Sun Orbiter
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'City-Killer' Asteroid May Hit Moon, Hurl Deadly Debris Toward Earth
Asteroid 2024 YR4 might collide with the Moon in 2031, with a 4.3% chance of impact, according to NASA's updated calculations.
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Solar Orbiter Captures First-Ever Close-Up of Sun’s South Pole, Revealing Magnetic Field Chaos
In a historic first, ESA’s Solar Orbiter has imaged the Sun’s elusive south pole, exposing a tangle of magnetic fields and solar winds. The mission marks a major leap in understanding space weather and the 11-year solar cycle that influences Earth’s environment.
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Video: Solar Orbiter Spacecraft Reveals Sun's South Pole For The First Time
The robotic Solar Orbiter spacecraft has obtained the first images ever taken of our sun's two poles as scientists seek a deeper understanding of Earth's host star, including its magnetic field, its 11-year cycle of activity and the solar wind.
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Solar Storms Are Causing Elon Musk's Starlink Satellites To Fall From The Sky
The study revealed that geomagnetic storms caused by the Sun's eruptions increased atmospheric drag, causing satellites to re-enter faster than expected.
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New Dwarf Planet Discovery Challenges Planet Nine Hypothesis
The discovery of a potential dwarf planet, 2017 OF201, in the farthest reaches of the solar system is reshaping our understanding of space. With a highly elongated orbit and large size, it contradicts the Planet Nine hypothesis, which predicted orbital clustering among distant objects. This finding not only questions the existence of a ninth planet...
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ISRO's 101st Big Rocket Launch Takes Flight, Loses Satellite Minutes Later
The 101st launch was done with PSLV-C61, carrying an Earth Observation Satellite, named as EOS-09 which will be put in a Sun Synchronous Polar Orbit (SSPO).
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NASA’s IMAP Spacecraft Prepares to Map the Solar System’s Edge
NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) has been delivered to the Astrotech facility near Kennedy Space Center for final preparations ahead of a tentatively planned launch in fall 2025. IMAP will map the heliosphere — the solar wind-driven bubble that shields our solar system from cosmic radiation. It is to orbit near Lagrange...
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China Uses Gravitational Slingshots to Rescue Two Satellites Stuck in Orbit for 123 Days
After a rocket malfunction left two satellites spiralling in the wrong orbit, Chinese engineers turned to gravitational slingshot manoeuvres for a 123-day rescue mission—successfully restoring them and advancing China's ambitions in space autonomy.
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NASA Hubble Space Telescope Helps Confirm the First Solitary Black Hole
In the Sagittarius constellation, a lone and first-ever solitary black hole has been discovered by a team of scientists. Although the discovery began in the year 2011, the observations have confirmed it recently. The size of this black hole is as massive as seven times of the sun. Despite the conflicts and differences of observations by another tea...
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Study Identifies Plasma Formation as a Pseudostreamer
ESA’s Solar Orbiter recorded a giant plasma structure extending millions of kilometres from the Sun’s surface. The footage, taken on October 12, 2022, shows a swirling motion in the solar wind, a phenomenon never observed before. Scientists identified the formation as a pseudostreamer caused by a solar flare near the Sun’s north pole. The pla...
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SpaceX Falcon 9 Successfully Deploys NASA’s SPHEREx Telescope and PUNCH Probes
NASA’s SPHEREx and PUNCH missions have successfully launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. SPHEREx will map the entire celestial sky in 102 infrared colours, while PUNCH will study the transition of the sun’s corona into the solar wind. The two-year missions aim to deepen our understanding of th...
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Vernal Equinox 2025: Date, Time, and the Science Behind the Event
The vernal equinox 2025 is set for March 20 at 09:01 UTC, marking the astronomical start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. This event occurs due to Earth’s axial tilt aligning with its orbit, resulting in nearly equal hours of daylight and night across the globe. While the equinox does not bring perfectly...
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Tiny Plasma Jets on Sun Identified as Key Drivers of Solar Wind
Observations from ESA’s Solar Orbiter have revealed that tiny plasma jets, known as picoflares, are responsible for both the fast and slow components of the solar wind. The discovery challenges previous assumptions that different mechanisms drive these solar wind types. With further research, scientists hope to refine space weather predictions, p...
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Mysterious Interstellar Object Might Have Shifted Four Planets’ Paths, Study Finds
A mysterious interstellar object, estimated to be eight times the mass of Jupiter, may have significantly altered the orbits of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune billions of years ago. A study suggests that this body passed remarkably close to the Sun, potentially influencing planetary trajectories. Simulations conducted by researchers indicate ...
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Alien Cosmic Visitor Might Have Completely Rearranged Our Solar System, Study Finds
The research, yet to be peer-reviewed, sheds light on what could have changed the orbits of several planets in the solar system.
-
'City-Killer' Asteroid May Hit Moon, Hurl Deadly Debris Toward Earth
Asteroid 2024 YR4 might collide with the Moon in 2031, with a 4.3% chance of impact, according to NASA's updated calculations.
-
Solar Orbiter Captures First-Ever Close-Up of Sun’s South Pole, Revealing Magnetic Field Chaos
In a historic first, ESA’s Solar Orbiter has imaged the Sun’s elusive south pole, exposing a tangle of magnetic fields and solar winds. The mission marks a major leap in understanding space weather and the 11-year solar cycle that influences Earth’s environment.
-
Video: Solar Orbiter Spacecraft Reveals Sun's South Pole For The First Time
The robotic Solar Orbiter spacecraft has obtained the first images ever taken of our sun's two poles as scientists seek a deeper understanding of Earth's host star, including its magnetic field, its 11-year cycle of activity and the solar wind.
-
Solar Storms Are Causing Elon Musk's Starlink Satellites To Fall From The Sky
The study revealed that geomagnetic storms caused by the Sun's eruptions increased atmospheric drag, causing satellites to re-enter faster than expected.
-
New Dwarf Planet Discovery Challenges Planet Nine Hypothesis
The discovery of a potential dwarf planet, 2017 OF201, in the farthest reaches of the solar system is reshaping our understanding of space. With a highly elongated orbit and large size, it contradicts the Planet Nine hypothesis, which predicted orbital clustering among distant objects. This finding not only questions the existence of a ninth planet...
-
ISRO's 101st Big Rocket Launch Takes Flight, Loses Satellite Minutes Later
The 101st launch was done with PSLV-C61, carrying an Earth Observation Satellite, named as EOS-09 which will be put in a Sun Synchronous Polar Orbit (SSPO).
-
NASA’s IMAP Spacecraft Prepares to Map the Solar System’s Edge
NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) has been delivered to the Astrotech facility near Kennedy Space Center for final preparations ahead of a tentatively planned launch in fall 2025. IMAP will map the heliosphere — the solar wind-driven bubble that shields our solar system from cosmic radiation. It is to orbit near Lagrange...
-
China Uses Gravitational Slingshots to Rescue Two Satellites Stuck in Orbit for 123 Days
After a rocket malfunction left two satellites spiralling in the wrong orbit, Chinese engineers turned to gravitational slingshot manoeuvres for a 123-day rescue mission—successfully restoring them and advancing China's ambitions in space autonomy.
-
NASA Hubble Space Telescope Helps Confirm the First Solitary Black Hole
In the Sagittarius constellation, a lone and first-ever solitary black hole has been discovered by a team of scientists. Although the discovery began in the year 2011, the observations have confirmed it recently. The size of this black hole is as massive as seven times of the sun. Despite the conflicts and differences of observations by another tea...
-
Study Identifies Plasma Formation as a Pseudostreamer
ESA’s Solar Orbiter recorded a giant plasma structure extending millions of kilometres from the Sun’s surface. The footage, taken on October 12, 2022, shows a swirling motion in the solar wind, a phenomenon never observed before. Scientists identified the formation as a pseudostreamer caused by a solar flare near the Sun’s north pole. The pla...
-
SpaceX Falcon 9 Successfully Deploys NASA’s SPHEREx Telescope and PUNCH Probes
NASA’s SPHEREx and PUNCH missions have successfully launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. SPHEREx will map the entire celestial sky in 102 infrared colours, while PUNCH will study the transition of the sun’s corona into the solar wind. The two-year missions aim to deepen our understanding of th...
-
Vernal Equinox 2025: Date, Time, and the Science Behind the Event
The vernal equinox 2025 is set for March 20 at 09:01 UTC, marking the astronomical start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. This event occurs due to Earth’s axial tilt aligning with its orbit, resulting in nearly equal hours of daylight and night across the globe. While the equinox does not bring perfectly...
-
Tiny Plasma Jets on Sun Identified as Key Drivers of Solar Wind
Observations from ESA’s Solar Orbiter have revealed that tiny plasma jets, known as picoflares, are responsible for both the fast and slow components of the solar wind. The discovery challenges previous assumptions that different mechanisms drive these solar wind types. With further research, scientists hope to refine space weather predictions, p...
-
Mysterious Interstellar Object Might Have Shifted Four Planets’ Paths, Study Finds
A mysterious interstellar object, estimated to be eight times the mass of Jupiter, may have significantly altered the orbits of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune billions of years ago. A study suggests that this body passed remarkably close to the Sun, potentially influencing planetary trajectories. Simulations conducted by researchers indicate ...
-
Alien Cosmic Visitor Might Have Completely Rearranged Our Solar System, Study Finds
The research, yet to be peer-reviewed, sheds light on what could have changed the orbits of several planets in the solar system.
