- An astrochemist and an astronomer may have just explained the unusual orbit of the interstellar visitor 1I/‘Oumuamua.
- They propose that it was emitting hydrogen picked up during its time between the stars, offering a relatively simple explanation to a puzzle that has previously prompted some outlandish claims.
- The discovery of 'Oumuamua made headlines in 2017 because it was the first object ever observed to have entered our solar system from the wider universe.
Read More at skyandtelescope.org
- Scientists have discovered some of the building blocks of life in samples recovered from the Ryugu asteroid. The discovery lends credence to the idea that many of the important chemicals that formed life on Earth came from outer space, researchers say.
- The sample was collected by the Japanese Space Agency's Hayabusa2 spacecraft in 2018 and returned to Earth in 2020.
Read More at upi.com
- NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured what might be 'the tallest tornado' in the solar system swirling across the north pole of the sun.
- The twisting filament of boiling plasma kept growing in the sun's atmosphere for three days last week, reaching the height of around 120,000 kilometers, or 14 Earths, on Saturday (March 18), before collapsing into a cloud of magnetized gas.
Read More at space.com
- Virgin Orbit announced last week it is pausing operations after sustained financial losses, furloughing most of the company’s approximately 750 employees as officials seek funding to keep the small satellite launch provider afloat.
- Virgin Orbit reportedly furloughed most of its staff, bringing to a halt work in the company’s Long Beach factory, where engineers and technicians were manufacturing and testing hardware for multiple rockets for future missions.
Read More at spaceflightnow.com
- Two of Uranus' moons may have active oceans that are pumping material into space, a new study finds.
- The realization that there may be more happening in the Uranus system than previously believed came via the discovery of strange features in radiation data collected by NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft as it passed the planet almost four decades ago.
Read More at space.com
