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Parker Solar Probe Gives a Unique Perspective on Comet NEOWISE Comet watchers have enjoying the newly-discovered NEOWISE comet since it was first spotted in March 2020. Now that it’s visible with the naked eye, in dark sky conditions, all kinds of Earthly observers are checking the visitor out. But NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has another view of the comet, one denied to Earth-bound observers. NEOWISE’s … Continue reading “Parker Solar Probe Gives a Unique Perspective on Comet NEOWISE” The post Parker Solar Probe Gives a Unique Perspective on Comet NEOWISE appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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Watch the Incredible Plume of Dust from Africa Cross the Entire Atlantic Ocean Dust plumes are a natural phenomena, part of Earth’s nutrient cycle. They occur when high-velocity winds pick up tiny dry particles from the Earth’s surface and carry them long distances. Every summer, dust plumes from Africa’s Sahara desert travel across the Atlantic Ocean. They’re usually not this big, and they often sink into the ocean. … Continue reading “Watch the Incredible Plume of Dust from Africa Cross the Entire Atlantic Ocean” The post Watch the Incredible Plume of Dust from Africa Cross the Entire Atlantic Ocean appeared first on Universe Today. UniverseRead More →

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Artificial intelligence predicts which planetary systems will survive Why don’t planets collide more often? How do planetary systems—like our solar system or multi-planet systems around other stars—organize themselves? Of all of the possible ways planets could orbit, how many configurations will remain stable over the billions of years of a star’s life cycle? phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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This Giant Iceberg Has Been Sailing the Southern Seas for Three Years Now An iceberg that calved off of from a larger ice formation has spent three years floating on the ocean near Antarctica. The iceberg broke off of the Larsen Ice Shelf in mid-July 2017. It’s been battered and split up into three pieces, but it’s still going. In July 2017, satellites spotted the calving event, as … Continue reading “This Giant Iceberg Has Been Sailing the Southern Seas for Three Years Now” The post This Giant Iceberg Has Been Sailing the Southern Seas for Three Years Now appeared first on Universe Today. UniverseRead More →

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About eight percent of red giants are covered by sunspot-like dark areas. Starspots are more common among red giant stars than previously thought. In the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, researchers led by the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany report that approximately eight percent of red giants exhibit such spots. They are the expression of strong magnetic fields at the stellar surface. These magnetic fields are created deep inside the star in a process that requires, among other things, convection and a fast rotation of the star. Although red giants are generally regarded as slowly rotating stars, those with starspots areRead More →

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Astronomers map massive structure beyond Laniakea Supercluster For the past decade, an international team of astronomers, led in part by Brent Tully at the University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy, has been mapping the distribution of galaxies around the Milky Way. They have discovered an immense structure beyond Laniakea, an immense supercluster of galaxies, including our own. Astronomers have dubbed the newly identified structure the South Pole Wall. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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Parker Solar Probe spies newly discovered comet NEOWISE NASA’s Parker Solar Probe was at the right place at the right time to capture a unique view of comet NEOWISE on July 5, 2020. Parker Solar Probe’s position in space gave the spacecraft an unmatched view of the comet’s twin tails when it was particularly active just after its closest approach to the sun, called perihelion. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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Researchers find younger age for Earth’s moon The moon formed a little later than previously assumed. When a Mars-sized protoplanet was destroyed in a collision with the young Earth, a new body was created from the debris ejected during this collision, which became the moon. Planetary geophysicists at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR), led by Maxime Maurice, together with researchers at the University of Münster, have used a new numerical model to reconstruct the time at which the event occurred—4.425 billion years ago. The previous assumptions about the formation of the moon were based on an age of 4.51Read More →

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Structure of the molecular cloud Orion A investigated in detail Using a 3-D mapping technique, astronomers from Sweden and Germany have explored a nearby molecular cloud known as Orion A. The new study unveils more details about the structure and nature of this cloud. The research was presented in a paper published July 6 on the arXiv pre-print repository. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →

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NASA and HeroX are Looking to Light Up the Moon! With a prize purse of up to $5 million, NASA and HeroX are looking for ideas on how we could provide sustainable power for astronauts exploring the Moon and Mars! The post NASA and HeroX are Looking to Light Up the Moon! appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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Even If We Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions Tomorrow, it Would Take Decades for the Earth to Start Cooling Again If—or hopefully when—we cut our Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, we won’t notice much difference in the climate. The Earth’s natural systems take time to absorb carbon from the atmosphere. We may have to wait decades for the temperatures to drop. Of course, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it. It’s just that we have to … Continue reading “Even If We Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions Tomorrow, it Would Take Decades for the Earth to Start Cooling Again” The post Even If We Cut Greenhouse Gas EmissionsRead More →

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That’s So Metal. NASA’s Psyche Mission is Now Under Construction In August of 2022, NASA will send a robotic spacecraft to the Main Asteroid Belt to explore a truly unique object: a metal asteroid. This object is known as 16 Psyche, is one of the largest asteroids in the Belt, and is composed almost entirely of iron and nickel. The most widely-accepted theory is that … Continue reading “That’s So Metal. NASA’s Psyche Mission is Now Under Construction” The post That’s So Metal. NASA’s Psyche Mission is Now Under Construction appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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Now You Can Build Your Own Curiosity Rover The open source movement has been a fixture in the software and electronics worlds for over a decade now.  Open source components serve as the basis from everything from 3D printed Iron Man figures to the Linux computer operating system.  Now there’s a new open source project that ambitious creatives can undertake: building their very … Continue reading “Now You Can Build Your Own Curiosity Rover” The post Now You Can Build Your Own Curiosity Rover appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

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If Planet 9 is a Primordial Black Hole, We Might Be Able to See Flares When it Consumes Comets A comet-eating black hole the size of a planet? It’s possible. And if there’s one out there in the distant Solar System, a pair of researchers think they know how to find it. If they do, we might finally put the Planet 9 issue to rest. The researchers are Dr. Avi Loeb, a Professor of … Continue reading “If Planet 9 is a Primordial Black Hole, We Might Be Able to See Flares When it Consumes Comets” The post If Planet 9 is a Primordial BlackRead More →

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Why Lava Tubes Should be Our Top Exploration Priority on Other Worlds When magma comes out of the Earth onto the surface, it flows as lava. Those lava flows are fascinating to watch, and they leave behind some unique landforms and rocks. But a lot of what’s fascinating about these flows can be hidden underground, as lava tubes. These lava tubes are turning out to be a … Continue reading “Why Lava Tubes Should be Our Top Exploration Priority on Other Worlds” The post Why Lava Tubes Should be Our Top Exploration Priority on Other Worlds appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go toRead More →