logo
Quote of the Day: Spacecraft Lost in 1972 Is Coming Back to Earth

Quote of the Day: Spacecraft Lost in 1972 Is Coming Back to Earth

New York Times08-05-2025

'It's going to get its moment in atmospheric entry — albeit on the wrong planet.'
JONATHAN MCDOWELL, an astronomer at the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who maintains a catalog of space objects, on the Kosmos-482, a half-ton Soviet-era craft which never made it to its planned destination of Venus and was expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere this weekend.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

The northern lights may be visible in Mass. Sunday night
The northern lights may be visible in Mass. Sunday night

Yahoo

time33 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

The northern lights may be visible in Mass. Sunday night

The northern lights may be visible in Massachusetts Sunday night, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA's aurora borealis predictor puts much of the Bay State below the view line for the natural light show Sunday night, which indicates the southern-most location from which the northern lights may be seen in the northern part of the sky. The aurora borealis may be visible in Massachusetts Sunday night because active geomagnetic conditions may push auroras farther south than usual, according to 'Space weather forecasters are forecasting strong (G3) geomagnetic storm conditions with the possibility of severe (G4) conditions thanks to both elevated solar winds and an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection (CME),' the astronomy news website reported Saturday. The skies over Massachusetts are predicted to be mostly clear Sunday night, according to the National Weather Service. recommends 1 a.m. to 2 a.m. as the best window for viewing the northern lights. 'But remember, auroras are fickle — sometimes they appear much farther south than predicted, and other times they barely show up at all. Many conditions have to align for the perfect display," the astronomy news website reported. Mass. weather: Temperatures to heat up the first week of June Update: Flood advisory affecting Berkshire County until Saturday evening due to substantial downpours Update: Rip current statement issued for Dukes and Nantucket counties until Sunday evening Wind advisory affecting 5 Massachusetts counties until Saturday night – gusts up to 50 mph Street flooding possible in Mass. Saturday due to widespread showers, thunderstorms Read the original article on MassLive.

Satellite measures river flow waves for the first time
Satellite measures river flow waves for the first time

Washington Post

time5 hours ago

  • Washington Post

Satellite measures river flow waves for the first time

Long river waves, known as flow waves, have been measured by satellite for the first time, researchers announced May 14, a breakthrough that could expand understanding of river dynamics, floods and the other hazards sometimes present when the waves form. In a study in Geophysical Research Letters, the researchers found that the long waves can be spotted and studied using data from a NASA-French space agency satellite designed to study Earth's water.

Solar Storms Are Pushing Elon Musk's Satellites Back to Earth
Solar Storms Are Pushing Elon Musk's Satellites Back to Earth

Gizmodo

time6 hours ago

  • Gizmodo

Solar Storms Are Pushing Elon Musk's Satellites Back to Earth

New research suggests that heightened solar activity shortens the lifespans of SpaceX's Starlink satellites, and may send them careening back to Earth at greater velocities. Perhaps unintuitively, this could increase the risk of satellite debris making landfall. This preprint study, which has yet to undergo peer review, adds to a wealth of evidence showing that solar storms wreak havoc on Elon Musk's Starlinks. Over the last several years, the frequency and intensity of these storms have increased as the Sun approaches solar maximum—the peak in its 11-year cycle. At the same time, the number of satellites orbiting Earth has skyrocketed, largely due to the rise of private megaconstellations like Starlink. A team of researchers led by Denny Oliveira from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center tracked reentries of Starlink satellites between 2020 and 2024. This period coincided with the rising phase of the current solar cycle, when solar activity ramps up ahead of the solar maximum, which occurred in October 2024. Over the course of those five years, 523 Starlink satellites reentered Earth's atmosphere. Oliveira and his colleagues analyzed the orbits of these satellites using a statistical technique that identifies patterns in how their rates of orbital decay and reentry change during periods of high solar activity. The researchers found that geomagnetic activity—disturbances in the upper atmosphere triggered by solar eruptions—causes Starlinks to reenter Earth's atmosphere sooner than expected. These satellites are designed to remain in orbit for roughly five years. But during bouts of severe geomagnetic storms, their lifespans may be reduced by 10 to 12 days, Oliveira told Gizmodo. He and his colleagues believe this happens because geomagnetic activity heats the atmosphere and causes it to expand. This increases drag on satellites, shortening their lifespans and causing them to lose altitude more quickly as they interact with the upper atmosphere. What's more, atmospheric drag may increase the chances of satellite-on-satellite collisions, as the orbital models that guide collision avoidance measures don't fully account for the effects of geomagnetic activity. The team's findings are currently available on the preprint server arXiv. A difference of 10 to 12 days may not sound like a big deal, but it could make it nearly impossible for SpaceX to ensure that Starlink satellites return to Earth via controlled reentry, Oliveira explained. What's more, his analysis shows that increased drag causes satellites to reenter at higher velocities, which he believes could raise the chances of debris reaching the ground. This may seem counterintuitive, since increasing the velocity of an object during reentry generally increases the likelihood of total disintegration. But Oliveira posits that Starlinks falling at greater speeds may have a better chance of surviving reentry due to reduced atmospheric interaction. Further research will need to confirm this hypothesis, as the study did not directly assess debris risks. Starlinks are designed to fully burn up during reentry, but that doesn't always happen. In 2024, a 5.5-pound (2.5-kilogram) chunk of Starlink debris made landfall on a farm in Saskatchewan, New Scientist reported. In February of this year, SpaceX said it is possible for Starlink debris fragments to fall back to Earth, but claimed that this poses 'no risk to humans on the ground, at sea, or in the air.' There are now more than 7,500 Starlinks in orbit, according to Harvard University astronomer Jonathan McDowell, who tracks the constellation. Eventually, SpaceX hopes to quintuple the size of this fleet, with a goal of launching 42,000 Starlinks in total, according to This is in addition to the thousands of other satellites currently orbiting Earth. '[This is] the first time ever in history that we have so many satellites in orbit at the same time,' Oliveira said. 'So, now, we have satellites reentering pretty much every week. And possibly, in the next months or years, every day.' Understanding how changes in solar activity impact their lifespans and their reentries will be critical as Earth's orbit becomes increasingly crowded.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store