Dark Side Moon

PRC: Lunar Samples Indicate Previous Magma Activity! (19.11.2024)

am lunar soils.

The study published on Science, conducted by a team led by Xu Yigang, an academician of the CAS and a researcher at the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry of the CAS, also confirmed magma activity on the lunar far side 2.8 billion years ago.

The study also indicates that the eruption of lunar mare basalt is influenced by the internal composition of the moon, explaining why the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the lunar far side lacks abundant volcanic activity.

“These samples are the first to be collected on the lunar far side so it provided a unique view to the moon’s global geological history. The results are novel and are deserving of publication in Science. They will be of interest to a broad readership,” Science reviewer Katherine Joy said.

The wide-field X-ray telescope on the EP satellite detected over 6,800 X-ray sources distributed across the celestial sphere (under Galactic coordinates). [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

China: Tian Guan [天关] “Einstein” Probe Detects Mysterious Celestial Object [EP240408a]! (1.11.2024)

In addition to detecting individual events, the EP has conducted repeated sky surveys, successfully generating China’s first all-sky X-ray map. Yuan said the satellite contributes data that represents over 30 percent of all information available on global platforms for the study of transient and eruptive phenomena.

The EP team annually solicits research proposals from Chinese scientists and provides data access to international researchers one year after acquisition.

China’s recorded interest in transient phenomena dates back to the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD). In 1054, astronomers from the Song Dynasty (960-1279) documented the “Guest Star of Tian Guan,” later known as the Chinese Nova, a supernova explosion considered among the most significant astronomical observations in history.

Yuan said the Einstein Probe, known as Tian Guan in Chinese, honours this legacy and seeks to inspire future contributions to world astronomy.

3-D Printer Brick - Luna Base!

China: 3-D Printer “Bricks” Developed for Future Moon-Base Construction! (21.10.2024)

According to China Central Television, the lunar bricks will be sent to China’s space station aboard the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft to verify their mechanical and thermal performance, as well as their ability to withstand cosmic radiation. The first lunar brick is expected to return to Earth by the end of 2025.

China unveiled a national mid-term to long-term development program for space science on Tuesday, outlining a roadmap for the development of space science in China through 2050. The international lunar research station, which was initiated by China, will be constructed during the program’s second phase from 2028 to 2035.

This photo shows lunar samples retrieved by the Chang'e-6 mission at the lunar sample laboratory in the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 24, 2024. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang)

China: Research on Chang’e-6 [Dark-Side] Lunar Samples Underway! (11.10.2024)

A research paper published in September on the lunar samples brought back by the Chang’e-6 mission says that the Chang’e-6 samples exhibit “distinct characteristics” compared to previously obtained lunar samples.

The Chang’e-6 probe was launched from China on May 3, 2024. On June 25, its returner made a landing in north China, bringing back 1,935.3 grams of samples from the far side of the moon. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang)

Pluto is a Collection of Planitudes!

Space: I Remember When “Pluto” Used to be the “9th” Planet! (16.3.2024)

Things were simple when I was at school in the 1970s and early 1980s – in fact they were simple until NASA’s Voyager Probes (I & II) finally made it to the outer reaches of our Solar System – and proved that “Pluto” was NOT a single (and tidy) planet existing on the fringes of outer space! Overnight, what we had been taught as a child collapsed in upon itself and the number of “true” planets dropped to “8” – with Pluto being relegated to a mere “Dwarf” planet – whatever that meant. I do remember various Astronomers stating that when looked at through a telescope – Pluto seemed to “shimmer” – as if there might be another planet hiding behind it (a fabled “10” planet called “Nibiru” as things stood).

1 2 3