Canarias Einstein Ring
In his General Theory of Relativity, Albert Einstein predicted that gravity would distort the fabric of spacetime, and that light would follow curved paths as a result. Astronomers first observed...
Students Experience “NASA Satellites 101”
Astronauts aren’t the only ones who get to use NASA technology. Computer scientists and engineers at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, work to make flight software and...
Astronaut’s First Steps into BEAM Will Expand the Frontiers of Habitats for Space
On Monday, June 6, astronaut Jeff Williams will enter the first human-rated expandable module deployed in space, a technology demonstration to investigate the potential challenges and benefits of...
Secrets Revealed from Pluto’s ‘Twilight Zone’
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft took this stunning image of Pluto only a few minutes after closest approach on July 14, 2015. The image was obtained at a high phase angle –that is, with the sun on...
The Little Fox and the Giant Stars
New stars are the lifeblood of our galaxy, and there is enough material revealed by this Herschel infrared image to build stars for millions of years to come. Situated 8,000 light-years away in the...
This Week’s Night Sky: See Saturn at Its Best
On May 30, Mars reached its closest proximity to Earth in over a decade, and it will remain an amazingly bright star-like object in the eastern evening sky for the next couple of weeks. At times our...
Orbital ATK Conducts Test of Antares First Stage
Orbital ATK conducted a full-power test of the upgraded first stage propulsion system of its Antares medium-class rocket using new RD-181 main engines. The 30-second test took place at 5:30 p.m....
UBC astronomy student discovers 4 new planets beyond our solar system
For four years, the Kepler space telescope was fixated on one sector of the cosmos. It stared unblinkingly at the Cygnus constellation, trying to detect the slightest variation in star luminance....
