Europe’s ‘Dark Universe’ Mission Set to Launch This Weekend

Europe’s ‘Dark Universe’ Mission Set to Launch This Weekend

Artist’s impression of the Euclid spacecraft. ESA/ATG medialab (spacecraft); NASA, ESA, CXC, C. Ma, H. Ebeling and E. Barrett (University of Hawaii/IfA), et al. and STScI (background) Dark matter continues to confound astronomers, as it remains invisible to direct observation. Despite this, it comprises the majority of the mass in galaxies. Dark energy, an equally …

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Stunning Images from MAVEN Reveal Seasonal Changes on Mars

Stunning Images from MAVEN Reveal Seasonal Changes on Mars

The occurrence of seasons on the planets in our solar system is due to their tilt in their orbits, resulting in one hemisphere receiving more sunlight at certain times of the year. However, another factor that impacts weather and conditions on planets is their position in their orbit around the sun. Unlike Earth, which has …

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A ‘Large Earth Finder’ to be Installed in a Newly-Built $1 Billion Telescope

A ‘Large Earth Finder’ to be Installed in a Newly-Built  Billion Telescope

The Giant Magellan Telescope, currently under construction at the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile, is one of a handful of “extremely large” ground-based telescopes that promise to revolutionize astrophysics. Comprised of seven individual mirrors, each 27.6 feet in diameter, the telescope will have a joint collecting area of 80 feet and the best image quality …

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The famed Crab Nebula observed through X-rays by NASA’s IXPE

The famed Crab Nebula observed through X-rays by NASA’s IXPE

A new perspective on the Crab Nebula, one of astronomy’s most beautiful creations, has been provided by a NASA X-ray instrument. The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) observatory was launched in December 2021 and is presently orbiting Earth, observing X-ray sources like black holes and pulsars from space. Despite being an essential tool for scientists …

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This Week’s Night Sky

This Week’s Night Sky

The arch of the northern spring Milky Way across the eastern sky, as seen on a beautifully clear and … [+] mild spring night at Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta on May 14, 2018 The galactic centre in Sagittarius is at right to the south Jupiter is the bright object in the southwest at far right; …

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