Astronomy

How big is Earth’s orbit around the Sun?

Earth’s orbit around the Sun is not circular, but an ellipse that is slightly elongated with an eccentricity of 0.017. (An eccentricity of 0 is a circle, while the dwarf planet Pluto has a relatively ...
The Aviationist

First In-orbit Photo Taken By Secretive Boeing X-37B Spacecraft Officially Released

The photo, taken during the X-37B’s seventh mission, shows Earth from High-Elliptical Orbit. On Feb. 20, 2025, the Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs uploaded on the DVIDS website, what is ...
Forbes

Today Earth Is Closest To A ‘Solar Maximum’ Sun. So Why Is It So Cold?

Earth will reach perihelion at 09:00 Universal Time on Saturday, January 4, 2025, the closest point to the sun in its annual, slightly elliptical orbit. The word comes from the Greek words peri (near) ...
Gizmodo

New Video Details ‘Groundbreaking’ Orbital Maneuver of Space Force’s Secretive Spaceplane

X-37B started executing a series of aerobraking maneuvers to change from a highly elliptical orbit to a lower orbit. Reading time 2 minutes After seven test flights, Boeing is finally starting to open ...
Futurism

Boeing’s Military Space Plane Just Slammed on the Brakes in Orbit

The US military’s top secret X-37B space plane, which has been orbiting the Earth since December 2023 on its current mission, has slammed on the brakes. As detailed in a Boeing Space video, the plane ...

Drive signal did not reach pyro valve: Isro on NVS-02 orbit-raising issue

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Wednesday detailed its on-orbit observations of the NVS-02 spacecraft and ...
IFLScience

What Is An Eccentric Orbit, And Which Astronomical Objects Have One?

Stephen has degrees in science (Physics major) and arts (English Literature and the History and Philosophy of Science), as well as a Graduate Diploma in Science Communication. Stephen has degrees in ...