Using Black Holes to Conquer Space: The Halo Drive! According to a new study, black holes could be used as a gravitational slingshot, allowing for interstellar space exploration. The post Using Black Holes to Conquer Space: The Halo Drive! appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Astronomers discover 83 supermassive black holes in the early universe Astronomers from Japan, Taiwan and Princeton University have discovered 83 quasars powered by supermassive black holes in the distant universe, from a time when the universe was less than 10 percent of its present age. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Neural networks predict planet mass To find out how planets form, astrophysicists run complicated and time-consuming computer calculations. Members of the NCCR PlanetS at the University of Bern have now developed a totally novel approach to speed up this process dramatically. They use deep learning based on artificial neural networks, a method that is well known in image recognition. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Large area solar flares are the likely source of puzzling millimeter emission Solar flares are sudden explosive processes that convert the energy of the magnetic field into the kinetic energy of electrons and ions. Since the beginning of the century, millimeter observations of solar flares became routinely possible at a few frequencies with limited spatial resolution (see Kaufmann 2012, as a review). One of the most puzzling aspects of the observations at millimeter wavelengths (200-400 GHz) is the presence, in some flares, of a bright spectral component that grows with frequency. This emission is about a hundred trillion times more powerful than the power fromRead More →
Researchers confirm massive hyper-runaway star ejected from the Milky Way Disk A fast-moving star may have been ejected from the Milky Way’s stellar disk by a cluster of young stars, according to researchers from the University of Michigan who say the star did not originate from the middle of the galaxy, as previously believed by astronomers. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Jupiter or Earth? Which One’s Which, and Why Do They Look so Similar? Jupiter: a massive, lifeless gas giant out there on the other side of the asteroid belt. It’s a behemoth, containing 2.5 times as much mass as all the other planets combined. To top it off, it’s named after the Roman God of War. Earth: a tiny rocky world, almost too close to the Sun, where … Continue reading “Jupiter or Earth? Which One’s Which, and Why Do They Look so Similar?” The post Jupiter or Earth? Which One’s Which, and Why Do They Look so Similar? appeared first on Universe Today. UniverseRead More →
Now You Can See MU69 in Thrilling 3D The New Horizons team has released new images that take advantage of the “binocular effect” to create 3D impressions of Ultima Thule. The post Now You Can See MU69 in Thrilling 3D appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
Messier 80 – the NGC 6093 Globular Cluster Located in the Scorpius constellation, roughly 32,600 light years from Earth, is the globular cluster known as Messier 80. The post Messier 80 – the NGC 6093 Globular Cluster appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
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 →
Massive twin star discovered snuggling close to its stellar sibling in its cradle Astronomers have discovered a binary star system with the closest high-mass young stellar objects ever measured, providing a valuable “laboratory” to test theories on high mass binary star formation. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
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 →
Pluto and Charon Don’t Have Enough Small Craters The New Horizons team just shared new findings about the lack of small craters on Pluto and Charon’s surface, which reveal things about the Kuiper Belt. The post Pluto and Charon Don’t Have Enough Small Craters appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
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 →
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 →
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 →
