November 23, 2024

Asteroid Explodes Over Canada, Artemis I Updates, Very Large Telescope Improvements

Updates on Artemis I. NASA predicted an asteroid striking Canada. James Webbs view of Titan. New adaptive optics for the Very Large Telescope.

Artemis I Updates

NASAs Artemis I objective continues. On Nov. 21st, the Orion Capsule made its very first close flyby of the Moon, coming within 130 km of the lunar surface area.
More about Orions Moon mission.

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What Happened to Cubesats Aboard SLS

Quickly after launch, NASA verified that all 10 cubesats were released successfully. Some prominent missions that have not called home include NASAs NEA Scout, which would send a solar sail to check out an asteroid, and Japans OMOTENASHI, the smallest lunar lander ever constructed.
More about cubesats fate.
Asteroid Hits Canada. NASA Predicted It

Updates on Artemis I. NASA predicted an asteroid striking Canada. NASAs Artemis I objective continues. Some high-profile missions that have not called home include NASAs NEA Scout, which would send out a solar sail to check out an asteroid, and Japans OMOTENASHI, the tiniest lunar lander ever constructed.
The cool thing about this occasion was that NASA was able to anticipate it despite a pretty late detection. I thought we wouldnt see Titan once again up until NASAs Dragonfly mission shows up in 2034.

This week an asteroid blew up over Canada. However do not stress, it was a really little one and it didnt do any damage. The cool aspect of this event was that NASA was able to predict it despite a pretty late detection. The automatic system set off all the notifies and was able to pinpoint the area of the strike. So, its a good demonstration of automated detection. It will work for bigger ones even much better and provide us time to react if it works for small asteroids. So, one existential hazard less, I think.
James Webb Sees Titan

In July, we saw the very first JWST exoplanet data, revealing the existence of co2 in the environment of exoplanet WASP-39b. This week we found out that much more gasses were spotted in the clouds of the hot-jupiter. JWST also determined water vapor, carbon potassium, sodium, and monoxide signals. One of the most amazing discoveries was the existence of sulfur dioxide, formed through a chemical procedure that depends upon ultraviolet light from the star. Its mindblowing to believe that weve gone from finding the very first exoplanet around a sunlike star in 1995 to being able to evaluate an exoplanet atmosphere with this level of detail.
More about WASP-39b.
Big Update for The Very Large Telescope

The European Southern Observatorys Very Large Telescope is one of the worlds most effective ground-based observatories. And a brand-new instrument installed on the telescope has actually made it even better.
More about VLTs improvements.
Interactive Map of the Universe

Theres a cool interactive map of the Universe. It reveals which galaxies are noticeable in the sky and how far in time they appear. It offers a great perspective of galaxy circulation and how we can see different objects in different pieces of time.
Check out the interactive map of deep space.
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I believed we wouldnt see Titan again until NASAs Dragonfly mission arrives in 2034. Were not precisely sure what its revealing us, however the various colors most likely map to different gasses in Titans environment.
More about JWSTs view of Titan.
More Details about WASP-39b