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Almost 800,000 Years Ago, an Enormous Meteorite Struck Earth. Now We Know Where. 20% of the surface of Earth’s Eastern Hemisphere is littered with a certain kind of rock. Black, glossy blobs called tektites are spread throughout Australasia. Scientists know they’re from a meteorite strike, but they’ve never been able to locate the crater where it struck Earth. Now a team of scientists seems to have found it. … Continue reading “Almost 800,000 Years Ago, an Enormous Meteorite Struck Earth. Now We Know Where.” The post Almost 800,000 Years Ago, an Enormous Meteorite Struck Earth. Now We Know Where. appeared first on Universe Today. UniverseRead More →

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TESS dates an ancient collision with our galaxy A single bright star in the constellation of Indus, visible from the southern hemisphere, has revealed new insights on an ancient collision that our galaxy the Milky Way underwent with another smaller galaxy called Gaia-Enceladus early in its history. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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Another state change of the variable gamma-ray pulsar PSR J2021+4026 observed by astronomers Using NASA’s Fermi telescope, astronomers have detected a state change of the gamma-ray emission and spin-down rate of the variable radio-quiet gamma-ray pulsar PSR J2021+4026. Such behavior was first observed in this pulsar in 2011, and the new detection could shed light on the mechanism of state switching in gamma-ray pulsars. The finding is detailed in a paper published January 2 on arXiv.org. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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The interiors of stars The interiors of stars are largely mysterious regions because they are so difficult to observe directly. Our lack of understanding about the physical processes there, like rotation and the mixing of hot gas, introduces considerable ambiguity about how stars shine and how they evolve. Stellar oscillations, detected through brightness fluctuations, offer one way to probe these subsurface regions. In the Sun, these vibrations are due to pressure waves generated by turbulence in its upper layers (the layers dominated by convective gas motions). Helioseismology is the name given to the study of these oscillations in the Sun, and astroseismology is the termRead More →

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Oxygen line opens new perspective on the far universe A team of astronomers of Leiden University and the University of Texas (Austin, United States) has discovered a new way to map distant galaxies. They did so by observing the fingerprint of oxygen in a distant galaxy, something that is usually not possible from Earth. The researchers will publish their findings in the journal the Astrophysical Journal Letters. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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In About 3 Million Years, WASP-12b Will Spiral into its Star and be Consumed A new study led by Princeton researchers has confirmed that in the long run, hot Jupiters are destined to be devoured by their suns. The post In About 3 Million Years, WASP-12b Will Spiral into its Star and be Consumed appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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Hubble Finds Teeny Tiny Clumps of Dark Matter Using data from Hubble and the gravitational lensing technique, a team of astronomers have found definitive evidence that Dark Matter is indeed “cold”. The post Hubble Finds Teeny Tiny Clumps of Dark Matter appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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There’s a new method to measure the expansion rate of the Universe, but it doesn’t resolve the Crisis in Cosmology In a recent post I wrote about a study that argued dark energy isn’t needed to explain the redshifts of distant supernovae. I also mentioned we shouldn’t rule out dark energy quite yet, because there are several independent measures of cosmic expansion that don’t require supernovae. Sure enough, a new study has measured cosmic expansion … Continue reading “There’s a new method to measure the expansion rate of the Universe, but it doesn’t resolve the Crisis in Cosmology” The post There’s a new method toRead More →

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The Perfect Stars to Search for Life On Their Planets We tend to think of our Earthly circumstances as normal. A watery, temperate world orbiting a stable yellow star. A place where life has persisted for nearly 4 billion years. It’s almost inevitable that when we think of other places where life could thrive, we use our own experience as a benchmark. But should we? … Continue reading “The Perfect Stars to Search for Life On Their Planets” The post The Perfect Stars to Search for Life On Their Planets appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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Stellar black holes: When David poses as Goliath Stellar black holes form when massive stars end their life in a dramatic collapse. Observations have shown that stellar black holes typically have masses of about ten times that of the Sun, in accordance with the theory of stellar evolution. Recently, a Chinese team of astronomers claimed to have discovered a black hole as massive as 70 solar masses, which, if confirmed, would severely challenge the current view of stellar evolution. The publication immediately triggered theoretical investigations as well as additional observations by other astrophysicists. Among those to take a closer look at the object was aRead More →

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Study probes the origin of the very high energy gamma-ray source VER J1907+062 A new study based on high-quality radio observations with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) has investigated the origin of a very high-energy gamma-ray source known as VER J1907+062. Results of the study, published December 27 on arXiv.org, suggest that VER J1907+062 consists of two separate gamma-ray sources. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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On the hunt for primordial black holes The theory that dark matter could be made of primordial black holes a fraction of a millimeter in size has been ruled out by a team of researchers led by the Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU). phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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Simulation of dwarf galaxy reveals different routes for strontium enrichment Simulations of a dwarf galaxy by RIKEN astrophysicists have revealed the various processes by which moderately heavy metals such as strontium are birthed. They have found that at least four kinds of stars are needed to explain the observed abundance of these metals in dwarf galaxies. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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TESS Finds a Planet That Orbits Two Stars Researchers working with data from NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) have a found a planet that orbits two stars. Initially, the system was identified by citizen scientists as a pair of eclipsing binary stars without a planet. But an intern taking a closer look at that data found that it was misidentified. The intern’s … Continue reading “TESS Finds a Planet That Orbits Two Stars” The post TESS Finds a Planet That Orbits Two Stars appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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An Upcoming Impact With the Magellanic Clouds is Already Causing Star Formation in the Milky Way A new study presented at the 235th meeting of the AAS this week shows how star formation is already happening thanks to the expected collision between the Milky Way and the LMC. The post An Upcoming Impact With the Magellanic Clouds is Already Causing Star Formation in the Milky Way appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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A Huge Wave is Passing Through the Milky Way Unleashing New Stellar Nurseries Stars are formed within large clouds of gas and dust known as stellar nurseries. While star formation was once seen as a simple gravitational process, we now know it is a complex dance of interactions. When one star forms it can send shock waves through the interstellar medium that trigger other stars to form. Supernovae … Continue reading “A Huge Wave is Passing Through the Milky Way Unleashing New Stellar Nurseries” The post A Huge Wave is Passing Through the Milky Way Unleashing New Stellar Nurseries appeared first on Universe Today. UniverseRead More →

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Stellar heavy metals can trace history of galaxies Astronomers have cataloged signs of nine heavy metals in the infrared light from supergiant and giant stars. New observations based on this catalog will help researchers to understand how events like binary neutron star mergers have affected the chemical composition and evolution of our own Milky Way Galaxy and other galaxies. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →