ESA

Just months ago, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory discovered record 20 million mph winds nearby a supermassive black hole. Now astronomers working on ESA's Herschel Space Observatory are suggesting that such incredibly strong winds - whose speed depends on the size of the black hole - are preventing the gas and dust in galaxies from forming new stars, explaining the link between the size of a black hole and the rate at which new stars are formed.  Read More

From Earth's perspective, on June 5 and 6, Venus will pass across the face of the Sun. By observing the tiny fraction of sunlight that passes through Venus's atmosphere using the Hubble Space Telescope, it is hoped that the planet's atmospheric makeup can be determined. Though we already know the nature of Venus's atmosphere, it is hoped the event will help astronomers hone techniques, already in use, that may one day help to identify Earth-like planets in far-away solar systems. The catch? Hubble cannot observe the Sun directly. Instead it will look at the Moon to observe reflected light.  Read More

The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced that Jupiter’s icy moons will be the focus of its next Large science mission. Getting the nod over the New Gravitational Wave Observatory (NGO), that would have hunted for gravitational waves, and ATHENA, the Advanced Telescope for High-Energy Astrophysics, the Jupiter Icy moons Explorer (JUICE) is scheduled to arrive at Jupiter in 2030 with the goal of studying its Galilean moons as potential habitats for life.  Read More

Planets orbiting two stars, giant super-Earths and worlds racked with boiling rock storms - these are just some of the galactic oddities among the more than 700 exoplanets discovered in the past 20 years. Now there's another new class of extrasolar planet to add to the list - the waterworld.  Read More

The rotation of the planet Venus is slowing down, according to recent data gathered by the European Space Agency's Venus Express satellite. Peering through the planet's dense atmosphere with infrared imaging, the orbiter saw surface features up to 20 km (12.4 miles) from their expected location. The discrepancy could be explained if the Venusian day has lengthened by six and a half minutes since the planet's speed of rotation was established 16 years ago.  Read More

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) new Vettore Europeo di Generazione Avanzata - or Vega - launch vehicle lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, at 10 a.m. GMT on February 13 on its maiden flight. Designed for launching small payloads, Vega is intended to complement Europe’s existing family of launchers that includes the Ariane 5 heavy-lifter and Soyuz medium-class launchers. The maiden flight saw the first Vega successfully carry nine satellites into orbit.  Read More

Before we are able to download knowledge straight to our brains - Matrix style - gaining medical expertise will remain a slow and painful process. That's fine by most people, who can just go and visit a trained doctor. But what if you are a member of a small team of specialists operating at a remote, isolated location with no immediate access to medical resources? Then you either need to be a doctor, or you need the Computer Assisted Medical Diagnosis and Surgery System. Devised by the European Space Agency (ESA), the augmented reality-based CAMDASS aims to provide astronauts with instant medical know-how.  Read More

The European Space Agency (ESA) has provided more evidence that suggests the surface of Mars was once home to an ocean. Featuring ground-penetrating radar capabilities, the MARSIS (Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding) radar aboard the ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft has detected sediments like that seen on an ocean floor.  Read More

The European Space Agency (ESA) this week announced the first two missions selected for its Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 Plan. The first, known as Solar Orbiter, will see a spacecraft operating closer to the Sun than any previous mission with a particular focus on examining the solar wind. The second, Euclid, is essentially a space telescope whose primary goal is to study the accelerating expansion of the universe in an attempt to provide an understanding of the exact nature of dark matter.  Read More