News (Page 427)

Languages Will Change Significantly on Interstellar Flights A pair of linguists recently did a study, which appeared in an ESA-associated journal, that discusses how interstellar travel could lead to changes in our language. The post Languages Will Change Significantly on Interstellar Flights appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Although InSight’s Mole is Completely Buried, it Might be Stuck Again You’ve gotta hand it to NASA, and to the German Aerospace Center (DLR.) They’ve been struggling for over a year to get the InSight Lander’s Mole working. There’ve been setbacks, then progress, then more setbacks, as they try to get the Mole deep enough to do its job. Now the Mole is finally buried completely … Continue reading “Although InSight’s Mole is Completely Buried, it Might be Stuck Again” The post Although InSight’s Mole is Completely Buried, it Might be Stuck Again appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

What Telescope Will Be Needed to See the First Stars in the Universe? The Ultimately Large Telescope The oldest stars in the Universe are cloaked in darkness. Their redshift is so high, we can only wonder about them. The James Webb Space Telescope will be our most effective telescope for observing the very early Universe, and should observe out to z = 15. But even it has limitations. To observe the Universe’s … Continue reading “What Telescope Will Be Needed to See the First Stars in the Universe? The Ultimately Large Telescope” The post What Telescope Will Be Needed to See the First Stars inRead More →

Detecting the Neutrinos From a Supernova That’s About to Explode Neutrinos are puzzling things. They’re tiny particles, almost massless, with no electrical charge. They’re notoriously difficult to detect, too, and scientists have gone to great lengths to detect them. The IceCube Neutrino Observatory, for instance, tries to detect neutrinos with strings of detectors buried down to a depth of 2450 meters (8000 ft.) in the … Continue reading “Detecting the Neutrinos From a Supernova That’s About to Explode” The post Detecting the Neutrinos From a Supernova That’s About to Explode appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Dawn Patrol: Jupiter and Saturn at Opposition 2020 Missing the planets in the first half of 2020? That’s all about to change, as the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn reach opposition in rapid succession this month, heralding a return to the dusk sky. The post Dawn Patrol: Jupiter and Saturn at Opposition 2020 appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

A Tabletop-sized Experiment Could Help in the Search for Dark Matter Dark matter is one of the least understood aspects in physics.  The evidence for dark matter is from its gravitational influence on galactic scales which cannot be explained by the presence of conventional matter.  Despite its large gravitational interactions, it is notoriously difficult to learn about dark matter as it does not interact with electromagnetic … Continue reading “A Tabletop-sized Experiment Could Help in the Search for Dark Matter” The post A Tabletop-sized Experiment Could Help in the Search for Dark Matter appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Electron Rocket’s 13th Launch Failed, Destroying its Satellite Payload In what would have been the 12th successful launch of their Electron rocket, Rocket Lab The post Electron Rocket’s 13th Launch Failed, Destroying its Satellite Payload appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

The Corona Australis Molecular Cloud. Normally this Looks Like a Dark Blob in the Sky. But in Infrared, it Looks Like This. The Corona Australis is a constellation in the southern hemisphere. It’s name literally means “southern crown.” One of its features is the Corona Australis molecular cloud, home to a star-forming region containing young stars and proto-stars. It’s one of the closest star-forming regions to us, only about 430 light years away. The ESA has given … Continue reading “The Corona Australis Molecular Cloud. Normally this Looks Like a Dark Blob in the Sky. But in Infrared, it Looks Like This.” The post TheRead More →

The Moon Might Be More Metal-Rich Than We Thought A new study shows that the Moon is more metal-rich than previously thought. That has some far-reaching implications for our understanding of the Moon’s formation. If their results are solid, it means that we may need to re-think the giant impact hypothesis for the formation of the Moon. A team of scientists using the Lunar … Continue reading “The Moon Might Be More Metal-Rich Than We Thought” The post The Moon Might Be More Metal-Rich Than We Thought appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Amateur Astronomers Find a Brand New Storm on Jupiter Amateur astronomers have discovered a new storm near the Great Red Spot. The post Amateur Astronomers Find a Brand New Storm on Jupiter appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Betelgeuse Probably Dimmed Because of Enormous Starspots A few months ago we all watched as Betelgeuse dimmed. Between October 2019 and 22nd of February 2020 the star’s brightness dropped by a factor of about three. It went from magnitude 0.5, and from being the tenth-brightest star in the sky, to magnitude 1.7. Naturally, we all wondered what was happening. Would it go … Continue reading “Betelgeuse Probably Dimmed Because of Enormous Starspots” The post Betelgeuse Probably Dimmed Because of Enormous Starspots appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →