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Sadly, Astronomers Just Lost Three Exoplanets. Here’s Why

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What we thought were three confirmed exoplanets have just been knocked off their perch – and a fourth one is under serious doubt. According to a new analysis using revised characteristics, the objects Kepler-854b, Kepler-840b, and Kepler-699b seem to be too big to be exoplanets after all. That means they must be stars. The fourth … Read more

NASA to release new James Webb Space Telescope images in update today. Here’s when to look.

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NASA will release new images from the James Webb Space Telescope and discuss the observatory’s painstaking mirror alignment progress today (March 16) and you can follow it live online.  The space agency will hold a virtual press conference at 12 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT) that will air live on NASA TV, the NASA app and … Read more

Spot the Hyades star cluster near Taurus constellation tonight. Here’s where to look.

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Look up tonight (March 15) to see the Hyades star cluster light up the Taurus constellation in the night sky. The Hyades star cluster is the closest star cluster to Earth, located only 150 light-years away. Viewers can spot the star cluster by looking for the tall, Y-shaped constellation Taurus, the bull, which is situated … Read more

We Only Spotted This Asteroid Hours Before It Fell to Earth. Here’s Why That’s Good

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On 11 March 2022, at around 9:20 pm UTC, a small asteroid entered Earth’s atmosphere. This is not unusual. Space rocks enter Earth’s atmosphere all the time. What makes this asteroid so amazing is that an astronomer spotted it before it made its rendezvous with atmospheric entry. It’s named 2022 EB5, and it’s only the … Read more

You can watch Astra launch a commercial rocket from Alaska today. Here’s how.

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The private spaceflight startup Astra will launch a commercial mission for Spaceflight, Inc. today and you can watch it live online.  An Astra Rocket 3.3 booster is scheduled to lift off at (1622 GMT, 9:22 a.m. PDT) from Astra’s pad on Kodiak Island, Alaska. You can watch the launch countdown live here, courtesy of NASA … Read more

Here’s What Doomscrolling Is Doing to Your Brain – And How to Fix It

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Many people have experienced chronic stress since the pandemic lockdowns. Added to this are the climate crisis, the increasing cost of living and most recently threats to European and global security due to the conflict in Ukraine.   To some, it may seem that there is never any good news anymore. This is of course … Read more

Here’s How The Human Brain Reboots Itself After The Deep Sleep of Anesthesia

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You may well have spent hours wondering what your laptop is up to as it takes its time to boot up. Scientists have asked the same question of the human brain: How exactly does it restart after being anesthetized, in a coma, or in a deep sleep?   Using a group of 30 healthy adults … Read more

Here’s What You Need to Know About Power Cuts at Two Ukrainian Nuclear Plants

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The catastrophic disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986 was caused by an explosion at the Reactor 4 Unit. This expelled a sizeable quantity of radioactive material into the surroundings, alongside a partial meltdown of the reactor core. The last few decades have seen substantial international efforts to safely contain and decontaminate the … Read more

Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Reported to Have Lost Electricity. Here’s What That Means

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Chernobyl’s nuclear power plant and all the facilities in the Chernobyl exclusion zone have been completely disconnected and are now without electricity, Ukraine’s state energy company has announced.    Russian forces attacked the defunct nuclear facility on the very first day of the invasion (Feb. 24), seizing it after heavy fighting and taking its roughly 210 staff hostage, Live Science … Read more

How do viruses affect astronauts in space? Here’s what we know so far.

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About 15 hours into the Apollo 7 mission, Cmdr. Walter Schirra Jr. came down with a head cold, and before long, all three mission astronauts were sick.  Mucus collected in their heads without any gravity to weigh it down, which made the astronauts extremely uncomfortable. They even refused to wear their helmets during landing. The … Read more