Was This Huge River Delta on Mars the Place Where its Oceans Finally Disappeared? A new study has offered the first definitive proof that Mars’ northern lowlands were once covered in a liquid water ocean. The post Was This Huge River Delta on Mars the Place Where its Oceans Finally Disappeared? appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to Source Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has started a new mission to shed light on the evolution of the earliest galaxies in the Universe. The BUFFALO survey will observe six massive galaxy clusters and their surroundings. The first observations show the galaxy cluster Abell 370 and a host of magnified, gravitationally lensed galaxies around it. Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →

An international team of scientists led by Ivan Minchev of the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) has found a way to recover the birth places of stars in our Galaxy. This is one of the major goals in the field of Galactic Archaeology, whose aim is to reconstruct the formation history of the Milky Way. Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →

New research by Stella Offner, assistant professor of astronomy at The University of Texas at Austin, finds that magnetic waves are an important factor driving the process of star formation within the enormous clouds that birth stars. Her research sheds light on the processes that are responsible for setting the properties of stars, which in turn affects the formation of planets orbiting them, and, ultimately, life on those planets. The research is published in the current issue of the journal Nature Astronomy. Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →

This Beautiful Photo of Galaxy NGC 3981 was Taken by the Most Powerful Telescope in the World for no Scientific Reason at all. Just Because it’s Pretty When the ESO’s Very Large Telescope can’t pursue its science objectives, it spends its time capturing stunning image of fascinating celestial objects. The post This Beautiful Photo of Galaxy NGC 3981 was Taken by the Most Powerful Telescope in the World for no Scientific Reason at all. Just Because it’s Pretty appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to Source Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →

The Bizarre Picture is a 360-Degree View Around Curiosity on Mars NASA recently released a 360-degree panoramic image based on images taken by the Curiosity rover, which showed its latest drilling site. The post The Bizarre Picture is a 360-Degree View Around Curiosity on Mars appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to Source Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →

Superfast Jet of Material Blasted Out From Last Year’s Neutron Star Merger According to a new study by an international team of astronomers, last year’s kilonova event (where two neutron stars merged) resulted in a jet of material traveling at close to the speed of light. The post Superfast Jet of Material Blasted Out From Last Year’s Neutron Star Merger appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to Source Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →

Using NuSTAR spacecraft and NICER instrument, an international team of astronomers has found a new accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar. The newly discovered object, designated IGR J17591−2342, is the newest addition to a still short list of known accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars. The finding is reported in a paper published August 30 on the arXiv pre-print server. Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →

A Galactic Gem FORS2, an instrument mounted on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, has observed the spiral galaxy NGC 3981 in all its glory. The image was captured as part of the ESO Cosmic Gems Programme, which makes use of the rare occasions when observing conditions are not suitable for gathering scientific data. Instead of sitting idle, the ESO Cosmic Gems Programme allows ESO’s telescopes to be used to capture visually stunning images of the southern skies. ESO News Feed Go to Source Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →

This wonderful image shows the resplendent spiral galaxy NGC 3981 suspended in the inky blackness of space. This galaxy, which lies in the constellation of Crater (the Cup), was imaged in May 2018 using the FOcal Reducer and low dispersion Spectrograph 2 – FORS2) instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope – VLT). Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →

The explosions of stars, known as supernovae, can be so bright they outshine their host galaxies. They take months or years to fade away, and sometimes, the gaseous remains of the explosion slam into hydrogen-rich gas and temporarily get bright again—but could they remain luminous without any outside interference? Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →

A Mission to Deflect an Asteroid Just Moved into the Final Design and Assembly Phase The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) Mission, which will attempt to deflect a small asteroid in 2022, recently moved into the final phase of design and assembly. The post A Mission to Deflect an Asteroid Just Moved into the Final Design and Assembly Phase appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to Source Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →

An international team of researchers has conducted a chemical study of six new very metal-poor star candidates in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 12 (SDSS DR12). The new research, available in a paper published August 29 on the arXiv pre-print repository, could help researchers better understand the early stages of chemical evolution of the galaxy. Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →

Astronomy Cast Ep. 499: What is the proposed Hubble-Lemaitre Law? We started out Astronomy Cast with the controversal decision to de-planet Pluto. And here we are, more than a decade later, at the brink of recording our 500th episode when another big decision is coming down from the IAU: whose name goes on the concept that our Universe is expanding: Hubble or Lemaître? It’s a … Continue reading “Astronomy Cast Ep. 499: What is the proposed Hubble-Lemaitre Law?” The post Astronomy Cast Ep. 499: What is the proposed Hubble-Lemaitre Law? appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to Source Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →

A Japanese Company is About to Test a Tiny Space Elevator… in Space A team of Japanese engineers recently constructed a scale-model of a space elevator, which will be sent to the ISS to conduct experiments that could lead to the real thing someday! The post A Japanese Company is About to Test a Tiny Space Elevator… in Space appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to Source Powered by WPeMaticoRead More →