It is one of cosmology’s more perplexing problems: that up to 90% of the ordinary matter in the universe appears to have gone missing. Now astronomers have detected about half of this missing content for the first time, in a discovery that could resolve a long-standing paradox. The conundrum first arose from measurements of radiation left over from the Big Bang, which allowed scientists to calculate how much matter there is in the universe and what form it takes. This showed that about 5% of the mass in the universe comes in the form of ordinary matter, with the rest being accounted for by dark matter and dark energy. Dark matter has never been directly observed and the nature of dark energy is almost completely mysterious, but even tracking down the 5% of ordinary stuff has proved more complicated than expected. When scientists have counted up all the observable objects in the sky – stars, planets, galaxies and so on – this only seems to account for between a 10th … [Read more...] about Astronomers find half of the missing matter in the universe
Space
Out-of-control space station is going to CRASH into Earth but experts have no idea where
The Chinese space lab Tiangong-1 or “Heavenly Palace” was launched in 2011 and was described as a “potent political symbol” of China.But the Chinese space agency lost control of Tiangong-1 in September 2016 and now it is predicted to come crashing down to Earth within months.Speaking to the Guardian, Harvard University’s Dr Jonathan McDowell said: “Now that its perigee is below 300km and it is in a denser atmosphere, the rate of decay is getting higher.”“I expect it will come down a few months from now – late 2017 or early 2018.”Although much of the craft is expected to burn up in the atmosphere, Dr McDowell says some parts might still weigh up to 100kg when they crash into Earth.The station’s orbit has also been steadily decaying and it has begun to fall faster in recent weeks.China told the UN in May that it would track the space station and vowed to issue warnings if there are any potentially imminent collisions.But … [Read more...] about Out-of-control space station is going to CRASH into Earth but experts have no idea where
Spacewatch: SpaceX reuses rocket to launch north American satellite
SpaceX set a brisk pace this week, with two successful launches of the Falcon 9 rocket. The second launch by the company – whose chief executive is its billionaire founder, Elon Musk – re-used a previously flown first stage booster, increasing confidence that SpaceX could deliver re-useable rockets and so drive down launch costs. The first launch took place on 9 October. The rocket lifted off from the Vandenberg airforce base in California at 05:37 PDT (12:37 GMT). It placed 10 communications satellites in a 400-mile-high orbit for Iridium, the telecommunications company. Iridium runs a constellation of telecommunications satellites. This launch is the first of eight launches scheduled that will place 75 satellites in orbit for the company. Elon Musk: SpaceX can colonise Mars and build moon base Read more On 11 October a second Falcon 9 rocket lifted off, this time from Kennedy Space Centre, in Florida. The launch took place at 18:53 EDT (22:53 GMT), and … [Read more...] about Spacewatch: SpaceX reuses rocket to launch north American satellite
Gerard Butler was inspired by real-life space missions for new film Geostorm
MOVIE hunk Gerard Butler reckons his new astronaut flick will be out of this world — after he was inspired by real-life space missions. The 47-year-old Scot plays satellite designer Jake Lawson in sci-fi epic Geostorm as he leads a team of experts trying to prevent the world being wiped out. To prepare for the challenging role, Gerard watched hours and hours of footage of American astronaut Mike Massimino. And incredibly, the Nasa spaceman — the first person to tweet from orbit — watched Gerard playing King Leonidas in 300 before he was launched into space. The actor couldn’t believe the 2007 movie — the film that shot him to fame — inspired Mike each time he headed out of the hatch. He says: “I had watched the IMAX documentary Hubble, and he just blew me away. “I found that out the very same week I got the script for Geostorm. That seemed like an amazing coincidence.” And it’s no wonder Gerard was inspired by Mike — the … [Read more...] about Gerard Butler was inspired by real-life space missions for new film Geostorm
Will a Nasa satellite predict when the Yellowstone supervolcano will erupt?
Satellites in low-Earth orbit can be used to help scientists predict when volcanoes are going to blow by monitoring gas emissions, new research suggests.Research funded by Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and published this week in the journal Science features the space agency's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) satellite.Before volcanoes erupt there are a number of warning signs – including tiny tremors rarely felt by humans.In many cases, one key sign is when they start to emit carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide, but monitoring these gas levels remains dangerous work for scientists.Researchers, therefore, are testing if "remote sensing" can now be used to detect rising dioxide emissions without putting people and equipment in danger.A breakthrough in the research, experts believe, would help prevent humanitarian disasters and false alarms. Typically for Nasa, answers to the problem lie in space.The Science article about the findings, titled "Spaceborne detection of localised … [Read more...] about Will a Nasa satellite predict when the Yellowstone supervolcano will erupt?
Life may exist on Mars in the form of TOUGH bacteria
LIFE may exist on Mars in the form of tough bacteria, scientists believe. Tests suggest rare salts below the Red Planet’s -55C surface keep water from freezing. Experts say the solution could hold bugs like those found in the most inhospitable places on Earth, such as deep oceans. Study chief Lorna Dougan, of Leeds University, said: “This raises questions about the possibility of life on Mars. “We might expect to find organisms adapted to high pressure similar to those on Earth such as deep-sea bacteria.” In 2015 a Nasa Mars Rover confirmed flowing water below the surface. The Leeds team showed how magnesium perchlorate on the planet stops the water freezing. Dr Dougan added: “It paves the way for understanding how a fluid might exist on Mars.” Pornhub viewers infected with nasty virus spread by cyber … [Read more...] about Life may exist on Mars in the form of TOUGH bacteria
Out-of-control spacecraft is going to CRASH into Earth but no one knows where
The Chinese space lab Tiangong-1 or “Heavenly Palace” was launched in 2011 and was described as a “potent political symbol” of China.But the Chinese space agency lost control of Tiangong-1 in September 2016 and now it is predicted to come crashing down to Earth within months.Speaking to the Guardian, Harvard University’s Dr Jonathan McDowell said: “Now that its perigee is below 300km and it is in a denser atmosphere, the rate of decay is getting higher.”“I expect it will come down a few months from now – late 2017 or early 2018.”Although much of the craft is expected to burn up in the atmosphere, Dr McDowell says some parts might still weigh up to 100kg when they crash into Earth.The station’s orbit has also been steadily decaying and it has begun to fall faster in recent weeks.China told the UN in May that it would track the space station and vowed to issue warnings if there are any potentially imminent collisions.But … [Read more...] about Out-of-control spacecraft is going to CRASH into Earth but no one knows where
Asteroid 2012 TC4: Space rock could come back and SMASH into Earth in the near future
Asteroid 2012 TC4 has been whizzing past Earth over the last few days in a historic flyby.But now scientists say the asteroid’s orbit around the sun could lead it on to a collision course with Earth in the future.The 30 metre-long asteroid flew past Earth at a distance of 27,300 miles – almost as low as where man-made satellites sit in orbit.But according to tracking models, the asteroid’s path will be altered by Earth’s gravity in the future, and after a few more flybys, its trajectory could lead straight into Earth.The next time 2012 TC4 passes at such a close distance will be in 2050, and at that point, the gravitational pull of Earth will affect the asteroid’s trajectory so the next time it swings around, in 2079, then it could collide.Rüdiger Jehn of the European Space Agency (ESA) told AFP: "We know today that it will also not hit the Earth in the year 2050, but the close flyby in 2050 might deflect the asteroid such that it could hit the Earth … [Read more...] about Asteroid 2012 TC4: Space rock could come back and SMASH into Earth in the near future
China’s runaway Tiangong-1 space station will crash to Earth within months, Harvard University astrophysicist warns
A CHINESE space station will crash into Earth in a matter of months - and it could kill anyone who is standing beneath. The 8.5-tonne Tiangong-1, or “Heavenly Palace”, satellite is now out of control and is doomed to plunge into the atmosphere, a top academic has warned. “I expect it will come down a few months from now – late 2017 or early 2018,” Jonathan McDowell, a Harvard University astrophysicist, told The Guardian. He previously warned that there was no way of telling exactly where the space station was going to plunge to Earth. “You really can’t steer these things,” he said last year. “Even a couple of days before it re-enters we probably won’t know better than six or seven hours, plus or minus, when it’s going to come down." The station will reduce significantly in size as the Earth's atmosphere burns it up. However, large chunks of metal could still fall to Earth and injure or kill anyone … [Read more...] about China’s runaway Tiangong-1 space station will crash to Earth within months, Harvard University astrophysicist warns
Amazing footage shows out of this world Tunnock’s teacake being blasted into space
THIS amazing footage shows the moment a Tunnock’s teacake was BLASTED into OUTER SPACE. One of Scotland’s favourite snacks proved to be out of this world after it was sent high above the planet. A team at Glasgow’s Science Centre attached two cameras to the treat before launching it from Houston – in Renfrewshire. The “spacecraft” rocketed beyond 36,000 meters before its balloon burst and it hurtled back down towards the planet. While scientists agree that there is no firm limit as to where outer space starts, the general figure amongst the academic community is 100,000 metres. The height fell just short of the world record for skydiving, set in 2012 by daredevil Felix Baumgartner when he freefell from 39,000 metres. And the Glasgow Science Centre team live streamed the whole voyage of ‘Terry the Teacake’ on social media. The centre posted: “A NATION WAITS. “Terry The Teacake has finished his training. It’s time for … [Read more...] about Amazing footage shows out of this world Tunnock’s teacake being blasted into space
Nasa admits the mysterious Planet Nine is REAL – but Nibiru is a fraud
NASA has admitted that a mysterious world called Planet Nine is hidden out of sight at the edge of our solar system. The gigantic icy planet is believed to be ten times larger than Earth and 20 times farther away from the sun than Neptune. Conspiracy theorists have recently claimed that a similar world called Nibiru is about to plunge into Earth and wipe out humanity. But while Nasa said it was “closing in” on Planet Nine, it has repeatedly said the Nibiru is a fraud. In its latest statement, Nasa reassured the world that Planet Nine has no chance of “colliding with Earth or bringing ‘days of darkness'” to our own fragile world. It also presented five complex pieces of evidence for the existence of the mystery world, which you can read here. "There are now five different lines of observational evidence pointing to the existence of Planet Nine," said Konstantin Batygin, a planetary astrophysicist at Caltech in Pasadena. Some of these clues relate … [Read more...] about Nasa admits the mysterious Planet Nine is REAL – but Nibiru is a fraud
Tiangong-1: Chinese space station will crash to Earth within months
An 8.5-tonne Chinese space station has accelerated its out-of-control descent towards Earth and is expected to crash to the surface within a few months. The Tiangong-1 or “Heavenly Palace” lab was launched in 2011 and described as a “potent political symbol” of China, part of an ambitious scientific push to turn China into a space superpower. It was used for both manned and unmanned missions and visited by China’s first female astronaut, Liu Yang, in 2012. But in 2016, after months of speculation, Chinese officials confirmed they had lost control of the space station and it would crash to Earth in 2017 or 2018. China’s space agency has since notified the UN that it expects Tiangong-1 to come down between October 2017 and April 2018. Since then the station’s orbit has been steadily decaying. In recent weeks it has dipped into more dense reaches of Earth’s atmosphere and started falling faster. “Now that [its] perigee is below 300km … [Read more...] about Tiangong-1: Chinese space station will crash to Earth within months
Planet Nine: Could there be an EXTRA planet in our solar system?
For decades, scientists have theorised that there is a ninth planet – what would have been 10th were it not for the downgrade of Pluto to a dwarf planet – in our galactic neighbourhood.The planet is believed to be 10 times bigger than Earth and 20 times farther out from the sun than Neptune – the outer-most planet in the solar system.While Planet Nine’s existence has yet to be officially proven, esteemed researchers strongly suspect that there is a large planet lurking in the far edge of our solar system.If the planet is there, then it could explain why the solar system is slightly off balance.In most star systems, the surrounding planets tend to rotate in line with their host.However, in ours, the planets are at an angle of six degrees off its axis.Konstantin Batygin, a planetary astrophysicist at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, said: "Over long periods of time, Planet Nine will make the entire solar-system plane precess, or … [Read more...] about Planet Nine: Could there be an EXTRA planet in our solar system?
Brightest ‘new star’ ever discovered – and it’s in a neighbouring galaxy
Astronomers have observed what is possibly the most luminous nova ever seen in one of our closest neighbour galaxies, the Small Magellanic Cloud. Novae are astronomical events which occur when dying stars dramatically erupt back into life for a few weeks or months. When astronomers first observed these events in the 16th century, they mistook them for the new stars, hence the Latin name – nova. Novae are fuelled by the interaction between old white dwarf and Sun-like companion stars. Material is transferred from the companion to the white dwarf star, gradually accumulating until it reaches a critical pressure, causing a sudden and huge increase in brightness. An international team of astronomers used telescopes in South Africa, Australia and South America to reveal that the nova SMCN 2016-10a, which was spotted on 14 October 2016, is one of the most luminous novae ever seen in any galaxy. The observations made were also some of the most detailed taken to date of a nova. … [Read more...] about Brightest ‘new star’ ever discovered – and it’s in a neighbouring galaxy
Space tourism with Virgin Galactic may happen sooner than you think
THEY say the sky is the limit, but that may not be the case for Virgin Galactic which has recently got one step closer in its quest to offering space tourism. The brainchild of billionaire tycoon Sir Richard Branson is eagerly awaited by those keen for a tourist trip into space - but what exactly is involved and when will it be open to the public? Intrepid explorers could soon be able to travel into space with Virgin Galactic – and the incredible opportunity may happen sooner than you think. If all goes to plan, space fans will be launched more than 50 miles above Earth, a point which NASA define travellers as astronauts. Passengers will ride aboard SpaceShipTwo, a spaceplane designed to carry six passengers and two pilots. It is carried aloft by a large areoplane before breaking away and zooming to an altitude of about 62 miles (100 kilometres). Last year, Professor Stephen Hawking unveiled Virgin Galactic's second SpaceShipTwo craft, called VSS Unity, after the first … [Read more...] about Space tourism with Virgin Galactic may happen sooner than you think
Asteroid the size of a HOUSE zoomed past Planet Earth
PLANET Earth experienced a very close encounter with a space rock - the size of a HOUSE. The asteroid was watched by astrophysicists as it zoomed past at a distance of about 27,300 miles, which is an eighth of the distance from the Earth to the Moon, according to the European Space Agency. The asteroid dubbed 2012 TC4 first flitted past our planet in October 2012 at about double the distance before disappearing from view. It is between 15 and 30 metres long and was travelling at a speed of about nine miles per second when spotted. The Very Large Telescope of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile has been playing close attention and tracked it's trajectory ahead of the close encounter. TC4 flew past Earth at roughly 16,000mpg (4.5 miles a second) and passed within 27,000 miles of Antarctica. The head of the European Space Operations Centre in Germany said: “It's damn close. The farthest satellites are 36,000 kilometres [22,000 miles] out, so … [Read more...] about Asteroid the size of a HOUSE zoomed past Planet Earth
Rare photos taken by legendary Nasa astronauts being sold to the highest bidder
John Glenn was the first person to snap a photograph of Earth from outer space. Neil Armstrong took the first picture from the moon's surface.The original prints of those are among 445 rare photos taken by American astronauts that are being sold by Skinner Auctioneers and Appraisers starting this week.The Massachusetts auction house says The Beauty of Space is the first US auction to focus solely on vintage photographs produced by Nasa astronauts during the heyday of space exploration, from 1961 to 1972.The auction goes live on Thursday (12 October) and runs until 2 November.The photographs are valuable not only for their scientific and historical significance, but also for their artistry, says Michelle Lamunière, a specialist in fine photography at Skinner."While the astronauts' primary goal was to record their activities, they were inspired by what they witnessed, creating images that transcend documentation," she said.The images up for auction are not reprints but original, … [Read more...] about Rare photos taken by legendary Nasa astronauts being sold to the highest bidder
Nasa tests planetary defences as house-sized asteroid TC4 zooms past
NASA has tested out Earth’s planetary defences as Asteroid 2012 TC4 zoomed past Earth this morning. This house-sized space rock reached the closest point of its flyby this morning at about 6.40am, passing within 27,200 miles of the surface of Antarctica before beginning its journey past the moon and back out into space. The near miss provides a rare chance to test Earth’s asteroid-protection systems – which at this point are focused on early warning rather than deflecting space rocks. Michael Kelley, program scientist at Nasa, said TC4 came “pretty close” to Earth, but did not hit us. However, scientists believe it’s inevitable that a space rock will plough into our planet at some point in the distant future. “You never expect your office building to catch fire and to be trapped in there, but you have fire drills anyway,” Kelley said. “That’s what I’ve been using as kind of an analogy to what … [Read more...] about Nasa tests planetary defences as house-sized asteroid TC4 zooms past
The lowdown on asteroids as the Asteroid 2012 TC4 prepares to fly past
NASA maintains a constant monitoring programme on asteroids, gigantic space rocks that can come close to Earth and even strike the planet. Earlier today (October 12) an asteroid approximately 30-metre-long called Asteroid 2012 TC4 passed close to our planet. But what would happen if one struck Earth. An asteroid is a small, airless rocky mass which orbits the sun, but is too small to be classed as a planet. Most of them are found in the Asteroid Belt - a ring which lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. It's thought that asteroids are debris left over at the formation of the universe about 4.6 billion years ago. Some can be very large, but others can be tiny - even as small as a grain of sand - because of their smaller size, asteroids lack the gravitational pull to shape themselves into a sphere - meaning they usually have a rocky, irregular appearance. The asteroid dubbed 2012 TC4 first flitted past our planet in October 2012 at about double the distance before disappearing from … [Read more...] about The lowdown on asteroids as the Asteroid 2012 TC4 prepares to fly past
Scientists reveal the seven ways an asteroid could kill humans if it smashed into Earth
AN ASTEROID is believed to have wiped out the dinosaurs - but could another strike from a massive space rock trigger the end of humanity. Now scientists have spelled out exactly how an asteroid could kill the people unlucky enough to be caught underneath one if - or when - it smashes into Earth. Researchers from the University of Southampton set out seven different risks posed by an asteroid collision. They published a paper discussing "asteroid impact effects and their immediate hazards for human populations" on the same day an asteroid the size of the Rock of Gibraltar zoomed uncomfortably close to Earth. The team used computer simulations to assess the risk posed by 50,000 different sizes of asteroid. Their study found that asteroids caused much more death and destruction if they smashed into the ground or exploded in the sky above a land mass in an "airburst", rather than crashing into the sea and causing a tsunami. "The analysis of average casualty numbers per … [Read more...] about Scientists reveal the seven ways an asteroid could kill humans if it smashed into Earth
