interstellar Archives

China knows that what happens in ‘Interstellar’ is a real problem on the Moon. And it has been proposed to solve it

January 13, 2026 by usatoday24

58.7 microseconds. That is the daily margin of error that separates a terrestrial clock from one on the Moon. This time lag It seems ridiculous, but it brings head to aerospace engineers for decades. The reason? That ‘sigh’ can be crucial in a mission, the difference between a perfect landing and a disaster. And while in the West we continue talking about the problems of Artemis missionin China they have found the solution for that time lag. It is called LTE440, and it is another example of the China’s methodical advance in the new space race. Microsecond piggy bank. If you have seen the movie ‘Interestellar’, looking for information about how time flies far from Earth, that you would come across the general relativity theory formulated by Albert Einstein. Simply put, the passage of time is relative, and the speed at which it passes depends on two factors: gravitational field intensity and orbital speed. The stronger the gravity, the slower time passes, and that is why it moves a little faster on the Moon than on Earth. The net result of that orbital effect is a slight advance in lunar clocks. One of between 56 and 58.7 microseconds per day, or 0.000058 seconds. It seems tiny and negligible, but in the end, the sum of 58 microseconds each day is there. 0.0017 seconds per month. 0.021 seconds per year. It is still little, but in terms of the space industry, it is unacceptable. LTE440. This synchronization between the lunar and terrestrial clocks has been one of the headaches of space engineering for years. In 2024, the International Astronomical Union, fixed that the Moon should have its own temporal reference. Meanwhile, time has passed and an answer has arrived: LTE440, or ‘Lunar Time Ephemeris‘. It is a software developed between the Purple Mountain observatory next to the University of Science and Technology of China. And it arrives to solve two of the historical problems in that lunar timing: Precision: Complex missions require total accuracy (not with a Casio, but with atomic clocks), and the solutions until now did not allow such precision. Complex calculations: Current solutions were not very accessible and engineers had to do laborious calculations and mathematical operations to solve jet lag. Absurd accuracy. It is estimated that the precision of LTE440 It will be less than 0.15 nanoseconds before 2050 and its accumulated errors will remain below 1/20,000,000 of a second even after a thousand years. But more important than this is that the research team has made obtaining the calculations as simple as doing a single operation. Thus, the LTE440 software will allow you to directly and easily compare lunar time with Earth time. opening doors. Okay, great, but… really that much for 56 microseconds? Having the current aspiration of creating a communication network and missions both with the Moon and interplanetary, one of the most logical applications is that of a global network of lunar clocks. Another is to allow extremely precise remote control missions to be carried out from Earth. China and Russia, for example, plan build an International Lunar Research Station looking to 2035, and LTE440 opens the door to more precise operations on the satellite ground. But also something more tangible and easy to understand: establishing a navigation system similar to GPS on the Moon. It is something that does not exist, but that seems crucial for future space missions. Because this is not about establishing colonies on the Moon, but about taking advantage of the satellite. For example, to investigate it, but also to get resources that can be used on Earth. And a system like LTE440 is an open door for the development of the navigation technologies necessary to bring these missions to fruition. The US looks closely. As we say, China has one eye on the Moon and space, and that is something that the United States is following with interest. China is taking giant steps and the United States has come to feel that it is being left behind. Artemis II is the American answera program full of problems and delaysbut it seems that it is already working. On the other hand, and as with the terrestrial situation, the United States considers that China’s advance in space is not a mere scientific question, but rather a threat to the country’s national security. They have reached aim that the Space Force will do “whatever it takes to achieve space superiority.” Therefore, LTE440 is, at the same time, a technological milestone, a great step for humanity in the new space race and a threat to those interests of the United States. Now, as we read in SCMPthe software is still in an early phase, so it has yet to be applied in real-time navigation solutions. Images | Tomruen In Xataka | Hubble continues to discover amazing things about the universe: a starless galaxy dominated by dark matter

We already know when the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS will be closest to Earth and so you can try to see it

December 11, 2025 by usatoday24

One of the great protagonists that we have in the sky right now is the comet 3I/ATLAS that has received attention both from science and from fans of everything that surrounds us beyond the atmosphere. And what makes this comet be very interesting It is precisely its origin that does not belong to our environment and also that after its passage it will never return. This makes seeing it from Earth be something unique and that no one will ever be able to repeat again. Getting closer. Right now we are on the verge of its peak moment with us: its closest approach to Earth will occur next week, and this makes many people want to have an idea of how to witness its passage. The appointment will be next December 19. An impossible trajectory. To understand what we are seeing, we have to look back a couple of months. Orbital calculations placed this comet at its closest point to the Sun at the end of last October, passing slightly inside the orbit of Mars. And this was where we had the first big meeting. On October 2, the HiRISE camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) managed to photograph to the comet from a distance of about 30 million kilometers. It is not common for us to have “eyes” on another planet watching for comets, but the geometry was perfect to capture and visualize it. And all these images have been fundamental to know exactly how and when it will reach our environment. How and when. The date to mark on the calendar is December 19, 2025. A Friday that will be historic since it will be the moment in which 3I/ATLAS makes its closest approach to Earth, being at a distance of 270 million kilometers. Something that removes any type of risk of impacting the planet. The eyes are useless. Looking up and seeing the comet will not be possible, but you will need to be minimally equipped since it does not have colored tails or anything similar. That is why you will need to have a medium or large caliber telescope that is capable of capturing a lot of light. All this accompanied by dark skies, since light pollution in cities makes its detection impossible due to its low brightness. In addition, it is important to have tools such as mobile applications that can guide us where to aim in order to know where we will see it. Although it is also important to have the NASA information about its location. The best sites. In the northern hemisphere, which is where we are, the comet will be visible before dawn. But to do this it will be necessary to also find the best places with dark skies and no light pollution. Traditionally in Spain we can have different characteristic sites such as the Teide observatory or mountain ranges that are very high like in the Pyrenees to be in optimal conditions to see it. Likewise, online monitoring through large observation centers can also be an option in the event of not having the appropriate equipment or location. Images | THAT In Xataka | It went from a supposed alien ship to definitely a comet. Now 3I/ATLAS surprises again with another possibility

The Hubble has just taken the best picture of the interstellar comet. Makes it clear that we were totally wrong about its size

August 9, 2025 by usatoday24

When astronomers announced the finding of an third interstellar object In the solar system, the first thing that caught attention was its size. There was talk of a core of up to 20 kilometers in diameter, colossal dimensions that fed all kinds of hypotheses, including that it was an extraterrestrial ship. Now, the most clear image of the kite, obtained by the old Hubble space telescope, has reduced expectations. It is much smaller than it seemed. The detailed new image of 3i/Atlas, Published by NASA Hubble teamhas allowed astronomers to limit the size of the comet with much greater precision. According to an analysis presented to The Astrophysical Journal Lettersthe icy nucleus of this object of another star system has a maximum diameter of 5.6 kilometers, but it could be much smaller, just about 320 meters. This new estimate is between four and 60 times smaller than the initial figures. The reason for the initial confusion is that, even for the Hubble, the code core is invisible. What we see is a brilliant “comma”, a dust and gas -shaped gas envelope that is expelled from the nucleus as the first observations from the earth could not distinguish the small nucleus of the huge halo of dust that surrounds it. It is getting rid of on the one hand. The image of the Hubble space telescope not only corrects the size of the kite, but also reveals important details of its behavior, such as an asymmetric dust ejection. The kite expels most of the material from the side that looks towards the sun, forming a kind of bright fan. This is a typical behavior in the comets of our own solar system: the heat of the sun causes the surface ice (pass from gas solid to gas) with more force on the daytime side of the nucleus. In addition, a very weak dust tail is distinguished in the direction opposite to the sun, formed when solar radiation pressure pushes the finest particles. This structure confirms that 3I/Atlas behaves as A classic cometand not as an anomalous object. According to the study, the kite loses between six and 60 kilograms of dust per second, a rate that, although it seems high, is consistent with that of other comets observed at a distance to the similar sun. Goodbye to speculation. This drastic readjustment in the size and behavior of the comet has important implications. A smaller core, similar to that of the other known interstellar comet, 2i/Borisovit fits much better in the cosmological models than one of 20 kilometers, which helps to explain that we have not yet seen more than three objects of other solar systems in our neighborhood. As for its shape, the brilliant cloud of gas and dust makes it impossible to detect if 3i/Atlas has an elongated shape as 1i/’oumuamuathe first known interstellar object. What we do know is that this traveler, which moves at the incredible speed of 209,000 km/h, will continue to be a priority objective for more modern telescopes, such as James Webb. Each new observation helps us better understand these fascinating cosmic tourists and, as it has been clear, to correct some precipitated hypotheses. In Xataka | NASA ignores Harvard’s study on an alleged extraterrestrial ship: “It is an interstellar kite”

NASA ignores Harvard’s study on an alleged extraterrestrial ship: “It is an interstellar kite”

July 31, 2025 by usatoday24

On July 1, 2025 he will go down in history as the day that astronomers confirmed the presence of an interstellar third object In the Solar System. 3i/Atlas is, according to NASA, a kite from another star. But for Harvard Avi Loeb teacher, it could be something much more disturbing: a piece of extraterrestrial technology, possibly hostile. Wait, what? In a series of articles and a Paper scientist Not yet reviewed by pairs, Avi Loeb and its collaborators pose a hypothesis that touches science fiction. Known for his controversial position on ‘oumuamua, The first interstellar object ever discoveredwhich also described as possible alien technology, Loeb bases his new theory on a series of characteristics that he considers “anomalous” on the path and nature of 3i/Atlas. The anomalies of 3i/Atlas. Loeb Point out in your blog that the retrograde path of 3i/Atlas is inclined only about five degrees with respect to the plane in which the earth orbit. The director of the Harvard Astronomy Department estimates that the probability that this occurs by chance is only 0.2%. His career about Venus, Mars and Jupiter unusually. An orbit like this, it argues, would be ideal for a probe that would like to observe the planets of the interior solar system. On the other hand, Loeb highlights its huge size, initially estimated at 20 kilometers in diameter. According to his article, we should have seen a million objects of the size of ‘oumuamua (about 100 meters) for each object of the 3I/Atlas caliber. To top it off, the new interstellar visitor will reach its closest point to the sun (its perihelium) on October 29, 2025, at which time it will have been hidden from our view by the sun itself. The dark forest hypothesis. Loeb suggests that becoming invisible from our point of view is intentionally, since the perihelium is the optimal point to perform an inverse Oberth maneuver: a high efficiency braking to be gravitationally trapped by the solar system without being detected from the earth. To round his hypothesis, Loeb is part of this idea in the dark forest hypothesis, popularized by the author of “The problem of the three bodies”, Cixin Liu. The hypothesis, One of the explanations of the Fermi paradoxsuggests that advanced civilizations remain silent to avoid being detected by other potentially predatory civilizations. In this scenario, 3i/Atlas would be a recognition probe exploring the solar system. NASA does not believe it is an alien ship. Although Loeb’s arguments are intriguing, they face Ockham’s Navaja, who says that the simplest explanation is usually correct. In this case, the simplest explanation is that 3i/Atlas is a kite, As NASA says. And the astronomical community has more and more evidence to support this conclusion, refuting, point by point, alleged anomalies. Telescope images such as North Gemini or the Vera C. Rubin Observatory They show what a coma looks like, A diffuse gas and dust cloud surrounding the kite ice cream When heated by the sun. This should invalidate the argument of the size of 20 km, since the real core is much smaller. Loeb himself He later recognized That the elongated appearance is due to the movement of the object during the photographic exposure, not to its shape. Disassembling the Avi Loeb hypothesis. Loeb said that no specific gases were detected. However, as explained by astronomer Darryl Seligman, the object was still far from the sun when those statements were made. It is normal for comime activity (basically, sublimation of ice) is weak to those distances. It is expected that as he approaches the sun, The spectral firms of gases They become visible. Loeb’s hypothesis has been received with strong skepticism. Chris Lentott, Astronomo of Oxford, described the suggestion In Live Science as “a nonsense about stilts and an insult to the exciting work that is being done to understand this object.” This reaction is not by closure, but because the overwhelming evidence available points in another direction. The reality is that 3i/Atlas is a fascinating object, a piece of another solar system that visits us very far, and that has probably more years than the Sun. Studying its composition and trajectory will give us very valuable information about how the planets are formed in other places of the galaxy. In Xataka | These real images were unthinkable before the Webb Telescope: they are planets orbiting other stars to 130 light years Image | Gemini Observatory/Noirlab/NSF/Aura/K. Meech (Ifa/U. Hawaii); Processing: Jen Miller, Mahdi Zamani (NSF/Noirlab)

We thought that interstellar travelers were impossible to find current technology. Three have already been discovered

July 11, 2025 by usatoday24

Less than a decade ago, the idea of detecting an object of another solar system through our neighborhood was science fiction material. Astronomers were clear that they existed, but believed that our chances of detecting them They were practically null due to the limitations of current technology. In 2017, everything changed. First appeared 1i/ʻoumuamua. An object that baffled astronomers. Not only because it was the first interstellar object discovered in our solar system, but because its nature was and remains a mystery. With A strange formas elongated as a cigar or flat as an album, and a size of just 100 or 200 meters, it happened fleetingly leaving more questions than answers. Was it a comet, an asteroid or something completely new? The debate continues while moving away from us. Then 2i/Borisov was discovered. When we still wondered if we would see something similar in our lives, the answer came alone. In 2019, astronomers They detected a second object of another star system That was unequivocally a kite, somewhat larger than its predecessor (about 400-500 meters) and with a very different trajectory. Borisov confirmed that ‘Oumuamua had not been an anomaly. Interstellar visitors were real and we are able to find them. And to confirm it, 3I/Atlas arrives. On July 1, 2025, the Telescopes of the Atlas Network in Chile detected the third known interstellar object. After confirming your hyperbolic trajectory, He was officially baptized as 3i/Atlas. It is a real giant compared to the previous two, and marks a before and after in the study of these bodies. Like Borisov, it shows a clear comment activity, with a comma and a tail that lengthens as it approaches the sun. Therefore, it is a kite. But it is much bigger. Although the measurements are refining, initial estimates place their diameter between 5 and 20 kilometers. A colossal size that makes it much easier to study. A giant who will pass through Mars. 3i/Atlas is incredibly fast. It moves at an exhaust speed of about 58-60 km/s with respect to the Sun. much faster than ‘oumuamua (26 km/s) and Borisov (32 km/s). His career is also unique. It will reach its closest point to the Sun (its perihelium) on October 29, passing between the orbits of Mars and the Earth. Although at that time our planet will be on the other side of the sun, which will prevent its direct observation, it will be only 31.4 million kilometers from Mars on October 3. This opens a fascinating opportunity: that some of the probes that orbit the red planet, such as the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, can capture images of the interstellar traveler. Three important findings. Each of these objects is a time capsule from another solar system. All planets, asteroids and comets of our system share a common origin, but these visitors are authentic outsiders. They contain clues about the formation and composition of worlds that orbit other stars. Studying them is like receiving a geological sample from a corner of the galaxy that would take millennia to visit. Until now, we could only observe his fleeting step. But this is about to change. ESA is already preparing THE MISSION INTERPECTORwhose launch is scheduled for 2029. The idea is ingenious: the probe will not have a predefined objective, but will “park” at a point in Lagrange (L2) waiting for a pristine kite of a long period or, with some lucky, a new interstellar visitor to be within its reach. It would be the first rapid response mission to intercept one of these mysterious objects. In less than ten years we have not known if they existed to actively plan how to send a ship to touch them. With new generation observatories such as Vera Rubin, which is expected to find dozens of them in the next decade, we are entering a new era of astronomy. The universe sometimes brings us its secrets at home. Image | The interstellar comet 3i/Atlas (ESA) In Xataka | There is a single opportunity in 11,000 years of reaching the planet Sedna. Some Italians want to use this nuclear engine

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