Andromeda formed in recent star crash

SpaceX gets FCC backing

PARIS, Feb 15, (Agencies): The Milky Way’s neighbouring galaxy, Andromeda, was formed in a colossal crash between two smaller star systems no more than three billion years ago when Earth already existed, researchers said Wednesday.

Calculating the birth date of the galaxy has been a major challenge for astrophysicists given the vast age gap between the different stars it is made up of.

For the latest study, French and Chinese researchers led by Paris Observatory astronomer Francois Hammer used “the most powerful available computers in France” to crunch about a terabyte of data — the equivalent of two million 500-kilobyte photos.

This allowed them to zoom in on “the physical mechanisms of the Andromeda formation, so lifting the veil on its origin,” the observatory said in a statement.

The results were published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Previous research had noted one major difference between our own galaxy and Andromeda — long considered twin clusters, the team pointed out.

In Andromeda, certain stars orbit erratically while in the Milky Way, all stars observe a simple rotation around the galaxy’s centre.

The star agitation was due to the galaxy’s “recent” formation, the team said.

The data showed that between seven and 10 billion years ago, two galaxies — one four times more massive than the other — found themselves on a collision course.

The team simulated both precursor galaxies’ trajectories and calculated that they fused between 1.8 billion and three billion years ago to forge Andromeda.

Hammer

Russian cargo ship docks:

An unmanned Russian cargo ship has docked successfully at the International Space Station, delivering a fresh batch of supplies for the crew.

The Russian space agency Roscosmos said the Progress spacecraft moored at the station Thursday in automatic mode, bringing 2.7 metric tons (3 tons) of food, fuel and instruments. It was launched Tuesday from the Russian space complex in Baikonur, Kazakhstan.

The launch initially set for Sunday was postponed at the very last minute due to an unspecified glitch. And instead of the original plan to test a new regime for docking less than four hours after launch, it performed a standard two-day approach maneuver.

There are six astronauts aboard the space station — three Americans, two Russians and one from Japan.

FCC backs SpaceX:

Elon Musk’s SpaceX, fresh off the successful launch this month of the world’s most powerful rocket, won an endorsement on Wednesday from the top U.S. communications regulator to build a broadband network using satellites.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai proposed the approval of an application by SpaceX to provide broadband services using satellites in the United States and worldwide.

“Satellite technology can help reach Americans who live in rural or hard-to-serve places where fiber optic cables and cell towers do not reach,” Pai said in a statement.

SpaceX told the FCC in a Feb. 1 letter that it plans to launch a pair of experimental satellites on one of its Falcon 9 rockets. That launch, already approved by the FCC, is set for Saturday in California.