Hayabusa2 Capsule Returns Asteroid Ryugu Dust to Earth
On December 6, a capsule containing samples of asteroid Ryugu landed in the Australian Outback. The sample may include pieces of the solar system that were likely some of the earliest formed.
New Sunspot Cycle Could Be One of the Strongest on Record
Researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research have published an article in Solar Physics describing how solar cycles should be measured based on when magnetic bands cross one another on the solar equator.
Chinese probe orbiting the Moon with Earth-bound samples
Chang’e 5 is China’s first lunar sample return mission, picking up two kilograms of lunar material. On Friday, the ascent stage of the lander blasted off from the surface and successfully docked with the orbiter.
Chuck Yeager, 1st to break the sound barrier, dies at 97
Yesterday humanity lost one of the great test pilots of the early days of aerospace. Chuck Yeager passed away at age 97.
December Book Club Selection: Packing for Mars
Our inaugural selection for December is Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach.
New Data Confirm 2020 SO to Be the Upper Centaur Rocket Booster From the 1960s
Using spectrometry and the IRTF, scientists have now confirmed that asteroid 2020 SO is a long lost Centaur rocket booster from the 1960s.
Hubble Captures Fading of the Stingray Nebula
When re-examined in 2016, Hubble found the Stingray Nebula dramatically fainter and structurally changed since being observed in 1996.
Cluster of Alaskan islands could be single, interconnected giant volcano
In Alaska, there is a group of six stratovolcanoes on the ironically named Islands of the Four Mountains. These volcanoes may be connected and part of one large underground caldera.
Gaia’s New Data Takes Us to the Milky Way’s Anticenter & Beyond
Today we have news of a torrential downpour of data from the Gaia mission. This amazing mission has just posted an early version of its data release 3 catalog.
Dark Energy Camera Snaps Deepest Photo Yet of Galactic Siblings
A team using the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) has released amazing new data on the Milky Way’s nearest neighbors of notable size: the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds.
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