If You Could See in X-rays, This is What the Universe Would Look Like X-ray astronomy helps scientists study neutron stars, binary star systems, and supernova remnants, and even helps detect black holes. But even if human eyes had the ability to see X-rays, we couldn’t just look up at the night sky and see these amazing objects since Earth’s atmosphere absorbs and blocks X-rays. So, thank goodness for … Continue reading “If You Could See in X-rays, This is What the Universe Would Look Like” The post If You Could See in X-rays, This is What the Universe Would Look Like appeared first onRead More →

Antares is a supergiant star that would fill the Solar System beyond Mars, but its atmosphere is 12 times bigger than that Antares, the angry red eye of the constellation Taurus the bull, is a red supergiant star near the end of its life. And astronomers with the VLA and ALMA have realized that it’s much, much bigger than we ever imagined. So when I say that Antares is a big star, I don’t think you really appreciate … Continue reading “Antares is a supergiant star that would fill the Solar System beyond Mars, but its atmosphere is 12 times bigger than that” The post AntaresRead More →

A New Search for Evidence of Technological Civilizations in the Milky Way Scientists from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and University of Rochester have come together (with NASA funding) to launch a new search for advanced alien life! The post A New Search for Evidence of Technological Civilizations in the Milky Way appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Quasars are the Biggest Particle Accelerators in the Universe We puny humans think we can accelerate particles? Look how proud we are of the Large Hadron Collider. But any particle accelerator we build will pale in comparison to Quasars, nature’s champion accelerators. Those things are beasts. The term quasar is a contraction—albeit a clumsy one—of “quasi-stellar radio source.” When they were first discovered in … Continue reading “Quasars are the Biggest Particle Accelerators in the Universe” The post Quasars are the Biggest Particle Accelerators in the Universe appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Astronomers Estimate There Are 6 Billion Earth-Like Planets in the Milky Way Six billion Earth-like planets in the Milky Way? If true, that’s astounding. But the number needs some context. The Milky Way has up 400 billion stars. So even if there are six billion Earth-like planets, they’re still spread far and wide throughout our vast galaxy. A new study came up with the six billion number. … Continue reading “Astronomers Estimate There Are 6 Billion Earth-Like Planets in the Milky Way” The post Astronomers Estimate There Are 6 Billion Earth-Like Planets in the Milky Way appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go toRead More →

NASA Thinks it’s Time to Return to Neptune With its Trident Mission Is it time to head back to Neptune and its moon Triton? It might be. After all, we have some unfinished business there. It’s been 30 years since NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft flew past the gas giant and its largest moon, and that flyby posed more questions than it answered. Maybe we’ll get some answers … Continue reading “NASA Thinks it’s Time to Return to Neptune With its Trident Mission” The post NASA Thinks it’s Time to Return to Neptune With its Trident Mission appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go toRead More →

NASA Thinks it’s Time to Return to Neptune With its Trident Mission Roughly three decades ago, NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft flew past Neptune and conduct a flyby of its largest moon, Triton. The stunning images and data it sent back revealed a strange and fascinating world, characterized by massive plumes of icy material shooting out from a young, smooth surface. Since then, no mission has gone to … Continue reading “NASA Thinks it’s Time to Return to Neptune With its Trident Mission” The post NASA Thinks it’s Time to Return to Neptune With its Trident Mission appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go toRead More →

The Navy is Testing Beaming Solar Power in Space Solar power has become a focal point of the battle to mitigate climate change.  The potential of solar power is massive – Earth receives as much solar energy in an hour as all of humanity uses in a year.  Even with that much energy hitting the Earth, it is only a tiny fraction of the … Continue reading “The Navy is Testing Beaming Solar Power in Space” The post The Navy is Testing Beaming Solar Power in Space appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Weekly Space Hangout: June 17, 2020 — Dana Backman, Director of NASA Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors This week we are joined by Dana Backman, an astrophysicist with a Ph.D. from the University of Hawai’i. He was an infrared astronomy researcher at Kitt Peak Observatory and NASA Ames, then a professor of physics & astronomy at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Dana has also taught introductory astronomy at Santa Clara … Continue reading “Weekly Space Hangout: June 17, 2020 — Dana Backman, Director of NASA Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors” The post Weekly Space Hangout: June 17, 2020 — Dana Backman, Director of NASA Airborne Astronomy AmbassadorsRead More →

Catch a Solstice ‘Ring of Fire’ Annular Solar Eclipse Over Africa and Asia This Weekend Ready for the first solar eclipse of the year? This weekend sees one of the top draw astronomical events for 2020, with an annular solar eclipse spanning eastern Africa and Southern Asia on Sunday, June 21st. The post Catch a Solstice ‘Ring of Fire’ Annular Solar Eclipse Over Africa and Asia This Weekend appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Searching for the End of the Universe’s “Dark Age” According to the most widely accepted cosmological theories, the first stars in the Universe formed a few hundred million years after the Big Bang. Unfortunately, astronomers have been unable to “see” them since their emergence coincided during the cosmological period known as the “Dark Ages.” During this period, which ended about 13 billion years ago, … Continue reading “Searching for the End of the Universe’s “Dark Age”” The post Searching for the End of the Universe’s “Dark Age” appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Why Pulsars Are So Bright When pulsars were first discovered in 1967, their rhythmic radio-wave pulsations were a mystery. Some thought their radio beams must be of extraterrestrial origin. We’ve learned a lot since then. We know that pulsars are magnetized, rotating neutrons stars. We know that they rotate very rapidly, with their magnetic poles sending sweeping beams of radio … Continue reading “Why Pulsars Are So Bright” The post Why Pulsars Are So Bright appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

What Does it Mean to Be a Space Architect? In a recent article, space architect Anastasia Prosina explores the concept of space architecture and how it will play a major role in humanity’s future. The post What Does it Mean to Be a Space Architect? appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Book Review: Atlas of Solar Eclipses 2020 to 2045 Anyone who has stood in the shadow of the Moon during totality knows the thrill of a total solar eclipse. There’s great new atlas for planning your next great eclipse-chasing adventure, the Atlas of Solar Eclipses 2020 to 2045 by eclipse-chaser and cartographer Michael Zeiler and Michael E. Bakich is an indispensable resource. The post Book Review: Atlas of Solar Eclipses 2020 to 2045 appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Virgin Orbit’s first air-launched rocket launch fails The reason people use the aphorism “it isn’t rocket science” is because rocket science is hard.  Virgin Orbit, a spin-off of Virgin Galactic that focuses on small satellite launches, proved that with a recent test of its LauncherOne rocket. The LauncherOne, which has been in development for more than 7 years, was designed to serve … Continue reading “Virgin Orbit’s first air-launched rocket launch fails” The post Virgin Orbit’s first air-launched rocket launch fails appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →