The Lowest Mass Black Hole has Been Found, only 3.3 Times the Mass of the Sun A team of astronomers recently discovered the smallest black hole to date, which indicates that there may be far more out there than we previously thought. The post The Lowest Mass Black Hole has Been Found, only 3.3 Times the Mass of the Sun appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Asteroid Hygiea is Round Enough That it Could Qualify as a Dwarf Planet, the Smallest in the Solar System Using the Very Large Telescope, an international team of astronomers observed Hygeia and determined it could be the smallest dwarf planet to date! The post Asteroid Hygiea is Round Enough That it Could Qualify as a Dwarf Planet, the Smallest in the Solar System appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
NASA is Now Considering a Pluto Orbiter Mission NASA’s New Horizons mission taught us a lot about Pluto, the ice dwarf planet. But the spacecraft sped past Pluto so quickly, we only got high-resolution images of one side of the planet, the so-called “encounter side.” New Horizons gave us a big leap in understanding, but in a way, it asked more questions than … Continue reading “NASA is Now Considering a Pluto Orbiter Mission” The post NASA is Now Considering a Pluto Orbiter Mission appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Mars 2020 Stands Up on its Wheels For The First Time The Mars 2020 rover recently passed a milestone at NASA JPL, where it stood on its wheels and legs for the very first time. The post Mars 2020 Stands Up on its Wheels For The First Time appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Return to the Moon with Blue Origin’s Rockets and Lunar Lander Made Out of LEGO Indulge your inner man-child (or woman-child) with these LEGO versions of the Blue Origin Blue Moon lunar lander, New Glenn rocket, and launch tower. This new design is currently gathering supporters on the LEGO Ideas website. If it gets enough supporters, LEGO will review it and possibly build it. The kit is based around the … Continue reading “Return to the Moon with Blue Origin’s Rockets and Lunar Lander Made Out of LEGO” The post Return to the Moon with Blue Origin’s Rockets and Lunar Lander Made Out of LEGORead More →
Mobile app to provide the latest on black hole collisions and merging neutron stars PhD students from the Institute for Gravitational Wave Astronomy have released a new app to encourage members of the public to stay up to date with new gravitational wave events in near real time. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Jupiter-sized exoplanet discovered through microlensing The path of a light beam is bent by the presence of mass, and a massive body can therefore act like a lens (a “gravitational lens”) to distort the image of an object seen behind it. Scientists first confirmed Einstein’s prediction quantitatively during the now famous total eclipse of 29 May 1919 by observing starlight bent by the mass of the Sun. Microlensing is the name given to a related phenomenon: the brightening of light from a star as a cosmic body, acting as a gravitational lens, passing fortuitously in front of it, the light then dimming to normal asRead More →
Ancient gas cloud shows that the first stars must have formed very quickly Astronomers led by Eduardo Bañados of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy have discovered a gas cloud that contains information about an early phase of galaxy and star formation, merely 850 million years after the Big Bang. The cloud was found serendipitously during observations of a distant quasar, and it has the properties that astronomers expect from the precursors of modern-day dwarf galaxies. When it comes to relative abundances, the cloud’s chemistry is surprisingly modern, showing that the first stars in the universe must have formed very quickly after the Big Bang.Read More →
Worldwide observations confirm nearby ‘lensing’ exoplanet Researchers using telescopes around the world confirmed and characterized an exoplanet orbiting a nearby star through a rare phenomenon known as gravitational microlensing. The exoplanet has a mass similar to Neptune, but it orbits a star lighter (cooler) than the Sun at an orbital radius similar to Earth’s orbital radius. Around cool stars, this orbital region is thought to be the birth place of gas-giant planets. The results of this research suggest that Neptune-sized planets could be common around this orbital region. Because the exoplanet discovered this time is closer than other exoplanets discovered by the same method, itRead More →
#89 – November 2019 Part 1 The Discussion: Before we start the show proper, we discuss Jeni’s encounter with Nobel Laureate Kip Thorne, her new research paper undergoing a painfully slow peer review and we take a look at Chris Lintott’s book, The Crowd and the Cosmos: Adventures in the Zooniverse. Then it’s over to the listeners for a few emails suggesting cooler names for the phenomenon of the Pair Instability Supernova. The News: Rounding up the astronomy news this month we have: An enigmatic radio burst opens up a new method of probing the universe Hubble takes a look at interstellar comet HygieaRead More →
This is the Machine Astronauts Trained on to Land on the Moon Faking the Moon landings was a huge undertaking. In order to fool the degenerate critical thinkers out there, NASA had to think of every detail. Right down to fake machines for the astronauts to train on. I mean, even the astronauts had to think it was real, or they’d ruin everything, amirite? Shortly after President … Continue reading “This is the Machine Astronauts Trained on to Land on the Moon” The post This is the Machine Astronauts Trained on to Land on the Moon appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go toRead More →
Scientists may have discovered whole new class of black holes Black holes are an important part of how astrophysicists make sense of the universe—so important that scientists have been trying to build a census of all the black holes in the Milky Way galaxy. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Researchers discover mechanisms for the cause of the Big Bang The origin of the universe started with the Big Bang, but how the supernova explosion ignited has long been a mystery—until now. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
WFIRST will add pieces to the dark matter puzzle The true nature of dark matter is one of the biggest mysteries in the universe. Scientists are trying to determine what exactly dark matter is made of so they can detect it directly, but our current understanding has so many gaps, it’s difficult to know just what we’re looking for. WFIRST’s ability to survey wide swaths of the universe will help us figure out what dark matter could be made of by exploring the structure and distribution of both matter and dark matter across space and time. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Even ‘Goldilocks’ exoplanets need a well-behaved star An exoplanet may seem like the perfect spot to set up housekeeping, but before you go there, take a closer look at its star. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Spitzer Telescope spots a ghoulish gourd A carved-out cloud of gas and dust looks like a celestial jack-o’-lantern in this image from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Astronomers catch wind rushing out of galaxy Exploring the influence of galactic winds from a distant galaxy called Makani, UC San Diego’s Alison Coil, Rhodes College’s David Rupke and a group of collaborators from around the world made a novel discovery. Published in Nature, their study’s findings provide direct evidence for the first time of the role of galactic winds—ejections of gas from galaxies—in creating the circumgalactic medium (CGM). It exists in the regions around galaxies, and it plays an active role in their cosmic evolution. The unique composition of Makani—meaning wind in Hawaiian—uniquely lent itself to the breakthrough findings. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
How we discovered a glowing galactic ghoul It’s a classic Halloween tale. A group of ghost hunters visit a grand old house that is rumored to be haunted. But after thoroughly exploring, they leave disappointed: there are no ghosts to be seen. Only later, when looking through their photographs of the place do they notice the mysterious apparition on the stairs. It was there all the time. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Clouds On Jupiter Rising Up Above the Surrounding Atmosphere Though it looks like it to us, Jupiter’s clouds do no form a flat surface. Some of its clouds rise up above the surrounding cloud tops. The two bright spots in the right center of this image are much higher than the surrounding clouds. Jupiter’s atmosphere is a swirling, colourful, chaotic mix-up of currents and … Continue reading “Clouds On Jupiter Rising Up Above the Surrounding Atmosphere” The post Clouds On Jupiter Rising Up Above the Surrounding Atmosphere appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
New Telescope Instrument Will Watch the Sky with 5,000 Eyes Dark Energy is the mysterious force driving the expansion of the Universe. We don’t know what dark energy is, even though it makes up about 68% of the Universe. And the expansion is accelerating, which only adds to the mystery. A new instrument called the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) will study dark energy. It’s … Continue reading “New Telescope Instrument Will Watch the Sky with 5,000 Eyes” The post New Telescope Instrument Will Watch the Sky with 5,000 Eyes appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
