Published By: Sayan Paul

Science & Space Roundup: Top News of the Day (Dec 14)

Here are today’s most important updates from the realm of Science and Space.

SpaceX Launches 22 Starlink Internet Satellites from California

Elon Musk's SpaceX launched 22 new Starlink broadband satellites into orbit on December 13. These satellites were lifted off using a Falcon 9 rocket from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base. As designed, the rocket's first stage came back to Earth about eight minutes after liftoff. The upper stage deployed the 22 Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit 60 minutes after launch.

(Credit: Elon Musk)

Notably, SpaceX has launched more than 120 Falcon 9 missions so far this year.

NASA's Juno Mission Solves Mystery About Jupiter's Moon

The subsurface origins of Jupiter's moon, Io, have intrigued scientists and researchers for a long. lo has an estimated 400 volcanoes, making it the most volcanically active body in the solar system. Now, scientists at NASA's Juno mission (launched in 2011 as part of NASA's New Frontiers program) uncovered the mystery surrounding the moon (lo) by measuring its gravity.

As Ryan Park, a Juno co-investigator and supervisor of the Solar System Dynamics Group at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in his statement, "Juno's discovery that tidal forces do not always create global magma oceans does more than prompt us to rethink what we know about Io's interior. It has implications for our understanding of other moons, such as Enceladus and Europa, and even exoplanets and super-Earths. Our new findings provide an opportunity to rethink what we know about planetary formation and evolution."

(Credit: NASA)

SPHEREx: NASA's Next Step in Unveiling the Universe’s Origins

NASA is gearing up for an exciting new mission. Its SPHEREx observatory is set to launch in February 2025. The mission aims to uncover secrets of the universe's past. Short for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer, SPHEREx will orbit Earth after launch. Aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, it will take off from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The observatory is about the size of a small car. It will scan the sky in 3D, creating an all-sky map. The map will include hundreds of millions of galaxies and stars. SPHEREx will capture images in 102 unique wavelengths of light.

(Credit - X/@NASA_LSP)

Three Oceans, One Whale: The Incredible 19,000-Km Migration

An astonishing study led by Ekaterina Kalashnikova from the Bazaruto Centre for Scientific Studies (BCSS) has unveiled the longest-recorded migration of a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae). As per the study, an adult male humpback whale traveled at least 13,046 kilometers, potentially reaching up to 19,000 kilometers, connecting breeding grounds across three oceans. The whale's journey began in the Gulf of Tribugá, Colombia, where it was first observed in a competitive group of seven individuals. This unprecedented migration raises questions about the motivations behind such long-distance travel. Experts suggest that environmental changes, shifts in mating strategies, or increased competition for resources may drive these remarkable journeys.