JUST STEPPED OUT FOR A WALK
Astronauts train for many years for the chance to go to space, with no guarantee of actually flying, so being given a place on a mission to live on the International Space Station (ISS) for a few months is a dream come true. But some astronauts get to do even more – they wriggle into a spacesuit and go outside on an extravehicular activity (EVA), or spacewalk. This image, taken on 23 May 2017 during the 201st spacewalk of the ISS program, shows NASA astronaut Jack Fischer waving at his colleagues watching from inside the space station as he worked outside the US Destiny laboratory. Fischer was attaching antennae to the exterior of the ISS during an unplanned EVA to repair and replace a failed computer data relay box. Luckily, there was no malfunctioning computer to refuse to let him back inside…
A SKY FULL OF STARS
Whenever NASA posts an image on social media showing a beautiful view from the ISS, within minutes conspiracy theorists are declaring it’s a fake. One of their favourite comments is “Where are the stars? The sky should be full of stars!” This comes down to a lack of understanding of basic photography. The vast majority of images taken from the ISS are taken when it’s in daylight, and show Earth, or the ISS structure itself, brightly lit by the Sun. The exposures are far too short – fractions of a second – to record the faint stars in the sky. Exposures long enough to show the stars would burn out Earth and the ISS. But the astronauts aboard the ISS have magnificent views of the stars after sunset, and they do occasionally post images showing that view. This one, taken on 9 August 2015 by a member of the Expedition 44 crew, shows the star clouds of the Milky Way and dark lanes of dust across them.
SHUTTLE ORBITER FLY AROUND
Denne historien er fra Issue 157-utgaven av All About Space UK.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 157-utgaven av All About Space UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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15 AUTUMN STARGAZING TARGETS
Go on a night-sky treasure hunt as the brighter evenings give way to the cooler months
MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE WHY IS VENUS SO DRY?
A new study reckons the answer lies high in the Venusian atmosphere
WHEN BLACK HOLES TURN WHITE
Can bouncing black holes help physicists find the ultimate theory of everything?
THE MOON'S THIN ATMOSPHERE IS MADE BY CONSTANT METEORITE BOMBARDMENT
While the solar wind also contributes to the atmosphere, meteorites are the main culprit
INTERSTELLAR TRAVEL AND HOW TO BECOME A SPACE TOURIST
Having explored much of the Solar System, attention is now turning to the stars beyond
NASA'S PERSEVERANCE ROVER FINDS POSSIBLE SIGNS OF ANCIENT RED PLANET LIFE
Further analysis is needed, but a rock contains potential evidence that life once existed on Mars in the distant past
A NASA TELESCOPE MAY HAVE FOUND ANTIMATTER ANNIHILATING IN POSSIBLY THE BIGGEST EXPLOSION SINCE THE BIG BANG
The massive explosion was captured in 2022
Jameel Janjua "This is how we get to Mach 3”
Jameel Janjua made it to the bitter end in a Canadian government astronaut selection in 2009, but wasn't chosen. He found a different path to space through Virgin Galactic
BOEING NEEDS TO IMPROVE QUALITY CONTROL ON THE SLS MOON ROCKET
The NASA Inspector General's report finds serious quality-control issues affecting the upgraded version and expects cost overruns and delays
DARK ENERGY
THE MOST DOMINANT FORCE IN THE UNIVERSE IS ALSO ITS MOST MYSTERIOUS AND MOST UNANTICIPATED