On the 3rd of June, the space community bade farewell to Georg von Tiesenhausen, mathematician, rocket scientist and the last surviving member of Wernher von Braun’s V2 research team. Von Tiesenhausen’s work was crucial to the space race, the Latvia-born scientist having been credited with the design of the Lunar Rover among others. Georg von Tiesenhausen Called a Rare and … [Read more...]
It Seems that Giant Sloths Once Roamed Earth, and Humans Used to Hunt Them? (Study)
Scientists discovered a series of fossilized footprints in New Mexico that suggest early human hunters tracked and killed giant ground sloths. This is offering a tantalizing look at our ancient Ice Age ancestors and the environment they occupied. These tracks were found in the White Sands National Monument Park, the largest field of white gypsum sand dunes in the … [Read more...]
A Star Escaped a Supernova Explosion, and NASA Snapped its Picture
NASA recently announced that it detected a star that escaped from a supernova explosion. Called SN 2001ig, this took place in a galaxy of the constellation Grus. Located about 40 million light-years from Earth, the star escaped from the explosion of its binary companion. Most large stars are binary, according to Stuart Ryder of the Australian Astronomical … [Read more...]
Hubble Spots Giant Butterfly Formed by a Black Hole and Stellar Winds (Study)
When most people think of galaxies, the first image that likely comes to mind is the disk and spiral shape of the Milky Way galaxy. However, the galaxy NGC 6240, captured by the Hubble space telescope, presents an entirely different portrait. Possibly formed by the merger of two galaxies, NGC 6240 contains two black holes instead of the standard one black hole … [Read more...]
Space Technology Could Help Protect Earth’s Endangered Species
A team of scientists has been working on a fascinating new approach, one that combines the fields of astronomy with ecology and conservation. While still in the trial phase, the implementation of using an innovative space technology is showing promising results in the field studies conducted by ecologists to monitor endangered wildlife. Ecologists are looking to … [Read more...]