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Machine Learning Software is Now Doing the Exhausting Task of Counting Craters On Mars Does the life of an astronomer or planetary scientists seem exciting? Sitting in an observatory, sipping warm cocoa, with high-tech tools at your disposal as you work diligently, surfing along on the wavefront of human knowledge, surrounded by fine, bright people. Then one day—Eureka!—all your hard work and the work of your colleagues pays off, … Continue reading “Machine Learning Software is Now Doing the Exhausting Task of Counting Craters On Mars” The post Machine Learning Software is Now Doing the Exhausting Task of Counting Craters On Mars appeared first onRead More →

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It took several million years for Arrokothn to acquire its bizarre, pancake-flat shape The trans-Neptunian object Arrokoth, also known as Ultima Thule, which NASA’s space probe New Horizons passed on New Year’s Day 2019, may have changed its shape significantly in the first 100 million years since its formation. In today’s issue of the journal Nature Astronomy, researchers led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) suggest that the current shape of Arrokoth, which resembles a flattened snowman, could be of evolutionary origin due to volatile outgassing. Their calculations help to understand what the current stateRead More →

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NASA’s TESS creates a cosmic vista of the northern sky NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has discovered 74 exoplanets, or worlds beyond our solar system. Astronomers are sifting through some 1,200 additional exoplanet candidates, where potential new worlds await confirmation. More than 600 of these candidates lie in the northern sky. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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What the Astronauts Saw as They Orbited the Moon During Apollo 17 This view always gets me *right there.* This is what Apollo 17 astronauts saw in December of 1972 as they came around the farside of the Moon: the blue and white crescent Earth rising above the stark lunar horizon. And now image editing guru Kevin Gill has sharpened the image, giving it more texture, color … Continue reading “What the Astronauts Saw as They Orbited the Moon During Apollo 17” The post What the Astronauts Saw as They Orbited the Moon During Apollo 17 appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go toRead More →

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Planetary nebula IPHASX J191104.8+060845 explored in detail An international team of astronomers has investigated a bipolar planetary nebula designated IPHASX J191104.8+060845. Results of the new study provide essential information about the morphology and physical properties of this object. The research is detailed in a paper published September 23 on arXiv.org. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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Some planets may be better for life than Earth Earth is not necessarily the best planet in the universe. Researchers have identified two dozen planets outside our solar system that may have conditions more suitable for life than our own. Some of these orbit stars that may be better than even our sun. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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Those are Exoplanets. You’re Looking at Actual Exoplanets 63 Light-Years Away! By combining two exoplanet detection methods for the first time ever, the GRAVITY collaboration has confirmed the existence of a second planet around Beta Pictoris The post Those are Exoplanets. You’re Looking at Actual Exoplanets 63 Light-Years Away! appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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Did Pioneer See Phosphine in the Clouds of Venus Decades Ago? The discovery of phosphine in Venus’ atmosphere has generated a lot of interest. It has the potential to be a biosignature, though since the discovery, some researchers have thrown cold water on that idea. But it looks, at least, like the discovery is real, and that one of NASA’s Pioneer spacecraft detected the elusive gas … Continue reading “Did Pioneer See Phosphine in the Clouds of Venus Decades Ago?” The post Did Pioneer See Phosphine in the Clouds of Venus Decades Ago? appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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A Supernova Exploded Dangerously Close to Earth 2.5 Million Years Ago In its 4.5 billion year history, Earth has had to run the gauntlet. Numerous catastrophes have imperilled the planet, from massive impacts, to volcanic conflagrations, to frigid episodes of snowball Earth. Yet life persists. Among all of the hazards that threaten a planet, the most potentially calamitous might be a nearby star exploding as a … Continue reading “A Supernova Exploded Dangerously Close to Earth 2.5 Million Years Ago” The post A Supernova Exploded Dangerously Close to Earth 2.5 Million Years Ago appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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Astronomers reveal first direct image of Beta Pictoris c using new astronomy instrument The vast majority of planets near foreign stars are discovered by astronomers with the help of sophisticated methods. The exoplanet does not appear in the image, but reveals itself indirectly in the spectrum. A team of scientists from the Max Planck Institutes for Astronomy and Extraterrestrial Physics has now succeeded in obtaining the first direct confirmation of a previously discovered exoplanet using the method of radial velocity measurement. Using the the GRAVITY instrument at the VLT telescopes in Chile, the astronomers observed the faint glint of the planet Beta Pictoris c, someRead More →

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What Decides the Shape of Planetary Nebulae? Whatever’s Orbiting a Star When it Dies Planetary nebulae are some of the most beautiful objects in the galaxy, spanning a variety of shapes and sizes. They’re created in the death throes of stars like the sun, and new research sheds light into how they get their distinctive and unique shapes. The answer: anything unlucky enough to orbit that dying star. When … Continue reading “What Decides the Shape of Planetary Nebulae? Whatever’s Orbiting a Star When it Dies” The post What Decides the Shape of Planetary Nebulae? Whatever’s Orbiting a Star When it Dies appeared first onRead More →

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Rogue Earth-mass planet discovered freely floating in the Milky Way without a star If a solar system is a family, then some planets leave home early whether they want to or not. Once they’ve left the gravitational embrace of their family, they’re pretty much destined to drift through interstellar space forever, unbound to any star. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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Revealing the lonely origin of Cassiopeia A, one of the most famous supernova remnants Massive stars end their lives with energetic explosions known as supernovae. Stripped-envelope supernovae show weak or no traces of hydrogen in their ejecta, meaning that the star loses most or all of its hydrogen-rich outer layers before exploding. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” XI: The Transcension Hypothesis Welcome back to our Fermi Paradox series, where we take a look at possible resolutions to Enrico Fermi’s famous question, “Where Is Everybody?” Today, we examine the possibility that the reason for the Great Silence is that all the aliens have evolved beyond the need to explore! In 1950, Italian-American physicist Enrico Fermi sat down … Continue reading “Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” XI: The Transcension Hypothesis” The post Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” XI: The Transcension Hypothesis appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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A Balloon Mission that Could Try to Confirm Life On Venus So, Venus might have life! But how do we find out for sure?! We need to GO there. Here’s a recap of the Venusian Life story thus far: On September 14, the discovery of phosphine gas in the Venusian clouds was announced by a team of scientists led by Jane Greaves of Cardiff University. In … Continue reading “A Balloon Mission that Could Try to Confirm Life On Venus” The post A Balloon Mission that Could Try to Confirm Life On Venus appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →