The fastest star ever observed A team of researchers has observed the fastest moving star ever recorded. In their paper published in The Astrophysical Journal, the group describes their observation and study of stars circling close to the black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy, and what they observed. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Image: Hubble captures eccentrically shaped NGC 1614 galaxy NGC 1614, captured here by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, is an eccentrically shaped galaxy ablaze with activity. The galaxy resides about 200 million light-years from Earth and is nestled in the southern constellation of Eridanus (the River). phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Planetary nebula Abell 30 has a binary central star, study suggests Using data from NASA’s Kepler spacecraft, astronomers have explored a planetary nebula (PN) known as Abell 30. Results of the study suggest that the central star of this nebula is a binary system, which could have implications for our understanding of PN population in general. The finding is detailed in a paper published August 4 on arXiv.org. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Perseverance and the Quest to Find Life on Mars I remember the Summer of 1997 when a shoebox-sized Mars rover literally broke the Internet. Sojourner – the first rover we sent to another planet – had just landed on Mars in a giant space airbag bouncing along the surface to a safe stop. The Internet was new. And I was a young space enthusiast … Continue reading “Perseverance and the Quest to Find Life on Mars” The post Perseverance and the Quest to Find Life on Mars appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
What’s Possible When Earth and Space-based Telescopes Work Together? Anyone who has ever worked on a team knows that their strength lies in coordination and a shared vision. However, it is not always easy to provide that coordination and shared vision, and any team that lacks that cohesiveness becomes more of a hindrance than a help. Science is not immune to the difficulties of … Continue reading “What’s Possible When Earth and Space-based Telescopes Work Together?” The post What’s Possible When Earth and Space-based Telescopes Work Together? appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
A Broken Cable Smashed Part of the Arecibo Observatory The iconic Arecibo Observatory recently suffered some damage when a support cable broke and created a large gash in the reflecting dish The post A Broken Cable Smashed Part of the Arecibo Observatory appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
#98 – August 2020 Part 2 The Discussion: Jen on the radio discussing the Perseids Starlink satellites flaring over our heads TV shows From the Earth to the Moon and For All Mankind Jeni talking Pluto on the BBC Sputnik V Jeni’s latest paper is submitted for journal review The News: Rounding up the space exploration news we have: Protecting other worlds from our germs and bugs Space Force’s Star Trek-esque logo The Curiosity rover celebrates its 8th year on Mars New Zealand’s Rocketlab pursue reusability Skyrora begin rocket testing in Iceland SpaceX’s Starship prototyping and testing continues Main news story: America gets back toRead More →
Did Snowball Earth Happen Because of a Sudden Drop in Sunlight? Hundreds of millions of years ago, Earth went through two episodes of severe glaciation. These two episodes—the Sturtian and the Marinoan glaciations—occured during the Earth’s Cryogenian Period. The Cryogenian lasted from about 720 million to 635 million years ago. The phenomenon is called “Snowball Earth” and both instances of it happened in pretty quick succession. … Continue reading “Did Snowball Earth Happen Because of a Sudden Drop in Sunlight?” The post Did Snowball Earth Happen Because of a Sudden Drop in Sunlight? appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Art Installation that Demonstrates How Dark Matter Bends Light with Gravity A new art installation at the Science Gallery Dublin, called “Dark Distortions,” helps viewers to see the influence dark matter has on light in our Universe. The post Art Installation that Demonstrates How Dark Matter Bends Light with Gravity appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Hubble finds that Betelgeuse’s mysterious dimming is due to a traumatic outburst Recent observations of Betelgeuse have revealed that the star’s unexpected and significant dimming periods in late 2019 and early 2020 were most likely caused by the ejection and cooling of dense hot gases, and that the star may be going through another dimming period more than a year early. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Fastest Star Ever Seen is Moving at 8% the Speed of Light A star orbiting the black hole in the center of our galaxy is moving so fast it can only be described relativistically. The post Fastest Star Ever Seen is Moving at 8% the Speed of Light appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Physicists calculate when the last supernova ever will happen The end of the universe as we know it will not come with a bang. Most stars will slowly fizzle as their temperatures fade to zero. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Virgin Galactic Wants to Build a Supersonic Jetliner That’ll go Even Faster Than the Concorde Virgin Galactic has announced a partnership with engine-maker Rolls Royce to develop a supersonic jetliner that will be even faster than the Concorde The post Virgin Galactic Wants to Build a Supersonic Jetliner That’ll go Even Faster Than the Concorde appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
A Huge Ring-Like Structure on Ganymede Might be the Result of an Enormous Impact Ganymede’s surface is a bit of a puzzle for planetary scientists. About two-thirds of its surface is covered in lighter terrain, while the remainder is darker. Both types of terrain are ancient, with the lighter portion being slightly younger. The two types of terrain are spread around the moon, and the darker terrain contains concurrent … Continue reading “A Huge Ring-Like Structure on Ganymede Might be the Result of an Enormous Impact” The post A Huge Ring-Like Structure on Ganymede Might be the Result of an Enormous Impact appeared first onRead More →
It’s Starting to Look Like Ceres is an Ocean World, Too A new and thorough analysis of high-resolution images and data from NASA’s Dawn mission have now provided fresh insights into the dwarf planet Ceres, with intriguing evidence that Ceres has a global subsurface salty ocean, and has been geologically active in the recent past. “Evidence that Ceres has long-lived deep brine reservoirs is an exciting … Continue reading “It’s Starting to Look Like Ceres is an Ocean World, Too” The post It’s Starting to Look Like Ceres is an Ocean World, Too appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
SpaceX is Hiring People to Help Build a Resort at the Boca Chica Launch Facility SpaceX recently announced that they are looking for a Resort Development Manager to help them turn Boca Chica into a bona fide spaceport The post SpaceX is Hiring People to Help Build a Resort at the Boca Chica Launch Facility appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
ALMA sees most distant Milky Way look-alike Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is a partner, have revealed an extremely distant and therefore very young galaxy that looks surprisingly like our Milky Way. The galaxy is so far away its light has taken more than 12 billion years to reach us: we see it as it was when the Universe was just 1.4 billion years old. It is also surprisingly unchaotic, contradicting theories that all galaxies in the early Universe were turbulent and unstable. This unexpected discovery challenges our understanding of how galaxies form, giving newRead More →
SPT0418-47: lensed view to reconstructed view ESO Video Casts Go to SourceRead More →
Gravitational lensing of the distant SPT0418-47 galaxy (schematic) ESO Video Casts Go to SourceRead More →
ESOcast 228 Light: ALMA Sees Most Distant Milky Way Look-alike Astronomers using ALMA, in which the ESO is a partner, have revealed an extremely distant galaxy that looks surprisingly like our Milky Way. This video summarises their findings. ESO Video Casts Go to SourceRead More →
