Space Sciences

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SpaceX Starship Completes Sixth Test: NASA’s Rocket for Future Moon Missions

SpaceX's Starship, the rocket selected by NASA as the human landing system for future Moon missions, has successfully completed its sixth test launch! 🚀
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Dark Energy Explained: Black Hole Breakthrough!

What do black holes have to do with the expansion of the universe? A study from 2023 showed a potential link between black holes and the production of dark energy, the force driving the expansion of the universe!
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Don’t Miss the Final Supermoon of 2024

When are supermoons most visible? Supermoons will appear biggest and brightest at moonrise, which will happen around sunset this month.
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Space News Deep Dive: The Black Hole/Dark Energy Connection

A new study seems to firm up a theory about dark energy and black holes. Namely that black holes cause dark energy. Dark energy being one of the biggest mysteries of the universe the story got quite a bit of attention.
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Look Up! Leonid Meteor Shower & Fireballs Explained

What meteor shower is formed from the wake of Comet Tempel-Tuttle? The Leonids are famous because in 1966 they rained down at a rate of thousands of meteors every minute.
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Did an Asteroid Boost Life on Earth?

How did a gigantic meteor impact 3.26 billion years ago benefit life on Earth? The S2 impactor was 200 times bigger than the meteor that caused the dinosaur extinction, so it seems counterintuitive for it to have had a positive impact on life.
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Possible Brown Dwarfs of the Small Magellanic Cloud

I adore a pretty picture of space and a recent image from the Webb Telescope is no exception. Except it turns out this one, with a little assist from Hubble, has some pretty amazing science behind it, because Webb may have just found the first brown...
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Last Supermoon of the Year & Mercury at Sunset!

Your November night sky forecast is here! Our solar system’s innermost planet will be visible with binoculars this month.
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Happy Cross-Quarter Day! Er…I mean Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! Or, if you’re an ancient Celt or modern pagan, Happy Samhain! Or if you prefer a Christianized way of looking at it, Happy All Hallows! But of course we’re a space and astronomy blog here at Spacing Out, so maybe I’ll just say Happy Cross...
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Don’t Miss the Taurid Meteor Shower Lighting up the Night Sky

What meteor shower is known for producing earthgrazers? In this video, we explore how the Taurids are characterized by these bright, colorful meteors!
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Living on Mars Time | NASA JPL Engineer Shares Her Experience

Do you think your work schedule is bad? NASA JPL Systems Engineer Nagin Cox discusses the Martian day, which is 40 minutes longer than an Earth day, and how it affects the daily routines of rover operators.
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See Algol, the Demon Star – Halloween's Celestial Visitor

Why is Algol, also known as the “Demon Star,” associated with evil and misfortune across cultures? In this video, we explore the science and the history of this spooky phenomenon.
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Moon's Role in Saving Animals from Extinction

Why do scientists want to send animal DNA to the Moon? Insoo Hyun, a bioethicist and Director of the Center for Life Sciences at the Museum of Science, explains how scientists would set up a BioRepository to hold biological and genetic samples on the Moon...
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Spacing Out Blog Europa Clipper

On Monday October 14th (four days later than it was originally scheduled thanks to Hurricane Milton), a Falcon Heavy rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, bearing precious cargo—Europa Clipper, the most massive interplanetary spacecraft ever...
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Watch Orionids Fireballs! How to Best View Meteor Shower

Why are the Orionids known to be one of the most beautiful meteor showers? These showers peak with 10-20 meteors per hour, which can leave trails across the sky that last for minutes!