October 2019
Electric orbit raising and space weather
... orbit raising. During a radiation storm, high-energy charged particles ejected by the Sun can stream into the Earth’s magnetosphere, the magnetic bubble that surrounds the planet and acts as a protective barrier to interplanetary space. Once here...
09 November 2018
Leftover gas from the Sun's birth created Earth's water
...heavy hydrogen is called deuterium and scientists distinguish one body of water from another by measuring something called the deuterium-to-hydrogen ratio I.e how much deuterium there is compared with hydrogen. Oceans originating from comets smashing...
August 2016
Fireflies and saucers
...-6 spacecraft, astronaut John Glenn noticed a strange phenomenon. The spacecraft was in orbit and, when the Sun came up, he reported with great excitement that he was surrounded by thousands of small glowing particles that were moving ...
September 2019
Extending the life of geostationary orbit satellites
...especially favourable orbit for satellite communications, because satellites in GEO appear from the ground to be stationary. However, gravitational forces exerted by the Sun and Moon cause their orbits to change and they must continually apply thrust...
May 2020
Protecting areas of scientific importance on the Moon
... lunar surface - is a potentially valuable isotope of helium that could be used in future fusion reactors. As the PSRs are shaded from the Sun, the surface material or ‘regolith’ is expected to contain less helium-3 than more exposed regions, which...
June 2022
Space activities and space debris - finding an ethical balance
...of years, humans have gazed in wonder at the immensity of the sky above, documenting the movements of the Sun, Moon, stars and planets, incredulous at the magnificence of it all. Starry nights have inspired the greatest thinkers and scientists of all...
