Dwarf planet Ceres is an ocean world: study The dwarf planet Ceres—long believed to be a barren space rock—is an ocean world with reservoirs of sea water beneath its surface, the results of a major exploration mission showed Monday. phys.org Go to Source
Inside the ice giants of space A new theoretical method paves the way to modeling the interior of the ice giants Uranus and Neptune, thanks to computer simulations on the water contained within them. The tool, developed by scientists from SISSA in Trieste and the University of California at Los Angeles and recently published in […]
A magnetar has been discovered throwing off bizarre blasts of radiation. Is this where fast radio bursts come from? Magnetars are the ultimate aggressive star: intense magnetic fields, massive outbursts, the works. We’ve known that magnetars are capable of producing some of the most powerful blasts in the cosmos, but new observations reveal a different […]
Globular cluster Palomar 3 probed by Russian astronomers By conducting deep photometric and medium-resolution spectroscopic observations, Russian astronomers have investigated Palomar 3, a distant galactic globular cluster. Results of this observational campaign provide more insights into the properties of this cluster, which could be essential in improving our understanding of its origin. The study was […]
Image: Barred spiral galaxy NGC 4907 The barred spiral galaxy known as NGC 4907 shows its starry face from 270 million light-years away to anyone who can see it from the Northern Hemisphere. This is a new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope of the face-on galaxy, displaying its beautiful spiral arms, wound loosely around its […]
Asteroids Somehow Migrated Past Jupiter During the Solar System’s Early History In baseball, players receive a Gold Glove award if they show outstanding fielding play throughout the course of the season. Basically, they can’t let any ball get past them when playing in the field. If a Gold Glove award was handed to planets in […]
An exoplanet has been found for the first time using radio telescopes Astronomers have found an extrasolar planet around a main sequence star. Which isn’t a big deal. With a radio telescope. Which is. Over the past couple decades astronomers have spotted thousands of exoplanets using a variety of techniques. There’s the ever-popular transit method, […]
Neutron stars of different masses can make a real mess when they collide When neutron stars collide, they go out with a tremendous bang, fueling an explosion up to a thousand times more powerful than a supernova. But sometimes they go out with a whimper, and a recent suite of simulations is showing why: they […]
Why Can Black Hole Binaries Have Dramatically Different Masses? Multiple Generations of Mergers Black hole mergers with very different masses tell us how small mergers can give rise to even larger ones. The post Why Can Black Hole Binaries Have Dramatically Different Masses? Multiple Generations of Mergers appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go […]
A Globular Cluster was Completely Dismantled and Turned Into a Ring Around the Milky Way An international team of astronomers discovered some surprising when studying a debris ring around our Milky Way: the remnants of an ancient globular cluster The post A Globular Cluster was Completely Dismantled and Turned Into a Ring Around the Milky […]
Newly forming star has spiral arms like a tiny galaxy Protoplanetary disks – where young stars are forming their families of planets – usually form concentric rings of gaps. But astronomers have recently spotted a surprising situation: an adolescent star surrounded by galaxy-like spiral arms. As stars just begin to warm up, they surround themselves […]
Mira-type variable stars are constantly throwing the key chemicals for life out into space We know that the carbon in your bones was formed long ago in the heart of a star. But how did that carbon actually make its way to your bones? It’s a bit of a complicated puzzle, and recent observations with […]
This is What the Solar System Really Looks Like At first glance, it looks like something from an alien autopsy. A strange organ cut from a xenomorph’s thorax, under the flickering lights of an operating room in a top secret government facility, with venous tendrils dangling down to the floor, dripping viscous slime. (X-Com anyone?) […]
Beyond the Fermi Paradox V: What is the Aestivation Hypothesis? Is it possible that the aliens are not hiding, but sleeping and waiting for the Universe to get better? The post Beyond the Fermi Paradox V: What is the Aestivation Hypothesis? appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to Source
NASA sounding rocket finds helium structures in sun’s atmosphere Helium is the second most abundant element in the universe after hydrogen. But scientists aren’t sure just how much there actually is in the Sun’s atmosphere, where it is hard to measure. Knowing the amount of helium in the solar atmosphere is important to understanding the […]
Stellar egg hunt with ALMA—Tracing evolution from embryo to baby star Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) took a census of stellar eggs in the constellation Taurus and revealed their evolution state. This census helps researchers understand how and when a stellar embryo transforms to a baby star deep inside a gaseous egg. […]
Meteors of August: Our Guide to the 2020 Perseids It’s August and that means the Perseid meteors are inbound, starting this weekend this shower is a sure-fire bet, though 2020 sees the spectacle go down under somewhat challenging circumstances. The post Meteors of August: Our Guide to the 2020 Perseids appeared first on Universe Today. […]
Antarctica Is the Best Place On Earth for a Telescope, Is Also the Hardest Place to Put a Telescope Twinkling stars might make for spectacular viewing on a hot summer’s night, but they are an absolute nightmare to astronomers. That twinkling is caused by disturbances in the Earth’s atmosphere, and can wreak havoc on brightness […]
A Strange Planet has been Found that’s Smaller than Neptune But 50% More Massive Astronomers have found another strange exoplanet in a distant solar system. This one’s an oddball because its size is intermediate between Earth and Neptune, yet it’s 50% more massive than Neptune. Astronomers have found what they call “puff planets” in other […]
Martian Features Were Carved by Glaciers, not Flowing Rivers Orbiters are giving us a chance to study the surface of Mars closely, and some of the features that pop to prominence are dry river channels. There are over 10,000 of them. But a new study suggests that glaciers on ancient Mars are responsible for many […]
