Space Force Launches its Mysterious X-37B Spaceplane The US Space Force, in conjunction with the USAF and the ULA, just launched the X-37B spaceplane for the sixth time! The post Space Force Launches its Mysterious X-37B Spaceplane appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Curiosity rover finds clues to chilly ancient Mars buried in rocks By studying the chemical elements on Mars today—including carbon and oxygen—scientists can work backwards to piece together the history of a planet that once had the conditions necessary to support life. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
This Laser Powered Rover Could Stay in the Shadows on the Moon and Continue to Explore The craters on the Moon’s poles are in permanent shadow. But they’re also intriguing locations, due to deposits of water ice and other materials. The ESA is developing the idea for a rover that can explore these areas with power provided by lasers. Everybody thinks they know what lasers are: they’re beams of light. Well, … Continue reading “This Laser Powered Rover Could Stay in the Shadows on the Moon and Continue to Explore” The post This Laser Powered Rover Could Stay in the Shadows on the Moon andRead More →
TESS is Also Helping Astronomers Study Bizarre Pulsating Stars NASA’s TESS, or Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite has one main job: finding exoplanets. But it’s also helping astronomers study a strange type of star that has so far defied thorough explanation. Those stars are Delta Scuti stars, named after their prototype. Delta Scuti stars exhibit strange pulsating patterns, and they rotate rapidly. So far, astronomers … Continue reading “TESS is Also Helping Astronomers Study Bizarre Pulsating Stars” The post TESS is Also Helping Astronomers Study Bizarre Pulsating Stars appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
The Tunguska Explosion Could Have Been Caused By An Asteroid That Still Orbits The Sun On a cool Summer morning in 1908, a fireball appeared over Northern Siberia. Eyewitnesses described a column of blue light that moved across the sky, followed by a tremendous explosion. The explosion leveled trees across more than 2,000 square kilometers. The explosion is consistent with a large meteor strike, but to this day no evidence … Continue reading “The Tunguska Explosion Could Have Been Caused By An Asteroid That Still Orbits The Sun” The post The Tunguska Explosion Could Have Been Caused By An Asteroid That Still Orbits The SunRead More →
Binary-driven hypernova model gains observational support The change of paradigm in gamma-ray burst (GRBs) physics and astrophysics introduced by the binary driven hypernova (BdHN) model, proposed and applied by the ICRA-ICRANet-INAF members in collaboration with the University of Ferrara and the University of Côte d’Azur, has gained further observational support from the X-ray emission in long GRBs. These novel results are presented in the new article, published on April 20, 2020, in the Astrophysical Journal, co-authored by J. A. Rueda, Remo Ruffini, Mile Karlica, Rahim Moradi, and Yu Wang. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Ocean circulation may hold the key to finding life on exoplanets Researchers across the globe have long tackled the question: Is there life on other planets, and if so, how do we find it? Faced with thousands of planets to explore beyond our solar system, scientists need a way to predict which exoplanets are most likely to host life. To complicate matters, their predictions have to be based on observations that can be made from light-years away—like the exoplanet’s size, mass and the makeup of its atmosphere. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Astronomers study flaring activity of the giant star KIC 2852961 Using data from NASA’s TESS and Kepler spacecraft, as well as from the Konkoly Observatory, astronomers have inspected flares and superflares of a late-type giant star known as KIC 2852961. Results of the study, presented in a paper published May 11 on arXiv.org, could help astronomers to better understand the mechanism behind flaring events in giant stars. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Exoplanet climate ‘decoder’ aids search for life After examining a dozen types of suns and a roster of planet surfaces, Cornell University astronomers have developed a practical model—an environmental color “decoder”—to tease out climate clues for potentially habitable exoplanets in galaxies far away. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Astronomers confirm existence of two giant newborn planets in PDS 70 system New evidence shows the first-ever pictures capturing the birth of a pair of planets orbiting the star PDS 70 are in fact authentic. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
If Rockets were Transparent: Video Shows You How Rockets Use up Their Propellant I always remember hearing the comparison of how the Space Shuttle’s main engines would drain an average family swimming pool in under 25 seconds. Or that the Saturn V used the equivalent of 763 elephants of fuel. But just how much fuel does a rocket burn during its ascent to orbit? As you might expect, … Continue reading “If Rockets were Transparent: Video Shows You How Rockets Use up Their Propellant” The post If Rockets were Transparent: Video Shows You How Rockets Use up Their Propellant appeared first on Universe Today. UniverseRead More →
Scientists puzzle over massive, never-before-seen star system in the Milky Way Earlier this year, an international team of scientists announced the second detection of a gravitational-wave signal from the collision of two neutron stars. The event, called GW190425, is puzzling: The combined mass of the two neutron stars is greater than any other observed binary neutron star system. The combined mass is 3.4 times the mass of our sun. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Take a Peek Inside a Giant Star Right Before it Dies The biggest stars in our universe are some of the most fascinatingly complex objects to inhabit the cosmos. Indeed,giant stars have defied full explanation for decades. Especially when they’re near the end of their lives. Stars power themselves through nuclear fusion, from the smashing together of lighter elements into heavier ones. This process leaves behind … Continue reading “Take a Peek Inside a Giant Star Right Before it Dies” The post Take a Peek Inside a Giant Star Right Before it Dies appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Earth Life Probably Can’t Spread to Mars Today New research says life from Earth isn’t likely to ever survive on Mars, which is good news as far as planetary protection concerns are involved. The post Earth Life Probably Can’t Spread to Mars Today appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Was Betelgeuse Formed by Merging Stars? Modern humans—or Homo Sapiens—have only been around for about 250,000 years. That’s only the blink of an eye in cosmological terms. As it turns out, the star Betelgeuse may only be about the same age. A new study explores the idea that Betelgeuse formed from a merger of two stars only a few hundred thousand … Continue reading “Was Betelgeuse Formed by Merging Stars?” The post Was Betelgeuse Formed by Merging Stars? appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
High Energy Neutrinos Are Coming From Supermassive Black Holes Some neutrinos are so energetic we don’t know how they are produced. But a clue lies in the heart of distant quasars. The post High Energy Neutrinos Are Coming From Supermassive Black Holes appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
James Webb is Fully Stowed Into its Launch Configuration We’re inching closer and closer to the James Webb Space Telescope’s (JWST) launch date of March 30th, 2021, (or maybe July 2021.) We never thought we’d get this close, with only a year to go before we send this powerful space telescope on its way. Now the telescope has been put in its launch configuration. … Continue reading “James Webb is Fully Stowed Into its Launch Configuration” The post James Webb is Fully Stowed Into its Launch Configuration appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
China’s New Crew Capsule Just Landed, and so Did Parts of their New Rocket! China’s next-generation crewed spacecraft recently returned to Earth after a successful test flight. The Long March 5B rocket that sent it up did as well (parts of it, anyway!) The post China’s New Crew Capsule Just Landed, and so Did Parts of their New Rocket! appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Black holes and neutron stars merge unseen in dense star clusters Mergers between black holes and neutron stars in dense star clusters are quite unlike those that form in isolated regions where stars are few. Their associated features could be crucial to the study of gravitational waves and their source. Dr. Manuel Arca Sedda of the Institute for Astronomical Computing at Heidelberg University came to this conclusion in a study that used computer simulations. The research may offer critical insights into the fusion of two massive stellar objects that astronomers observed in 2019. The findings were published in the journal Communications Physics. phys.org Go toRead More →
K2-25: An eccentric hot Neptune with the mass of seven Earths Of the roughly 4,300 exoplanets confirmed to date, about ten percent of them are classified as “hot Jupiters.” These are planets with masses between about 0.4 and 12 Jupiter-masses and orbital periods less than about 110 days (implying that they orbit close to their star—usually much closer than Mercury is to the Sun—and have hot surface temperatures). A “hot Neptune” has a smaller mass, closer to that of Neptune which is about twenty times less than Jupiter, and which also orbits close to its star. Astronomers study not only the properties of exoplanets butRead More →
