A study that will ‘test our understanding of how the Universe works, particularly outside the relatively narrow confines of our planet’ is being undertaken by an international team of researchers led by the University of Leicester. Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →
In a typical year, there are around 50 novae, nuclear explosions on the surface of white dwarf stars, in our galaxy. Some of these explosions are so bright and powerful, they exceed the scale of scientific explanation. Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →
(Phys.org)—A group of Chinese astronomers led by Yang Huang of the Yunnan University in Kunming, China, has detected two new unbound hypervelocity stars located over 70,000 light years away. The discovery, described in a paper published Aug. 29 on the arXiv pre-print server, could help scientists better understand the nature of these rare, peculiar stars. Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →
Gaia, ESA’s billion-star surveyor, is detecting stars and measuring their properties in order to build up the most precise 3-D map of the Milky Way. By accurately measuring the motion of each star, astronomers will be able to peer back in time to understand the Milky Way’s history, its evolution and its destiny. Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →
Researchers at DESY have compiled an extensive catalogue of variable sources of cosmic gamma radiation. For his doctoral thesis, Matteo Giomi, working at DESY in Zeuthen, analysed almost 7.5 years of observational data from NASA’s “Fermi” space telescope. Over that period, the “Large Area Telescope” (LAT) on board the satellite registered a total of 4547 bursts of gamma radiation, known as flares. Thanks to improved analytical methods, Giomi was able to assign these flares to 518 variable sources. The “Fermi All-Sky Variability Analysis” (FAVA) also lists 77 unknown sources, whose identity has not yet been determined. The “Fermi” scientists are presenting their catalogue in theRead More →
The origin of cosmic rays, high-energy particles from outer space constantly impacting on Earth, is among the most challenging open questions in astrophysics. Now new research published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society sheds new light on the origin of those energetic particles. Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →
NASA’s Peggy Whitson Safely Returns Home in Soyuz from Record Breaking Stay in Space The Soyuz MS-04 vehicle is pictured the moment it touches down with the Expedition 52 crew inside comprising NASA astronauts Peggy Whitson and Jack Fisher and Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin of Roscosmos on Sept. 3, 2017, Kazakhstan time. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls NASA’s Peggy Whitson, America’s most experienced astronaut, returned to Earth safely and smiling Sunday morning on the steppes of Kazahsstan, concluding her record-breaking stay in space aboard the International Space Station along with Soyuz crewmates Jack Fischer of NASA and Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin of Roscosmos. The multinational trio touched down softlyRead More →
Preparations for Deployment of InSight Lander to Mars are Rampting Up! This summer has been a busy time for NASA. At present, the agency is making the final preparations for the Cassini mission‘s plunge into Saturn’s atmosphere, monitoring the large Near-Earth Asteroid that recently made a flyby of Earth, marking the 40th anniversary of the historic Voyager missions, and hosting the Summer of Mars at the Kennedy Space Center. In addition to all that, engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, are busy preparing the Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) Lander for its scheduled launch in 2018. OnceRead More →
Successful Static Fire Test Sets SpaceX on Target for Post Labor Day Launch of USAF X-37B Mini-Shuttle Sept. 7 SpaceX conducts successful static fire test of the Falcon 9 first stage rocket at 4:30 p.m. EDT on Aug. 31, 2017 on Launch Complex 39A on NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fl., as seen from nearby Playalinda causeway. Liftoff of the USAF X-37B OTV-5 mini-shuttle mission is scheduled for Sept. 7, 2017. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com PLAYALINDA BEACH/KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – Following a successful engine test firing of the Falcon 9 first stage late Thursday afternoon (Aug. 30), SpaceX is targeting a post Labor Day launch ofRead More →
Image of Comet C/2015 V2 (Johnson) captured on Nov 8, 2015 between 3:00 and 4:00 UT. Image taken with a 17 inches telescope for a total exposure time of approximately 50 minutes. Comet C/2015 V2 (Johnson) on Nov 8, 2015 Comet Johnson is currently at a distance of 866 million km from the sun, approximately of magnitude 17. It is expected to become quite bright in January 2017 reaching 6th or 7th magnitude. Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →
This image taken the the morning of Nov 7, 2015 at 4:19 UT portraits the Moon, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Ganimede and Callisto in a single shot. The Moon, Venus, Mars and Jupiter. Nov 7, 2015 4:19 UT Technical details: Camera Canon SX60 HS. 10 raw frames stacked using RegiStax 5.1 and then processed in Photoshop. ISO 800, 1.0 sec exposure, f/5.0. Focal length: 28.3mm. The zoomed image of Jupiter has been taken with the same camera at 247mm focal length. Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →
Few hours ago NASA released a bunch of new images of Pluto received from New Horizons. Three of those images show a breathtaking backlit picture of Pluto and clearly put in evidence the dwarf planet’s atmosphere. The image shown here was been obtained by manually stacking the three backlit pictures and enhancing the contrast, in an attempt to extract as much details as possible from the original images. Pluto’s atmosphere and background stars The three small dots in the bottom left area are most likely generated by a background star, which appears 3 times because of the alignment process has been centered on Pluto. TheRead More →
The newly discovered comet C/2015 O1 PANSTARRS has just been added to our catalog of tracked objects. Right now the comet is very far, about magnitude 18.8 at a distance of 987M km from the Sun and it is traveling towards the inner Solar System. It will take about one year and an half to reach its perihelion, on Feb 3, 2017. C/2015 O1 orbit inclination, about 68°, and perihelion distance, almost exactly 1 Astronomical Unit, contribute to a quite favorable geometry for observing the comet at perihelion from the northern hemisphere during the first days of February 2017. Comet’s declination will be about +47°Read More →
This image is not new at all, and of course is not the best one that has been published, but it was just impossible to resist playing with the latest published images from New Horizons and creating our own version. The attempt here is to enhance both Pluto’s features and the background stars. Pluto and Charon Jul 9 2015 – Click to enlarge Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →
Ultraviolet Light Could Point the Way To Life Throughout the Universe Ultraviolet light is what you might call a controversial type of radiation. On the one hand, overexposure can lead to sunburn, an increased risk of skin cancer, and damage to a person’s eyesight and immune system. On the other hand, it also has some tremendous health benefits, which includes promoting stress relief and stimulating the body’s natural production of vitamin D, seratonin, and melanin. And according to a new study from a team from Harvard University and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), ultraviolet radiation may even have played a critical role in the emergenceRead More →
The Crux Constellation Welcome to another edition of Constellation Friday! Today, in honor of the late and great Tammy Plotner, we take a look at the “Southern Cross” – the Crux constellation. Enjoy! In the 2nd century CE, Greek-Egyptian astronomer Claudius Ptolemaeus (aka. Ptolemy) compiled a list of all the then-known 48 constellations. This treatise, known as the Almagest, would be used by medieval European and Islamic scholars for over a thousand years to come, effectively becoming astrological and astronomical canon until the early Modern Age. One of these constellations is known as Crux, a small constellation located in the southern skies. Despite its size,Read More →
Developed and built by the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, and the University of Montreal, NIRPS (Near Infra Red Planet Searcher) is an infrared spectrograph designed to detect Earth-like rocky planets around the coolest stars. The formal agreement to add NIRPS to the suite of instruments on ESO telescopes was signed on June 7th, 2017 by ESO’s Director General Tim de Zeeuw, Michel Oris, Vice-rector at the UNIGE .Marie-Josée Hébert, Vice-rector for Research, Discovery, Creation and Innovation at the University of Montreal and by both co-directors of the project, Professor François Bouchy from UNIGE and Professor René Doyon from the University of Montreal. Powered byRead More →
Xavier Barcons Starts as New ESO Director General On 1 September 2017, Xavier Barcons became ESO’s eighth Director General, succeeding Tim de Zeeuw who has served since 2007. Barcons begins his tenure at an exciting time for ESO. Construction of the Extremely Large Telescope is progressing rapidly and it is set to see first light in 2024. ESO News Feed Go to Source Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →
ESOcast 125: Q&A with ESO’s Incoming Director General Xavier Barcons — Taking up duty at ESO ESO’s new Director General, Xavier Barcons, gives his perspective on ESO, astronomy, and his new position. Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →
Radar images of asteroid 3122 Florence obtained at the 70-meter antenna at NASA’s Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex between August 29 and September 1 have revealed that the asteroid has two small moons, and also confirmed that main asteroid Florence is about 4.5 km (2.8 miles) in size. Florence is only the third triple asteroid known in the near-Earth population out of more than 16,400 that have been discovered to date. All three near-Earth asteroid triples have been discovered with radar observations and Florence is the first seen since two moons were discovered around asteroid 1994 CC in June 2009. Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →
