European planet-studying mission launches from South America A European spacecraft launched from South America Wednesday on a three-year mission to study planets in other solar systems. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Astronomers Map the Surface of a Pulsar Using NICER data, two teams of researchers were able to map the surface of a pulsar for the first time in history! The post Astronomers Map the Surface of a Pulsar appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Mars Has Auroras Too, We Just Can’t See Them Our eyes can’t see them, but Martian auroras are there, and more commonplace than we once thought. The Martian auroras were first discovered in 2016 by NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft. Now some new results are expanding our knowledge of these unusual auroras. Most Universe Today readers know about Earth’s auroras and how they’re created. When a … Continue reading “Mars Has Auroras Too, We Just Can’t See Them” The post Mars Has Auroras Too, We Just Can’t See Them appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Carnival of Space #642 This week’s Carnival of Space is hosted by Brian Wang at his Next Big Future blog. Click here to read Carnival of Space #642 And if you’re interested in looking back, here’s an archive to all the past Carnivals of Space. If you’ve got a space-related blog, you should really join the carnival. Just email an entry … Continue reading “Carnival of Space #642” The post Carnival of Space #642 appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Hundreds of thousands of people select names for exoplanet systems On 17 December 2019 the names of 112 sets of exoplanets and host stars named in the IAU100 NameExoWorlds campaigns were announced at a press conference in Paris (France). Within the framework of the International Astronomical Union’s 100th anniversary commemorations (IAU100) in 2019, 112 countries organised national campaigns that stimulated the direct participation of over 780 000 people worldwide, who proposed and selected names for each exoplanet and its host star. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Galaxy gathering brings warmth As the holiday season approaches, people in the northern hemisphere will gather indoors to stay warm. In keeping with the season, astronomers have studied two groups of galaxies that are rushing together and producing their own warmth. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
SDO sees new kind of magnetic explosion on sun NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory has observed a magnetic explosion the likes of which have never been seen before. In the scorching upper reaches of the Sun’s atmosphere, a prominence—a large loop of material launched by an eruption on the solar surface—started falling back to the surface of the Sun. But before it could make it, the prominence ran into a snarl of magnetic field lines, sparking a magnetic explosion. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Distant Milky Way-like galaxies reveal star formation history of the universe Look at this new radio image covered with dots, each of which is a distant galaxy! The brightest spots are galaxies that are powered by supermassive black holes and shine bright in radio light. But what makes this image special are the numerous faint dots filling the sky. These are distant galaxies like our own that have never been observed in radio light before. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Meteorites lend clues to solar system’s origin The isotopic composition of meteorites and terrestrial planets holds important clues about the earliest history of the solar system and the processes of planet formation. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Planetary Mass Objects Discovered in Other Galaxies A team of researchers at the University of Oklahoma have discovered “planetary mass bodies” outside of the Milky Way. They were discovered in one gravitationally-lensed galaxy, and in one gravitationally-lensed galaxy cluster using a technique called quasar micro-lensing. According to the researchers, the planetary mass objects are either planets or primordial black holes. These detections … Continue reading “Planetary Mass Objects Discovered in Other Galaxies” The post Planetary Mass Objects Discovered in Other Galaxies appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Mars Express Takes Photos of Phobos as it Flies Past The ESA’s Mars Express Orbiter is no stranger to the Martian moon Phobos. The spacecraft was launched in June 2003 and has been in orbit around Mars for 16 years. During its long time at Mars, it’s captured detailed images of Phobos, and helped unlocked some of that Moon’s secrets. In a new sequence of … Continue reading “Mars Express Takes Photos of Phobos as it Flies Past” The post Mars Express Takes Photos of Phobos as it Flies Past appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
ESO Telescope Images Stunning Central Region of Milky Way, Finds Ancient Star Burst ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) has observed the central part of the Milky Way with spectacular resolution and uncovered new details about the history of star birth in our galaxy. Thanks to the new observations, astronomers have found evidence for a dramatic event in the life of the Milky Way: a burst of star formation so intense that it resulted in over a hundred thousand supernova explosions. ESO News Feed Go to SourceRead More →
Very Large Telescope images stunning central region of Milky Way, finds ancient star burst ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) has observed the central part of the Milky Way with spectacular resolution and uncovered new details about the history of star birth in our galaxy. Thanks to the new observations, astronomers have found evidence for a dramatic event in the life of the Milky Way: a burst of star formation so intense that it resulted in over a hundred thousand supernova explosions. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Carbon cocoons surround growing galaxies—ALMA spots earliest environment pollution in the universe Researchers have discovered gigantic clouds of gaseous carbon spanning more than a radius of 30,000 light-years around young galaxies using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). This is the first confirmation that carbon atoms produced inside of stars in the early universe have spread beyond galaxies. No theoretical studies have predicted such huge carbon cocoons around growing galaxies, which raises questions about our current understanding of cosmic evolution. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Astronomers present a concept for the next NASA flagship mission Astronomers are making the case for a new mission to search for Earth-like planets outside our solar system. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Image: Hubble’s celestial peanut This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows NGC 1175, a galaxy with an intriguing and distinctive shape. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Planetary nebula NGC 3132 investigated with MUSE Using the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument, European astronomers have taken a closer look at the planetary nebula NGC 3132. MUSE observations have delivered crucial data regarding the nebula’s physical and chemical properties. The new study is detailed in a paper published December 5 on arXiv.org. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Researchers discover exoplanets can be made less habitable by stars’ flares The discovery of terrestrial exoplanets, planets that orbit stars outside the solar system, has been one of the most significant developments in modern astronomy. Several exoplanets lie in the “habitable zones” of stars, where planets are thought to be able to maintain liquid water on their surface, and have the potential to host life. However, an exoplanet that is too close to its host star is highly sensitive to radiation bursts from the star, also known as flares. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
NASA Maps Out the Water On Mars. Some Will Be So Easy to Get, You Could Dig it Out With a Shovel NASA has created a map showing how water is distributed on Mars. The water is frozen under the surface of the planet, and some of it is only 30 cm (12 inches) deep. At that depth, astronauts won’t need a machine to access it: just a shovel. Ancient Mars used to be warm and had … Continue reading “NASA Maps Out the Water On Mars. Some Will Be So Easy to Get, You Could Dig it Out With a Shovel” The post NASARead More →
Planets Started Out From Dust Clumping Together. Here’s How A new study by a team of German physicists and an American biomedical engineer has solved a long-standing problem in how planets form. The post Planets Started Out From Dust Clumping Together. Here’s How appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
