Published By: Sayan Paul

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

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

Story from Space: Astronauts Sunita Williams & Butch Wilmore Speak After Boeing's Return to Earth

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore made their first public comments after Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft returned to Earth without them. In a video press conference, they spoke from the International Space Station (ISS), sharing their thoughts on the spacecraft’s return and also what lies ahead for them. Williams said, "To be honest, I was so happy it got home with no problems. It was a great sense of relief, and we were really excited and proud of our bigger team for bringing the spacecraft home and landing it, pretty much, bulls-eye in the desert."

(Credit: DD News)

Williams and Wilmore went up to space on Boeing's Starliner spacecraft Calypso in June, with the original plan being to stay in orbit for over a week. However, due to some technical issues, Starliner landed back on Earth on September 7 without the crew members. According to NASA, the astronauts will return to Earth in February 2025 aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule.

Three Massive Asteroids Speeding Towards Earth

US space agency NASA issued an alert that three massive asteroids are flying past Earth on September 14, 2024. However, there's no threat to us as these will pass by at a safe distance.

The first one is named 2024 RL10 and measures 240 feet in diameter. It's flying past our planet at a distance of approximately 625,000 miles. The second asteroid is named the same, however, is smaller at 25 feet wide. It's expected to come within 927,000 miles of the planet. The third is named 2024 RB13 and measures around 25 feet. It will pass by the planet at a distance of 1.3 million miles.

NASA has consistently been monitoring these asteroids for quite some time.

Astounding Discovery: Ancient Species Evolves Rapidly Due To Tectonic Activity

Coelacanth, a type of lobe-fish, first came into existence over 400 million years ago. They lived off the coasts of southern Africa and Indonesia and became more diverse during the age of dinosaurs.

For a long time, scientists thought the coelacanth had gone extinct during the late Cretaceous period, 65-70 million years ago. That changed in 1939 when a coelacanth was found in the oceans near South Africa. Since then, more of the species have been found in various regions across the world.

(Credit: Discover Magazine)

The coelacanths have generally evolved slowly since ancient times. According to a recent discovery, their evolution was faster every time the tectonic plates shifted. Published in the journal Nature Communications, the study mentions, "Our analyses found that tectonic plate activity had a profound influence on rates of coelacanth evolution. Namely that new species of coelacanth were more likely to evolve during periods of heightened tectonic activity as new habitats were divided and created."

Rare Celestial Event: Earth To Have A New 'Mini-Moon' For 2 Months

Researchers at Universidad Complutense de Madrid Ciudad Universitaria have found that an asteroid will complete one horseshoe-shaped orbit around the Earth (from Sept. 29 to Nov. 25) before breaking loose and continuing its journey through the solar system. Hence, Earth will have a new moon for nearly two months.

The asteroid, named 2024 PT5, was discovered on Aug 7, 2024, by the Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS). It measures only about 33 feet in diameter. However, you may not be able to catch a glimpse of the mini-moon.

(Credit: Tony Dunn)

Notably, back in 1981, asteroid 2022 NX1 formed into a short-lived mini-moon.