Impact Gardening Churns Surface of Saturn’s Moon Europa

Impact Gardening Churns Surface of Saturn’s Moon Europa

Over tens of millions of years, the surface of Europa has been churned by impacts down to an average depth of 30 centimeters. This churning means that the search for chemical biosignatures must look below that zone. Plus, methane and icequakes at Enceladus, predicting underwater eruptions, Virgin Galactic’s flight, and a Chinese spacewalk.

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Rocket Roundup for June 23, 2021

Rocket Roundup for June 23, 2021

On this week’s Rocket Roundup, the Chinese send a crewed mission to their new space station, SpaceX launches a new GPS satellite, China adds to their Yaogan satellite constellation, and Japan yeets a CubeSat from the International Space Station on behalf of Mauritius. Plus, this week in rocket history, we look back at the Soviet Salyut 3.

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Eccentric Minor Planet to Make Close Pass to Saturn’s Orbit in 2030

Eccentric Minor Planet to Make Close Pass to Saturn’s Orbit in 2030

Minor planet 2014 UN271, discovered in data collected by the Dark Energy Survey, is set to make a close pass to Saturn’s orbit at the end of the decade, giving astronomers a chance to observe a rare trans-Neptunian object from up close…ish. Plus, Venus, Jupiter, the Milky Way, and an invisible galactic structure discovered quite by accident.

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Black Holes Can Clear Way For Star Formation

Black Holes Can Clear Way For Star Formation

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.

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