Abell 1033: To boldly go into colliding galaxy clusters Hidden in a distant galaxy cluster collision are wisps of gas resembling the starship Enterprise—an iconic spaceship from the “Star Trek” franchise. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
New Comet V1 Machholz-Fujikawa-Iwamoto Takes Observers by Surprise You just never know when it comes to comets. Here it is, mid-November, and we’d thought we had finished up writing about bright comets for 2018. That was, until this past weekend, when a flurry of messages flashed across the Yahoo! Comets mailing list hinting that a new, possibly bright comet had been discovered. Come Monday morning November 12th, long period Comet C/2018 V1 Machholz-Fujikawa-Iwamoto was formally added to the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet list. The post New Comet V1 Machholz-Fujikawa-Iwamoto Takes Observers by Surprise appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
SpaceX Gives More Details on how their Starlink Internet Service Will Work. Less Satellites, Lower Orbit, Shorter Transmission times, Shorter Lifespans Professor Mark Handley of University College London has created a simulation that demonstrates how SpaceX’s space-based internet (Starlink) will work. The post SpaceX Gives More Details on how their Starlink Internet Service Will Work. Less Satellites, Lower Orbit, Shorter Transmission times, Shorter Lifespans appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
So Cool! Japanese Space Research Center will be Suspended Over a Moonlike Crater The architectural design behind Japan’s new space research center is mind-boggling. The futuristic building will incorporate elements of spacecraft design, which emphasize light weight and high functionality. The whole thing will be suspended over a man-made, Moon-like crater. The building will be a robotics research center that’s part of the Avatar X space research campus … Continue reading “So Cool! Japanese Space Research Center will be Suspended Over a Moonlike Crater” The post So Cool! Japanese Space Research Center will be Suspended Over a Moonlike Crater appeared first on Universe Today. UniverseRead More →
Going 1 Million Miles per Hour With Advanced Propulsion Advanced propulsion breakthroughs are near. Spacecraft have been stuck at slow chemical rocket speeds for years and weak ion drive for decades. However, speeds over one million miles per hour before 2050 are possible. There are surprising new innovations with technically feasible projects. NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) is funding two high potential concepts. … Continue reading “Going 1 Million Miles per Hour With Advanced Propulsion” The post Going 1 Million Miles per Hour With Advanced Propulsion appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Honey, Where’s the Space Sperm? It’s in Low-Earth Orbit, Dear It’s always wise to be prepared for a disaster, but space sperm is taking it a little too far. Having things like food, water, and medicines on hand constitutes a reasonable level of preparation. But now one company wants to freeze your eggs and sperm in space. A new start-up called SpaceLife Origin has concocted … Continue reading “Honey, Where’s the Space Sperm? It’s in Low-Earth Orbit, Dear” The post Honey, Where’s the Space Sperm? It’s in Low-Earth Orbit, Dear appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Trans-galactic streamers feeding most luminous galaxy in the universe The most luminous galaxy ever discovered is cannibalizing not one, not two, but at least three of its smaller neighbors, according to a new study published today (Nov. 15) in the journal Science and coauthored by scientists from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The material that the galaxy is stealing from its neighbors is likely contributing to its uber-brightness, the study shows. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Scientists are using artificial intelligence to see inside stars using sound waves How in the world could you possibly look inside a star? You could break out the scalpels and other tools of the surgical trade, but good luck getting within a few million kilometers of the surface before your skin melts off. The stars of our universe hide their secrets very well, but astronomers can outmatch … Continue reading “Scientists are using artificial intelligence to see inside stars using sound waves” The post Scientists are using artificial intelligence to see inside stars using sound waves appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go toRead More →
Astronomers find possible elusive star behind supernova Astronomers may have finally uncovered the long-sought progenitor to a specific type of exploding star by sifting through NASA Hubble Space Telescope archival data and conducting follow-up observations using W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
A super-Earth found in our stellar back yard The potential discovery of a planet orbiting Barnard’s Star – the second closest stellar system to the sun – was announced by researchers today in Nature. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
ARCHIMEDES: Digging into the ice on Europa with lasers To explore Europa for signs of life, NASA in investing in a number of technologies, which includes a laser-mining concept known as ARCHIMEDES The post ARCHIMEDES: Digging into the ice on Europa with lasers appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Gaia Spots an Enormous Ghost Galaxy Right Next Door that’s Being Dismantled by the Milky Way Astronomers combing through data from the ESA’s Gaia spacecraft have discovered what they’re calling a ghost galaxy. The galaxy, named Antlia 2 (Ant 2) is an extremely low-density dwarf galaxy that was formed in the early days of the universe. And it is being stripped of its mass by the tidal forces of the Milky … Continue reading “Gaia Spots an Enormous Ghost Galaxy Right Next Door that’s Being Dismantled by the Milky Way” The post Gaia Spots an Enormous Ghost Galaxy Right Next Door that’s Being Dismantled byRead More →
An Extremely Rare Gamma Ray Emitting Neutron Star Binary Has Been Found The VERITAS collaboration recently discovered a binary system with a very high-energy gamma-ray neutron star, the rarest and most extreme known object in the Universe. The post An Extremely Rare Gamma Ray Emitting Neutron Star Binary Has Been Found appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Super-Earth Orbiting Barnard’s Star The nearest single star to the Sun hosts an exoplanet at least 3.2 times as massive as Earth — a so-called super-Earth. One of the largest observing campaigns to date using data from a world-wide array of telescopes, including ESO’s planet-hunting HARPS instrument, have revealed this frozen, dimly lit world. The newly discovered planet is the second-closest known exoplanet to the Earth. Barnard’s star is the fastest moving star in the night sky. ESO News Feed Go to SourceRead More →
Catching Asteroid 3 Juno at Its Best Not all oppositions are created equal. This week’s target offers a good case in point, as asteroid 3 Juno reaches its most favorable viewing position for the decade. The post Catching Asteroid 3 Juno at Its Best appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Direct Observations of a Planet Orbiting a Star 63 Light-Years Away Using the Very Large Telescope, a team of ESO astronomers directly observed Beta Pictoris b over the course of four years and created a time-lapse video of its orbit. The post Direct Observations of a Planet Orbiting a Star 63 Light-Years Away appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Weekly Space Hangout: Nov 14, 2018: Paul Sutter’s “Your Place in The Universe” 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) Dr. Paul M. Sutter, astrophysicist and science educator – and now AUTHOR – is no stranger to the regular viewers of the WSH – but in case … Continue reading “Weekly Space Hangout: Nov 14, 2018: Paul Sutter’s “Your Place in The Universe”” The post Weekly Space Hangout: Nov 14, 2018: Paul Sutter’s “Your Place in The Universe” appeared first on Universe Today. UniverseRead More →
Giant flare detected on a pre-main sequence M star Using the Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS), astronomers have identified an energetic flare displaying quasi-periodic pulsations on the pre-main sequence M star NGTS J121939.5-355557. The newly detected flare is one of the most energetic flares seen on an M-type star to date. The finding is reported in a paper published November 5 on arXiv.org. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Cosmologists provide new measurement of cosmic controversy Researchers from the University of Portsmouth have come up with a new measurement of one of the most debated topics in cosmology. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Merging galaxy cluster provides laboratory for accelerating electrons Merging galaxy clusters provide natural laboratories for astronomers to study cosmic phenomena. Igone Urdampilleta from SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research uses the merger Abell 3376 to study how electrons rush through the intracluster medium at relativistic speeds. The findings point towards an acceleration mechanism called Diffusive Shock Acceleration. The study is published in Astronomy & Astrophysics. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
