Explanation: Wisps like this are all that remain visible of a Milky Way star. About 7,500 years ago that star exploded in a supernova leaving the Veil Nebula, also known as the Cygnus Loop. At the time, the expanding cloud was likely as bright as a crescent Moon, remaining visible for weeks to people living at the dawn of recorded history. Today, t
The sound is awful, a new recording from space reveals. Scientists have known about the radiation since the 1970s. It is created high above the planet, where charged particles from the solar wind collide with Earth’s magnetic field. It is related to the phenomenon that generates the colorful aurora, or Northern Lights.
A prototype of what will be the UK’s largest space rocket has been unveiled, ahead of a planned September 2009 launch.Creator and Salford University academic Steve Bennett hopes ‘Nova 2′ will take paying passengers into space by 2013.