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Astronomers catch wind rushing out of galaxy Exploring the influence of galactic winds from a distant galaxy called Makani, UC San Diego’s Alison Coil, Rhodes College’s David Rupke and a group of collaborators from around the world made a novel discovery. Published in Nature, their study’s findings provide direct evidence for the first time of the role of galactic winds—ejections of gas from galaxies—in creating the circumgalactic medium (CGM). It exists in the regions around galaxies, and it plays an active role in their cosmic evolution. The unique composition of Makani—meaning wind in Hawaiian—uniquely lent itself to the breakthrough findings. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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How we discovered a glowing galactic ghoul It’s a classic Halloween tale. A group of ghost hunters visit a grand old house that is rumored to be haunted. But after thoroughly exploring, they leave disappointed: there are no ghosts to be seen. Only later, when looking through their photographs of the place do they notice the mysterious apparition on the stairs. It was there all the time. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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Clouds On Jupiter Rising Up Above the Surrounding Atmosphere Though it looks like it to us, Jupiter’s clouds do no form a flat surface. Some of its clouds rise up above the surrounding cloud tops. The two bright spots in the right center of this image are much higher than the surrounding clouds. Jupiter’s atmosphere is a swirling, colourful, chaotic mix-up of currents and … Continue reading “Clouds On Jupiter Rising Up Above the Surrounding Atmosphere” The post Clouds On Jupiter Rising Up Above the Surrounding Atmosphere appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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New Telescope Instrument Will Watch the Sky with 5,000 Eyes Dark Energy is the mysterious force driving the expansion of the Universe. We don’t know what dark energy is, even though it makes up about 68% of the Universe. And the expansion is accelerating, which only adds to the mystery. A new instrument called the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) will study dark energy. It’s … Continue reading “New Telescope Instrument Will Watch the Sky with 5,000 Eyes” The post New Telescope Instrument Will Watch the Sky with 5,000 Eyes appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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Simulations explain giant exoplanets with eccentric, close-in orbits As planetary systems evolve, gravitational interactions between planets can fling some of them into eccentric elliptical orbits around the host star, or even out of the system altogether. Smaller planets should be more susceptible to this gravitational scattering, yet many gas giant exoplanets have been observed with eccentric orbits very different from the roughly circular orbits of the planets in our own solar system. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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Globular cluster Terzan 9 investigated with MUSE Using the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE), an international team of astronomers has investigated Terzan 9—one of the most central globular clusters in the Milky Way galaxy. Results of the study, presented in a paper published October 22 on arXiv, provide more information about the properties of Terzan 9, which could help astronomers to better understand the chemical composition and nature of this cluster. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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NASA is Testing a Rover That Could Search For Water Ice on The Moon NASA has plans to send the VIPER rover to the South Pole of the Moon to look for water ice, in preparation for sending astronauts there in 2024. The post NASA is Testing a Rover That Could Search For Water Ice on The Moon appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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Weekly Space Hangout: October 30, 2019 – Evelyn MacDonald on Finding Earth-Like Planets Hosts: Fraser Cain (universetoday.com / @fcain) Dr. Brian Koberlein (BrianKoberlein.com / @BrianKoberlein) Beth Johnson (@planetarypan) Michael Rodruck (@michaelrodruck) Tonight we welcome Evelyn MacDonald to the show in a PRERECORDED INTERVIEW with Fraser during which she discusses her thesis-turned-published-journal-article, something which rarely occurs. Evelyn MacDonald is a recent Physics graduate from McGill University. For her thesis, … Continue reading “Weekly Space Hangout: October 30, 2019 – Evelyn MacDonald on Finding Earth-Like Planets” The post Weekly Space Hangout: October 30, 2019 – Evelyn MacDonald on Finding Earth-Like Planets appeared first on Universe Today. UniverseRead More →

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X-37B Lands After 780 Days in Orbit Doing ??? The X-37B, the US Air Force’s experimental, Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) has come back down to Earth after 780 days. It landed at the Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility on Oct. 27, 2019, at 3:51 a.m. after breaking its own record for time in space. The X-37B has now spent 2,865 total days in … Continue reading “X-37B Lands After 780 Days in Orbit Doing ???” The post X-37B Lands After 780 Days in Orbit Doing ??? appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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TESS reveals an improbable planet Using asteroseismology, a team led by an Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço (IA) researcher studied two red-giant stars known to have exoplanets, and around one of them, found a seemingly improbable planet. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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New findings detail a method for investigating the inner workings of stars in a rare phase In 5 billion years or so, when the sun has used up the hydrogen in its core, it will inflate and turn into a red giant star. This phase of its life—and that of other stars up to twice its mass—is relatively short compared with the more than 10 billion-year life of the sun. The red giant will shine 1000 times brighter than the sun, and suddenly the helium deep in its core will begin fusing to carbon in a process called the “helium core flash.” After this, theRead More →

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Astronomers observe blazar S5 0836+710 during high activity period, detect two gamma-ray flares Italian astronomers have conducted multi-band observations of the high-redshift blazar S5 0836+710 during its period of high activity. The monitoring campaign resulted in the detection of two major gamma-ray flares from this source and provided more insights on the object’s properties. The findings are available in a paper published October 18 on arXiv.org. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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Dark energy: new experiment may solve one of the universe’s greatest mysteries As an astronomer, there is no better feeling than achieving “first light” with a new instrument or telescope. It is the culmination of years of preparations and construction of new hardware, which for the first time collects light particles from an astronomical object. This is usually followed by a sigh of relief and then the excitement of all the new science that is now possible. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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SpaceX is Sure They’ll be Able to Land Starship on the Moon in 2022 As the president of SpaceX said at the 2019 IAC, the company hopes to conduct missions to the Moon by 2022, and to send people there by 2024 The post SpaceX is Sure They’ll be Able to Land Starship on the Moon in 2022 appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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InSight’s Heat Probe Has Bounced Back Out Of Its Hole This is sad news. After finding what seemed like a solution to the Mole’s difficulties on Mars, engineers are stymied again. The Mole, or Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) has bounced half-way out of its hole. It’s like Groundhog Day on Mars. If the Mole bounces out of its hole, it means six … Continue reading “InSight’s Heat Probe Has Bounced Back Out Of Its Hole” The post InSight’s Heat Probe Has Bounced Back Out Of Its Hole appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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Astronomers See the Wreckage from a Collision Between Exoplanets The history of our Solar System is punctuated with collisions. Collisions helped create the terrestrial planets and end the reign of the dinosaurs. And a massive collision between Earth and an ancient body named Theia likely created the Moon. Now astronomers have found of evidence of a collision between two exoplanets in a distant solar … Continue reading “Astronomers See the Wreckage from a Collision Between Exoplanets” The post Astronomers See the Wreckage from a Collision Between Exoplanets appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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Giant neutrino telescope to open window to ultra-high-energy universe The long-sought, elusive ultra-high-energy neutrinos—ghost-like particles that travel cosmological-scale distances—are key to understanding the Universe at the highest energies. Detecting them is challenging, but the Giant Radio Array for Neutrino Detection (GRAND), a next-generation neutrino detector is designed to find them. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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ESO Telescope Reveals What Could be the Smallest Dwarf Planet Yet in the Solar System Astronomers using ESO’s SPHERE instrument at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) have revealed that the asteroid Hygiea could be classified as a dwarf planet. The object is the fourth largest in the asteroid belt after Ceres, Vesta and Pallas. For the first time, astronomers have observed Hygiea in sufficiently high resolution to study its surface and determine its shape and size. They found that Hygiea is spherical, potentially taking the crown from Ceres as the smallest dwarf planet in the Solar System. ESO News Feed Go to SourceRead More →

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Breakthrough Listen and NASA Team Up to Look for Signs of Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence! Breakthrough Listen recently entered into a partnership with members of the NASA TESS mission team to search for aliens! The post Breakthrough Listen and NASA Team Up to Look for Signs of Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence! appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →