Millions of people in Asia and Africa were able to see a “ring of fire” eclipse, NASA headquarters in Washington, DC is now named after a “hidden figure” and astronomers are making a strange new detection of gravitational waves. These are some of the main stories from Space.com this week.
Annular eclipse seen by millions of people in Asia and Africa.
A “ring of fire” solar eclipse appeared in the skies of Africa and Asia on June 21. This type of eclipse is called annular, because the moon does not block the entire solar disk. Millions of spectators in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Sudan, Ethiopia, the Red Sea, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the Gulf of Oman, Pakistan, India, China, Taiwan, and the Philippine Sea ( south of Guam) and northern Australia were able to see the heavenly event.
Full story: 2020 ‘Ring of Fire’ solar eclipse dazzles sky watchers in Africa and Asia
NASA headquarters is now named after Mary W. Jackson.
On Wednesday (June 24), NASA announced that it named its headquarters in Washington, DC in honor of Mary W. Jackson. Largely unknown to the general public during her lifetime, Jackson’s story was highlighted in the 2016 film “Hidden Figures,” with Janelle Monáe playing the pioneering engineer. Jackson was born and raised in Hampton, Virginia, graduated from the Hampton Institute in 1942 with a double degree in mathematics and physical science, and finally began a career at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory (today, Langley Research Center) in 1951.
Full story: NASA names headquarters building for ‘hidden figure’ Mary Jackson
NASA, ESA and JAXA partner for a coronavirus dashboard project.
At a press conference on Thursday (June 25), three space agencies announced their joint coronavirus information board project. NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have partnered to provide the data for this new source of coronavirus information. Its Earth observation satellites will provide information on declines in pollution emissions, traffic jams at closed borders, and other bird’s-eye observations that reflect the changes that have happened as societies have responded to the pandemic.
Full story: NASA Joins Japan and Europe for COVID-19 Global Impact Project
The launch of NASA’s next Mars rover, Perseverance, is delayed.
NASA announced Wednesday (June 24) that the launch of its next Mars rover was delayed two days. The Perseverance rover will now launch on the Red Planet no earlier than July 22 instead of July 20. The delay is due to a contamination problem with ground support equipment.
Full story: Launch of NASA’s next Mars rover delayed again due to ‘contamination concern’ in the ground
NASA and astronauts share messages about Juneteenth.
NASA, former Mae Jemison space agency astronaut Leland Melvin and current astronaut Jeanette Epps commemorated June 15 (June 19) online last week. The holiday celebrates the emancipation of slaves in the United States, and falls on the date that the last slaves in the Texas Territory were freed from slavery.
Full story: Astronauts and NASA pay tribute to Juneteenth
NASA will receive proposals to fly its astronauts in private suborbital spacecraft.
On June 19, NASA Chief Jim Bridenstine announced on Twitter that the space agency will launch a Request for Information (RFI) for private space flight companies that may fly astronauts in future on suborbital spacecraft. Using RFI, NASA can make an informed choice among proposals submitted by private companies.
Full story: NASA wants to send astronauts on private suborbital space flights
See also: Virgin Galactic will work with NASA to train private astronauts for orbital space flight
Scientists find new characteristics of one of the ‘spots’ of Earth’s underground mountain.
In a study published June 12, researchers found never-before-detected features along the edges of the Pacific bubble, which is an underground mountain located where the solid mantle meets the molten outer core inside the Land. Scientists detected these massive features by analyzing the seismic waves generated by earthquakes in recent decades.
Full story: The monstrous ‘drops’ near the core of the Earth may be even larger than we thought
Astronomers make a strange new detection of gravitational waves.
Astronomers recently announced the first detection of a gravitational wave signal created by an object larger than the largest known neutron star. Gravitational waves form when massive objects like black holes or ultra-dense stellar corpses known as neutron stars collide with each other, causing ripples in the structure of space-time.
Full story: Scientists have just found the largest neutron star (or smallest black hole) even in a strange cosmic collision
NASA’s inspector general investigates Boeing for its landing offer.
According to a Washington Post report published June 20, NASA’s inspector general is investigating Boeing in connection with a recent contract competition to land astronauts to the moon. The report says a senior NASA official spoke to a top Boeing executive about the private company’s bid for the contract and that Boeking subsequently tried to change his proposal after the filing deadline.
Full story: NASA inspector general is investigating Boeing’s moon landing offer after input from agency official: report
The latest Beidou satellite launched and broadcast on television.
He announced the launch of the satellite in advance and broadcast the event live on television and online, which is rare. China will generally wait to announce the launches until a satellite successfully deploys into orbit.
Full story: China launches latest Beidou satellite to complete GPS-like navigation system
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