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Astronomers have observed Jupiter’s legendary Great Red Spot (GRS), an anticyclone large enough to swallow Earth, for at least 150 years. But there are always new surprises — especially when NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope takes a close-up look at it.

Hubble’s new observations of the famous red storm, collected 90 days between December 2023 to March 2024, reveal that the GRS is not as stable as it might look. The recent data show the GRS jiggling like a bowl of gelatin. The combined Hubble images allowed astronomers to assemble a time-lapse movie of the squiggly behavior of the GRS.

“While we knew its motion varies slightly in its longitude, we didn’t expect to see the size oscillate. As far as we know, it’s not been identified before,” said Amy Simon of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, lead author of the science paper published in The Planetary Science Journal. “This is really the first time we’ve had the proper imaging cadence of the GRS. With Hubble’s high resolution we can say that the GRS is definitively squeezing in and out at the same time as it moves faster and slower. That was very unexpected, and at present there are no hydrodynamic explanations.”

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Continue reading “A Bold Mission to Catch Up With Oumuamua — Project Lyra” »

Voyager 1 reconnected with Earth using a backup transmitter inactive for over 40 years.

NASA’s Voyager 1 probe, the most distant human-made object, briefly lost contact with Earth between Oct. 19 and Oct. 24 due to an unexpected shutdown of its main radio transmitter. This signal loss occurred after a command sent to power one of Voyager’s heaters unintentionally triggered the probe’s fault protection system. As a safeguard, the fault protection system automatically powers down non-essential functions when the spacecraft detects an overdraw of its power supply or other malfunctions. Engineers have since reestablished contact through Voyager 1’s backup S-band transmitter, which hadn’t been used since 1981.

While scientists know there’s water on the Moon, its exact locations and forms remain largely unknown. A trailblazing NASA mission will get some answers.

NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer mission, designed to map and study water on the Moon, will employ innovative instruments to explore surface water dynamics and support future lunar colonies by providing vital data on potential water sources that could be converted into oxygen or fuel.

Unveiling lunar mysteries: nasa’s trailblazer mission.

The long-duration photographs capture Earth in motion.

Bioengineers propose “electro-agriculture,” a method that replaces photosynthesis with a solar-powered reaction converting CO₂ into acetate, potentially reducing U.S. agricultural land needs by 94% and supporting controlled indoor farming.

Initial experiments focus on genetically modified acetate-consuming plants like tomatoes and lettuce, with potential future applications in space agriculture.

Revolutionary Electro-Agriculture

Astronomers have discovered one of the fastest-spinning neutron stars ever recorded, known as 4U 1820–30, which rotates an astonishing 716 times per second. Located 26,000 light-years away in the Sagittarius constellation, this neutron star is part of an X-ray binary system where its intense gravity pulls material from a companion white dwarf, triggering explosive thermonuclear bursts.

You may need binoculars or a telescope for this one. It includes the three furthest planets in our solar system.

Voyager 1 switched to a very old backup radio transmitter, not used since 1981, restoring NASA’s contact amid communication issues.