Just last year, astronomers definitively announced that the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way will collide – albeit not for another 4 billion years. It sounds dramatic, but the collision will be more like an encounter between the two giants. Andromeda contains close to a trillion stars, more than twice as many as the Milky …
The definition of a variable star is simply a stellar body whose apparent magnitude (ie its brightness seen from Earth) changes – usually in a regular cycle. Broadly speaking, these can be divided into two categories: stars with intrinsic variation whose brightness actually varies because of its own physical makeup, and extrinsic variable stars whose …
Spacewalks are one of the most dangerous pursuits performed by astronauts, with each one requiring technical skill, advanced technology and nerves of steel. Spacewalks – which are technically referred to as extravehicular activities (EVAs) – are characterised as any activity performed by an astronaut outside the protected environment of a spacecraft’s cabin.
The last of the Ariane 4 expendable launchers completed its final mission on 15 February 2003. This particular type of launch vehicle design lasted for 15 years and successfully completed 113 launches for a range of government and commercial ventures, capturing 50 per cent of the commercial satellite market at one point during its service …
The Carina Nebula is, astronomically speaking, close to the Earth at only 7,500 light years away. It was formed 3 million years ago and, far from being an inert cloud, it contains over 14,000 stars with this figure in constant flux.
Solid rocket boosters (SRBs) are very expensive pieces of kit. In fact, they cost NASA around USD 25 (GBP 15.7) million to manufacture from scratch, so a cost-efficient recovery and refurbishment system was implemented in the Eighties that’s still used today.
In the future, we’ll walk in spaceships like on Earth, using artificial gravity. We’ll view the vastness of space through shielded windows, point the bow to our next star system and brace ourselves for light speed.
The moon rotates on its axis proportionally with the rotation of the Earth, so we only ever see one side of it and the far side is in perpetual darkness. THE REALITY In fact, that’s mostly true.
Space is a terrible, empty nothingness that’s out to explode our fragile bodies. It’s common knowledge that, when exposed to the vacuum of space, our blood will boil and our precious, pressurised internals will seek an exit from the nearest orifice.
One of history’s most well-known and respected astrophysicists, Carl Sagan worked closely with NASA for over 40 years and helped introduce space to the masses. Carl Sagan is remembered today not just for his outstanding achievements in the fields of astronomy and astrophysics, but also for his skill and enthusiasm for promoting science and interest …
