Astronomers have discovered the Milky Way’s first microblazar, a black hole-powered particle accelerator that shoots jets of plasma at near-light speeds toward Earth. The system known as IRAS 18293-0941 is located about 12,00 light years away and consists of a black hole that is fed by material extracted from a massive companion star, which it … Read more
Starship just cleared a major hurdle ahead of its first orbital flight. SpaceX announced this afternoon (September 24) that it has completed a wet dress rehearsal (WDR) for the next flight of Starship, the massive, fully reusable rocket it is developing to help humanity settle on the Moon and Mars. During a WDR, mission teams … Read more
The oceans are filled with all kinds of wonders and horrors alike. And don’t worry, scientists are still discovering new species of life that fit into the latter camp. Researchers from the University of British Columbia in Canada have been exploring the waters of the Salish Sea in the Pacific Northwest. In a recent study, … Read more
In case you’re feeling the void of Moon missions, empty since the return of the Artemis II astronauts from their trip around the far side of the Moon six months ago, NASA has you covered. The agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket launched Artemis II on April 1, carrying a crew of four on the … Read more
SpaceX’s Starship is on the cusp of a major milestone as the company prepares to send the megarocket into orbit for the first time. The launch window will open at 8:15 a.m. ET on Monday, September 28 and will remain open for 75 minutes. Yesterday, SpaceX shared photos of Starship fully stacked on the Starbase … Read more
We have yet to find definitive evidence that there is biological life on today’s Mars, but calling it a dead planet isn’t exactly accurate. Since the first Viking lander touched down in 1976, a rotating cast of humanity’s robotic envoys has worked in and around the Red Planet, and as access to space becomes cheaper … Read more
2026-09-24T13:52:30.915Z Dress rehearsal for Starship Flight 14 is underway now. Starship sits on Starbase Pad 2 ahead of a wet dress rehearsal on September 24. (Image credit: SpaceX) Image credit: SpaceX Image credit: SpaceX Image credit: SpaceX The sun has risen on SpaceX’s towering Starship ahead of the launch of the rocket’s Flight 14 and … Read more
See 5 planets and the Harvest Moon lighting up the sky this week. Late September is shaping up to be one of the best times of the year for stargazing, and you don’t need a telescope or any special equipment to enjoy it. The five “naked eye” planets will be visible at various times this … Read more
Torque and changes in the LODAn axial torque Γz acting on the mantle causes a change in its rotation rate (ΔΩm) according to $${C}_{{\rm{m}}}\frac{{\rm{d}}\Delta {\varOmega }_{{\rm{m}}}}{{\rm{d}}t}={\varGamma }_{z},$$ (1) in which Cm = 7.13 × 1037 kg m2 is the axial moment of inertia of the mantle. ΔΩm corresponds to a change in the LOD (ΔLOD) $$\Delta {\rm{LOD}}=-\frac{2{\rm{\pi }}}{{\varOmega }_{{\rm{o}}}^{2}}\Delta {\varOmega }_{{\rm{m}}},$$ … Read more
The ocean covers more than 70 percent of our planet and remains largely unknown and unexplored. However, within its deep trenches and sunlit coral reefs lie creatures of unimaginable scale and power. Whether you’re wondering which beast dominates the deepest waters or what kind of creature has enough venom to cast 26 in minutes, these … Read more