Caught in the act: MeerKAT telescope spies stellar flare Scientists using the MeerKAT radio telescope have discovered a unique and previously-unseen flare of radio emission from a binary star in our galaxy. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
TESS helps astronomers study red-giant stars, examine a too-close planet NASA’s planet-hunting TESS Mission keeps giving astronomers new realities to examine and explain. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
ESA Astronaut Luca Parmitano will be Controlling a Rover From Space The ESA has begun conducting experiments as part of their Analog project, which will allow human operators to control robotic rovers from orbit. The post ESA Astronaut Luca Parmitano will be Controlling a Rover From Space appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Water Vapor Was Just Found on Europa, More Evidence There’s Liquid Water Beneath All that Ice What’s been long-suspected has now been confirmed: Jupiter’s moon Europa has water. As we’ve learned more about the outer Solar System in recent years, Europa has become a high-priority target in the search for life. With this discovery, NASA has just painted a big red bulls-eye on Jupiter’s smallest Galilean moon. “While scientists have not … Continue reading “Water Vapor Was Just Found on Europa, More Evidence There’s Liquid Water Beneath All that Ice” The post Water Vapor Was Just Found on Europa, More Evidence There’s Liquid Water BeneathRead More →
The Impact Site of China’s Longjiang-2 Spacecraft has Been Found on the Moon Thanks to an amateur tracker, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera team found the lunar impact site of China’s Longjiang-2 satellite. The post The Impact Site of China’s Longjiang-2 Spacecraft has Been Found on the Moon appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Carnival of Space #638 This week’s Carnival of Space is hosted by Brian Wang at his Next Big Future blog. Click here to read Carnival of Space #638 And if you’re interested in looking back, here’s an archive to all the past Carnivals of Space. If you’ve got a space-related blog, you should really join the carnival. Just email an entry … Continue reading “Carnival of Space #638” The post Carnival of Space #638 appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope Could Find More of Earth’s Transient Moons A team of astronomers estimates that the LSST (which will be operational in 2020) will allow us to learn more about Earths’ “transient moons”. The post The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope Could Find More of Earth’s Transient Moons appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
If Astronauts Hibernated on Long Journeys, They’d Need Smaller Spacecraft There’s a disturbing lack of hibernation in our space-faring plans. In movies and books, astronauts pop in and out of hibernation—or stasis, or cryogenic sleep, or suspended animation, or something like it—on a regular basis. If we ever figure out some kind of hibernation, can we take advantage of it to get by with smaller … Continue reading “If Astronauts Hibernated on Long Journeys, They’d Need Smaller Spacecraft” The post If Astronauts Hibernated on Long Journeys, They’d Need Smaller Spacecraft appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Scientists find evidence of missing neutron star The leftovers from a spectacular supernova that revolutionised our understanding of how stars end their lives have finally been spotted by astronomers at Cardiff University. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
NASA scientists confirm water vapor on Europa Forty years ago, a Voyager spacecraft snapped the first closeup images of Europa, one of Jupiter’s 79 moons. These revealed brownish cracks slicing the moon’s icy surface, which give Europa the look of a veiny eyeball. Missions to the outer solar system in the decades since have amassed enough additional information about Europa to make it a high-priority target of investigation in NASA’s search for life. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Scientists Construct a Global Map of Titan’s Geology Titan’s methane-based hydrologic cycle makes it one of the Solar System’s most geologically diverse bodies. There are lakes of methane, methane rainfall, and even “snow” made of complex organic molecules. But all of that detail is hidden under the moon’s dense, hazy atmosphere. Now a team of scientists have used data from the Cassini mission … Continue reading “Scientists Construct a Global Map of Titan’s Geology” The post Scientists Construct a Global Map of Titan’s Geology appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
First global geologic map of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, completed The first map showing the global geology of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, has been completed and fully reveals a dynamic world of dunes, lakes, plains, craters and other terrains. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
How Large Can A Planet Be? When it comes to planets, the largest planet in the universe probably isn’t the most massive. The post How Large Can A Planet Be? appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
The measurements of the expansion of the universe don’t add up Physicists use two types of measurements to calculate the expansion rate of the universe, but their results do not coincide, which may make it necessary to update the cosmological model. “It’s like trying to thread a cosmic needle,” explains researcher Licia Verde of the University of Barcelona, co-author of an article on the implications of this problem. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
How to observe a ‘black hole symphony’ using gravitational wave astronomy Shrouded in mystery since their discovery, the phenomenon of black holes continues to be one of the most mind-boggling enigmas in our universe. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Zeroing in on baby exoplanets could reveal how they form Twenty-four years ago, Swiss astronomers Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz discovered the first planet orbiting a sun-like star outside our solar system—a milestone recognised by this year’s Nobel prize in physics. Today we know of thousands more ‘exoplanets,” and researchers are now trying to understand when and how they form. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Study sheds more light on the nature of the transient X-ray pulsar MAXI J1409-619 Turkish astronomers have analyzed the observational data of the transient X-ray pulsar MAXI J1409-619 to probe the properties of this source. The study provided a comprehensive timing and X-ray spectral analysis of the pulsar, shedding more light on the nature of this object. Results of the research were published November 7 on arXiv.org. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Image: Orion A in infrared Stars form within giant clouds of gas and dust that pervade galaxies like our own Milky Way. This image depicts one such cloud, known as Orion A, as seen by ESA’s Herschel and Planck space observatories. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Stingray Glider to Explore the Cloudtops of Venus Researchers at the University of Buffalo’s CASH Lab are working on a glider inspired by the stingray to explore Venus. The post Stingray Glider to Explore the Cloudtops of Venus appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Two of Neptune’s Moons Dance Around Each Other as they Orbit Like a long-married couple accustomed to each other’s kitchen habits, two of Neptune’s moons are masters at sharing space without colliding. And though both situations may appear odd to an observer, there’s a certain dance-like quality to them both. We’re talking about Thalassa and Naiad, two Neptunian moons discovered by Voyager 2 in 1989. The … Continue reading “Two of Neptune’s Moons Dance Around Each Other as they Orbit” The post Two of Neptune’s Moons Dance Around Each Other as they Orbit appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
