Nasa Space Telescopes

Webb telescope finds strongest clue yet of life beyond our solar system

Scientists detect a potential biosignature gas in the atmosphere of exoplanet K2-18b-one that, on Earth, is only produced by living organisms like phytoplankton

Nasa's newest space telescope blasts off to map sky like never before

NASA's newest space telescope rocketed toward orbit Tuesday to map the entire sky like never before a sweeping look at hundreds of millions of galaxies and their shared cosmic glow since the beginning of time. SpaceX launched the Spherex observatory from California, putting it on course to fly over Earth's poles. Tagging along were four suitcase-size satellites to study the sun. The USD 488 million Spherex mission aims to explain how galaxies formed and evolved over billions of years, and how the universe expanded so fast in its first moments. Closer to home in our own Milky Way galaxy, Spherex will hunt for water and other ingredients of life in the icy clouds between stars where new solar systems emerge. The cone-shaped Spherex at 1,110 pounds (500 kilograms) or the heft of a grand piano will take six months to map the entire sky with its infrared eyes and wide field of view. Four full-sky surveys are planned over two years, as the telescope circles the globe from pole to pole

Nasa's James Webb telescope zeroes in on asteroid that could hit Earth

Nasa is directing the James Webb Space Telescope to track asteroid 2024 YR4, whose collision risk with Earth has risen to 2.3 per cent, in a bid to better understand its size and trajectory

Nasa's newest space telescope set for launch in February, to map entire sky

Made with a budget of $488 million, Nasa's SPHEREx mission is expected to launch in February 2025. The advanced infrared telescope can map the entire sky in 102 colors

Webb telescope discovers galaxy that may offer clues into Milky Way's birth

Named 'Firefly Sparkle,' this galaxy is distinguished by its low mass, offering a rare glimpse into early galaxy formation

Webb discovers carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide on Pluto's largest moon

Nasa's James Webb Space Telescope has discovered traces of carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide on Cheron's surface, sparking new interest in Pluto's largest moon

History in making: SpaceX mission crew complete first commercial spacewalk

The crew of four on board SpaceX's Polaris Dawn mission soared to a record 1,400 km above Earth - the farthest humans have travelled since the Apollo programme over 50 years ago

Nasa erringly broadcasts simulation of stressed astronauts on space station

A female voice asks crew members to 'get commander back in his suit', check his pulse and provide him with oxygen, later saying his prognosis was 'tenuous'

Nasa shares spectacular image of spiral galaxy named after Egyptian queen

Nasa shared a stunning image of a spiral galaxy, which is named after the Egyptian queen Berenice II. Here's all you need to know about it

Life outside earth possible? Nearest potentially habitable exoplanet found

A super Earth exoplanet named 'Gliese 12 b', between the sizes of Earth and Venus, is only 40 light-years away. This makes it the nearest, temperate Earth-size world discovered to date

Boeing stops its first astronaut launch because of Atlas rocket glitch

Boeing called off its first astronaut launch because of a valve problem on the rocket Monday night. The two NASA test pilots had just strapped into Boeing's Starliner capsule when the countdown was halted, just two hours before the planned liftoff. A United Launch Alliance engineer, Dillon Rice, said the issue involved an oxygen relief valve on the upper stage of the company's Atlas rocket. There was no immediate word on when the team would try again to launch the test pilots to the International Space Station for a week-long stay. It was the latest delay for Boeing's first crew flight, on hold for years because of capsule trouble. In a situation like this, if we see any data signature is not something that we have seen before, then we are just simply not willing to take any chances with what is our most precious payload, Rice said. Starliner's first test flight without a crew in 2019 failed to reach the space station and Boeing had to repeat the flight. Then the company encountere

Nasa satellite blasts off to survey oceans, atmosphere of a warming Earth

NASA's newest climate satellite rocketed into orbit Thursday to survey the world's oceans and atmosphere in never-before-seen detail. SpaceX launched the Pace satellite on its USD 948 million mission before dawn, with the Falcon rocket heading south over the Atlantic to achieve a rare polar orbit. The satellite will spend at least three years studying the oceans from 420 miles (676 kilometres) up, as well as the atmosphere. It will scan the globe daily with two of the three science instruments. A third instrument will take monthly measurements. It's going to be an unprecedented view of our home planet," said project scientist Jeremy Werdell. The observations will help scientists improve hurricane and other severe weather forecasts, detail Earth's changes as temperatures rise and better predict when harmful algae blooms will happen. NASA already has more than two dozen Earth-observing satellites and instruments in orbit. But Pace should give better insights into how atmospheric ...

Chandrayaan-3 Mission will help our understanding of Moon: Ex-Nasa official

Gold stressed on India having amazing amounts of human capital, of manufacturing capacity that when applied to commercial space could be transformative

Nasa's telescope detects complex molecules in galaxy 12 bn light-years away

The unexpected discovery is assisting astronomers in piecing together answers to some of the universe's lingering questions

Nasa tracks two large asteroids approaching Earth at more than 30,000 kmph

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Centre for Near-Earth Objects (NEO) maintains a list of objects that may come close to Earth to understand the potential risk they pose

NASA's Webb telescope spots its first Earth-like exoplanet: Researchers

Researchers have confirmed an exoplanet, a planet that orbits another star, using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope for the first time

How James Webb revealed a bright, complex and element-filled early universe

How the James Webb Space Telescope has revealed a surprisingly bright, complex and element-filled early universe

James Webb telescope reveals exoplanet atmosphere as never seen before

New observations of WASP-39 b reveal a never-before-seen molecule in the atmosphere of a planet sulfur dioxide among other details.The telescope's array of highly sensitive instruments was trained on the atmosphere of a "hot Saturn" -- a planet about as massive as Saturn orbiting a star some 700 light-years away -- known as WASP-39 b. While JWST and other space telescopes, including Hubble and Spitzer, previously have revealed isolated ingredients of this broiling planet's atmosphere, the new readings provide a full menu of atoms, molecules, and even signs of active chemistry and clouds."The clarity of the signals from a number of different molecules in the data is remarkable," says Mercedes Lopez-Morales, an astronomer at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian and one of the scientists who contributed to the new results."We had predicted that we were going to see many of those signals, but still, when I first saw the data, I was in awe," Lopez-Morales adds.The ...

James Webb Telescope spots Cosmic hourglass; unveils beginning of new star

This view of L1527 provides a window into what our Sun and solar system looked like in their infancy

NASA's James Webb, Hubble capture DART impact after asteroid strike

For the first time, Webb and Hubble have simultaneously captured imagery from the same target in the cosmos