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Venus will meet up with Mars in the very early morning sky on Saturday (March 12) — here’s how you can catch the planetary duo. The two planets will appear close to each other in the south-eastern sky as they reach conjunction, meaning they will share the same right ascension or celestial longitude. The pair … Read more
In the weeks since Vladimir Putin sent Russian troops storming into neighboring Ukraine, blowback from that invasion has erupted around the world—and off-world, too. As the crisis deepens, it is increasingly disrupting international cooperation on present and planned projects for space science and exploration, potentially jeopardizing their future. Much like nesting matryoshka dolls of diminishing … Read more
As planetary scientists resumed meeting in person, Venus experts had something special to celebrate. For decades, the Venus community has been crying out for missions: Only one dedicated spacecraft is currently studying our next-door neighbor, and NASA’s last robotic Venus visitor ended its mission in 1994. Within just a couple weeks in 2021, however, Venus … Read more
Several futuristic projects have just been awarded money through NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts programme – here are New Scientist‘s top five choices Space 3 March 2022 By Will Gater NASA has just announced the projects that will be getting money from its NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) programme, which aims to support ideas for game-changing … Read more
An ancient sculpture carved by Paleolithic humans some 30,000 years ago is evidence that our ancestors were a restless bunch who roamed far and wide, new research has revealed. Scientists have peered closely at the famous Venus of Willendorf and determined that the stone from which it is carved likely originated from Northern Italy, … Read more
When a Venus flytrap snaps its fleshy lobes around an unsuspecting insect, it’s game over for the prey. The plant’s unusual habit of snacking on animals has captured the imagination of people ranging from Charles Darwin to playwright Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken (the latter two created the 1982 musical Little Shop of Horrors, … Read more
The surface of Venus, as imaged by NASA’s Magellan spacecraft. (Image credit: NASA/JPL) Scientists have shown how the swirling winds and searing heat on Venus work together in a revealing new study. The surface of Venus is hot enough to melt lead with temperatures averaging 872 degrees Fahrenheit (467 degrees Celsius). This extreme heat is … Read more
Bright Venus, red Mars and the crescent moon are all lining up for a sky show early in the morning Sunday (Feb. 27). If you’re up and available after 4 a.m. local time, be sure to head outside and look to the southeast. By the time the sun rises in New York City at 6:14 … Read more
In between its main mission, the Parker Solar Probe just made a novel contribution to Venusian science. New images from the sun-focused mission, captured during a close flyby of Venus, show the planet in visible light for the first time. With time and analysis, the new images will provide valuable information about the planet’s geology … Read more
New images recorded by NASA’s Parker Solar Probe have revealed the red-hot glow of Venus‘s surface radiating through its shroud of toxic clouds – a finding that could help us better understand the minerals making up this rocky and mysterious planet. Using data from the Wide-field Imager for Parker Solar Probe (WISPR) instrument, scientists … Read more