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Scientists reveal photochemical rationale of SH(X)/H2S abundance ratios in interstellar medium Research group led by Prof. YUAN Kaijun and Prof. YANG Xueming from the Dalian Institue of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences revealed the photochemical rationale of SH(X)/H2S abundance ratios in interstellar medium with the help of Dalian Coherent Light Source. The results were published in Nature Communications. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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Warped space-time to help WFIRST find exoplanets NASA’s Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) will search for planets outside our solar system toward the center of our Milky Way galaxy, where most stars are. Studying the properties of exoplanet worlds will help us understand what planetary systems throughout the galaxy are like and how planets form and evolve. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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Weekly Space Hangout: April 1, 2020 – Dr. Robert B. Hayes and Radiation Shielding in Space Hosts: Fraser Cain (universetoday.com / @fcain) Dr. Kimberly Cartier (KimberlyCartier.org / @AstroKimCartier ) Pam Hoffman (EverydaySpacer.com / @EverydaySpacer) Michael Rodruck (@michaelrodruck) Announcements: This week we are airing Fraser’s prerecorded interview with Dr. Robert B. Hayes, Associate Professor of Nuclear Engineering at North Carolina State University. Dr. Hayes is co-author of a recent paper published January 7. 2020, in … Continue reading “Weekly Space Hangout: April 1, 2020 – Dr. Robert B. Hayes and Radiation Shielding in Space” The post Weekly Space Hangout: April 1, 2020 – Dr. Robert B. Hayes and RadiationRead More →

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Study determines burst properties of the most recurring transient magnetar Using NASA’s Fermi and Swift spacecraft, astronomers have investigated SGR J1935+2154, the most recurring transient magnetar known to date. The new research sheds more light on the burst properties of this object. The study is detailed in a paper published March 23 on the arXiv pre-print repository. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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NASA selects mission to study causes of giant solar particle storms NASA has selected a new mission to study how the Sun generates and releases giant space weather storms—known as solar particle storms—into planetary space. Not only will such information improve understanding of how our solar system works, but it ultimately can help protect astronauts traveling to the Moon and Mars by providing better information on how the Sun’s radiation affects the space environment they must travel through. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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How were Supermassive Black Holes Already Forming and Releasing Powerful Jets Shortly After the Big Bang? A series of studies has shown that the seeds of supermassive black holes and relativistic jets existed much sooner than expected The post How were Supermassive Black Holes Already Forming and Releasing Powerful Jets Shortly After the Big Bang? appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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Image: Hubble hooks a one-arm galaxy NGC 4618 was discovered on April 9, 1787, by the German-British astronomer William Herschel, who also discovered Uranus in 1781. Only a year before discovering NGC 4618, Herschel theorized that the “foggy” objects astronomers were seeing in the night sky were likely to be large star clusters located much farther away than the individual stars he could easily discern. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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Are the Gaps in These Disks Caused by Planets? Astronomers like observing distant young stars as they form. Stars are born out of a molecular cloud, and once enough of the matter in that cloud clumps together, fusion ignites and a star begins its life. The leftover material from the formation of the star is called a circumstellar disk. As the material in the … Continue reading “Are the Gaps in These Disks Caused by Planets?” The post Are the Gaps in These Disks Caused by Planets? appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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The heliosphere looks a lot weirder than we originally thought Every second of every day, our sun spits out a stream of tiny high-energy particles, known as the solar wind. This wind blows throughout the solar system, extending far beyond the orbits of the planets and out into interstellar space. But the farther from the sun the wind gets, the more slowly it streams, changing … Continue reading “The heliosphere looks a lot weirder than we originally thought” The post The heliosphere looks a lot weirder than we originally thought appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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ALMA resolves gas impacted by young jets from supermassive black hole Astronomers obtained the first resolved image of disturbed gaseous clouds in a galaxy 11 billion light-years away by using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The team found that the disruption is caused by young powerful jets ejected from a supermassive black hole residing at the center of the host galaxy. This result will cast light on the mystery of the evolutionary process of galaxies in the early Universe. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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Highest Resolution Mosaic Image of the Surface of Bennu NASA and the University of Arizona have released a stunning new global map of asteroid Bennu. At 2 inches (5 cm) per pixel, this is the highest-resolution global map of any planetary body. This hi-res map will help guide the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to the surface of the asteroid to collect a sample, currently scheduled for … Continue reading “Highest Resolution Mosaic Image of the Surface of Bennu” The post Highest Resolution Mosaic Image of the Surface of Bennu appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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This Powerful Ion Engine Will Be Flying on NASA’s DART Mission to Try and Redirect an Asteroid Despite humanity’s current struggle against the novel coronavirus, and despite it taking up most of our attention, other threats still exist. The very real threat of a possible asteroid strike on Earth in the future is taking a backseat for now, but it’s still there. Though an asteroid strike seems kind of ephemeral right now, … Continue reading “This Powerful Ion Engine Will Be Flying on NASA’s DART Mission to Try and Redirect an Asteroid” The post This Powerful Ion Engine Will Be Flying on NASA’s DART MissionRead More →

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Following Comet Y1 ATLAS: the ‘Lost Comet’ of Spring Got clear skies? If you’re like us, you’ve been putting the recent pandemic-induced exile to productive use, and got out under the nighttime sky. And though 2020 has yet to offer up a good bright ‘Comet of the Century’ to keep us entertained, there have been a steady stream of good binocular comets for northern hemisphere viewers, including C/2017 T2 PanSTARRS and C/2019 Y4 ATLAS. This week, I’d like to turn your attention to another good binocular comet that is currently at its peak: the ‘other’ comet ATLAS, C/2019 Y1 ATLAS. The post Following Comet Y1Read More →

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Supernova remnant W49B investigated with XMM-Newton Chinese astronomers using ESA’s XMM-Newton spacecraft have investigated a luminous supernova remnant (SNR) known as W49B. Results of the new study, presented in a paper published March 16 on arXiv.org, shed more light on the properties of this SNR and on the nature of its progenitor. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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Weekly Space Hangout: March 25, 2020 – Amy Shira Teitel’s Fighting for Space Hosts: Fraser Cain (universetoday.com / @fcain) Allen Versfeld (https://www.urban-astronomer.com/ / @uastronomer) Carolyn Collins Petersen (TheSpaceWriter.com / @spacewriter) Alex Teachey (alexteachey.com /@alexteachey We are pleased to once again welcome our good friend Amy Shira Teitel back to the WSH to chat about her most recent labor of love, her new book Fighting for Space which tells the story of female pilots … Continue reading “Weekly Space Hangout: March 25, 2020 – Amy Shira Teitel’s Fighting for Space” The post Weekly Space Hangout: March 25, 2020 – Amy Shira Teitel’s Fighting for Space appeared first on Universe Today. UniverseRead More →