Hubble telescope captures spectacular 'Bullseye' galaxy with nine rings
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has captured spectacular images of the cosmic wonder LEDA 1313424, also known as the 'Bullseye' galaxy. Assisted by Hawaii's W. M. Keck Observatory, astronomers identified an impressive nine star-filled rings – six more than any other known galaxy – formed by a galactic collision 50 million years ago. The research was published on February 4.
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The Sun's Fury Is Making SpaceX Satellites Plummet From The Sky
The Sun is the angriest it's been in a while – and it's taking out that rage on the thousands of tiny satellites that make up SpaceX's Starlink fleet. A new analysis of Starlink satellites falling from the sky has revealed a distinct pattern: as the Sun escalated towards the peak of its activity cycle between 2020 and 2024, so too did the number of satellite falls as a direct result of that activity. A team of scientists, led by space physicist Denny Oliveira of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, studied 523 Starlink satellites that fell back down towards Earth during that time, and found a clear link with the Sun. "We clearly show that the intense solar activity of the current solar cycle has already had significant impacts on Starlink reentries," they write in their paper. "This is a very exciting time in satellite orbital drag research, since the number of satellites in low-Earth orbit and solar activity are the highest ever observed in human history." The solar cycle is an 11-year cycle of fluctuations in the Sun's activity that centers around a periodic magnetic reversal of the solar poles. It primarily manifests as sunspots, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections that steadily increase towards solar maximum (when the poles flip), and then wanes to a minimum before inching back up again. It's just the Sun's normal way to be, and we're currently at the peak of the 25th cycle since we started keeping track of them. It's actually been a pretty strong cycle; not the strongest on record, but still displaying much more solar activity than scientists predicted at its beginning. This means that its effects on Earth have been pretty strong. You may have noticed a lot of aurora activity; that's the effect of solar particles pummeling Earth's atmosphere, borne by coronal mass ejections and the solar wind. But the increase in solar activity has another, less noticeable effect: the increase in solar ejections buffeting the upper atmosphere heats it up significantly. We don't notice it here on the surface. But the increased energy puffs up the atmosphere – enough to increase the amount of drag on spacecraft in low-Earth orbit. This means they cannot hold course at their current trajectory, and need to make adjustments to remain in the sky. To be clear, all satellites in low-Earth orbit are vulnerable to the increase in drag associated with solar activity. To date, however, SpaceX has launched 8,873 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit, of which 7,669 remain operational. These sheer numbers provide an excellent laboratory for studying the effect of solar maximum on satellites in low-Earth orbit. "Here, we use … Starlink orbital data to perform a superposed epoch analysis of orbital altitudes and velocities in order to identify impacts caused by storms with different intensities," the researchers write. "The Starlink reentries coincide with the rising phase of solar cycle 25, a period with increasing solar activity." SpaceX first started launching Starlink satellites in 2019, and the first atmospheric reentries began in 2020. Initially these figures stayed relatively low. There were just two in 2020. In 2021, 78 satellites fell; 99 in 2022, and 88 in 2023. But then 2024 saw a whopping increase – a total of 316 Starlink satellites fell out of the sky. The researchers grouped these reentries according to the geomagnetic conditions at the time – that is, how powerfully solar activity was affecting Earth. Oddly, some 72 percent of all reentries occurred during weak geomagnetic conditions, not the powerful geomagnetic storms. This, the researchers found, was because of the cumulative effect of drag over the rising period of the solar cycle. Rather than being taken down in one fell swoop, the orbits of these satellites degraded subtly over time. Meanwhile, the satellites that did fall during strong geomagnetic conditions fell faster than those that fell in weaker conditions. It's fascinating stuff, actually. We don't have a lot of data on this phenomenon; the work of Oliveira and his colleagues may help design strategies to mitigate the orbital decay induced by solar activity, keeping satellites in low-Earth orbit where they should be (and not, for example, smacking into other satellites and triggering a nasty Kessler cascade). "Our results are promising because they point in the direction of using short-cadence Starlink data (precise orbit determination, neutral mass density, ram direction area, drag coefficient) for the improvement of orbital drag models during geomagnetic storms, particularly during extreme events," the researchers write. The paper has been accepted for publication in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Science, and is available on arXiv. Astronomers Just Discovered The Biggest Explosions Since The Big Bang Titan's Atmosphere 'Wobbles Like a Gyroscope' – And No One Knows Why A 'Crazy Idea' About Pluto Was Just Confirmed in a Scientific First
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Trump drops Nasa nominee Jared Isaacman, scrapping Elon Musk's pick
The White House has withdrawn as its nominee for Nasa administrator, abruptly yanking a close ally of Elon Musk from consideration to lead the space agency. Donald Trump said he would announce a new candidate soon. 'After a thorough review of prior associations, I am hereby withdrawing the nomination of Jared Isaacman to head Nasa,' the US president posted online. 'I will soon announce a new Nominee who will be mission aligned, and put America first in space.' Related: Drugs, marital advice and that black eye: key takeaways from Trump's Oval Office send-off for Elon Musk Isaacman, a billionaire private astronaut who had been Musk's pick to lead Nasa, was due next week for a much-delayed confirmation vote before the US Senate. His removal from consideration caught many in the space industry by surprise. Trump and the White House did not explain what led to the decision. Isaacman, whose removal was earlier reported by Semafor, said he was 'incredibly grateful' to Trump 'and all those who supported me throughout this journey'. 'I have gained a much deeper appreciation for the complexities of government and the weight our political leaders carry,' he posted. 'It may not always be obvious through the discourse and turbulence, but there are many competent, dedicated people who love this country and care deeply about the mission.' Isaacman's removal comes just days after Musk's official departure from the White House, where the SpaceX CEO's role as a 'special government employee' leading the so-called department of government efficiency (Doge) created turbulence for the administration and frustrated some of Trump's aides. Musk, according to a person familiar with his reaction, was disappointed by Isaacman's removal. 'It is rare to find someone so competent and good-hearted,' Musk wrote of Isaacman on X, responding to the news of the White House's decision. Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It was unclear whom the administration might tap to replace Isaacman. One name being floated is the retired US air force Lt Gen Steven Kwast, an early advocate for the creation of the US space force and a Trump supporter, according to three people familiar with the discussions. Isaacman, the former CEO of the payment processor company Shift4, had broad space industry support but drew concerns from lawmakers over his ties to Musk and SpaceX, where he spent hundreds of millions of dollars as an early private spaceflight customer. The former nominee had donated to Democrats in prior elections. In his confirmation hearing in April, he sought to balance Nasa's existing moon-aligned space exploration strategy with pressure to shift the agency's focus on Mars, saying the US can plan for travel to both destinations. As a potential leader of Nasa's 18,000 employees, Isaacman faced a daunting task of implementing that decision to prioritize Mars, given that Nasa has spent years and billions of dollars trying to return its astronauts to the moon. On Friday, the space agency released new details of the Trump administration's 2026 budget plan that proposed killing dozens of space science programs and laying off thousands of employees, a controversial overhaul that space advocates and lawmakers described as devastating for the agency. The Montana Republican Tim Sheehy, a member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation committee, posted that Isaacman had been 'a strong choice by President Trump to lead Nasa'. Related: Universe's mysteries may never be solved because of Trump's Nasa cuts, experts say 'I was proud to introduce Jared at his hearing and strongly oppose efforts to derail his nomination,' Sheehy said. Some scientists saw the nominee change as further destabilizing to Nasa as it faces dramatic budget cuts without a confirmed leader in place to navigate political turbulence between Congress, the White House and the space agency's workforce. 'So not having [Isaacman] as boss of Nasa is bad news for the agency,' Harvard-Smithsonian astronomer Jonathan McDowell posted. 'Maybe a good thing for Jared himself though, since being Nasa head right now is a bit of a Kobayashi Maru scenario,' McDowell added, referring to an exercise in the science fiction franchise Star Trek where cadets are placed in a no-win scenario. With Reuters
Yahoo
4 hours ago
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Musk backs down on threat to retire SpaceX Dragon spacecraft amid Trump dispute
Elon Musk, the world's richest person, on Thursday said his company SpaceX would begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft after he engaged in an extraordinary public fallout with Donald Trump who had threatened to cancel government contracts with Musk's businesses. He later appeared to back down. 'In light of the President's statement about cancellation of my government contracts, @SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately,' Musk posted on the social media platform X, which he owns. A few minutes earlier Trump had posted on Truth Social – the media platform that he owns – that he might cancel huge lucrative contracts with Musk's businesses, which include the SpaceX company that is building a fleet of rockets. Related: Trump and Musk's very public feud is like Alien v Predator for political nerds 'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it!' Trump said. Nasa relies on SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS). Hours after issuing his threat, Musk appeared to take pleas from users on his social media platform X to 'cool down' and he posted: 'Good advice. Ok, we won't decommission Dragon.' Since 2008, SpaceX has received more than $20bn in government contracts, largely from Nasa and the Department of Defense. In March, two Nasa astronauts returned to Earth in a Dragon capsule after being stranded on the ISS for nearly nine months, after their Boeing Starliner capsule faced technical issues and returned to Earth without them. The next SpaceX Dragon launch is scheduled to take place on 10 June. The Dragon is expected to carry four people to and from the ISS on Axiom Mission 4. Nasa's press secretary, Bethany Stevens, in a statement on X after Musk's announcement, said the agency 'will continue to execute upon the president's vision for the future of space'. Related: Trump v Musk: 10 ways they can further hurt each other 'We will continue to work with our industry partners to ensure the president's objectives in space are met,' she added. Musk's announcement came amid an escalating dispute with Trump that began after he denounced the president's tax and spending bill as a 'disgusting abomination'. Musk later accused Trump of 'ingratitude' for the millions he spent to get him elected. Trump, in turn, said he was 'very disappointed' in Musk. The president wrote earlier on Thursday that Musk was 'wearing thin' and that the tech billionaire 'went crazy' after he was asked to depart the White House last week as head of Trump's 'department of government efficiency' .
