ESOcast 230 Light: Possible Marker of Life Spotted on Venus
2020-09-14
ESOcast 230 Light: Possible Marker of Life Spotted on Venus ESO Video Casts Go to SourceRead More →
Possible Marker of Life Spotted on Venus
2020-09-14
Possible Marker of Life Spotted on Venus An international team of astronomers today announced the discovery of a rare molecule — phosphine — in the clouds of Venus. On Earth, this gas is only made industrially or by microbes that thrive in oxygen-free environments. Astronomers have speculated for decades that high clouds on Venus could offer a home for microbes — floating free of the scorching surface but needing to tolerate very high acidity. The detection of phosphine could point to such extra-terrestrial “aerial” life. ESO News Feed Go to SourceRead More →
Uranian moons in new light
2020-09-14
Uranian moons in new light More than 230 years ago astronomer William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus and two of its moons. Using the Herschel Space Observatory, a group of astronomers led by Örs H. Detre of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy now has succeeded in determining physical properties of the five main moons of Uranus. The measured infrared radiation, which is generated by the Sun heating their surfaces, suggests that these moons resemble dwarf planets like Pluto. The team developed a new analysis technique that extracted the faint signals from the moons next to Uranus, which is more than a thousand times brighter.Read More →
Millihertz quasi-periodic oscillations detected in an X-ray binary
2020-09-14
Millihertz quasi-periodic oscillations detected in an X-ray binary Astronomers from Australia and Taiwan report the discovery of millihertz quasi-periodic oscillations in a neutron-star low-mass X-ray binary known as 1RXS J180408.9−342058. The discovery, detailed in a paper published September 3 on the arXiv preprint server, could help astronomers better understand the nature and behavior of X-ray binary sources. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
An Update on the Damage to the Arecibo Observatory
2020-09-14
An Update on the Damage to the Arecibo Observatory The Arecibo Observatory suffered some serious damage last month, but an assessment and investigation is underway and repairs will follow! The post An Update on the Damage to the Arecibo Observatory appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
China’s New Reusable Spaceplane Lands After 2 Days in Space
2020-09-12
China’s New Reusable Spaceplane Lands After 2 Days in Space China’s mysterious reusable spaceplane recently launched and has returned to Earth after spending two days in space. The post China’s New Reusable Spaceplane Lands After 2 Days in Space appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” IX: What is the Brief Window Hypothesis?
2020-09-12
Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” IX: What is the Brief Window Hypothesis? In this latest installment in our Fermi series, we take a look at the possibility that advanced civilizations only have a brief window within which to communicate. The post Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” IX: What is the Brief Window Hypothesis? appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Vera Rubin’s Monster 3200-Megapixel Camera Takes its First Picture (in the Lab)
2020-09-11
Vera Rubin’s Monster 3200-Megapixel Camera Takes its First Picture (in the Lab) The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has taken another step towards first light, projected for some time in 2022. Its enormous 3200 megapixel camera just took its first picture during lab testing at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. The camera is the largest ever built, and its unprecedented power is the driving force behind the Observatory’s … Continue reading “Vera Rubin’s Monster 3200-Megapixel Camera Takes its First Picture (in the Lab)” The post Vera Rubin’s Monster 3200-Megapixel Camera Takes its First Picture (in the Lab) appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go toRead More →
Carbon-rich exoplanets may be made of diamonds
2020-09-11
Carbon-rich exoplanets may be made of diamonds As missions like NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, TESS and Kepler continue to provide insights into the properties of exoplanets (planets around other stars), scientists are increasingly able to piece together what these planets look like, what they are made of, and if they could be habitable or even inhabited. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
The evolving chemistry of protoplanetary disks
2020-09-11
The evolving chemistry of protoplanetary disks Planets form from the gas and dust in disks that surround young stars. Chemicals in the disk that evaporate easily, called volatiles, include important molecules like water, carbon monoxide, nitrogen, as well as other simple organic molecules. The amount of volatile material that accumulates in a planet as it forms is a key factor in determining the planet’s atmosphere and suitability for life, and depends on the details of the gas and ice reservoirs in the disk at the time of planet formation. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
China is Building a Floating Spaceport for Rocket Launches
2020-09-10
China is Building a Floating Spaceport for Rocket Launches China is almost finished its floating spaceport in the Yellow Sea, which will begin making regular launches and servicing rockets in the near future! The post China is Building a Floating Spaceport for Rocket Launches appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
A Sunspot, Revealed in Incredible Detail by Europe’s Newly Upgraded GREGOR Telescope
2020-09-10
A Sunspot, Revealed in Incredible Detail by Europe’s Newly Upgraded GREGOR Telescope I wear glasses for astigmatism. But, as a stargazer with a visual impediment, turns out I’m in good company. The GREGOR telescope, a solar telescope located at the Teide Observatory in the Canary Islands also suffered from an astigmatism that was recently corrected…to very stellar results. Opened in 2012, GREGOR is part of a new … Continue reading “A Sunspot, Revealed in Incredible Detail by Europe’s Newly Upgraded GREGOR Telescope” The post A Sunspot, Revealed in Incredible Detail by Europe’s Newly Upgraded GREGOR Telescope appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go toRead More →
Jupiter Probably Has 600 Small, Irregular Moons
2020-09-10
Jupiter Probably Has 600 Small, Irregular Moons The better our technologies get, the better we get at finding objects in space. That’s certainly true of Jupiter and its moons. Prior to Galileo, nobody knew the other planets had moons. Then in 1609/10, as he made improvements to his telescope, he aimed it at the gas giant and eventually found four moons: Io, … Continue reading “Jupiter Probably Has 600 Small, Irregular Moons” The post Jupiter Probably Has 600 Small, Irregular Moons appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
New Hubble data suggests there is an ingredient missing from current dark matter theories
2020-09-10
New Hubble data suggests there is an ingredient missing from current dark matter theories Observations by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile have found that something may be missing from the theories of how dark matter behaves. This missing ingredient may explain why researchers have uncovered an unexpected discrepancy between observations of the dark matter concentrations in a sample of massive galaxy clusters and theoretical computer simulations of how dark matter should be distributed in clusters. The new findings indicate that some small-scale concentrations of dark matter produce lensing effects that are 10 times strongerRead More →
Finally! A Solution to Deal With Sticky Lunar Dust
2020-09-10
Finally! A Solution to Deal With Sticky Lunar Dust As a wise man once said, “I don’t like sand. It’s coarse and rough and irritating – and it gets everywhere”. The same could be said for another material in our solar system – dust. The kind of dust present on the moon is even more annoying than the grains that bothered Anakin Skywalker on … Continue reading “Finally! A Solution to Deal With Sticky Lunar Dust” The post Finally! A Solution to Deal With Sticky Lunar Dust appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Weekly Space Hangout: September 9, 2020 – Dr. Katie Mack Discusses “The End of Everything”
2020-09-10
Weekly Space Hangout: September 9, 2020 – Dr. Katie Mack Discusses “The End of Everything” Welcome to the Season Premiere for the new season of the Weekly Space Hangout! We had a productive – and yes, restful – two months during our hiatus, but it is great to be back with everyone! For tonight’s season premiere, we are excited to welcome Astrophysicist Dr. Katie Mack to the show. Katie has … Continue reading “Weekly Space Hangout: September 9, 2020 – Dr. Katie Mack Discusses “The End of Everything”” The post Weekly Space Hangout: September 9, 2020 – Dr. Katie Mack Discusses “The End of Everything”Read More →
Bennu is Constantly Getting Sandblasted by Tiny Meteoroids
2020-09-10
Bennu is Constantly Getting Sandblasted by Tiny Meteoroids As soon as OSIRIS-REx spacecraft arrived at asteroid Bennu in December 2018, there was a big surprise. Scientists expected Bennu’s surface would consist of fine-grained material like a sandy beach. But take a look at that surface: Bennu is a jumbled mess. Here’s a closer view: And amazingly, amid that mess, pieces of Bennu’s surface … Continue reading “Bennu is Constantly Getting Sandblasted by Tiny Meteoroids” The post Bennu is Constantly Getting Sandblasted by Tiny Meteoroids appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Could There Be a Form of Life Inside Stars?
2020-09-10
Could There Be a Form of Life Inside Stars? A new study proposes that alien life could evolve from nuclear interactions rather than atomic ones. The post Could There Be a Form of Life Inside Stars? appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Research team discovers unique supernova explosion
2020-09-10
Research team discovers unique supernova explosion One-hundred million light years away from Earth, an unusual supernova is exploding. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Revealing the secrets of high-energy cosmic particles
2020-09-10
Revealing the secrets of high-energy cosmic particles The ‘IceCube’ neutrino observatory deep in the ice of the South Pole has already brought spectacular new insights into cosmic incidents of extremely high energies. In order to investigate the cosmic origins of elementary particles with even higher energies, Prof. Elisa Resconi from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now started an international initiative to build a neutrino telescope several cubic kilometers in size in the northeastern Pacific. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
