ESA Recruits Amateur Astronomers Ahead of Hera Asteroid Mission The European Space Agency is looking to recruit amateur astronomers to help characterize possible secondary targets for the upcoming Hera asteroid rendezvous mission. The post ESA Recruits Amateur Astronomers Ahead of Hera Asteroid Mission appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
New astronomical instrument on the hunt for exoplanets At the highest point of the Quinlan mountains, overlooking the Sonoran Desert as it stretches across southern Arizona, NEID (pronounced like “fluid”) recently collected its first observations, known colloquially by astronomers as “first light,” at the Kitt Peak National Observatory. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Image: Hubble views galaxy from famous catalog This bright, somewhat blob-like object—seen in this image taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope—is a galaxy named NGC 1803. It is about 200 million light-years away, in the southern constellation of Pictor (the Painter’s Easel). phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Here and gone: Outbound comets are likely of extra-solar origin Astronomers at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) have analyzed the paths of two objects heading out of the Solar System forever and determined that they also most likely originated from outside of the Solar System. These results improve our understanding of the outer Solar System and beyond. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
XMM-Newton discovers scorching gas in Milky Way’s halo ESA’s XMM-Newton has discovered that gas lurking within the Milky Way’s halo reaches far hotter temperatures than previously thought and has a different chemical make-up than predicted, challenging our understanding of our galactic home. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
An Asteroid has been Found that Orbits the Sun Closer than Venus Astronomers at Caltech’s Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) have discovered an asteroid that orbits inside Venus. Though other asteroids have a portion of their orbit inside Venus’, this is the first one with an orbit that is completely inside Venus’ orbit. The new object is named 2020 AV2. 2020 AV2 is a member of a small … Continue reading “An Asteroid has been Found that Orbits the Sun Closer than Venus” The post An Asteroid has been Found that Orbits the Sun Closer than Venus appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go toRead More →
Another Beautiful Image of Jupiter from Juno During its Latest Flyby. Great Work by Gerald Eichstadt and Sean Doran Confucius said, “Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” When it comes to Jupiter, Gerald Eichstädt and Seán Doran can certainly see it. And lucky for us, they have the skill to bring that beauty to the fore for the rest of us to enjoy. The Juno spacecraft’s JunoCam instrument takes raw unprocessed photos … Continue reading “Another Beautiful Image of Jupiter from Juno During its Latest Flyby. Great Work by Gerald Eichstadt and Sean Doran” The post Another Beautiful Image of Jupiter from JunoRead More →
Scientists Figure Out How to Continuously Watch the Entire Planet With Just 4 Satellites A new study has shown that optimal global satellite coverage can be achieved with just four satellites, and in a very cost-effective way. The post Scientists Figure Out How to Continuously Watch the Entire Planet With Just 4 Satellites appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Beautiful Image of Ice at Mars’ Northern Polar Cap A new image from the ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft shows how beautiful, and desolate, Mars can appear. It also highlights some of the natural process that shape the planet’s surface. The image is of the northern polar region, and it features bright patches of ice, deep dark troughs, and evidence of storms and strong winds. … Continue reading “Beautiful Image of Ice at Mars’ Northern Polar Cap” The post Beautiful Image of Ice at Mars’ Northern Polar Cap appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Possible discovery of a new super-Earth orbiting Proxima Centauri Astronomers have discovered another candidate exoplanet orbiting our neighbor Proxima Centauri. A paper announcing these results was just published in the journal Science Advances. If confirmed, it will be the second exoplanet discovered to be orbiting the star. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
A Second Planet May Have been Found Orbiting Proxima Centauri! And it’s a Super Earth. Astronomers have discovered another candidate exoplanet orbiting our neighbor, Proxima Centauri. A paper announcing these results was just published in the journal Science Advances. If confirmed, it will be the second exoplanet orbiting the star. It was big news in 2016 when astronomers discovered a planet orbiting Proxima Centauri (PC,) the nearest star to our … Continue reading “A Second Planet May Have been Found Orbiting Proxima Centauri! And it’s a Super Earth.” The post A Second Planet May Have been Found Orbiting Proxima Centauri! And it’s a Super Earth.Read More →
It Takes Two Stars to Make a Gamma Ray Burst A new study by researchers from the University of Warwick shows how Gamma Ray Bursts can only occur with binary systems. The post It Takes Two Stars to Make a Gamma Ray Burst appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Underwater Robot Captures its First Sample 500 Meters Below the Surface of the Ocean The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) says their underwater robot has just completed the first-ever automated underwater sampling operation. The robot is called Nereid Under Ice (NEI) and it collected the sample in Greece. WHOI is developing Nereid in association with NASA’s Planetary Science and Technology from Analog Research (PSTAR) program. NUI is a little … Continue reading “Underwater Robot Captures its First Sample 500 Meters Below the Surface of the Ocean” The post Underwater Robot Captures its First Sample 500 Meters Below the Surface of the Ocean appeared first onRead More →
Weekly Space Hangout: January 15, 2019 – Dr Erin Explains the Universe Hosts: Fraser Cain (universetoday.com / @fcain) Dr. Kimberly Cartier (KimberlyCartier.org / @AstroKimCartier ) Beth Johnson (@planetarypan) Moiya McTier (https://www.moiyamctier.com/ / @GoAstroMo) This week we welcome Dr. Erin Macdonald to the Weekly Space Hangout. Erin is an astrophysicist, science fiction consultant, aerospace engineer, and host of the online series “Dr Erin Explains the Universe”. Her specialty is in general relativity, having … Continue reading “Weekly Space Hangout: January 15, 2019 – Dr Erin Explains the Universe” The post Weekly Space Hangout: January 15, 2019 – Dr Erin Explains the Universe appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go toRead More →
Taking the temperature of dark matter Warm, cold, just right? Physicists at the University of California, Davis are taking the temperature of dark matter, the mysterious substance that makes up about a quarter of our universe. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Astronomers discover class of strange objects near our galaxy’s enormous black hole Astronomers from UCLA’s Galactic Center Orbits Initiative have discovered a new class of bizarre objects at the center of our galaxy, not far from the supermassive black hole called Sagittarius A*. They published their research today in the journal Nature. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Putting the universe under the telescope We humans are a curious, questing lot, and the 2020s will see us continue to observe the universe around us, trying to understand more about fundamental particles, forces, objects and relationships from both ground and space-based instruments. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
V473 Lyr has a low-mass companion, study suggests Using ESA’s XMM-Newton spacecraft, astronomers have conducted X-ray observations of a peculiar Cepheid variable star known as V473 Lyr. Results of the study suggest that this star has a young, low-mass companion. The finding is detailed in a paper published January 7 on the arXiv pre-print repository. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Astronomers Reveal Interstellar Thread of One of Life’s Building Blocks Phosphorus, present in our DNA and cell membranes, is an essential element for life as we know it. But how it arrived on the early Earth is something of a mystery. Astronomers have now traced the journey of phosphorus from star-forming regions to comets using the combined powers of ALMA and the European Space Agency’s probe Rosetta. Their research shows, for the first time, where molecules containing phosphorus form, how this element is carried in comets, and how a particular molecule may have played a crucial role in starting life on our planet. ESO NewsRead More →
LightSail 2 is Still Solar Sailing, But it’s Getting Lower and Lower with Each Orbit LightSail 2 deployed it solar sail five months ago, and it’s still orbiting Earth. It’s a successful demonstration of the potential of solar sail spacecraft. Now the LightSail 2 team at The Planetary Society has released a paper outlining their findings from the mission so far. The solar sail concept has been around for a … Continue reading “LightSail 2 is Still Solar Sailing, But it’s Getting Lower and Lower with Each Orbit” The post LightSail 2 is Still Solar Sailing, But it’s Getting Lower and Lower with Each OrbitRead More →
