By:
On:
In: News, RSSfeeds

Breaking the limits: Discovery of the highest-energy photons from a gamma-ray burst Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are brief and extremely powerful cosmic explosions, suddenly appearing in the sky, about once per day. They are thought to result from the collapse of massive stars or the merging of neutron stars in distant galaxies. They commence with an initial, very bright flash, called the prompt emission, with a duration ranging from a fraction of a second to hundreds of seconds. The prompt emission is accompanied by the so-called afterglow, a less brighter but longer-lasting emission over a broad range of wavelengths that fades with time. The first GRBRead More →

By:
On:
In: News, RSSfeeds, Universe Today

Conjunction Alert: Jupiter Meets Venus at Dusk Get ready: The queries are inbound. “Did you see those two bright things in the sky last night?” Says a well meaning family member/friend/coworker/random person on Twitter that knows you’re into astronomy. “They were HUGE!” The post Conjunction Alert: Jupiter Meets Venus at Dusk appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

By:
On:
In: News, RSSfeeds, Universe Today

Weekly Space Hangout: November 20, 2019 – Kathryn Bywaters, Research Scientist at the SETI Insitute Hosts: Fraser Cain (universetoday.com / @fcain) Dr. Morgan Rehnberg (MorganRehnberg.com / @MorganRehnberg & ChartYourWorld.org) Beth Johnson (@planetarypan) Michael Rodruck (@michaelrodruck) Tonight we are very excited to welcome Dr. Kathryn Bywaters, Research Scientist at the SETI Insitute where she is currently working on the development of life-detection instrumentation for future space exploration. Additionally, she is investigating … Continue reading “Weekly Space Hangout: November 20, 2019 – Kathryn Bywaters, Research Scientist at the SETI Insitute” The post Weekly Space Hangout: November 20, 2019 – Kathryn Bywaters, Research Scientist at the SETI InsituteRead More →

By:
On:
In: News, RSSfeeds

Astronomers investigate stellar content of the open cluster NGC 330 Using the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile, astronomers have conducted a spectroscopic study of the young open cluster NGC 330. Results of the research, published on arXiv.org, provide more details about the cluster’s stellar content. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

By:
On:
In: News, RSSfeeds

Outback telescope captures Milky Way center, discovers remnants of dead stars A radio telescope in the Western Australian outback has captured a spectacular new view of the center of the Milky Way galaxy. The image from the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) telescope shows what our galaxy would look like if human eyes could see radio waves. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

By:
On:
In: News, RSSfeeds, Universe Today

ESA Astronaut Luca Parmitano will be Controlling a Rover From Space The ESA has begun conducting experiments as part of their Analog project, which will allow human operators to control robotic rovers from orbit. The post ESA Astronaut Luca Parmitano will be Controlling a Rover From Space appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

By:
On:
In: News, RSSfeeds, Universe Today

Water Vapor Was Just Found on Europa, More Evidence There’s Liquid Water Beneath All that Ice What’s been long-suspected has now been confirmed: Jupiter’s moon Europa has water. As we’ve learned more about the outer Solar System in recent years, Europa has become a high-priority target in the search for life. With this discovery, NASA has just painted a big red bulls-eye on Jupiter’s smallest Galilean moon. “While scientists have not … Continue reading “Water Vapor Was Just Found on Europa, More Evidence There’s Liquid Water Beneath All that Ice” The post Water Vapor Was Just Found on Europa, More Evidence There’s Liquid Water BeneathRead More →

By:
On:
In: News, RSSfeeds, Universe Today

The Impact Site of China’s Longjiang-2 Spacecraft has Been Found on the Moon Thanks to an amateur tracker, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera team found the lunar impact site of China’s Longjiang-2 satellite. The post The Impact Site of China’s Longjiang-2 Spacecraft has Been Found on the Moon appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

By:
On:
In: News, RSSfeeds, Universe Today

Carnival of Space #638 This week’s Carnival of Space is hosted by Brian Wang at his Next Big Future blog. Click here to read Carnival of Space #638 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 #638” The post Carnival of Space #638 appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

By:
On:
In: News, RSSfeeds, Universe Today

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope Could Find More of Earth’s Transient Moons A team of astronomers estimates that the LSST (which will be operational in 2020) will allow us to learn more about Earths’ “transient moons”. The post The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope Could Find More of Earth’s Transient Moons appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

By:
On:
In: News, RSSfeeds, Universe Today

If Astronauts Hibernated on Long Journeys, They’d Need Smaller Spacecraft There’s a disturbing lack of hibernation in our space-faring plans. In movies and books, astronauts pop in and out of hibernation—or stasis, or cryogenic sleep, or suspended animation, or something like it—on a regular basis. If we ever figure out some kind of hibernation, can we take advantage of it to get by with smaller … Continue reading “If Astronauts Hibernated on Long Journeys, They’d Need Smaller Spacecraft” The post If Astronauts Hibernated on Long Journeys, They’d Need Smaller Spacecraft appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

By:
On:
In: News, RSSfeeds

NASA scientists confirm water vapor on Europa Forty years ago, a Voyager spacecraft snapped the first closeup images of Europa, one of Jupiter’s 79 moons. These revealed brownish cracks slicing the moon’s icy surface, which give Europa the look of a veiny eyeball. Missions to the outer solar system in the decades since have amassed enough additional information about Europa to make it a high-priority target of investigation in NASA’s search for life. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

By:
On:
In: News, RSSfeeds, Universe Today

Scientists Construct a Global Map of Titan’s Geology Titan’s methane-based hydrologic cycle makes it one of the Solar System’s most geologically diverse bodies. There are lakes of methane, methane rainfall, and even “snow” made of complex organic molecules. But all of that detail is hidden under the moon’s dense, hazy atmosphere. Now a team of scientists have used data from the Cassini mission … Continue reading “Scientists Construct a Global Map of Titan’s Geology” The post Scientists Construct a Global Map of Titan’s Geology appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

By:
On:
In: News, RSSfeeds

The measurements of the expansion of the universe don’t add up Physicists use two types of measurements to calculate the expansion rate of the universe, but their results do not coincide, which may make it necessary to update the cosmological model. “It’s like trying to thread a cosmic needle,” explains researcher Licia Verde of the University of Barcelona, co-author of an article on the implications of this problem. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →