Science

ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C52 blasted off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 5:59am on February 14. After the end of a 25-hour countdown, the launch vehicle carrying the Earth observation satellite EOS-04 and two co-passenger payloads — INSPIREsat-1 and INS-2TD — blasted off from the spaceport, marking the Indian space agency’s

Finding traces of life on other planets is one of the most intriguing and exciting aspects of astronomy. Scientists have long aspired to identify planets that may one day be habitable. With that distant goal in mind, a group of Indian researchers – two students and a professor — has found not one but 60

The James Webb Space Telescope has spotted its first star and captured a selfie, NASA announced Friday. The steps are part of the months-long process of aligning the observatory’s enormous golden mirror that astronomers hope will begin unraveling the mysteries of the early Universe by this summer. The first picture sent back of the cosmos is far

Bharti-backed OneWeb on Friday announced the successful deployment of 34 satellites by Arianespace from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana. The latest move by the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications company, brings its total in-orbit constellation to 428 satellites. In a statement, OneWeb confirmed the successful deployment of 34 satellites by Arianespace

Elon Musk said on Thursday he was “highly confident” his new SpaceX Starship, designed for voyages to the moon and Mars, will reach Earth orbit for the first time this year, despite a host of technical and regulatory hurdles yet to be overcome. The billionaire SpaceX founder and CEO addressed a throng of news media

A team of astronomers has discovered a new planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, the star closest to the Sun. The candidate planet, named Proxima d, is the third detected in the system and it is among the lightest of the exoplanets discovered so far. Proxima d is only a quarter of the mass of Earth and

NASA’s Parker Solar probe has captured the first-ever images of Venus, the second planet from the Sun and Earth’s closest planetary neighbour, in visible light. Venus is usually smothered in thick clouds and shrouded from sight. The probe captured the images in wavelengths of the visible spectrum — the type of light that the human

An aurora is a beautiful display of natural lights in the sky, usually seen near the North and South Poles at night. Scientists have long believed that aurorae are created when the solar winds interact with the Earth’s magnetic field — when streams of electrified particles emitted by the Sun are trapped in the magnetic

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) raised concerns about SpaceX’s plan to deploy about 30,000 satellites for its Starlink, as have some major companies. Elon Musk’s SpaceX previously received authorisation for about 12,000 satellites to offer broadband Internet and has requested authorisation for a second-generation constellation of 30,000 satellites. “NASA has concerns with the

President Joe Biden’s top science adviser Eric Lander resigned, hours after the White House confirmed that an internal investigation found credible evidence that he mistreated his staff, marking the first Cabinet-level departure of the Biden administration. An internal review last year, prompted by a workplace complaint, found evidence that Lander, the director of the Office

With nowhere really to go, journalists inside the Beijing Olympics bubble are encouraged to sleep on the job. They can’t visit the village rooms where competitors are staying, but they can try out the high-tech beds athletes are sleeping in. Several corridors at the main media center are lined with “sleep rest cabins,” small pods

In a strange discovery, scientists have found twin asteroids that may be Earth’s newest neighbours. The asteroids, separated by about 600,000 miles, seem to have separated from a parent asteroid only a few centuries ago. The asteroids were discovered as separate entities in August 2019. However, within a month, the similarity in their orbiting patterns

Reports suggest that a part of a Falcon 9 rocket safely broke down over Mexico after falling through the Earth’s atmosphere. The incident occurred five years after the SpaceX rocket had sent a satellite to space. In March 2017, this spacecraft had helped launch the EchoStar 23 mission. A video of the disintegrating rocket was

Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has installed a new supercomputer which is claimed to be one of the most powerful of its kind in the country. It is commissioned Param Pravega and has been installed under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM), it is claimed to be the largest supercomputer in an academic institution. IISc’s Param

Planets do not take much longer to form after stars have formed. For example, the Sun formed 4.6 billion years ago and the Earth about 4.5 billion years ago. However, scientists now say it is not necessarily the only possibility. They say planets can form even if a star is nearing its death, long after

A giant asteroid, estimated to be up to 1.3km in diameter, is heading towards us and will make a close pass by next month. The potentially hazardous asteroid, called 138971 (2001 CB21), will come as close as 4.5 million km. But scientists say there is no need to worry as the asteroid will be about

NASA has shared a set of three images from the universe on social media, highlighting the collaboration between its two observatories. The collaboration showed what kind of images could be produced when you look at the same object in two wavelengths of light. NASA said the images were created by combining the data from its

Since its launch three decades ago, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has captured millions of stunning images of the cosmos. On its first launch anniversary on April 24 in 1991, it observed something amazing. It’s called the Cygnus Loop supernova remnant and it is located 2,600 light-years away from Earth. Sharing the image on Twitter, NASA

NASA has again delayed the final prelaunch test of Artemis I, an uncrewed mission that will be the stepping stone for returning humans to the Moon after several decades. The wet dress rehearsal was previously scheduled for February and has now been postponed to mid-March. This could now delay the actual launch of Artemis I

International Space Station (ISS) is entering its final decade of operational life and NASA is planning to open it for commercial activities. The space agency has detailed the transition plan in a new report. It outlines the steps being taken by NASA to develop “both the supply and demand side” of the low-Earth-orbit commercial economy.