Daily News update on – Science


July 29, 2024
NEWS
Space.com

Dark matter could play ‘matchmaker’ for supermassive black holes
Dark matter, the most mysterious “stuff” in the universe, may be a sort of cosmic matchmaker, allowing supermassive black holes to overcome a final hurdle before colliding and merging into one.
Space.com

Boeing’s Starliner tests thrusters at ISS as NASA reviews options for astronauts’ return to Earth
Crew Flight Test and its NASA astronauts have spent more than 50 days in space ISS after helium leaks and thruster issues. Comments (2). When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
CNN

Two meteor showers are set to peak this week. Here’s how to see them
The Southern Delta Aquariids and Alpha Capricornids will peak around the same time. Here, a Southern Delta Aquariids meteor is seen streaking across the night sky. Alvis Upitis/Photographer’s Choice RF/Getty …
Space.com

Watch Atlas V rocket launch on its final national security mission early July 30
Liftoff of the USSF-51 mission is scheduled for 6:45 a.m. ET on Tuesday (July 30).
Space.com

Watch a colossal X-class solar flare erupt from Earth-facing sunspot (video)
The sun has certainly had a busy weekend. Not only has our star fired off multiple M-class solar flares, and coronal mass ejections (eruptions of magnetic field and solar plasma), but now it’s topped it all off with a colossal X-class solar flare.
Space.com

SpaceX fires up Starship spacecraft ahead of 5th test flight (photos, video)
SpaceX ignited the engines on its newest Starship spacecraft recently to gear up for a coming test flight, which could be just a few weeks away. The company performed a “static fire” with the 165-foot-tall (50 meters) Starship upper stage on Friday …
Phys.Org

When copper becomes transparent: European XFEL creates exotic matter
Experiments at European XFEL generate states of matter that are close to what occurs in the interior of planets or in the imploding capsule of an inertial fusion reactor. At the same time, they open up a way to measure ultra-short phenomena.
The New York Times

Three Meteor Showers Are Active: How and When to Watch Fireball Season
If you like to stay up late and stare at the night sky, get ready for a back-to-back feature: Two meteor showers are reaching their peak this week. They are the Southern Delta Aquarids and the Alpha Capricornids. And if those weren’t enough, …
Los Angeles Times

Ever see a star explode? You’re about to get a chance very soon
Bob Stephens, of Rancho Cucamonga, is among the many amateur astronomers who are eagerly awaiting the appearance of the Blaze Star, a nova that occurs every 80 years in the Coronae Borelias constellation. The explosion will be visible to the naked eye on …
BBC News

Complex life on Earth may be much older than thought
The team, working in Gabon, say they discovered evidence deep within rocks showing environmental conditions for animal life 2.1 billion years ago. But they say the organisms were restricted to an inland sea, did not …