Hayabusa 2 has one Last Lander it’s Going to Throw at Ryugu JAXA recently released photos of their Hayabusa2 mission deploying target markers to the surface of the asteroid Ryugu. The post Hayabusa 2 has one Last Lander it’s Going to Throw at Ryugu appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Enceladus Causes Snowfall On Other Moons of Saturn Radar evidence shows that geysers on Enceladus are ejecting water that turns to snow. The snow not only falls back on Enceladus’ surface, but also makes its way to its neighboring moons, Mimas and Tethys, making them more reflective. Researchers are calling this a ‘snow cannon.’ The Cassini spacecraft carried a powerful radar designed to … Continue reading “Enceladus Causes Snowfall On Other Moons of Saturn” The post Enceladus Causes Snowfall On Other Moons of Saturn appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Musk Shares the Latest Progress on the Starship Prototypes Elon Musk just released new images that showcase the progress being made on the Starship prototypes The post Musk Shares the Latest Progress on the Starship Prototypes appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Open cluster NGC 2345 investigated in detail European astronomers have performed a comprehensive study of the young open cluster NGC 2345. The new research resulted in determining fundamental parameters of dozens of stars in the cluster and also unveiled the presence of new members. The findings are detailed in a paper published September 11 on arXiv.org. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Introducing VPLanet: A virtual planet simulator for modeling distant worlds across time University of Washington astrobiologist Rory Barnes has created software that simulates multiple aspects of planetary evolution across billions of years, with an eye toward finding and studying potentially habitable worlds. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Comet gateway discovered to inner solar system, may alter fundamental understanding of comet evolution A new study led by a University of Central Florida researcher may fundamentally alter our understanding of how comets arrive from the outskirts of the solar system and are funneled to the inner solar system coming closer to Earth. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
A Distant Asteroid Collision Gave Earthly Biodiversity An Ancient Boost About 466 million years ago, there was an asteroid collision in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The collision caused the breakup of a major asteroid, creating a shower of dust throughout the inner Solar System. That event is called the Ordovician Meteor Event, and its dust caused an ice age here on Earth. … Continue reading “A Distant Asteroid Collision Gave Earthly Biodiversity An Ancient Boost” The post A Distant Asteroid Collision Gave Earthly Biodiversity An Ancient Boost appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Yes, This is Actually the Shadow of Io Passing Across the Surface of Jupiter. The JunoCam onboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft continues to provide we Earthbound humans with a steady stream of stunning images of Jupiter. We can’t get enough of the gas giant’s hypnotic, other-worldly beauty. This image of Io passing over Jupiter is the latest one to awaken our sense of wonder. This image was processed by Kevin … Continue reading “Yes, This is Actually the Shadow of Io Passing Across the Surface of Jupiter.” The post Yes, This is Actually the Shadow of Io Passing Across the Surface of Jupiter. appeared first onRead More →
Pulsating gamma rays from neutron star rotating 707 times a second An international research team led by the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute; AEI) in Hannover has discovered that the radio pulsar J0952-0607 also emits pulsed gamma radiation. J0952-0607 spins 707 times in one second and is second in the list of rapidly rotating neutron stars. By analyzing about 8.5 years worth of data from NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, LOFAR radio observations from the past two years, observations from two large optical telescopes, and gravitational-wave data from the LIGO detectors, the team used a multi-messenger approach to study the binaryRead More →
Want To Explore Mars? Send Humans To The Moons Of Mars First: Phobos And Deimos Humans to Mars. That’s the plan right? The problem is that sending humans down to the surface of Mars is one of the most complicated and ambitious goals that we can attempt. It’s a huge step to go from low Earth orbit, then lunar landings, and then all the way to Mars, a journey of … Continue reading “Want To Explore Mars? Send Humans To The Moons Of Mars First: Phobos And Deimos” The post Want To Explore Mars? Send Humans To The Moons Of Mars First: Phobos And DeimosRead More →
Io’s Largest Volcano, Loki, Erupts Every 500 Days. Any Day Now, It’ll Erupt Again. Jupiter’s moon Io is in stark contrast to the other three Galilean moons. While Callisto, Ganymede, and Europa all appear to have subsurface oceans, Io is a volcanic world, covered with more than 400 active volcanoes. In fact, Io is the most volcanically active body in the Solar System. Io’s largest volcano is named Loki, … Continue reading “Io’s Largest Volcano, Loki, Erupts Every 500 Days. Any Day Now, It’ll Erupt Again.” The post Io’s Largest Volcano, Loki, Erupts Every 500 Days. Any Day Now, It’ll Erupt Again. appeared first onRead More →
Study captures six galaxies undergoing sudden, dramatic transitions Galaxies come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and brightnesses, ranging from humdrum ordinary galaxies to luminous active galaxies. While an ordinary galaxy is visible mainly because of the light from its stars, an active galaxy shines brightest at its center, or nucleus, where a supermassive black hole emits a steady blast of bright light as it voraciously consumes nearby gas and dust. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Weekly Space Hangout: September 18, 2019 – Dr. Georgiana Kramer of PSI: Space Dew and Superheroes Hosts: Fraser Cain (universetoday.com / @fcain) Dr. Brian Koberlein (BrianKoberlein.com / @BrianKoberlein & ) Allen Versfeld (https://www.urban-astronomer.com/ / @uastronomer) Veranika Klimovich Michael Rodruck Georgiana “George” Kramer from the Planetary Science Institute is a spectroscopist and geomorphologist, and for the last 12 years her research has focused on interpretation of data from spacecraft missions. She was a member … Continue reading “Weekly Space Hangout: September 18, 2019 – Dr. Georgiana Kramer of PSI: Space Dew and Superheroes” The post Weekly Space Hangout: September 18, 2019 – Dr. Georgiana Kramer of PSI: SpaceRead More →
This Astrophotographer Makes the World Turn and the Sky Stand Still Photographer Eric Brummel has created a stunning time-lapse of the Milky Way. Time-lapses of the Milky Way are not rare, but Eric has turned convention on its head. Instead of the Milky Way moving across the night sky, it’s the Earth that’s in motion. Eric created this time-lapse by using a star-tracker with his camera. … Continue reading “This Astrophotographer Makes the World Turn and the Sky Stand Still” The post This Astrophotographer Makes the World Turn and the Sky Stand Still appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Comet’s collapsing cliffs and bouncing boulders Scientists analyzing the treasure trove of images taken by ESA’s Rosetta mission have turned up more evidence for curious bouncing boulders and dramatic cliff collapses. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
New open cluster discovered using Gaia Using data from ESA’s Gaia satellite, German astronomers have detected a new open cluster in the Milky Way galaxy. The newly found cluster, designated Gaia 8, consists of about 100 stars, most likely including the Beta Lyrae variable. The finding is reported in a paper published September 10 on the arXiv pre-print server. phys.org Go to SourceRead More →
Metallic Asteroids Might Have Had Volcanoes Erupting Molten Iron. That’s So Metal Remember the asteroid Psyche? It’s the largest known asteroid in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It’s been in the news because of its unusual properties, and because NASA plans to launch a mission to Psyche in 2022. Psyche, aka 16 Psyche, is unusual because it’s quite different from other asteroids. Psyche appears to … Continue reading “Metallic Asteroids Might Have Had Volcanoes Erupting Molten Iron. That’s So Metal” The post Metallic Asteroids Might Have Had Volcanoes Erupting Molten Iron. That’s So Metal appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go toRead More →
The Most Massive Neutron Star has been Found. It’s ALMOST the Most Massive Neutron Star That’s Even Possible Neutron stars are the end-state of massive stars that have spent their fuel and exploded as supernovae. There’s an upper limit to their mass, because a massive enough star won’t become a neutron star; it’ll become a black hole. But finding that upper mass limit, or tipping point, between a star that becomes a black … Continue reading “The Most Massive Neutron Star has been Found. It’s ALMOST the Most Massive Neutron Star That’s Even Possible” The post The Most Massive Neutron Star has been Found. It’sRead More →
Could We Intercept Interstellar Comet C/2019 Q4 Borisov? A recent study by members of i4is shows how we could intercept future interstellar visitors using existing technology. The post Could We Intercept Interstellar Comet C/2019 Q4 Borisov? appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →
Physicists Don’t Know the Mass of a Neutrino, But Now They Know it’s No Larger Than 1 Electron Volt The Standard Model of Particle Physics is one of science’s most impressive feats. It’s a rigorous, precise effort to understand and describe three of the four fundamental forces of the Universe: the electromagnetic force, the strong nuclear force, and the weak nuclear force. Gravity is absent because so far, fitting it into the Standard Model … Continue reading “Physicists Don’t Know the Mass of a Neutrino, But Now They Know it’s No Larger Than 1 Electron Volt” The post Physicists Don’t Know the Mass of aRead More →
