated to a partial eclipse.

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    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Mysterious dark matter may be better understood through a new map of far-off galaxies

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    NEW YORK — A new high-resolution map of distant galaxies may help scientists understand a mysterious invisible substance that helps hold the universe together.

    The ordinary matter all around us — stars, planets and people — makes up just 5% of the universe. For decades, researchers have hoped to demystify what’s known as dark matter, a material that comprises just over a quarter of our universe. Another equally mysterious force called dark energy makes up the rest.

    Dark matter doesn’t absorb or give off light so scientists can’t study it directly. But they can observe how its gravity warps and bends the star stuff around it — for example, the light from distant galaxies. By studying these distortions across large swathes of the universe, scientists can get closer to unmasking dark matter and its various hiding places.

    The latest map, created with images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, is the most detailed yet over such a large patch of sky. It has twice the resolution of previous attempts using the Hubble Space Telescope and captures hundreds of thousands of galaxies over the past 10 billion years.

    “Now, we can see everything more clearly,” said study author Diana Scognamiglio with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

    The latest map, published Monday in the journal Nature Astronomy, includes information on new galaxy clusters and the strands of dark matter that connect them. Piece by piece, these structures help form the skeleton of the universe. Scientists can study this map to see how dark matter has clumped up over billions of years.

    Dark matter doesn’t have much of an impact on your midday lunch order or your nightly bedtime ritual. But it silently passes through your body all the time and has shaped the universe.

    As humans, we’re naturally curious to know more about where we come from and that story can’t be told without dark matter, said astrophysicist Rutuparna Das with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

    “Our home is the universe and we want to understand what the nature of it is,” said Das, who was not involved with the new study.

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    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Parenting 101: Outschool’s free mission to Mars

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    Outschool has announced a one-of-a-kind virtual event that will allow learners around the world to communicate live with a simulated Mars mission, complete with a real Earth-to-Mars communication delay. Taking place on February 4th, the 80-minute live event will allow learning to tune in, ask questions, collaborate during the wait, and receive responses from the Mars analog crew, turning delay into discovery.

    The event is free, designed for kids ages 5-18 and will take place at 12 p.m.

    In partnership with veteran Outschool educator Tom Bickmore, who will serve as Crew Journalist during an upcoming mission at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah, the event invites kids to experience what it’s truly like to talk to people on another planet.

    “When humans go to Mars, communication won’t be instant, but it can still feel human,” Bickmore said in a media release. “Kids are incredibly candid about their experiences, which makes them perfect participants in this kind of research.”

    On a real Mars mission, messages take approximately 10 minutes to transmit between planets due to their distance. In this event, kids will experience this same delay each way — turning this wait into a fun challenge where participants can ask questions, work together while waiting, and feel what it’s really like to chat with someone on another planet.

     – JC

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  • Wind-battered Lick Observatory rushes to shield historic telescope after dome damage

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    Winds exceeding 110 mph that tore across the top of Mount Hamilton early Christmas morning blasted a massive steel protective door off the iconic white dome at Lick Observatory.

    Now, with back-to-back rainstorms bearing down on the Bay Area, officials this week are racing to seal the gaping hole and protect the historic Great Lick Refractor telescope beneath it.

    “I’ve never seen or even heard of damage like this to a dome,” said Lick Observatory site superintendent Jamey Eriksen.

    The Christmas Day storm that brought winds of 110 mph to the top of Mt Hamilton where the James Lick Observatory sits brought down the 60-foot crescent steel door that once covered half the dome’s vertical opening. The door landed onto an adjoining building where it broke windows and splintered attic beams. (Photo by Jamey Eriksen/UCSC Lick Observatory) 

    The damage threatens one of the Bay Area’s most significant scientific landmarks — a telescope that helped shape modern astronomy and still draws thousands of visitors each year to the mountaintop east of San Jose.

    From the Bay Area below, the dome sheltering the Great Refractor still appears intact. Up close, the damage is stark: a multi-ton, 60-foot crescent of steel that once covered half the dome’s vertical opening is gone. It was one of two giant doors that slid open to reveal the night sky, then closed again to protect the telescope from the elements. Now it lies on the pavement beside the dome.

    Inside, an all-hands scramble by a skeleton holiday-season crew helped avert worse damage. Beneath the dome, the 57-foot-long Great Refractor telescope is wrapped in black plastic tarps from eyepiece to lens assembly. Above it, the fallen door has left a gap in the steel dome roughly 4 feet wide and 10 feet tall, with a larger opening below it covered only by a fabric windscreen.

    The Christmas Day storm that brought winds of 110 mph to the top of Mt Hamilton where the James Lick Observatory sits brought down the 60-foot crescent steel door that once covered half the dome's vertical opening. The door landed onto an adjoining building where it broke windows and splintered attic beams. (Photo by Jamey Eriksen/UCSC Lick Observatory)
    The Christmas Day storm that brought winds of 110 mph to the top of Mt Hamilton where the James Lick Observatory sits brought down the 60-foot crescent steel door that once covered half the dome’s vertical opening. The door landed onto an adjoining building where it broke windows and splintered attic beams. (Photo by Jamey Eriksen/UCSC Lick Observatory) 

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    Ethan Baron

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  • The year’s first meteor shower and supermoon clash in January skies

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    NEW YORK — The year’s first supermoon and meteor shower will sync up in January skies, but the light from one may dim the other.

    The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks Friday night into Saturday morning, according to the American Meteor Society. In dark skies during the peak, skygazers typically see around 25 meteors per hour, but this time they’ll likely glimpse less than 10 per hour due to light from Saturday’s supermoon.

    “The biggest enemy of enjoying a meteor shower is the full moon,” said Mike Shanahan, planetarium director at Liberty Science Center in New Jersey.

    Meteor showers happen when speedy space rocks collide with Earth’s atmosphere, burning up and leaving fiery tails in their wake — the end of a “shooting star.” A handful of meteors are visible on any given night, but predictable showers appear annually when Earth passes through dense streams of cosmic debris.

    Supermoons occur when a full moon is closer to Earth in its orbit. That makes it appear up to 14% bigger and 30% brighter than the faintest moon of the year, according to NASA. That difference can be tough to notice with the naked eye.

    Supermoons, like all full moons, are visible in clear skies everywhere that it’s night. The Quadrantids, on the other hand, can be seen mainly from the Northern Hemisphere. Both can be glimpsed without any special equipment.

    To spot the Quadrantids, venture out in the early evening away from city lights and watch for fireballs before the moon crashes the party, said Jacque Benitez with the Morrison Planetarium at the California Academy of Sciences. Skygazers can also try looking during early dawn hours on Sunday.

    Wait for your eyes to get used to the darkness, and don’t look at your phone. The space rocks will look like fast-moving white dots and appear over the whole sky.

    Meteor showers are named for the constellation where the fireballs appear to come from. The Quadrantids — space debris from the asteroid 2003 EH1 — are named for a constellation that’s no longer recognized.

    The next major meteor shower, called the Lyrids, is slotted for April.

    Supermoons happen a few times a year and come in groups, taking advantage of the sweet spot in the moon’s elliptical orbit. Saturday night’s event ends a four-month streak that started in October. There won’t be another supermoon until the end of 2026.

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    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • The moon and sun figure big in the new year’s lineup of cosmic wonders

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    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The moon and sun share top billing in 2026.

    Kicking off the year’s cosmic wonders is the moon, drawing the first astronauts to visit in more than 50 years as well as a caravan of robotic lunar landers including Jeff Bezos’ new supersized Blue Moon. A supermoon looms on Jan. 3 and an astronomical blue moon is on the books for May.

    The sun will also generate buzz with a ring-of-fire eclipse at the bottom of the world in February and a total solar eclipse at the top of the world in August. Expect more auroras in unexpected places, though perhaps not as frequently as the past couple years.

    And that comet that strayed into our turf from another star? While still visible with powerful backyard telescopes, the recently discovered comet known as 3I/Atlas is fading by the day after swinging past Earth in December. Jupiter is next on its dance card in March. Once the icy outsider departs our solar system a decade from now, it will be back where it belongs in interstellar space.

    It’s our third known interstellar visitor. Scientists anticipate more.

    “I can’t believe it’s taken this long to find three,” said NASA’s Paul Chodas, who’s been on the lookout since the 1980s. And with ever better technology, “the chance of catching another interstellar visitor will increase.”

    Here’s a rundown on what the universe has in store for us in 2026:

    NASA’s upcoming moonshot commander Reid Wiseman said there’s a good chance he and his crew will be the first to lay eyeballs on large swaths of the lunar far side that were missed by the Apollo astronauts a half-century ago. Their observations could be a boon for geologists, he noted, and other experts picking future landing sites.

    Launching early in the year, the three Americans and one Canadian will zip past the moon, do a U-turn behind it, then hustle straight back to Earth to close out their 10-day mission. No stopping for a moonwalk — the boot prints will be left by the next crew in NASA’s Artemis lunar exploration program.

    More robotic moon landings are on the books by China as well as U.S. companies. Early in the year, Amazon founder Bezos is looking for his Blue Origin rocket company to launch a prototype of the lunar lander it’s designing for NASA’s astronauts. This Blue Moon demo will stand 26 feet (8 meters), taller than what delivered Apollo’s 12 moonwalkers to the lunar surface. The Blue Moon version for crew will be almost double that height.

    Back for another stab at the moon, Astrobotic Technology and Intuitive Machines are also targeting 2026 landings with scientific gear. The only private entity to nail a lunar landing, Firefly Aerospace, will aim for the moon’s far side in 2026.

    China is targeting the south polar region in the new year, sending a rover as well as a so-called hopper to jump into permanently shadowed craters in search of ice.

    The cosmos pulls out all the stops with a total solar eclipse on Aug. 12 that will begin in the Arctic and cross over Greenland, Iceland and Spain. Totality will last two minutes and 18 seconds as the moon moves directly between Earth and the sun to blot out the latter. By contrast, the total solar eclipse in 2027 will offer a whopping 6 1/2 minutes of totality and pass over more countries.

    For 2026, the warm-up act will be a ring-of-fire eclipse in the Antarctic on Feb. 17, with only a few research stations in prime viewing position. South Africa and southernmost Chile and Argentina will have partial viewing. A total lunar eclipse will follow two weeks after February’s ring of fire, with a partial lunar eclipse closing out the action at the end of August.

    Six of the solar system’s eight planets will prance across the sky in a must-see lineup around Feb. 28. A nearly full moon is even getting into the act, appearing alongside Jupiter. Uranus and Neptune will require binoculars or telescopes. But Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn should be visible with the naked eye shortly after sunset, weather permitting, though Mercury and Venus will be low on the horizon.

    Mars will be the lone no-show. The good news is that the red planet will join a six-planet parade in August, with Venus the holdout.

    Three supermoons will lighten up the night skies in 2026, the stunning result when a full moon inches closer to Earth than usual as it orbits in a not-quite-perfect circle. Appearing bigger and brighter, supermoons are a perennial crowd pleaser requiring no equipment, only your eyes.

    The year’s first supermoon in January coincides with a meteor shower, but the moonlight likely will obscure the dimmer fireballs. The second supermoon of 2026 won’t occur until Nov. 24, with the third — the year’s final and closest supermoon — occurring the night of Dec. 23 into Dec. 24. This Christmas Eve supermoon will pass within 221,668 miles (356,740 kilometers) of Earth.

    The sun is expected to churn out more eruptions in 2026 that could lead to geomagnetic storms here on Earth, giving rise to stunning aurora. Solar action should start to ease, however, with the 11-year solar cycle finally on the downslide.

    Space weather forecasters like Rob Steenburgh at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration can’t wait to tap into all the solar wind measurements coming soon from an observatory launched in the fall.

    “2026 will be an exciting year for space weather enthusiasts,” he said in an email, with this new spacecraft and others helping scientists “better understand our nearest star and forecast its impacts.”

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    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Shortest day of the year descending on Northern Hemisphere: what to know

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    Yes the darkest day of the year is here, but that means brighter days are ahead.

    Sunday is the shortest day of the year north of the equator, where the solstice marks the start of astronomical winter. It’s the opposite in the Southern Hemisphere, where it is the longest day of the year and summer will start.

    The word “solstice” comes from the Latin words “sol” for sun and “stitium” which can mean “pause” or “stop.” The solstice is an end of the sun’s annual march higher or lower in the sky. The winter solstice is when the sun makes its shortest, lowest arc. The good news for sun lovers: It then starts climbing again and days will get a little longer every day until late June.

    People have marked solstices for eons with celebrations and monuments such as Stonehenge, which was designed to align with the sun’s paths at the solstices. But what is happening in the heavens? Here’s what to know about the Earth’s orbit.

    As the Earth travels around the sun, it does so at an angle, making the sun’s warmth and light fall unequally on the northern and southern halves of the planet for most of the year.

    The solstices mark the times when the Earth’s tilt toward or away from the sun is at its maximum. This means the hemispheres are getting very different amounts of sunlight — and days and nights are at their most unequal.

    At the Northern Hemisphere’s winter solstice the upper half of the Earth is at its furthest lean away from the sun — leading to the shortest day and longest night of the year. The winter solstice falls can fall between Dec. 20 and 23 — this year it’s the 21st.

    The opposite happens at a Northern Hemisphere summer solstice: The upper half of the Earth is leaning toward the sun, creating the longest day and shortest night of the year. This solstice falls between June 20 and 22.

    During the equinox, the Earth’s axis and its orbit align so that both hemispheres get an equal amount of sunlight.

    The word equinox comes from two Latin words meaning equal and night. That’s because on the equinox, day and night last almost the same amount of time — though one may get a few extra minutes, depending on where you are on the planet.oo

    The Northern Hemisphere’s fall — or autumnal — equinox can land between Sept. 21 and 24, depending on the year. Its spring — or vernal — equinox can land between March 19 and 21.

    These are just two different ways to carve up the year.

    While astronomical seasons depend on how the Earth moves around the sun, meteorological seasons are defined by the weather. Meteorologists break down the year into three-month seasons based on annual temperature cycles. By that calendar, spring starts on March 1, summer on June 1, fall on Sept. 1 and winter on Dec. 1.

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    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Saturn’s moon Titan may not have a buried ocean as long suspected, new study suggests

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    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Saturn’s giant moon Titan may not have a vast underground ocean after all.

    Titan instead may hold deep layers of ice and slush more akin to Earth’s polar seas, with pockets of melted water where life could possibly survive and even thrive, scientists reported Wednesday.

    The team led by researchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory challenged the decade-long assumption of a buried global ocean at Titan after taking a fresh look at observations made years ago by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft around Saturn.

    They stress that no one has found any signs of life at Titan, the solar system’s second largest moon spanning 3,200 miles (5,150 kilometers) and brimming with lakes of liquid methane on its frosty surface.

    But with the latest findings suggesting a slushy, near-melting environment, “there is strong justification for continued optimism regarding the potential for extraterrestrial life,” said the University of Washington’s Baptiste Journaux, who took part in the study published in the journal Nature.

    As to what form of life that might be, possibly strictly microscopic, “nature has repeatedly demonstrated far greater creativity than the most imaginative scientists,” he said in an email.

    JPL’s Flavio Petricca, the lead author, said Titan’s ocean may have frozen in the past and is currently melting, or its hydrosphere might be evolving toward complete freezing.

    Computer models suggest these layers of ice, slush and water extend to a depth of more than 340 miles (550 kilometers). The outer ice shell is thought to be about 100 miles (170 kilometers) deep, covering layers of slush and pools of water that could go down another 250 miles (400 kilometers). This water could be as warm as 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius).

    Because Titan is tidally locked, the same side of the moon faces Saturn all the time, just like our own moon and Earth. Saturn’s gravitational pull is so intense that it deforms the moon’s surface, creating bulges as high as 30 feet (10 meters) when the two bodies are closest.

    Through improved data processing, Petricca and his team managed to measure the timing between the peak gravitational tug and the rising of Titan’s surface. If the moon held a wet ocean, the effect would be immediate, Petricca said, but a 15-hour gap was detected, indicating an interior of slushy ice with pockets of liquid water. Computer modeling of Titan’s orientation in space supported their theory.

    Sapienza University of Rome’s Luciano Iess, whose previous studies using Cassini data indicated a hidden ocean at Titan, is not convinced by the latest findings.

    While “certainly intriguing and will stimulate renewed discussion … at present, the available evidence looks certainly not sufficient to exclude Titan from the family of ocean worlds,” Iess said in an email.

    NASA’s planned Dragonfly mission — featuring a helicopter-type craft due to launch to Titan later this decade — is expected to provide more clarity on the moon’s innards. Journaux is part of that team.

    Saturn leads the solar system’s moon inventory with 274. Jupiter’s moon Ganymede is just a little larger than Titan, with a possible underground ocean. Other suspected water worlds include Saturn’s Enceladus and Jupiter’s Europa, both of which are believed to have geysers of water erupting from their frozen crusts.

    Launched in 1997, Cassini reached Saturn in 2004, orbiting the ringed planet and flying past its moons until deliberately plunging through Saturn’s atmosphere in 2017.

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    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Interstellar comet keeps its distance as it makes its closest approach to Earth

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    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A stray comet from another star swings past Earth this week in one last hurrah before racing back toward interstellar space.

    Discovered over the summer, the comet known as 3I/Atlas will pass within 167 million miles (269 million kilometers) of our planet on Friday, the closest it gets on its grand tour of the solar system.

    NASA continues to aim its space telescopes at the visiting ice ball, estimated to be between 1,444 feet (440 meters) and 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometers) in size. But it’s fading as it exits, so now’s the time for backyard astronomers to catch it in the night sky with their telescopes.

    The comet will come much closer to Jupiter in March, zipping within 33 million miles (53 million kilometers). It will be the mid-2030s before it reaches interstellar space, never to return, said Paul Chodas, director of NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies.

    It’s the third known interstellar object to cut through our solar system. Interstellar comets like 3I/Atlas originate in star systems elsewhere in the Milky Way, while home-grown comets like Halley’s hail from the icy fringes of our solar system.

    A telescope in Hawaii discovered the first confirmed interstellar visitor in 2017. Two years later, an interstellar comet was spotted by a Crimean amateur astronomer. NASA’s sky-surveying Atlas telescope in Chile spotted comet 3I/Atlas in July while prowling for potentially dangerous asteroids.

    Scientists believe the latest interloping comet, also harmless, may have originated in a star system much older than ours, making it a tantalizing target.

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    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • NASA loses contact with its Maven spacecraft orbiting Mars for the past decade

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    This combination of ultraviolet spectrum images provided by NASA shows atmospheric features of the planet Mars in July 2022, left, during the southern hemisphere’s summer season, and the planet’s northern hemisphere in January 2023 after Mars had passed the farthest point in its orbit from the Sun, captured by the MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) spacecraft. (NASA/LASP/CU Boulder via AP)

    The Associated Press

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  • Meteor shower, super moon, lunar eclipse; Colorado’s winter night skies will blow you away

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    Colorado winters in the mountains are beautiful, but not every view can be seen during the day. There are times at night when the full moon illuminates a surreal snowscape, creating beautiful shapes and shadows, even revealing dramatic snow-covered mountains miles away.

    And sometimes, on moonless nights when the sky is especially dark and the air is crystal clear — as is often the case on a cold winter night — the Milky Way can be admired in all its glory.

    DENVER, CO – NOVEMBER 05: Super moon with a little cloud cover and the Elitches Observation Tower in the foreground photographed west of Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Wednesday, November 05, 2025. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)

    “If you can get away from bright city lights and light pollution, the Milky Way always looks cool, no matter where you are – desert, mountains, wherever,” said Ron Hranac, a past president of the Denver Astronomical Society. “There are people who live in major metropolitan areas who have never seen the Milky Way. They have no idea what it is.

    “I hear that and it makes me sad,” Hranac added, “because they’re missing out on so much.”

    Winter can be a great time to look up and admire the heavens, and this one will be no exception. The night of Dec. 4-5 will mark the brightest super moon of 2025, as it is the full moon closest to earth this year. The Geminids meteor shower, which a NASA astronomy educational site calls one of the best and most reliable meteor showers of the year, peaks Dec. 13-14.

    Colorado will also see a total lunar eclipse in the western sky on March 3, 2026, from 4:04 a.m. to 5:02 a.m., well before the sunrise at 6:29 a.m.

    Moonlight ski touring and snowshoeing in Colorado is a transcendent experience. Boreas Pass, which is near Breckenridge, and Vail Pass are excellent options because the ascents are moderate and the trail is actually a dirt road for motor vehicles in the summer, making it plenty wide for touring in low light. And remember, your eyes will adjust to the dark. You may be shocked by how much you can see, and how far.

    The Milky Way is visible in the summer, too. But the night sky in the mountains can be especially clear on really cold winter nights because cold air can’t contain as much moisture as warmer air.

    There are exceptions, though.

    “The downside of being in the mountains of Colorado at a higher elevation is, the air stability is not always that great,” Hranac said. “We often get the jet stream going overhead or nearby, and that can mess up (atmospheric) stability.”

    Saturn will be visible for the next few months, Hranac said, appearing in the southeast sky early in the evening. It will look like a moderately bright star to the naked eye, but its rings will be visible through telescopes.

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  • What to get the stargazer in your life for the holidays in 2025 – WTOP News

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    This year’s WTOP “Gift Ideas for Stargazers,” coincides with Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, to possibly help get the best deals for that special someone on your holiday gift list that loves the stars.

    For my annual WTOP “Gift Ideas for Stargazers,” I thought I would get this year’s suggestions out to coincide with Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, to possibly help get the best deals for that special someone on your holiday gift list that loves the stars.

    Internet shopping and quick shipping can get that star-minded someone their gift fairly quickly with very little hassle — even if that someone is yourself.

    Monthly magazine subscription

    As a first step for someone new to astronomy, I recommend getting them a magazine subscription to either (or both)  Astronomy or Sky and Telescope. An added bonus is that when the magazine arrives each month it will be a reminder of you to that special stargazer. Astronomy and Sky and Telescope also provide a digital version bundled with the print subscription, which comes in handy.

    These monthly magazines and their respective websites are chockfull of observing advice, astronomical equipment, pictures, book reviews, astronomy related ads, news and even monthly observing guides/star charts.

    For full disclosure I am an Sky and Telescope subscriber and have been my whole life; I have also done major feature articles for them and twice have been a total solar eclipse cruise Sky and Telescope staff member. The publication is owned by the American Astronomical Society.

    Smartphone planetarium app

    Here’s another gift item that will keep you on the user’s mind, perhaps every single day — a smartphone planetarium app. This is an app that your smartphone can use to display the sky in a specified location and date or time.

    Some apps even have a feature that allows your smartphone to follow your motion in the sky to identify the area you are looking at. Go to your smartphone app supplier to find space/astronomy apps and read the reviews. I use my Sky Safari Pro App for my iPhone constantly.

    Astronomical calendar

    This is a nifty gift idea that provides your stargazer astronomical information on a daily basis, accompanied by a beautiful and informative astronomical image. These can be used at work or at home. I recommend this one by Astronomy featuring “mysteries of deep space” or an options offered by Amazon. Oh, and when you are on these two websites, shop around for other nifty gifts they have.

    For the best daily coverage of the sky and the Universe as a whole for 2026, my “gold standard” for decades has been the annual Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Observer’s Handbook. Do an internet search on the title to find the best deal, as it is offered by many vendors.

    Books

    There is a literary universe of astronomy and space-related books out there. You’re likely familiar with Amazon and Barnes & Noble, who offer a wide selection of choices, but you could also try BookShop to support smaller local booksellers.

    If you know what piques your stargazer’s interest, you can try and buy a book. But I recommend giving them a gift card they can use to buy a book of their choice. You may want to browse these websites in advance to make sure the gift card has a sufficient value to cover these usually expensive books. This has been a tried and true present to me from family members for decades.

    Meteorite

    For a truly out of this world gift you can buy an actual space rock (or more realistically, a piece of one) from the asteroid belt, the moon or even Mars. I have been a meteorite collector for many years. Truth be told, your avid stargazer is probably frustrated at times with our cloudy weather. Nothing cures this frustration better than holding a piece of the solar system and contemplating where it came from and how it got to Earth.

    When buying these amazing 4.5 billion-year-old rocks from space, you need to know your dealer. New England Meteoritical Services has what I consider to be the best and most reasonably priced presentation sets for purchase, which you can see when you scroll down their webpage. I have personally dealt with them and I highly recommend them. Beware buying in the blind!

    Legos

    Yes, LEGOS with wonderful space-themed kits. For kids who love “Star Wars” this is a great kit. And here is the LEGOS website for space themed kits suitable for all ages. Oh, and I mean “all ages.” Santa (me) is getting me a very impressive Legos Artemis kit.

    Movies

    A great holiday sock stuffer is a space themed movie. “The Star Wars” and “Star Trek” movies (new and old), “Gravity,” “Europa Report,” “Cosmos the Series” (original or new versions), “The Martian,” “Interstellar,” or any of the space-themed offerings from National Geographic, Science Channel, Discovery Channel or the History Channel are excellent.

    Binoculars

    If you have a budding stargazer that wants to see more of the sky than just the eye allows, quality binoculars are the ticket. A whole new view of the sky becomes possible — and as an added bonus, they can be used in daytime for bird watching and sporting events.

    A good pair of binoculars will show impressive detail on the moon, a few galaxies, star clusters and nebulae (you need to know where to look) as well as (if you hold them steady enough) the four major moons of Jupiter. Star colors are richer in binoculars and very pretty to look at.

    I recommend “7×50” binoculars — the 7 refers to the magnification while the 50 is the size of each objective lens in millimeters. This is a good compromise between magnification, light-gathering ability and field of view. Less magnification means less detail but a wider field of view; more magnification reduces field of view while giving more detail. I would not go higher than an 8 in magnification or lower than 50 in objective size for a beginner. There are larger astronomical binoculars out there, but they are best for advanced users.

    You can buy binoculars at sporting goods stores and all of the major chains like Costco, Walmart and Amazon. And there may be some good prices out there this weekend.

    Telescope

    This is the riskiest gift idea on my list. There is nothing quite like getting that first telescope and experiencing “first light” — the first view of the universe through it. But it is risky, because telescopes are an investment, in money and in longevity. There is nothing worse than buying a ‘scope that never gets used because it is too complicated, too heavy or of poor quality — they inevitably collect dust from disuse.

    With the right purchase, there is no reason why a quality telescope will not last a person’s entire lifetime, or at least a good portion of it. Many nights of enjoyment and discovery at the eyepiece or your computer/smartphone/tablet, of a good telescope are pure joy to your stargazer. If this is a family member or significant other, you might even do your telescope observing together.

    There are many telescopes out there and to pick just the right one for your stargazer is a real shot in the dark, so to speak, unless you have insider information. If your astronomer has spent time studying telescopes and selecting a “final one” and letting you know it — go for it. Otherwise, make sure there is a return policy that allows you to get your money back if things don’t work out.

    My recommendation for first telescopes is this: Put together a gift package or card that says you will bankroll the purchase of a new telescope (I recommend setting a price limit as telescopes can cost thousands of dollars) after a selection process has determined the best telescope to buy.

    Here are some online sources you can look over to help you in your selection. Sky & Telescope and Astronomy magazines have sections on how to select a telescope and there are books on the subject as well.

    Going to a local astronomy club or attending a star party can also provide an opportunity to “test drive” different types of telescopes. We have some great resources in the D.C. region to do just this — refer to the Astronomical League list for your area.

    Telescope technology has progressed to a point where we now have smart telescopes compatible with apps on your smartphone and tablet. These are amazing telescopes that literally do everything for you except physically setting them up and turning them on. They are expensive but they incorporate all you need to take astro-photographs with a click.

    I use and own two Unistellar smart telescopes — the auto-focusing Odyssey Pro and the EVSCOPE 2 — as well as a ZWO Seestar S50 — and I love them. I observed and photographed more sky objects in the first few months using them than I did using other telescopes in 50-plus years previously. I was able to find and photograph quasars billions of light years away (!!!), along with James Webb Space Telescope, Artemis I, comets, planets, deep-sky objects and the sun with a safe solar filter. All with astounding ease and results.

    Full disclosure: I am a Global Ambassador for Unistellar, but it is a nonpay position and I am not beholden to the company as a sales representative. I have been involved in beta-testing Unistellar telescopes and associated technology/software upgrades. I am telling you like it is, for me and 25,00-plus other worldwide Unistellar users.

    To complement my Unistellar telescopes, I purchased the much smaller Seestar S50 for its small size (portable for cruise ship trips), larger coverage of the sky and use as a daytime ultra-telephoto lens.

    The parent company, ZWO, has come out with a new Seestar S30, which is even smaller and costs less than the S50.

    These are excellent smart telescopes for stargazers starting out.

    Get online and check out the myriad stargazer specials that are out there.

    I hope this has helped you for your out-of-this-world holiday shopping. Drop me an email if you have any questions.

    Happy Holidays and clear skies.

    Follow Greg Redfern on his daily blog to keep up with the latest news in astronomy and space exploration.

    Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Greg Redfern

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  • Scientists capture the crackling sounds of what they believe is lightning on Mars

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    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Scientists have detected what they believe to be lightning on Mars by eavesdropping on the whirling wind recorded by NASA’s Perseverance rover.

    The crackling of electrical discharges was captured by a microphone on the rover, a French-led team reported Wednesday.

    The researchers documented 55 instances of what they call “mini lightning” over two Martian years, primarily during dust storms and dust devils. Almost all occurred on the windiest Martian sols, or days, during dust storms and dust devils.

    Just inches (centimeters) in size, the electrical arcs occurred within 6 feet (2 meters) of the microphone perched atop the rover’s tall mast, part of a system for examining Martian rocks via camera and lasers. Sparks from the electrical discharges — akin to static electricity here on Earth — are clearly audible amid the noisy wind gusts and dust particles smacking the microphone.

    Scientists have been looking for electrical activity and lightning at Mars for half a century, said the study’s lead author Baptiste Chide, of the Institute for Research in Astrophysics and Planetology in Toulouse.

    “It opens a completely new field of investigation for Mars science,” Chide said, citing the possible chemical effects from electrical discharges. “It’s like finding a missing piece of the puzzle.”

    The evidence is strong and persuasive, but it’s based on a single instrument that was meant to record the rover zapping rocks with lasers, not lightning blasts, said Cardiff University’s Daniel Mitchard, who was not involved in the study. What’s more, he noted in an article accompanying the study in the journal Nature, the electrical discharges were heard — not seen.

    “It really is a chance discovery to hear something else going on nearby, and everything points to this being Martian lightning,” Mitchard said in an email. But until new instruments are sent to verify the findings, “I think there will still be a debate from some scientists as to whether this really was lightning.”

    Lightning has already been confirmed on Jupiter and Saturn, and Mars has long been suspected of having it too.

    To find it, Chide and his team analyzed 28 hours of Perseverance recordings, documenting episodes of “mini lightning” based on acoustic and electric signals.

    Electrical discharges generated by the fast-moving dust devils lasted just a few seconds, while those spawned by dust storms lingered as long as 30 minutes.

    “It’s like a thunderstorm on Earth, but barely visible with a naked eye and with plenty of faint zaps,” Chide said in an email. He noted that the thin, carbon dioxide-rich Martian atmosphere absorbs much of the sound, making some of the zaps barely perceptible.

    Mars’ atmosphere is more prone than Earth’s to electrical discharging and sparking through contact among grains of dust and sand, according to Chide.

    “The current evidence suggests it is extremely unlikely that the first person to walk on Mars could, as they plant a flag on the surface, be struck down by a bolt of lightning,” Mitchard wrote in Nature. But the “small and frequent static-like discharges could prove problematic for sensitive equipment.”

    These aren’t the first Mars sounds transmitted by Perseverance. Earthlings have listened in to the rover’s wheels crunching over the Martian surface and the whirring blades of its no-longer-flying helicopter sidekick, Ingenuity.

    Perseverance has been scouring a dry river delta at Mars since 2021, collecting samples of rock for possible signs of ancient microscopic life. NASA plans to return these core samples to Earth for laboratory analysis, but the delivery is on indefinite hold as the space agency pursues cheaper options.

    ___

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Controversial New Study Points to the Most Promising Dark Matter Signal Yet

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    Astronomers have spent nearly a century searching for dark matter, the invisible scaffolding thought to hold galaxies together. While there’s abundant indirect evidence to suggest this mysterious substance exists, no one has been able to detect it directly. Now, a new study might finally signal a breakthrough.

    Using data from NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, astronomer and University of Tokyo professor Tomonori Totani is claiming to have identified gamma-ray emissions that appear to have originated from dark matter. His findings, published Tuesday in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, suggest this radiation was emitted by colliding WIMPs (weakly interacting massive particles).

    “WIMPs, a leading candidate for dark matter, have long been predicted to annihilate and emit gamma rays, prompting numerous search efforts,” Totani told Gizmodo in an email. “This time, using the latest Fermi satellite data accumulated over 15 years and a new method focusing on the halo region (excluding the galactic center), I have discovered gamma-ray emissions believed to originate from dark matter.”

    It’s an intriguing finding, but experts we spoke to remain unconvinced, warning that the signal could be a case of cosmic noise mistaken for dark matter or yet another frustrating false positive.

    Totani himself emphasizes that it’s too early to definitively say these gamma rays originated from dark matter, but their characteristics suggest they could have. Based on his findings, they don’t look like those that originate from conventional astronomical sources. “At the very least, it represents the most promising candidate radiation from dark matter known to date,” he said.

    Finding a needle in a cosmological haystack

    Astronomers believe dark matter exists because no observable matter in the known universe can explain certain gravitational effects, such as the unexpectedly rapid rotation of galaxies or the fact that they’re held together more tightly than they should be.

    Dark matter is the theoretical answer to this cosmological conundrum, but if it exists, its particles clearly do not absorb, reflect, or emit light. If they did, astronomers would have detected this abundant substance long ago.

    Gamma-ray intensity map excluding components other than the halo, spanning approximately 100 degrees in the direction of the Galactic center. The horizontal gray bar in the central region corresponds to the Galactic plane area, which was excluded from the analysis to avoid strong astrophysical radiation © Tomonori Totani, The University of Tokyo

    WIMPs largely fit that description. Astronomers believe WIMPs interact through gravity, but their interactions with electromagnetic and nuclear forces are too weak to detect. When they collide with each other, however, they should theoretically annihilate and emit gamma rays.

    Researchers have hunted for these gamma-ray emissions for years, targeting regions of the Milky Way where dark matter appears to be concentrated, such as the galactic center. These searches have come up empty, so Totani decided to look elsewhere, specifically the galaxy’s halo region.

    Energy Spectrum Of The Halolike Gamma Ray Emission
    Photon energy dependence of gamma-ray intensity of the halo emission (data points). The red and blue lines represent the expected gamma-ray emission spectrum when WIMP particles annihilate, initially producing a pair of bottom quarks (b) or a pair of W bosons, and they agree well with the data © Tomonori Totani, The University of Tokyo

    This extended, roughly spherical region surrounding the Milky Way’s galactic disk contains stars, gas, and presumably a large amount of dark matter. By analyzing Fermi satellite observations of the halo, Totani identified high-energy gamma ray emissions that align with the shape expected from the dark matter halo.

    The range of gamma-ray emission intensities he observed matches what astronomers would expect to see from WIMP annihilation. Totani also estimated the frequency of WIMP annihilation from the measured gamma-ray intensity, and this also fell within the range of theoretical predictions. That raises the possibility that he may have detected a signal produced by dark matter WIMPs.

    Case closed? Not yet

    The findings are encouraging, but Totani and other experts caution that these gamma rays aren’t a smoking gun.

    “The problem is that there’s lots of ways to make gamma rays, everything from pulsars to matter inspiraling to black holes to supernovae,” a Fermilab physicist told Gizmodo. “Heck, we get gamma rays off the Sun.”

    Fermilab officials asked Gizmodo to refrain from naming the scientist who provided these quotes.

    What distinguishes the gamma rays Totani detected from most others is how energetic they are, with a photon energy of 20 gigaelectronvolts. That’s “pretty hefty,” but not totally unheard of, the Fermilab physicist explained. “There are very highly energetic things in space, and those highly energetic things can make high-energy gamma rays.”

    While the gamma emissions Totani detected appear to fit the description of those that would be produced by WIMP annihilation, there are other possible explanations that must be ruled out first, according to the Fermilab physicist. These could include high-energy phenomena such as neutron star collisions or solar wind emanating from pulsars, they explained.

    Additional studies will also need to validate Totani’s observations and calculations. “The decisive proof will be the detection of gamma rays from other regions of the sky with the same dark matter parameters,” Totani said. “I hope these results will be verified by independent analyses conducted by other researchers.”

    With that said, Dan Hooper, a professor of physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of the Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center, points out that many other scientists have already analyzed the Fermi satellite data Totani used, and none have detected the excess gamma ray emissions he did.

    “Now, some different choices were made, and I’m glad people are trying different things, but it doesn’t leave me very confident that this is an authentic signal of dark matter,” Hooper told Gizmodo.

    For one thing, Totani did not look for gamma rays anywhere within 10 degrees of the galactic center. Though this approach could provide some benefits, avoiding the galactic center may have swayed the findings, as this region of our galaxy is where physicists expect a big part of the dark matter signal to come from, Hooper explained.

    He also suspects that the high-energy gamma ray emissions Totani detected may actually be an artifact of the analysis. This could result from using a background model that is absorbing too much of the emission at low energies, creating the illusion of a high-energy excess.

    The bottom line is that “Dark matter is very difficult to find, it is very difficult to characterize,” the Fermilab physicist said. “Nobody should believe it without several mutually validating lines of evidence, and this is just one.”

    So, the search for dark matter continues. Whether future studies confirm or undermine Totani’s findings remains to be seen, but either way, they will help researchers refine our understanding of the invisible matter that shapes our universe.

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    Ellyn Lapointe

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  • NASA unveils close-up pictures of the comet popping by from another star

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    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA unveiled close-up pictures on Wednesday of the interstellar comet that’s making a quick one-and-done tour of the solar system.

    Discovered over the summer, the comet known as 3I/Atlas is only the third confirmed object to visit our corner of the cosmos from another star. It zipped harmlessly past Mars last month.

    Three NASA spacecraft on and near the red planet zoomed in on the comet as it passed just 18 million miles (29 million kilometers) away, revealing a fuzzy white blob. The European Space Agency’s two satellites around Mars also made observations.

    Other NASA spacecraft will remain on the lookout in the weeks ahead, including the Webb Space Telescope. At the same time, astronomers are aiming their ground telescopes at the approaching comet, which is about 190 million miles (307 million kilometers) from Earth. The Virtual Telescope Project’s Gianluca Masi zoomed in Wednesday from Italy.

    The comet is visible from Earth in the predawn sky by using binoculars or a telescope.

    “Everyone that is in control of a telescope wants to look at it because it’s a fascinating and rare opportunity,” said NASA’s acting astrophysics director, Shawn Domagal-Goldman.

    The closest the comet will come to Earth is 167 million miles (269 million kilometers) in mid-December. Then it will hightail it back into interstellar space, never to return.

    ESA’s Juice spacecraft, bound for Jupiter, has been training its cameras and scientific instruments on the comet all month, particularly after it made its closest pass to the sun. But scientists won’t get any of these observations back until February because Juice’s main antenna is serving as a heat shield while it’s near the sun, limiting the flow of data.

    Named for the telescope in Chile that first spotted it, the comet is believed to be anywhere from 1,444 feet (440 meters) across to 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometers) across. Observations indicate that the exceptionally fast-moving comet may have originated in a star system older than our own — “which gives me goose bumps to think about,” said NASA scientist Tom Statler.

    “That means that 3I/Atlas is not just a window into another solar system, it’s a window into the deep past and so deep in the past that it predates even the formation of our Earth and our sun,” Statler told reporters.

    NASA officials were quick to dispel rumors that this friendly solar system visitor, as they called it, might be an alien ship of some sort. They said that because of the federal government shutdown, they weren’t able to respond to all the theories cropping up in recent weeks.

    The space agency is always on the hunt for life beyond Earth, “but 3I/Atlas is a comet,” said NASA’s associate administrator, Amit Kshatriya.

    ___

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Perseverance rover spots mysterious ‘visitor from outer space’ rock on Mars surface after 4 years

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    NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

    NASA’s Perseverance rover may have stumbled on a visitor from outer space – a strange, shiny rock on Mars that scientists think could be a meteorite forged in the heart of an ancient asteroid.

    According to a new blog post on the rover’s mission page, the rock – nicknamed “Phippsaksla” – stood out from the flat, broken terrain around it, prompting NASA scientists to take a closer look.

    Tests revealed high levels of iron and nickel, the same elements found in meteorites that have crashed onto both Mars and Earth.

    While this isn’t the first time a rover has spotted a metallic rock on Mars, it could be the first for Perseverance. Earlier missions – including Curiosity, Opportunity, and Spirit – discovered iron-nickel meteorites scattered across the Martian surface, making it all the more surprising that Perseverance hadn’t seen one until now, NASA said.

    MASSIVE ASTEROID BIGGER THAN A SKYSCRAPER HEADING TOWARD EARTH AT 24,000 MPH

    NASA’s Perseverance rover discovered a shiny metallic rock that scientists believe could be a meteorite forged in the heart of an ancient asteroid. (NASA via Getty Images)

    Now, just beyond the crater’s rim, the rover may have finally found one – a metallic rock perched on ancient impact-formed bedrock. If confirmed, the discovery would place Perseverance alongside the other Mars rovers that have examined fragments of cosmic visitors to the red planet.

    To learn more about the rock, the team aimed Perseverance’s SuperCam – an instrument that fires a laser to analyze a target’s chemical makeup – at Phippsaksla. The readings showed unusually high levels of iron and nickel, a combination NASA said strongly suggests a meteorite origin.

    Mounted atop the rover’s mast, SuperCam uses its laser to vaporize tiny bits of material, so sensors can detect the elements inside from several meters away.

    SCIENTISTS SPOT SKYSCRAPER-SIZED ASTEROID RACING THROUGH SOLAR SYSTEM

    NASA Perseverance discovers possible meteorite on Mars

    The shiny rock nicknamed “Phippsaksla,” discovered by NASA’s Perseverance rover, showed high levels of iron and nickel consistent with meteorites found on Mars and Earth. (NASA)

    The finding is significant, NASA noted, because iron and nickel are typically found together only in meteorites formed deep within ancient asteroids – not in native Martian rocks.

    If confirmed, Phippsaksla would join a long list of meteorites identified by earlier missions, including Curiosity’s “Lebanon” and “Cacao” finds, as well as metallic fragments spotted by Opportunity and Spirit. NASA said each discovery has helped scientists better understand how meteorites interact with the Martian surface over time.

    Because Phippsaksla sits atop impact-formed bedrock outside Jezero crater, NASA scientists said its location could offer clues about how the rock formed and how it ended up there.

    MASSIVE COMET ZOOMING THROUGH SOLAR SYSTEM COULD BE ALIEN TECHNOLOGY, HARVARD ASTROPHYSICIST SAYS

    NASA Perseverance discovers possible meteorite on Mars

    NASA scientists say the metallic rock spotted by Perseverance may be a meteorite formed deep within an ancient asteroid before crashing onto Mars. (NASA)

    For now, the agency said its team is continuing to study Phippsaksla’s unusual makeup to confirm whether it truly came from beyond Mars.

    If proven to be a meteorite, the find would mark a long-awaited milestone for Perseverance – and another reminder that even on a planet 140 million miles away, there are still surprises waiting in the dust.

    Perseverance, NASA’s most advanced robot to date, traveled 293 million miles to reach Mars after launching on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Station in Florida on July 30, 2020. It touched down in Jezero crater on Feb. 18, 2021, where it has spent nearly four years searching for signs of ancient microbial life and exploring the planet’s surface.

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    Built at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, the $2.7 billion rover is about 10 feet long, 9 feet wide, and 7 feet tall – roughly 278 pounds heavier than its predecessor, Curiosity. 

    Powered by a plutonium generator, Perseverance carries seven scientific instruments, a seven-foot robotic arm, and a rock drill that allows it to collect samples that could one day return to Earth.

     The mission will also help NASA prepare for future human exploration of Mars in the 2030s.

    Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.

    Story tips and ideas can be sent to Greg.Wehner@Fox.com and on Twitter @GregWehner.

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  • Blue Origin launches huge rocket carrying twin NASA spacecraft to Mars

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    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Blue Origin launched its huge New Glenn rocket Thursday with a pair of NASA spacecraft destined for Mars.

    It was only the second flight of the rocket that Jeff Bezos’ company and NASA are counting on to get people and supplies to the moon — and it was a complete success.

    The 321-foot (98-meter) New Glenn blasted into the afternoon sky from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, sending NASA’s twin Mars orbiters on a drawn-out journey to the red planet. Liftoff was stalled four days by lousy local weather as well as solar storms strong enough to paint the skies with auroras as far south as Florida.

    In a remarkable first, Blue Origin recovered the booster following its separation from the upper stage and the Mars orbiters, an essential step to recycle and slash costs similar to SpaceX. Company employees cheered wildly as the booster landed upright on a barge 375 miles (600 kilometers) offshore. An ecstatic Bezos watched the action from Launch Control.

    “Next stop, moon!” employees chanted following the booster’s bull’s-eye landing. Twenty minutes later, the rocket’s upper stage deployed the two Mars orbiters in space, the mission’s main objective. Congratulations poured in from NASA officials as well as SpaceX’s Elon Musk, whose booster landings are now routine.

    New Glenn’s inaugural test flight in January delivered a prototype satellite to orbit, but failed to land the booster on its floating platform in the Atlantic.

    The identical Mars orbiters, named Escapade, will spend a year hanging out near Earth, stationing themselves 1 million miles (1.5 million kilometers) away. Once Earth and Mars are properly aligned next fall, the duo will get a gravity assist from Earth to head to the red planet, arriving in 2027.

    Once around Mars, the spacecraft will map the planet’s upper atmosphere and scattered magnetic fields, studying how these realms interact with the solar wind. The observations should shed light on the processes behind the escaping Martian atmosphere, helping to explain how the planet went from wet and warm to dry and dusty. Scientists will also learn how best to protect astronauts against Mars’ harsh radiation environment.

    “We really, really want to understand the interaction of the solar wind with Mars better than we do now,” Escapade’s lead scientist, Rob Lillis of the University of California, Berkeley, said ahead of the launch. “Escapade is going to bring an unprecedented stereo viewpoint because we’re going to have two spacecraft at the same time.”

    It’s a relatively low-budget mission, coming in under $80 million, that’s managed and operated by UC Berkeley. NASA saved money by signing up for one of New Glenn’s early flights. The Mars orbiters should have blasted off last fall, but NASA passed up that ideal launch window — Earth and Mars line up for a quick transit just every two years — because of feared delays with Blue Origin’s brand-new rocket.

    Named after John Glenn, the first American to orbit the world, New Glenn is five times bigger than the New Shepard rockets sending wealthy clients to the edge of space from West Texas. Blue Origin plans to launch a prototype Blue Moon lunar lander on a demo mission in the coming months aboard New Glenn.

    Created in 2000 by Bezos, Amazon’s founder, Blue Origin already holds a NASA contract for the third moon landing by astronauts under the Artemis program. Musk’s SpaceX beat out Blue Origin for the first and second crew landings, using Starships, nearly 100 feet (30 meters) taller than Bezos’ New Glenn.

    But last month NASA Acting Administrator Sean Duffy reopened the contract for the first crewed moon landing, citing concern over the pace of Starship’s progress in flight tests from Texas. Blue Origin as well as SpaceX have presented accelerated landing plans.

    NASA is on track to send astronauts around the moon early next year using its own Space Launch System, or SLS, rocket. The next Artemis crew would attempt to land; the space agency is pressing to get astronauts back on the lunar surface by decade’s end in order to beat China.

    Twelve astronauts walked on the moon more than a half-century ago during NASA’s Apollo program.

    ___

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Round 2: Northern Lights may shine again in Wednesday night sky

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    The Aurora borealis put on an impressive showing in portions of the U.S. and Canada Tuesday night, and there’s potential for it to strike again Wednesday. 

    Followers from as far north as Nova Scotia to as far south as Florida sent me photos Tuesday night!

    >> Your photos of the Northern Lights

    You can do so too by submitting your photos through wral.com/reportit.

    What’s causing the aurora to be visible this far south?

    As a refresher to Tuesday’s article, let’s talk about Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs). These ejections – or solar flares – head toward Earth. 

    In this case, there are a series of them – and they are tough to predict, according to Tony Rice. Once they interact with Earth’s upper atmosphere, the aurora can be seen.

    The stronger the geomagnetic storm (interaction between CME and Earth), the farther south the aurora can glow.

    Will we see it again Wednesday night?

    There is a good chance of the aurora being seen again, but there is a caveat.

    NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center and NASA say an even stronger CME is heading toward Earth, but it’s expected to make impact around midday. 

    So, we’ll need the severity of the geomagnetic storm to maintain until after sunset. If that happens, it’s game on!

    You’ll need a clear view of the northern sky with minimal-to-no light pollution. Take your smart phone’s camera, and put it on night mode with exposure set to 10s.

    Should the storm maintain severity, the Aurora would be seen again in North Carolina with visibility potentially extended south toward the U.S.’ Gulf Coast.

    Why are we seeing auroras more often?

    Science and technology are both the cause. 

    The sun is in a “maximum” in its cycle, where sun spots are more active and more flares are being ejected. By that logic, alone, you have more chances to see the Aurora. 

    The Aurora is also more commonly seen closer to an Equinox rather than closer to a Solstice. 

    The technology aspect comes down to our smart phones. The long exposure settings that we now have access to allow us to photograph these more often than recent years. 

    So again, if you do get good photos – we want to see them and share them!

    Send those through wral.com/reportit.

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  • Scientists spot the brightest flare yet from a supermassive black hole

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    NEW YORK — Scientists have spotted the brightest flare yet from a supermassive black hole that shines with the light of 10 trillion suns.

    These bursts of light and energy can come from things like tangled-up magnetic fields or hiccups in the heated gas disks surrounding black holes. The flares help illuminate researchers’ understanding of the black holes within.

    The latest cosmic display was spotted in 2018 by a camera at the Palomar Observatory in California. It took about three months to shine at peak brightness and has been decaying in the years since.

    It likely happened because a large star wandered too close to the black hole and got shredded to pieces.

    “At first, we didn’t really believe the numbers about the energy,” said study author Matthew Graham with the California Institute of Technology, which operates Palomar.

    The new findings were published Tuesday in the journal Nature Astronomy.

    The flare came from a supermassive black hole that’s 10 billion light years away, making the flash the most distant one observed so far. It hails from a time when the universe was rather young. A light year is nearly 6 trillion miles (9.7 trillion kilometers).

    Almost every large galaxy, including our Milky Way, has a supermassive black hole at its center. But scientists still aren’t sure how they form.

    Studying such behemoths can help researchers better understand the stellar neighborhood surrounding supermassive black holes.

    The discovery also allows scientists “to probe the interaction of supermassive black holes with their environments early in the universe,” said Joseph Michail with Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, which didn’t have a role in the new study.

    Those early interactions created the cosmos we now call home.

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    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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