Catastrophic galactic collision could send Solar System flying into space New research led by astrophysicists at Durham University, UK, predicts that the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) could hit the Milky Way in two billion years’ time. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Juno Saw One of Io’s Volcanoes Erupting During its Recent Flyby NASA’s Juno mission recently acquired some stunning photographs of Io before it plunged into Jupiter’s shadow. The post Juno Saw One of Io’s Volcanoes Erupting During its Recent Flyby appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
See a Simulation of the Moon for Every Day in 2019 It’s always easier to show someone a picture of something rather than to use 1,000 words to explain it. The people at NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio (SVS) know this, and they’re experts. Every year they release a simulation of the Moon that shows what the Moon will look like to us each day. NASA’s Moon … Continue reading “See a Simulation of the Moon for Every Day in 2019” The post See a Simulation of the Moon for Every Day in 2019 appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Dark matter on the move Scientists have found evidence that dark matter can be heated up and moved around, as a result of star formation in galaxies. The findings provide the first observational evidence for the effect known as ‘dark matter heating’, and give new clues as to what makes up dark matter. The research is published today in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Luminous gamma-ray flare detected from the blazar DA 193 An international group of astronomers has detected an intense and extremely luminous gamma-ray flare from one of high-redshift blazars known as DA 193. The new detection, reported in a paper published December 18 on arXiv.org, is an uncommon finding as such bright flares are rarely observed from high-redshift sources. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
The Pictures are Here! New Horizons Close Up View of 2014 MU69 On December 31st, 2018, NASA and the New Horizon‘s team (plus millions of people watching the live stream at home) rang in the New Year by watching the New Horizons mission make the first rendezvous in history with a Kuiper Belt Object (KBO). About thirty minutes after the probe conducted its flyby of Ultima Thule … Continue reading “The Pictures are Here! New Horizons Close Up View of 2014 MU69” The post The Pictures are Here! New Horizons Close Up View of 2014 MU69 appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go toRead More →
India is Going to be Sending Three People to Space in Three Years The government of India recently announced that it will be sending a crew of three to space in 2022, and for the low price of $1.4 billion The post India is Going to be Sending Three People to Space in Three Years appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Quadrantid Meteors Kickoff a Busy January 2019 Happy New Year! The beginning of the first month of the year is always a busy one for astronomy, and January 2019 is no different, as the Earth reaches perihelion, the Quadrantid meteors peak, and a partial solar eclipse crosses the Pacific… all this week. The post Quadrantid Meteors Kickoff a Busy January 2019 appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Prototype Version of the SpaceX Starship with a Stainless Steel Skin is Under Construction Elon Musk recently provided updates on the mini-Starship prototype that will making a test flight next year, including the fact that it will be built from a stainless steel alloy. The post Prototype Version of the SpaceX Starship with a Stainless Steel Skin is Under Construction appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
A Guide to Hunting Zombie Stars Apparently not all supernovas work. And when they fail, they leave behind a half-chewed remnant, still burning from leftover heat but otherwise lifeless: a zombie star. Astronomers aren’t sure how many of these should-be-dead creatures lurk in the interstellar depths, but with recent simulations scientists are making a list of their telltale signatures so that … Continue reading “A Guide to Hunting Zombie Stars” The post A Guide to Hunting Zombie Stars appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Messier 75 – the NGC 6864 Globular Cluster Located on the other side of the galaxy, near the southern constellation of Sagittarius, is the globular cluster known as Messier 75 The post Messier 75 – the NGC 6864 Globular Cluster appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Russian Cosmonaut says that the Hole in the ISS was Drilled From the Inside According to statements from cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev, the hole found in the ISS was drilled from the inside and the cause remains unknown. The post Russian Cosmonaut says that the Hole in the ISS was Drilled From the Inside appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
NASA’s Technosignatures Report is Out. Every Way to Find Evidence of an Intelligent Civilization NASA’s final report from their Technosignature Workshop is now out and addresses all the ways in which humanity is looking for evidence of extra-terrestrial civilizations. The post NASA’s Technosignatures Report is Out. Every Way to Find Evidence of an Intelligent Civilization appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Something Twice the Size of Earth Slammed into Uranus and Knocked it Over on its Side Astronomers think they know how Uranus got flipped onto its side. According to detailed computer simulations, a body about twice the size of Earth slammed into Uranus between 3 to 4 billion years ago. The impact created an oddity in our Solar System: the only planet that rotates on its side. A study explaining these … Continue reading “Something Twice the Size of Earth Slammed into Uranus and Knocked it Over on its Side” The post Something Twice the Size of Earth Slammed into Uranus and Knocked it OverRead More →
A brief history of black holes Late in 2018, the gravitational wave observatory, LIGO, announced that they had detected the most distant and massive source of ripples of spacetime ever monitored: waves triggered by pairs of black holes colliding in deep space. Only since 2015 have we been able to observe these invisible astronomical bodies, which can be detected only by their gravitational attraction. The history of our hunt for these enigmatic objects traces back to the 18th century, but the crucial phase took place in a suitably dark period of human history – World War II. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
New source of very high energy gamma-ray emission detected in the neighborhood of the supernova remnant G24.7+0.6 Using MAGIC telescopes and NASA’s Fermi spacecraft, an international team of astronomers has discovered a new source of very high energy gamma-ray emission around the supernova remnant (SNR) G24.7+0.6. The detection of the new source, designated MAGIC J1835–069, is detailed in a paper published December 12 on the arXiv pre-print server. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Top Astronomy Events For 2019 You might’ve heard the news. We wrote a book this past year: The Universe Today’s Ultimate Guide to Observing the Cosmos: Everything You Need to Know to Become an Amateur Astronomer. Judging from reader feedback thus far, one of the most popular parts of the book is Chapter 10, where we list the top astronomical events by year for the coming six years. True story… we picked six (2019 to 2024) to stretch out the list to touch on the April 8th, 2024 total solar eclipse. The post Top Astronomy Events For 2019 appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today GoRead More →
Weekly Space Hangout: Dec 26, 2018 The Year in Review Hosts: Fraser Cain (universetoday.com / @fcain) Dr. Paul M. Sutter (pmsutter.com / @PaulMattSutter) Dr. Kimberly Cartier (KimberlyCartier.org / @AstroKimCartier ) Dr. Morgan Rehnberg (MorganRehnberg.com / @MorganRehnberg & ChartYourWorld.org) Announcements: Want to support CosmoQuest? Here are specific ways you can help: * Donate! (Streamlabs link) https://streamlabs.com/cosmoquestx * Donate and challenge your friends to donate too! (Tiltify … Continue reading “Weekly Space Hangout: Dec 26, 2018 The Year in Review” The post Weekly Space Hangout: Dec 26, 2018 The Year in Review appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
This Crater on Mars Traps the Cold, and Remains Filled With Ice, All Year Round Just in time for the holidays, the ESO’s Mars Express mission revealed a breathtaking image of a Martian crater that is ice-filled all year round. The post This Crater on Mars Traps the Cold, and Remains Filled With Ice, All Year Round appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
The Equuleus Constellation Welcome to another edition of Constellation Friday! Today, in honor of the late and great Tammy Plotner, we take a look at the “little horse” – the Equuleus constellation. Enjoy! In the 2nd century CE, Greek-Egyptian astronomer Claudius Ptolemaeus (aka. Ptolemy) compiled a list of the then-known 48 constellations. This treatise, known as the Almagest, … Continue reading “The Equuleus Constellation” The post The Equuleus Constellation appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
