The Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft, launched on March 23, has just reached the International Space Station and was captured by the Canadarm2 robotic arm. Astronaut Tim Kopra, assisted by his colleague Tim Peake, will soon begin the slow maneuver that will move the Cygnus until it docks with the Station’s Harmony node after about two hours.
An article accepted for publication in the journal “Astrophysical Journal” describes the shock wave generated by a supernova observation, captured for the first time at visible light due to strong flash that generates when erupts from the star’s surface. An international team directed by astrophysicist Peter Garnavich of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana analyzed data collected by the Kepler space telescope about 50 trillion stars to make this discovery.
A few hours ago the Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft blasted off atop an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral. After about twenty minutes it successfully separated from the rocket’s last stage and was placed on its route. It’s in its fifth official mission, called Orbital-6 or simply Orb-6 but also CRS OA-6, of supply transport to the International Space Station for NASA.
An article published in the journal “Geophysical Research Letters” describes the effects on the planet Mars’ magnetic field caused by the close passage of the comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring in October 2014. Using data collected in that period by NASA’s MAVEN space probe it was possible to reconstruct the moments that were chaotic for the Martian magnetosphere with profound consequences even if temporary.
