Researchers offer unprecedented look into ‘central engine’ powering a solar flare In a study published in Nature Astronomy, an international team of researchers has presented a new, detailed look inside the “central engine” of a large solar flare accompanied by a powerful eruption first captured on Sept. 10, 2017 by the Owens Valley Solar Array (EOVSA)—a solar radio telescope facility operated by New Jersey Institute of Technology’s (NJIT) Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research (CSTR). phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

Hubble Shows Saturn in the Middle of its Summer If you want an iconic picture of the planet Saturn, it doesn’t get any better than this. The latest picture from the Hubble Space Telescope shows a spectacular view of the ringed giant, taken on July 4, 2020. This shows a “summertime” view of Saturn’s northern hemisphere. Just like Earth, Saturn is tilted on its … Continue reading “Hubble Shows Saturn in the Middle of its Summer” The post Hubble Shows Saturn in the Middle of its Summer appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Two new high-redshift red quasars discovered Using the Subaru Telescope, astronomers have identified two new dust-reddened (red) quasars at high redshifts. The finding, detailed in a paper published July 16 on the arXiv pre-print server, could improve the understanding of these rare but interesting objects. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

Astronauts Come Back to Earth on August 2nd, Completing the Full Crew Dragon Test On Sunday, August 2nd, astronauts Bog and Doug will return from the ISS, thus completing NASA’s first crewed mission from US soil in almost a decade. The post Astronauts Come Back to Earth on August 2nd, Completing the Full Crew Dragon Test appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Radishes Can Likely Grow in Lunar Regolith For many of us, gardening has been a therapeutic distraction during this time of pandemic quarantine. But some researchers from the Jet Propulsion Lab have been gardening at home with a specific goal in mind: growing food on the Moon. “We’re trying to show astronauts can use horticulture to grow their own food on the … Continue reading “Radishes Can Likely Grow in Lunar Regolith” The post Radishes Can Likely Grow in Lunar Regolith appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

The Moons of Uranus Are Fascinating Enough On Their Own That We Should Send a Flagship Mission Out There What’s the most interesting fact you know about Uranus? The fact that its rotational axis is completely out of line with every other planet in the solar system?  Or the fact that Uranus’ magnetosphere is asymmetrical, notably tilted relative to its rotational axis, and significantly offset from the center of the planet?  Or the fact … Continue reading “The Moons of Uranus Are Fascinating Enough On Their Own That We Should Send a Flagship Mission Out There” The post The Moons of Uranus Are Fascinating EnoughRead More →

Ground system for NASA’s Roman Space Telescope completes major review When it launches in the mid-2020s, NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will create enormous panoramic pictures of space in unprecedented detail. The mission’s wide field of view will enable scientists to conduct sweeping cosmic surveys, yielding a wealth of new information about the universe. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

What Cracked the Earth’s Outer Shell and Started its Plate Tectonics? Earth’s lithosphere is made up of seven large tectonic plates and a number of smaller ones. The theory of plate tectonics that describes how these plates move is about 50 years old. But there’s never really been an understanding of how this system developed, and how the Earth’s shell split into separate plates and started … Continue reading “What Cracked the Earth’s Outer Shell and Started its Plate Tectonics?” The post What Cracked the Earth’s Outer Shell and Started its Plate Tectonics? appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

800 Million Years Ago, it Was Raining Asteroids on the Earth and Moon Natural processes here on Earth continually re-shape the planet’s surface. Craters from ancient asteroid strikes are erased in a short period of time, in geological terms. So how can researchers understand Earth’s history, and how thoroughly it may have been pummeled by asteroid strikes? Scientists can turn their attention to our ancient companion, the Moon. … Continue reading “800 Million Years Ago, it Was Raining Asteroids on the Earth and Moon” The post 800 Million Years Ago, it Was Raining Asteroids on the Earth and Moon appeared first on Universe Today. UniverseRead More →

Image: Hubble snaps ghostly galaxy A notable feature of most spiral galaxies is the multitude of arching spiral arms that seemingly spin out from the galaxy’s center. In this image, taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, the stunning silvery-blue spiral arms of the galaxy NGC 4848 are observed in immense detail. Not only do we see the inner section of the spiral arms containing hundreds of thousands of young, bright, blue stars, but Hubble has also captured the extremely faint, wispy tails of the outer spiral arms. Myriad more distant and delightfully diverse galaxies appear in the background. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

NASA mission will study the cosmos with a stratospheric balloon Work has begun on an ambitious new mission that will carry a cutting-edge 8.4-foot (2.5-meter) telescope high into the stratosphere on a balloon. Tentatively planned to launch in December 2023 from Antarctica, ASTHROS (short for Astrophysics Stratospheric Telescope for High Spectral Resolution Observations at Submillimeter-wavelengths) will spend about three weeks drifting on air currents above the icy southern continent and achieve several firsts along the way. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

Beyond the Fermi Paradox III: What is the Great Filter? In 1996, economist/futurist Robin Hanson proposed a possible resolution to the Fermi Paradox: there’s a “Great Filter” that prevents intelligent life from becoming advanced. The post Beyond the Fermi Paradox III: What is the Great Filter? appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Dust Seen Streaming Out of Namibia Into the Atlantic Ocean Landsat 8 strikes again. Landsat 8 is the United States Geological Survey’s most recently launched satellite, and it holds the powerful Operational Land Imager (OLI.) The OLI is a powerful multi-spectral imager with a wide dynamic range. The OLI does a great job of keeping an eye on Earth, and now its captured images of … Continue reading “Dust Seen Streaming Out of Namibia Into the Atlantic Ocean” The post Dust Seen Streaming Out of Namibia Into the Atlantic Ocean appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Wow! An Actual Picture of Multiple Planets Orbiting a Sunlike Star We’ve detected thousands of exoplanets, but for the most part, nobody’s ever seen them. They’re really just data, and graphs of light curves. The exoplanet images you see here at Universe Today and other space websites are the creations of very skilled illustrators, equal parts data and creative license. But that’s starting to change. The … Continue reading “Wow! An Actual Picture of Multiple Planets Orbiting a Sunlike Star” The post Wow! An Actual Picture of Multiple Planets Orbiting a Sunlike Star appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Hubble Space Telescope captures summertime on Saturn Saturn is truly the lord of the rings in this latest snapshot from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, taken on July 4, 2020, when the opulent giant world was 839 million miles from Earth. This new Saturn image was taken during summer in the planet’s northern hemisphere. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

Astronomers are Starting to Find Planets in Much Longer Orbits. Cooler, More Habitable Planets We’re getting better and better at detecting exoplanets. Using the transit method of detection, the Kepler Space Telescope examined over 530,000 stars and discovered over 2,600 explanets in nine years. TESS, the successor to Kepler, is still active, and has so far identified over 1800 candidate exoplanets, with 46 confirmed. But what if, hidden in … Continue reading “Astronomers are Starting to Find Planets in Much Longer Orbits. Cooler, More Habitable Planets” The post Astronomers are Starting to Find Planets in Much Longer Orbits. Cooler, More Habitable Planets appeared first onRead More →