Universe Today (Page 213)

A High Resolution, Cross-Eyed Look at the Entire Surface of Mars A group of amateur and professional astronomers have collaborated to create what may be the highest resolution global map of Mars ever created with images taken from Earth. The images were taken with the 1-meter telescope at the Pic-du-Midi observatory in the Pyrenees of France, during several nights in October and November. “The team went … Continue reading “A High Resolution, Cross-Eyed Look at the Entire Surface of Mars” The post A High Resolution, Cross-Eyed Look at the Entire Surface of Mars appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Scientists Have Re-Analyzed Their Data and Still See a Signal of Phosphine at Venus. Just Less of it The team that detected phosphine in Venus’ atmosphere has reexamined the data and confirmed their discovery, with a few caveats and addendums. The post Scientists Have Re-Analyzed Their Data and Still See a Signal of Phosphine at Venus. Just Less of it appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

The First Civilization We Contact Will Have Been Around Much Longer Than Humanity Recently at UT, author Matt Williams has been writing a series called “Beyond Fermi’s Paradox”, which takes a look at possible resolutions to one of the most famous questions in science: “Where is everybody?”  As Matt discusses, there are multiple hypothetical solutions, but there may eventually come a day when we can definitively answer it. … Continue reading “The First Civilization We Contact Will Have Been Around Much Longer Than Humanity” The post The First Civilization We Contact Will Have Been Around Much Longer Than Humanity appeared first on Universe Today. UniverseRead More →

A 100-Meter Rotating Liquid Mirror Telescope on the Moon? Yes Please. A team from UT Austin has renewed a proposal for a liquid-mirror telescope on the Moon that could study the first stars in the Universe. The post A 100-Meter Rotating Liquid Mirror Telescope on the Moon? Yes Please. appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Earth and the Moon Might Have Captured an Old Upper Stage Rocket According to NASA, an object detected between the Earth and Moon could actually be the spent stage of a rocket booster from the early Space Age. The post Earth and the Moon Might Have Captured an Old Upper Stage Rocket appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

There Might Be Water On All Rocky Planets If you asked someone who was reasonably scientifically literate how Earth got its water, they’d likely tell you it came from asteroids—or maybe comets and planetesimals, too—that crashed into our planet in its early days. There’s detail, nuance, and uncertainty around that idea, but it’s widely believed to be the most likely reason that Earth … Continue reading “There Might Be Water On All Rocky Planets” The post There Might Be Water On All Rocky Planets appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Weekly Space Hangout: November 18, 2020 – Dr. Ralph Lorenz, Planetary Scientist and Dragonfly Mission Architect This week we are airing Fraser’s pre-recorded interview with Dr. Ralph Lorenz, planetary scientist and aerospace engineer from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. Ralph is the Mission Architect of the upcoming Dragonfly Mission to Titan, and the author of the new book, Saturn’s Moon Titan Owners’ Workshop Manual. Ralph was a member of the … Continue reading “Weekly Space Hangout: November 18, 2020 – Dr. Ralph Lorenz, Planetary Scientist and Dragonfly Mission Architect” The post Weekly Space Hangout: November 18, 2020 – Dr. Ralph Lorenz, Planetary Scientist andRead More →

Some of the Milky Way’s oldest stars aren’t where they’re expected to be Some of the oldest stars in our galaxy have orbits similar to the Sun, and we don’t know why The post Some of the Milky Way’s oldest stars aren’t where they’re expected to be appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Earth’s toughest bacteria can survive unprotected in space for at least a year A remarkable microbe named Deinococcus radiodurans (the name comes from the Greek deinos meaning terrible, kokkos meaning grain or berry, radius meaning radiation, and durare meaning surviving or withstanding) has survived a full year in the harsh environment of outer space aboard (but NOT inside) the International Space Station. This plucky prokaryote is affectionately known … Continue reading “Earth’s toughest bacteria can survive unprotected in space for at least a year” The post Earth’s toughest bacteria can survive unprotected in space for at least a year appeared first on Universe Today. UniverseRead More →

An Iceberg the Size of South Georgia Island is on a Collision Course with… South Georgia Island Back in July 2017, satellites watched as an enormous iceberg broke free from Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula. The trillion-ton behemoth has been drifting for over three years now. While it stayed close to its parent ice shelf for the first couple of years, it’s now heading directly for a collision … Continue reading “An Iceberg the Size of South Georgia Island is on a Collision Course with… South Georgia Island” The post An Iceberg the Size of South Georgia Island is on aRead More →

Past Supernovae Could be Written Into Tree Rings A new study by CU Boulder geoscientist Robert Brakenridge shows how nearby supernovae could have disrupted Earth’s climate in the past The post Past Supernovae Could be Written Into Tree Rings appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Astronomers think they’ve seen a magnetar form for the first time; the collision of two neutron stars Astronomers have seen how two neutron stars created the brightest kilonova ever observed. The post Astronomers think they’ve seen a magnetar form for the first time; the collision of two neutron stars appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

There’s a Vast Microbial Ecosystem Underneath the Crater that Wiped Out the Dinosaurs How did life arise on Earth? How did it survive the Hadean eon, a time when repeated massive impacts excavated craters thousands of kilometres in diameter into the Earth’s surface? Those impacts turned the Earth into a hellish place, where the oceans turned to steam, and the atmosphere was filled with rock vapour. How could … Continue reading “There’s a Vast Microbial Ecosystem Underneath the Crater that Wiped Out the Dinosaurs” The post There’s a Vast Microbial Ecosystem Underneath the Crater that Wiped Out the Dinosaurs appeared first on Universe Today. UniverseRead More →

The family tree of the Milky Way. The mergers that gave us the galaxy we see today Galaxies build themselves up slowly over time by cannibalizing their neighbors. Using an advanced suite of computer simulations, researchers have now traced back the evolutionary history of our own Milky Way. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, currently hosts hundreds of billions of stars, and is pretty respectably sized for the kind of galaxy it is. … Continue reading “The family tree of the Milky Way. The mergers that gave us the galaxy we see today” The post The family tree of the Milky Way. The mergers that gaveRead More →

Fast radio bursts within the Milky Way seem to be coming from magnetars Fast radio bursts are some of the most mysterious events known in astronomy, but they are slowly becoming better understood. Case in point: recent observations of a fast radio burst in the Milky Way reveals the powerhouse behind the blasts: a flaring magnetar. In 2007 astronomers first detected strange bursts of intense radio energy, known … Continue reading “Fast radio bursts within the Milky Way seem to be coming from magnetars” The post Fast radio bursts within the Milky Way seem to be coming from magnetars appeared first on Universe Today. UniverseRead More →

A Record Close Shave: Asteroid 2020 VT4 Just Skimmed by Earth Wow. A low-flying space rock set a record last Friday (appropriately, the 13th), when 2020 VT4 passed just under 400 kilometers (250 miles) over the Southern Pacific. The post A Record Close Shave: Asteroid 2020 VT4 Just Skimmed by Earth appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Merging Black Holes and Neutron Stars. All the Gravitational Wave Events Seen So Far in One Picture The Theory of Relativity predicted the existence of black holes and neutron stars. Einstein gets the credit for the theory because of his paper published in 1915, even though other scientists’ work helped it along. But regardless of the minds behind it, the theory predicted black holes, neutron stars, and the gravitational waves from their … Continue reading “Merging Black Holes and Neutron Stars. All the Gravitational Wave Events Seen So Far in One Picture” The post Merging Black Holes and Neutron Stars. All the Gravitational Wave EventsRead More →

New Horizons Saw the Universe With Even Less Light Pollution than Hubble’s View A new study based on New Horizons data has conducted the most accurate measurements of the Universe’s background light to date. The post New Horizons Saw the Universe With Even Less Light Pollution than Hubble’s View appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

There are Planets So Close to Their Stars That They Have Magma Oceans 100km Deep and Winds that Go 8000 km/h 200 light years away, “super earth” exoplanet K2-141b orbits a star so closely that its “year” is only 7 hours long. Not its day…its YEAR! K2-141b orbits a mere million kilometers from the fiery surface of its star. Earth is 150 million km from our Sun. Even Mercury, the planet closest to our Sun, is … Continue reading “There are Planets So Close to Their Stars That They Have Magma Oceans 100km Deep and Winds that Go 8000 km/h” The post There are PlanetsRead More →

SpaceX’s Resilience Spacecraft has Lifted Off and is Headed for the ISS! NASA and SpaceX have once again made history with the flight of the Crew-1 (Resilience) to the ISS, the first operational crew mission since the Space Shuttle was retired! The post SpaceX’s Resilience Spacecraft has Lifted Off and is Headed for the ISS! appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →