AvatarAssociated PressAvatarAvatarOdd spiral appears amid northern lights in Alaska night skyAssociated Press - By MARK THIESSENANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Northern lights enthusiasts got a surprise mixed in with the green bands of light dancing in the Alaska skies: A light baby blue spiral resembling a galaxy appeared amid the aurora for a few minutes. The cause early Saturday morning was a little more mundane than an alien …
AvatarAssociated PressAvatarAvatarFlash in dark sky was probably random meteor, expert saysAssociated PressPITTSBURGH (AP) — A flash that lit up the skies over parts of Pennsylvania and Ohio in the wee hours of Wednesday was probably a random meteor, an expert said. Many social media users around the Pittsburgh area reported seeing a streaking fireball shortly after 4 a.m. It remained in the skies for a …
AvatarAssociated PressAvatarAvatarSalty lake, ponds may be gurgling beneath South Pole on MarsAssociated Press - By MARCIA DUNNCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A network of salty ponds may be gurgling beneath Mars’ South Pole alongside a large underground lake, raising the prospect of tiny, swimming Martian life. Italian scientists reported their findings Monday, two years after identifying what they believed to be a large …
AvatarAssociated PressAvatarAvatarSpace station air leak forces middle-of-night crew wakeupAssociated Press - By MARCIA DUNNCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A small air leak at the International Space Station finally has been traced to the Russian side, following a middle-of-the-night search by astronauts. NASA said Tuesday that the two Russians and one American on board were awakened late Monday to hurriedly seal hatches …
AvatarAssociated PressAvatarAvatarRussia slaps US for ignoring Gagarin on Spaceflight DayAssociated PressMOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s Foreign Ministry has accused the U.S. State Department of spreading disinformation by not mentioning Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin in a Facebook post about the International Day of Human Space Flight. The United Nations General Assembly in 2011 proclaimed the annual observance …
AvatarAssociated PressAvatarAvatarMercury-bound spacecraft buzzes Earth, beams back picturesAssociated Press - By MARCIA DUNNCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A Mercury-bound spacecraft swooped past Earth on Friday, tweaking its roundabout path to the solar system’s smallest and innermost planet. Launched 1 1/2 years ago, Europe and Japan’s BepiColombo spacecraft passed within 8,000 miles (12,700 kilometers) of Earth. The …
AvatarAssociated PressAvatarAvatarAfter months in space, astronauts returning to changed worldAssociated Press - By MARCIA DUNNCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Two NASA astronauts said Friday they expect it will be tough returning to such a drastically changed world next week, after more than half a year at the International Space Station. Andrew Morgan said the crew has tried to keep atop the pandemic news. But it’s hard to …
AvatarAssociated PressAvatarAvatarSpacewalking astronauts add parking spot to space stationAssociated Press - By MARCIA DUNNCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Spacewalking astronauts added another parking spot to the International Space Station on Wednesday. NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Andrew Morgan successfully installed a docking port delivered by SpaceX last month. It will be used by SpaceX and Boeing once they start …
AvatarAssociated PressAvatarAvatarSpace-tourism biz Virgin Galactic going public after mergerAssociated Press - By DANICA KIRKALONDON (AP) — Richard Branson’s space-tourism venture, Virgin Galactic, is planning to go public, creating the first listed human spaceflight firm. Virgin Galactic said Tuesday it is merging with Social Capital Hedosophia, whose CEO, Chamath Palihapitiya, will become chairman of the combined entity. …
AvatarAssociated PressAvatarAvatarNASA launches Orion crew capsule to test abort systemAssociated Press - By MARCIA DUNNCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA conducted a full-stress launch abort test Tuesday for the Orion capsules designed to carry astronauts to the moon. The capsule was empty for the morning demo, which officials said appeared to be successful. Barely a minute after liftoff from Cape Canaveral Air Force …
AvatarAssociated PressAvatarAvatarNASA plans to send a drone to Saturn's largest moonAssociated Press - By JEREMY REHMGet ready to see another world from the eyes of a dragonfly — at least, a robotic one. NASA said Thursday that it’s sending a drone called Dragonfly to explore Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. Using propellers, the drone will fly and land on several spots on the icy moon to study whether it can support …
AvatarAssociated PressAvatarAvatarCanadian, Russian, American back on Earth from space stationAssociated PressMOSCOW (AP) — Three astronauts safely returned to Earth on Tuesday after spending more than six months aboard the International Space Station. The Soyuz capsule with astronauts from Canada, Russia and the United States landed in the steppes of Kazakhstan at 8:47 a.m. (0247GMT), less than a minute …