Today’s Solutions: November 17, 2024

Space

Learn about the latest astronomy news and discoveries around humanity’s endeavor beyond the final frontier.

Asteroid in the forefront and earth in the background.

An asteroid deflection system is planned to launch in 2025

In 2021, NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) was sent on a 10-month course across the solar system to slam into the small asteroid Dimorphos. The hope is for DART to change the course of the rock, testing out potential planetary defense mechanisms. The China National Space Read More...

Star trails during the Lyrid Meteor Shower, April 2020, Herefordshire, UK.

How to catch the Lyrid meteor shower this Earth Day

Earth Day is an international celebration of our beautiful planet and a reminder of what steps we need to take to save it. The date marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement which started in 1970. This Earth Day, the stars have aligned (so to speak) to bring us the Read More...

Blue, red, and white NASA logo.

NASA’s plan to make space more accessible to all

Last year, one study rocketed forward the understanding of inclusive space travel. The AstroAcess project looked at requirements for sending people with different kinds of disabilities into space by creating a space-like environment in an aircraft free-falling from 32,000 feet down to Earth. It was Read More...

Europa

Jupiter’s moon, Europa could have water that supports life

One of the most vexing questions we try to answer in our exploration of space and the Universe is “Are we alone?” Scientists, artists, and average people wonder what form alien life might take, when we might encounter it, and how close it is.  It might be closer than most of us think, and Read More...

Astronauts

Mice aboard the ISS show why astronauts get kidney stones

Humans are terrestrial creatures. We adapted and evolved to the environments of Earth, and, needless to say, things can get complicated for us when we venture beyond our atmosphere. In addition to the myriad other concerns astronauts have, they also have a high chance of developing kidney stones Read More...

Square Kilometer Array

UK building huge software mind for world’s largest radio telescope

Every day, we come closer to answering the essential questions that arise from looking up at the sky. How did we come to be? What’s holding all of this together? Are we alone? Astrophysicists and astronomers need data in great volume and detail to find the answers to these questions, and a new Read More...

Baby red gas giant

Astronomers spot the beginnings of a “baby gas giant”

We can take up astronomy now, buy a good telescope, and go out on the right night to look up at the sky and marvel at the gaseous planets of our own solar system. These are of course Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. However, we average enthusiasts would need some different equipment, and Read More...

Landscape on Mars. Scenic desert scene on the red planet in a 3D space illustration.

The strange sounds of Mars have been recorded for the first time

If you’ve ever wondered what Mars sounds like, then NASA’s Perseverance rover has answers for you! The robot landed on the Red Planet in early 2021 where it has been conducting experiments and collecting samples for scientists here on Earth to analyze. We’ve previously reported on its Read More...

Galaxy panoramic, star cluster and nebula shining in a milky way.

Hubble Telescope spots farthest star ever recorded

We've set a new benchmark in the world of stars: the farthest individual star ever seen to date. This one has a predicted mass at least 50 times that of our Sun and is millions of times brighter, plus, was created within the first billion years of the Big Bang. This may seem like a long time after Read More...

Senior couple

Achieving quality along with quantity: an Optimist’s View on aging

“Aging is not lost youth but a new stage of opportunity and strength.” - Betty Friedan By Oliver Kammeyer I live on a bike path, and just a half-mile east of my place there’s a coffee shop that’s always packed. It seems every day the customers compete to see who can wake up earliest to Read More...