Left unchecked, the space around our planet could get so cluttered with debris that we might not be able to use some orbits anymore, according to the latest European Space Agency (ESA) report on the space environment. The report, published April 1, states that although new standards to curb space debris are becoming more widely … Read more
A private Japanese company has taken the world’s first close-up photo of an individual piece of space debris, by parking another satellite next to it in orbit. This orbital photo op is the first step in an ongoing mission to capture and destroy potentially hazardous pieces of space junk that are clogging up our sky. … Read more
Earth’s present-day climate change is human-induced, but the gravitational tugs of other planets can also cause long-term climatic patterns by slightly changing our planet’s orbit. Now, research suggests that massive passing stars can alter Earth’s path, too — and that these cosmic tugs may limit researchers’ ability to study the links between past changes in … Read more
There’s a floating garbage dump orbiting Earth, and it’s getting fuller every year. Space debris — known colloquially as space junk — is the name that scientists give to the thousands of pieces of broken satellites and spacecraft that clog Earth’s orbit. Space junk can be as small as a paint fleck or as large … Read more
Space may be the final frontier, but the good people of Canada aim to tame that frontier with law and order. Last week, the Canadian Parliament proposed a measure that will, essentially, make it illegal for Canadian astronauts to commit crimes on the moon, or while in orbit. The measure, which was tucked partway through … Read more
We’re launching a brand new feature on Liminal Fiction – “Writer Fuel – cool real-world stories that might inspire your little writer heart. Today: A newfound asteroid zips around the sun faster than any of its known kin. The space rock, known as 2021 PH27, completes one lap around our star every 113 Earth days, … Read more
