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 SourceRead More →
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 Nature Communications, allows one to analyze thermal and electric processes occurring at physical conditions that are often impossible to reproduce experimentally, with a much easier and low-cost approach. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
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 kind of radiation: radio waves. This could potentially solve the long-standing puzzle of the origins of the mysterious Fast … Continue reading “A magnetar has been discovered throwing off bizarre blasts of radiation. Is this where fast radio bursts come from?” The post A magnetar has been discovered throwing offRead More →
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 published July 31 on arXiv.org. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
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 central bright bar of stars. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
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 our solar system, it would undoubtedly be given to Jupiter. It … Continue reading “Asteroids Somehow Migrated Past Jupiter During the Solar System’s Early History” The post Asteroids Somehow Migrated Past Jupiter During the Solar System’s Early History appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
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, championed by observatories like Kepler and TESS. And there’s also a redshift … Continue reading “An exoplanet has been found for the first time using radio telescopes” The post An exoplanet has been found for the first time using radio telescopes appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go toRead More →
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 turn into a black hole. The discovery of gravitational waves from colliding neutron … Continue reading “Neutron stars of different masses can make a real mess when they collide” The post Neutron stars of different masses can make a real mess when they collide appeared first on Universe Today. UniverseRead More →
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 to SourceRead More →
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 Way appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
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 with layers upon swaddling layers of dust and gas. Very … Continue reading “Newly forming star has spiral arms like a tiny galaxy” The post Newly forming star has spiral arms like a tiny galaxy appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
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 the SOFIA observatory show how Mira stars do the trick. Stars like our sun … Continue reading “Mira-type variable stars are constantly throwing the key chemicals for life out into space” The post Mira-type variable stars are constantly throwing the key chemicals for life out into space appeared first onRead More →
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?) But no, it’s just our Solar System. This strangely … Continue reading “This is What the Solar System Really Looks Like” The post This is What the Solar System Really Looks Like appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
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 SourceRead More →
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 origin and acceleration of the solar wind—the constant stream of charged particles from the Sun. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
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. In addition, the team found a bipolar outflow, a pair of gas streams, that could be telltale evidence of a truly newborn star. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
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. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
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 readings, a key tool for astronomers everywhere. Those readings are used for everything from understanding galaxy formation to the … Continue reading “Antarctica Is the Best Place On Earth for a Telescope, Is Also the Hardest Place to Put a Telescope” The post Antarctica Is the Best Place On EarthRead More →
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 Solar Systems. Those are planets that are a few times more massive than Earth, … Continue reading “A Strange Planet has been Found that’s Smaller than Neptune But 50% More Massive” The post A Strange Planet has been Found that’s Smaller than Neptune But 50% More Massive appeared first onRead More →
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 of them. According to the study, those glaciers and … Continue reading “Martian Features Were Carved by Glaciers, not Flowing Rivers” The post Martian Features Were Carved by Glaciers, not Flowing Rivers appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
