From space.com

• SpaceX Crew Dragon Capsule Suffers Anomaly During Engine Test
  (Sun, 21 Apr 2019 01:02:29 +0000)
  
  A SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft suffered an anomaly during an engine test in Florida Saturday (April 20), company officials said.
  
  
• The Most Amazing Space Photos This Week!
  (Sat, 20 Apr 2019 18:37:35 +0000)
  
  Here are our picks for the most amazing space photos of the week.
  
  
• This Week's Top Space Stories!
  (Sat, 20 Apr 2019 18:14:35 +0000)
  
  Liquid methane rains and evaporates on Saturn's moon Titan to create "phantom lakes," an interstellar space rock that entered Earth's atmosphere has been identified and astronaut Christina Koch will now spend almost a year in space. These are just some of the top stories this week on Space.com.
  
  
• Mars 2020 Rover Assembled and Tested Ahead of Launch Next Year
  (Sat, 20 Apr 2019 11:18:56 +0000)
  
  Technicians have assembled the capsule that will keep NASA's Mars 2020 rover secure for its wild ride to the Red Planet's surface.
  
  
• Independent Report Concludes 2033 Human Mars Mission Is Not Feasible
  (Sat, 20 Apr 2019 11:18:09 +0000)
  
  An independent report concluded that NASA has no chance of sending humans to Mars by 2033, with the earliest such a mission could be flown being the late 2030s.
  
  
• Iger: Star Wars Movies Will Go on 'Hiatus' After Episode IX
  (Sat, 20 Apr 2019 11:17:18 +0000)
  
  With a pivot to TV projects.
  
  
• These Wisps Around Black Holes Could Reveal How the Cosmic Beasts Eat
  (Sat, 20 Apr 2019 11:14:36 +0000)
  
  The international team responsible for the first-ever image of a black hole's shadow already has plans to take a better, more detailed image.
  
  
• Here's How to Share Your 'Earth Day' Photos with NASA
  (Fri, 19 Apr 2019 22:00:04 +0000)
  
  NASA has a new social media campaign to gear up its audience for Earth Day, an annual event to celebrate our planet – and the importance of protecting the environment – on April 22.
  
  
• Tickets on Sale for 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' Documentary 'What We Left Behind'
  (Fri, 19 Apr 2019 20:00:03 +0000)
  
  The long-awaited, crowdfunded 'DS9' documentary will screen on May 13.
  
  
• SpaceX's Next Space Station Cargo Launch Delayed to April 30
  (Fri, 19 Apr 2019 19:02:18 +0000)
  
  SpaceX has pushed back the launch of its next robotic resupply mission to the International Space Station by four days, to April 30.
  
  
• Defense Officials Get a Grilling at Space Force Hearing
  (Fri, 19 Apr 2019 18:00:03 +0000)
  
  Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) said the hearing was an "opportunity to continue to gather facts and to fully explore the proposal."
  
  
• Cosmic Crustacean Makes Great Birthday Card for Hubble's 29th Year (Image)
  (Fri, 19 Apr 2019 17:15:50 +0000)
  
  On April 18, the European Space Agency released an image featuring the hourglass-shaped Southern Crab Nebula to celebrate the Hubble Space Telescope's birthday coming up next week.
  
  

From Science Daily

• Hubble celebrates its 29th birthday with unrivaled view of the Southern Crab Nebula
  (Thu, 18 Apr 2019 13:14:19 EDT)
  
  This incredible image of the hourglass-shaped Southern Crab Nebula was taken to mark the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope's 29th anniversary in space. The nebula, created by a binary star system, is one of the many objects that Hubble has demystified throughout its productive life. This new image adds to our understanding of the nebula and demonstrates the telescope's continued capabilities.
  
  
• Mercury has a solid inner core: New evidence
  (Wed, 17 Apr 2019 13:00:07 EDT)
  
  Scientists have long known that Earth and Mercury have metallic cores. Like Earth, Mercury's outer core is composed of liquid metal, but there have only been hints that Mercury's innermost core is solid. Now, in a new study, scientists report evidence that Mercury's inner core is indeed solid and that it is very nearly the same size as Earth's solid inner core.
  
  
• Explosion on Jupiter-sized star 10 times more powerful than ever seen on our Sun
  (Wed, 17 Apr 2019 12:00:41 EDT)
  
  A stellar flare 10 times more powerful than anything seen on our Sun has burst from an ultracool star almost the same size as Jupiter.
  
  
• Powerful particles and tugging tides may affect extraterrestrial life
  (Wed, 17 Apr 2019 10:28:40 EDT)
  
  Two new studies, one on high-energy particles and the other on tidal forces, may bring into question the habitability of TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets.
  
  
• Five planets revealed after 20 years of observation
  (Wed, 17 Apr 2019 10:27:47 EDT)
  
  To confirm the presence of a planet, it is necessary to wait until it has made one or more revolutions around its star. This can take from a few days for the closest to the star to decades for the furthest away. Only a telescope dedicated to the search for exoplanets can carry out such measurements over such long periods of time, which is the case of the EULER telescope of UNIGE.
  
  
• How to defend the Earth from asteroids
  (Wed, 17 Apr 2019 08:46:07 EDT)
  
  The Chelyabinsk meteor caused extensive ground damage and numerous injuries when it exploded on impact with Earth's atmosphere in 2013; to prevent another such impact, scientists plan to use a simple yet ingenious way to spot tiny near-Earth objects.
  
  
• NASA's Cassini reveals surprises with Titan's lakes
  (Tue, 16 Apr 2019 14:35:50 EDT)
  
  On its final flyby of Saturn's largest moon in 2017, NASA's Cassini spacecraft gathered radar data revealing that the small liquid lakes in Titan's northern hemisphere are surprisingly deep, perched atop hills and filled with methane.
  
  
• CubeSats prove their worth for scientific missions
  (Tue, 16 Apr 2019 13:21:37 EDT)
  
  Only a few years ago, the astronomy and heliophysics communities were skeptical about whether CubeSats could reliably obtain scientific data. But these breadloaf-size satellites have proven their ability to return useful data.
  
  
• Astronomers discover third planet in the Kepler-47 circumbinary system
  (Tue, 16 Apr 2019 09:37:53 EDT)
  
  Astronomers have discovered a third planet in the Kepler-47 system, securing the system's title as the most interesting of the binary-star worlds. Using data from NASA's Kepler space telescope, a team of researchers detected the new Neptune-to-Saturn-size planet orbiting between two previously known planets.
  
  
• Astronomers take first, high-resolution look at huge star-forming region of Milky Way
  (Mon, 15 Apr 2019 12:23:21 EDT)
  
  A team of astronomers used a newly commissioned radio telescope in South Korea to make the first high-resolution observations of the molecular clouds within a star-forming region of the Milky Way. The first good look at the galactic region indicated large molecular clouds about 180 light years across with a mass equal to about 100,000 masses of our sun.
  
  
• Meteoroid strikes eject precious water from moon
  (Mon, 15 Apr 2019 12:23:15 EDT)
  
  Streams of meteoroids striking the Moon infuse the thin lunar atmosphere with a short-lived water vapor, according to researchers using data from NASA's LADEE spacecraft. The findings will help scientists understand the history of lunar water.
  
  
• TESS finds its first Earth-sized planet
  (Mon, 15 Apr 2019 12:23:09 EDT)
  
  A nearby system hosts the first Earth-sized planet discovered by NASA's Transiting Exoplanets Survey Satellite, as well as a warm sub-Neptune-sized world. This milestone sets the path for finding smaller planets around even smaller stars, and those planets may potentially be habitable.
  
  

From Sky & Telescope

• April’s Lyrid Meteor Shower
  (Fri, 19 Apr 2019 17:02:34 +0000)
  
  The Moon gets in the way of April's Lyrid meteor shower, but it's still worth scanning the sky for the chance of fireballs. The post April’s Lyrid Meteor Shower appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
  
  
• Peer Deep Within the Large Magellanic Cloud
  (Thu, 18 Apr 2019 16:07:56 +0000)
  
  A team of amateurs reveals the Large Magellanic Cloud, a galactic neighbor, in an exceedingly deep, high-resolution mosaic. The post Peer Deep Within the Large Magellanic Cloud appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
  
  
• Astronomers Find Universe’s First Molecule
  (Wed, 17 Apr 2019 18:57:12 +0000)
  
  After decades of searching, astronomers have definitively detected helium hydride, the first molecule to form in the early universe. The post Astronomers Find Universe’s First Molecule appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
  
  
• Sounding Rockets Spark Dramatic Arctic “Aurora”
  (Tue, 16 Apr 2019 20:48:32 +0000)
  
  The spectacular AZURE experiment is the latest of several missions probing the interface of Earth and space over the Arctic. The post Sounding Rockets Spark Dramatic Arctic “Aurora” appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
  
  
• How Does Very Long Baseline Interferometry Work?
  (Mon, 15 Apr 2019 18:54:19 +0000)
  
  The Event Horizon Telescope creates the image of a black hole shadow thanks to the precise coordination of a worldwide telescope network. Here’s how they do it. The post How Does Very Long Baseline Interferometry Work? appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
  
  
• Israel’s Beresheet Mission Crashes on the Moon
  (Fri, 12 Apr 2019 13:17:02 +0000)
  
  SpaceIL attempted, but missed, a historic first for private spaceflight and Israel — a soft landing on the Moon. The post Israel’s Beresheet Mission Crashes on the Moon appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
  
  
• The Martian Methane Mystery Continues
  (Thu, 11 Apr 2019 14:35:48 +0000)
  
  The most advanced instrument ever sent to Mars to study its atmosphere has failed to find any methane after months of searching. The post The Martian Methane Mystery Continues appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
  
  
• Scientists Unveil First Black Hole Image
  (Thu, 11 Apr 2019 01:17:40 +0000)
  
  The Event Horizon Telescope collaboration has reconstructed the shadow of a supermassive black hole. The post Scientists Unveil First Black Hole Image appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
  
  
• News from NEAF: The 2019 Northeast Astronomy Forum
  (Mon, 08 Apr 2019 16:29:59 +0000)
  
  Sky & Telescope editors reconnected with readers at NEAF, where astro-enthusiasts were treated to astro talks, activities, and equipment galore. The post News from NEAF: The 2019 Northeast Astronomy Forum appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
  
  
• Why Are Two Ghost Galaxies Missing Dark Matter?
  (Sat, 06 Apr 2019 02:03:10 +0000)
  
  Ultra-diffuse galaxies are usually dark matter-rich. But astronomers have discovered two of these galaxies that lack dark matter altogether. The post Why Are Two Ghost Galaxies Missing Dark Matter? appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
  
  

GDACS - Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System

• Green earthquake alert (Magnitude 6.5M, Depth:10km) in Western Indian-Antarctic Ridge 18/04/2019 14:46 UTC, No people within 100km.
  (Thu, 18 Apr 2019 14:46:01 GMT)
  
  On 4/18/2019 2:46:01 PM, an earthquake occurred in Western Indian-Antarctic Ridge potentially affecting No people within 100km. The earthquake had Magnitude 6.5M, Depth:10km.
  
  
• Green earthquake alert (Magnitude 6.1M, Depth:20km) in China 18/04/2019 05:01 UTC, 1420000 people within 100km.
  (Thu, 18 Apr 2019 05:01:06 GMT)
  
  On 4/18/2019 5:01:06 AM, an earthquake occurred in China potentially affecting 1420000 people within 100km. The earthquake had Magnitude 6.1M, Depth:20km.
  
  
• Green earthquake alert (Magnitude 5.6M, Depth:48.2km) in Chile 18/04/2019 04:06 UTC, 440000 people within 100km.
  (Thu, 18 Apr 2019 04:06:34 GMT)
  
  On 4/18/2019 4:06:34 AM, an earthquake occurred in Chile potentially affecting 440000 people within 100km. The earthquake had Magnitude 5.6M, Depth:48.2km.
  
  
• Drought is on going in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, El Salvador
  (Sun, 21 Apr 2019 08:17:00 GMT)
  
  The Drought alert level is Orange.
  
  
• Drought is on going in Spain, Portugal
  (Sun, 21 Apr 2019 08:17:00 GMT)
  
  The Drought alert level is Green.
  
  
• Drought is on going in Ethiopia, South Sudan
  (Sun, 21 Apr 2019 08:17:00 GMT)
  
  The Drought alert level is Red.
  
  
• Drought is on going in Argentina
  (Sun, 21 Apr 2019 08:17:00 GMT)
  
  The Drought alert level is Green.
  
  
• Drought is on going in Switzerland, , France, Italy
  (Sun, 21 Apr 2019 08:17:00 GMT)
  
  The Drought alert level is Green.
  
  
• Drought is on going in Algeria, Spain, Morocco
  (Sun, 21 Apr 2019 08:17:00 GMT)
  
  The Drought alert level is Green.
  
  
• Drought is on going in Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay
  (Sun, 21 Apr 2019 08:17:00 GMT)
  
  The Drought alert level is Green.
  
  
• Drought is on going in Australia
  (Sun, 21 Apr 2019 08:17:00 GMT)
  
  The Drought alert level is Orange.
  
  
• Drought is on going in Angola, Botswana, Congo, DRC, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe
  (Sun, 21 Apr 2019 08:17:00 GMT)
  
  The Drought alert level is Red.