Geomagnetic storm could be triggered by CME today, says NOAA

26Sep

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Geomagnetic storm could be triggered by CME today, says NOAA

Geomagnetic storm today: NASA's Parker Solar Probe on September 5 recorded one of the most powerful Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) ever as it flew by the Sun. According to NASA, the CME hurled out interplanetary dust to about 6 million miles, which is one-sixth of the distance between the Sun and Mercury. Astonishingly, the dust floating around in space replenished it almost immediately. Guillermo Stenborg, an astrophysicist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) who led this study said, “These interactions between CMEs and dust were theorized two decades ago, but had not been observed until Parker Solar Probe viewed a CME act like a vacuum cleaner, clearing the dust out of its path.”In a separate development, forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra...

26Sep

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Asteroid hurtling towards Earth at 60364 kmph! First-ever close approach today

NASA, on September 8, 2016, launched the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) as part of a mission to study a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA) called Bennu, which has a 1/2700 chance of impacting Earth between 2175 and 2195. After a nearly 6-year mission that involved landing on the asteroid and collecting rock and dust, the spacecraft landed back on our soil safely on September 24. The collected samples then went under a “nitrogen purge” and will now be transported to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, where they will be inventoried and distributed to scientists all over the world. In a separate development, NASA has also discovered a Near-Earth Asteroid whose orbit will bring it close to Earth today, and it is...

25Sep

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Geomagnetic storm caused by CME sparks rare red auroras over Scotland

Solar activity has been on an upward trend in the last few months and it is expected to increase as the Sun approaches the solar maximum. Earth is set to be in the firing line of CMEs, solar storms, geomagnetic storms, and more as the peak of the Sun's 11-year solar cycle nears. Therefore, it is imperative that we keep a check on the volatile nature of the Sun for any activity that threatens Earth. Astonishingly, the present cycle has exceeded the expectations of scientists as the number of sunspots till now has already passed the total number predicted in this cycle.In a recent development, experts have revealed details about the rare form of auroras that were sparked due to a CME hitting Earth. Know details of this phenomenon and the geomagnetic storm that sparked it. CME sparks red ...

25Sep

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Close encounter with an asteroid today! Know speed, size and more

An asteroid, given the designation of Asteroid 2023 SZ, is on its way towards Earth and could make its closest approach to the planet today, September 25. It is just one of the 1298148 asteroids that have been discovered by space agencies so far. NASA, with the help of its advanced space and ground-based telescopes, tracked the asteroid and shed light on details such as its speed, distance of approach, and more. Asteroid 2023 SZ: Close approach detailsAccording to the US space agency, Asteroid 2023 SZ is expected to make its closest approach to the planet at a distance of just 2.1 million kilometers, and at a speed of 15337 kilometers per hour, which is much faster than a hypersonic ballistic missile! According to NASA, this space rock belongs to the Amor group of Near-Earth Asteroids...

24Sep

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46-foot asteroid heading towards Earth today, says NASA; Check out this space rock called RD15

Asteroids are a small, but inseparable part of our solar system, but they possess a massive potential for destruction. Therefore, NASA is on a continuous mission to track asteroids and study them in order to take preventive measures in case the threat is serious. NASA actively monitors asteroids to safeguard Earth and enhance our understanding of their paths as they hold many secrets. When NASA's telescopes detect a new Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA), the agency's astronomers gather observational data and share it with the Minor Planet Center. Subsequently, the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) utilizes this information to compute the asteroid's probable orbit around the Sun. To monitor asteroids, NASA astronomers have developed a next-generation impact monitoring algorithm calle...

24Sep

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Historic! Osiris-Rex touches down on Earth, brings back major asteroid in NASA first

A seven-year space voyage came to its climactic end Sunday when a NASA capsule landed in the desert in the US state of Utah, carrying to Earth the largest asteroid samples ever collected. Scientists have high hopes for the sample, saying it will provide a better understanding of the formation of our solar system and how Earth became habitable. "Touchdown of the Osiris-Rex sample return capsule!" a commentator said on NASA's live video webcast of the landing, as engineers and team members applauded at a nearby mission control center.Completing a 3.86-billion-mile (6.21 billion-kilometer) journey, it marked the United States' first sample return mission of its kind, the US space agency said in a post on X, the former Twitter. NASA chief Bill Nelson hailed the mission and said the asteroi...

24Sep

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Osiris-Rex spacecraft to bring asteroid sample to Earth for NASA today

The climactic end of a seven-year voyage comes Sunday when a NASA capsule is due to land in the Utah desert, carrying to Earth the largest asteroid samples ever collected. Scientists have high hopes for the sample, saying it will provide a better understanding of the formation of our solar system and how Earth became habitable. The Osiris-Rex probe's final, fiery descent through Earth's atmosphere will be perilous, but the US space agency is hoping for a soft landing, around 9:00am local (15H00 GMT), in a military test range in northwestern Utah.Four years after its 2016 launch, the probe landed on the asteroid Bennu and collected roughly nine ounces (250 grams) of dust from its rocky surface. Even that small amount, NASA says, should "help us better understand the types of asteroids t...

24Sep

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OSIRIS-REx: NASA’s first asteroid sample on track for Sunday parachute landing in Utah

A NASA space capsule carrying a sample of rocky material plucked from the surface of an asteroid three years ago hurtled toward Earth this weekend headed for a fiery plunge through the atmosphere and a parachute landing in the Utah desert on Sunday. Weather forecasts were favorable and the robotic spacecraft OSIRIS-REx was on course to release the sample-return capsule for final descent as planned, with no further adjustments to its flight path needed, NASA officials said at a news briefing on Friday.Mission managers are expecting a "spot-on" touchdown on the U.S. military's vast Utah Test and Training range, west of Salt Lake City, said Sandra Freund, program manager at Lockheed Martin, which designed and built the spacecraft. The round, gumdrop-shaped capsule is scheduled to land by ...

23Sep

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James Webb Telescope discovers signs of LIFE on exoplanet?

In a groundbreaking discovery, the James Webb Space Telescope has unveiled the secrets of K2-18 b, a distant world residing in the vast expanse of space far away from Earth. Astonishingly, scientists have identified the presence of carbon-based molecules, specifically methane and carbon dioxide, within the planet's enigmatic atmosphere. This celestial body, roughly 8.6 times the mass of our home planet Earth, has long been shrouded in mystery. Recent studies have hinted at a tantalising possibility – that K2-18 b's surface may be adorned with sprawling oceans of water, complemented by a hydrogen-rich veil of air. In effect, the Webb Space Telescope has revealed tantalising signs of life.K2-18 b's Celestial DanceK2-18 b traces its orbit around the enigmatic cool dwarf star, K2-18, situa...

23Sep

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Historic NASA asteroid mission set for perilous return

NASA's first mission to retrieve an asteroid sample and return it to US soil is expected to reach a perilous finale on Sunday with a descent into the Utah desert.Scientists hope the material -- possibly the most ever retrieved by such a mission -- will provide humanity with a better understanding on the formation of our solar system and how Earth became habitable. The US space probe OSIRIS-REx, launched in 2016, scooped up the sample from an asteroid called Bennu almost three years ago. Touchdown is scheduled for Sunday at around 9:00 am local time (1500 GMT), at a military testing site in the western state.Some four hours earlier, at about 67,000 miles (108,000 kilometers) away from Earth, the Osiris-Rex probe will release the capsule containing the sample.The final descent lasts 13 m...