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A Newer, More Accurate Measurement Sets the Mass of the Milky Way at 1.5 Trillion Solar Masses Astronomers keep trying to measure the mass of the Milky Way and they keep coming up with different numbers. But it’s not that they’re bad at math. Measuring the mass of something as enormous as the Milky Way is confounding. Plus, we’re embedded in it; it takes some very clever maneuvering to constrain its mass. … Continue reading “A Newer, More Accurate Measurement Sets the Mass of the Milky Way at 1.5 Trillion Solar Masses” The post A Newer, More Accurate Measurement Sets the Mass of the MilkyRead More →

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What scientists found after sifting through dust in the solar system Just as dust gathers in corners and along bookshelves in our homes, dust piles up in space too. But when the dust settles in the solar system, it’s often in rings. Several dust rings circle the Sun. The rings trace the orbits of planets, whose gravity tugs dust into place around the Sun, as it drifts by on its way to the center of the solar system. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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Astronomers detect X-ray emitting clumps ejected from the binary PSR B1259–63/LS 2883 Using NASA’s Chandra X-ray observatory, astronomers have spotted X-ray-emitting clumps being ejected with high velocities from the gamma-ray binary PSR B1259–63/LS 2883. The findings were presented in a paper published March 2 on arXiv.org, in which the authors also discuss possible explanations of this phenomenon. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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Jupiter’s magnetic field could be moving Europa’s ocean A pair of researchers, one with École Normale Supérieure, the other Laboratory for Studies of Radiation and Matter in Astrophysics and Atmospheres has found evidence that Jupiter’s magnetic field could be causing a jet stream in Europa’s underground ocean. In their paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy, Christophe Gissinger and Ludovic Petitdemange describe their analysis of data from the Galileo spacecraft and what they found. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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Collaboration enables investigation of the origin of heavy elements A team of experts in atomic physics, nuclear fusion, and astronomy has computed high-accuracy atomic data for analyzing light from a kilonova, a birth place of heavy elements. They found that their new data set could predict kilonovae brightness with much better accuracy than before. This aids our understanding of the cosmic origins of heavy elements. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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New study uncovers insights about the nature of the ultraviolet-bright star Barnard 29 Analyzing data from spectroscopic instruments, astronomers have reported fundamental properties of Barnard 29, an ultraviolet-bright star in globular cluster Messier 13. Results of the analysis, presented in a paper published March 1 on arXiv.org, provide important insights into the nature of this star. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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Massive Photons Could Explain Dark Matter, But Don’t I’ll be the first to admit that we don’t understand dark matter. We do know for sure that something funny is going on at large scales in the universe (“large” here meaning at least as big as galaxies). In short, the numbers just aren’t adding up. For example, when we look at a galaxy and … Continue reading “Massive Photons Could Explain Dark Matter, But Don’t” The post Massive Photons Could Explain Dark Matter, But Don’t appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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It Took 10 Years to Confirm the First Planet Ever Found by Kepler Even though astronomy people are fond of touting the number of exoplanets found by the Kepler spacecraft, those planets aren’t actually confirmed. They’re more correctly called candidate exoplanets, because the signals that show something’s out there, orbiting a distant star, can be caused by something other than exoplanets. It can actually take a long time … Continue reading “It Took 10 Years to Confirm the First Planet Ever Found by Kepler” The post It Took 10 Years to Confirm the First Planet Ever Found by Kepler appeared first on Universe Today. UniverseRead More →

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Ho-Hum. More Boring Success for SpaceX as Crew Dragon Splashes Down A few hours ago, the SpaceX Crew Dragon splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean, about 200 miles off the coast of Florida. The splashdown is the last act in what has been a successful first flight for the Crew Dragon. The flight, called Demo-1, was launched on March 2nd and spent five days at the … Continue reading “Ho-Hum. More Boring Success for SpaceX as Crew Dragon Splashes Down” The post Ho-Hum. More Boring Success for SpaceX as Crew Dragon Splashes Down appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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Hubble’s dazzling display of two colliding galaxies Located in the constellation of Hercules, about 230 million light-years away, NGC 6052 is a pair of colliding galaxies. They were first discovered in 1784 by William Herschel and were originally classified as a single irregular galaxy because of their odd shape. However, we now know that NGC 6052 actually consists of two galaxies that are in the process of colliding. This particular image of NGC 6052 was taken using the Wide Field Camera 3 on the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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Measurements yield precise atomic masses for nuclear reactions in the stars Matter is composed of chemical elements mainly created in stars via nuclear reactions and complex nuclear reaction networks. To understand these processes, we need to know properties of participating nuclei, such as their masses. In her doctoral thesis in the field of nuclear physics at the University of Jyväskylä, M. Sc. Laetitia Canete has precisely measured the atomic masses of the radioactive isotope of six elements. The measurement data can be used to better model different astrophysical processes. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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This is an Actual Photograph of the Shock Waves from Supersonic Jets Interacting with Each Other After more than 10 years of hard work, NASA has reached another milestone. We’re accustomed to NASA reaching milestones, but this one’s a little different. This one’s all about a type of photography that captures images of the flow of fluids. It’s called Schlieren Photography, and schlieren is German for “streaks.” It was first developed … Continue reading “This is an Actual Photograph of the Shock Waves from Supersonic Jets Interacting with Each Other” The post This is an Actual Photograph of the Shock Waves from Supersonic Jets InteractingRead More →

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Weekly Space Hangout: Mar 06, 2019 – Dr. Jeff Morgenthaler of the Planetary Science Institute Hosts: Dr. Morgan Rehnberg (MorganRehnberg.com / @MorganRehnberg & ChartYourWorld.org) Dr. Kimberly Cartier (KimberlyCartier.org / @AstroKimCartier ) Dr. Pamela Gay (astronomycast.com / cosmoquest.org / @starstryder) Jeff Morgenthaler, a senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute, likes to think of himself as an experimental physicist whose laboratory opens to the sky. He has used a comet to … Continue reading “Weekly Space Hangout: Mar 06, 2019 – Dr. Jeff Morgenthaler of the Planetary Science Institute” The post Weekly Space Hangout: Mar 06, 2019 – Dr. Jeff Morgenthaler of the Planetary Science InstituteRead More →

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‘Goldilocks’ stars may be ‘just right’ for finding habitable worlds Scientists looking for signs of life beyond our solar system face major challenges, one of which is that there are hundreds of billions of stars in our galaxy alone to consider. To narrow the search, they must figure out: What kinds of stars are most likely to host habitable planets? phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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You’re in This Picture. It’s a Selfie Taken by SpaceIL’s Beresheet Lunar Lander on its Way to the Moon Israel’s space program doesn’t get a lot of headlines. Israel itself is in the news a lot, but usually for other reasons. But they do have a space program, and right now they have a lander, called Beresheet, on the way to the Moon. Israel’s space program is run by the Israel Space Agency (ISA) … Continue reading “You’re in This Picture. It’s a Selfie Taken by SpaceIL’s Beresheet Lunar Lander on its Way to the Moon” The post You’re in This Picture. It’s a SelfieRead More →

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Hubble and Gaia accurately weigh the Milky Way In a striking example of multi-mission astronomy, measurements from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the ESA Gaia mission have been combined to improve the estimate of the mass of our home galaxy the Milky Way: 1.5 trillion solar masses. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →