ESA | The Daily Space

Evidence for Icy Crust Found at Ceres’ Occator Crater

Aug 17, 2021 | Asteroids, Climate Change, Earth, ESA, Mars, Perseverance, Review, Venus

Using a neutron spectrometer on board the Dawn spacecraft, scientists have found elevated concentrations of hydrogen in Ceres’ Occator Crater, which provides evidence of an icy crust. Plus, everything is on fire in the western United States, and we review “The Past is Red” by Catherynne M. Valente.

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Finds Bennu Collision Risk Nearly Nonexistent

Aug 13, 2021 | Asteroids, Daily Space, Earth, ESA, Exoplanets, OSIRIS-REx, Our Solar System, Sky Watching, Spacecraft, Stars, Venus

After careful analysis of orbital data, gravitational forces, and several other factors, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx team calculated the risk of a collision with near-Earth asteroid Bennu to be 0.057% through 2300. Plus, magnetites in meteorites reveal solar system history, and the constellation Ophiuchus is What’s Up.

Black Holes Can Clear Way For Star Formation

Jun 16, 2021 | Climate Change, Daily Space, Earth, ESA, Exoplanets, Guest Interview, Spacecraft, Stars, Supermassive Black Holes, Venus

Contrary to the destructive role supermassive black holes are thought to play in the lives of stars, it turns out that certain types of galaxies benefit from black holes clearing the way and keeping star formation going. Plus, lightning at the edge of space, a landslide in the Himalayas, and an interview with Dr. Darby Dyar and Dr. David Grinspoon about the recent selection of three different Venus missions.

New Measurements Released From the Dark Energy Survey

Jun 9, 2021 | AAS, Daily Space, Dark Matter, Earth, ESA, Galaxies, Jupiter, Mars, Nebulae, Spacecraft, Star Forming Region, Stars, Venus, White Dwarfs

The most precise measurements of the universe’s composition and growth have been reported in almost thirty new papers based on Dark Energy Survey observations of 229 million galaxies and covering one-eighth of the sky. Plus, stories from the first day of the AAS conference, all the volcanoes, and mission updates.

Strong Evidence Found That Muons Deviate From Standard Model

Apr 15, 2021 | Asteroids, Book Club, Cosmology, Curiosity, Daily Space, Earth, ESA, Mars, Physics

Fermilab released the first results of their Muon g-2 experiment this week, and the fundamental particles don’t behave as predicted by the Standard Model of Particle Physics. Plus, dust, more dust, Martian water (again), and a review of Packing for Mars by Mary Roach.

LPSC: Studying Microorganisms Trapped in Salt as Martian Analog

Mar 29, 2021 | Asteroids, Astrobiology, Bennu Mapper, Daily Space, Earth, ESA, Guest Interview, LPSC, Moon, OSIRIS-REx, Perseverance, Rovers, Space China, Space Policy, Supermassive Black Holes

We interview a pair of scientists who have examined microorganisms embedded in halite crystals to determine the feasibility of finding similar evidence of past life in return samples from Mars. Plus, ‘Oumuamua, Bennu, Ryugu, winds on Jupiter and a space jellyfish.