Gamma-ray binary HESS J0632+057 contains a pulsar, study suggests Using NuSTAR spacecraft and the VERITAS array of telescopes, an international team of astronomers has investigated a gamma-ray binary known as HESS J0632+057. The study found that a compact object in this system is most likely a pulsar—a highly magnetized, rotating neutron star emitting beams of […]
Image: Exoplanet satellite encapsulated At Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, ESA’s Characterising Exoplanet Satellite, Cheops, is being encapsulated into the flight adapter of the Soyuz-Fregat rocket that will lift it into space on 17 December. phys.org Go to Source
Astronomers propose a novel method of finding atmospheres on rocky worlds When NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope launches in 2021, one of its most anticipated contributions to astronomy will be the study of exoplanets—planets orbiting distant stars. Among the most pressing questions in exoplanet science is: Can a small, rocky exoplanet orbiting close to a […]
Carnival of Space #640 It’s that time again! This week’s Carnival of Space is hosted by Pamela Hoffman at the Everyday Spacer blog. Click here to read Carnival of Space #640. And if you’re interested in looking back, here’s an archive to all the past Carnivals of Space. If you’ve got a space-related blog, you should […]
Giant Meteor Impacts Might Have Triggered Early Earth’s Plate Tectonics A new study by an Australian-US team has found that a large impact that happened ca. 3.2 billion years ago could be what started Earth’s tectonics activity, which could be crucial to why Earth is able to support life. The post Giant Meteor Impacts Might […]
Messier 94 – the Cat’s Eye Galaxy Located in the constellation Canes Venatici, roughly 15 million light years from Earth, is the spiral galaxy known as the Cat’s Eye Galaxy (aka. Messier 94) The post Messier 94 – the Cat’s Eye Galaxy appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to Source
Black hole or newborn stars? SOFIA finds galactic puzzle Universities Space Research Association (USRA) today announced that scientists on NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) found a strange black hole that is changing its galactic surroundings in a way that is usually associated with newborn stars. phys.org Go to Source
Mercury transit observed at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory About 13 times per century, fleeting Mercury can be seen passing directly in front of the Sun in what is called a transit. The most recent Mercury transit occurred on November 11, 2019. phys.org Go to Source
Solar Wind Around Pluto instrument confirms solar wind slows farther away from the sun Measurements taken by the Solar Wind Around Pluto (SWAP) instrument aboard NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft are providing important new insights from some of the farthest reaches of space ever explored. In a paper recently published in the Astrophysical Journal, a team […]
Image: Hubble detects dynamic galactic duo Some galaxies are closer friends than others. While many live their own separate, solitary lives, others stray a little too close to a near neighbor and take their friendship even deeper. phys.org Go to Source
Cancer Seems to Have Trouble Spreading in Microgravity A team of Australian researchers have found evidence that microgravity can disrupt the spread of cancer cells, which could lead to new treatments. The post Cancer Seems to Have Trouble Spreading in Microgravity appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to Source
There’s Now an Operational Radio Telescope on the Far Side of the Moon The Chang’e-4 satellite (Queqiao) recently deployed the NCLE radio observatory, a joint Netherlands-Chinese experiment that will probe the early Universe. The post There’s Now an Operational Radio Telescope on the Far Side of the Moon appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today […]
Interstellar Comet Borisov is About to Make its Closest Approach to Earth A team of astronomers from Yale have taken the clearest picture of the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov to date, showcasing its long tail! The post Interstellar Comet Borisov is About to Make its Closest Approach to Earth appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today […]
Ultraluminous X-ray source UGC 6456 ULX investigated in detail Russian astronomers have performed a detailed study of one of the ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) in the galaxy UGC 6456. Results of the research, presented in a paper published November 20 on arXiv.org, suggest that this source, designated UGC 6456 ULX, is one of the brightest […]
Searching for star prints in space and stories Stars don’t shine forever. Eventually, even the brightest stars run out of fuel and collapse in a massive explosion, called a supernova. phys.org Go to Source
A surprisingly big black hole might have swallowed a star from the inside out, and scientists are baffled About 15,000 light years away, in a distant spiral arm of the Milky Way, there is a black hole about 70 times as heavy as the Sun. phys.org Go to Source
Mapping our galaxy’s magnetic field Astronomers from CSIRO and Curtin University have used pulsars to probe the Milky Way’s magnetic field. Working with colleagues in Europe, Canada, and South Africa, they have published the most precise catalogue of measurements towards mapping our Galaxy’s magnetic field in 3-D. phys.org Go to Source
Astronomers Are About to Detect the Light from the Very First Stars in the Universe A team of scientists working with the Murchison Widefield Array (WMA) radio telescope are trying to find the signal from the Universe’s first stars. Those first stars formed after the Universe’s Dark Ages. To find their first light, the researchers […]
Image: Giant magnetic ropes in a galaxy’s halo This image of the “Whale Galaxy” (NGC 4631), made with the National Science Foundation’s Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), reveals hair-like filaments of the galaxy’s magnetic field protruding above and below the galaxy’s disk. phys.org Go to Source
Scientists inch closer than ever to signal from cosmic dawn Around 12 billion years ago, the universe emerged from a great cosmic dark age as the first stars and galaxies lit up. With a new analysis of data collected by the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) radio telescope, scientists are now closer than ever to detecting […]
