Universe Today (Page 403)

Tiny Object Found at the Edge of the Solar System for the First Time. A Kuiper Belt Object that’s Only 2.6 km Across The Kuiper Belt, or the Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt, is home to ancient rocks. Kuiper Belt Objects, or KBOs, are remnants of the early planet-formation days of our Solar System. Small KBOs, in the 1 km. diameter range, have been theorized about for decades, but nobody’s every found one. Until now. Planets form when bits of dust … Continue reading “Tiny Object Found at the Edge of the Solar System for the First Time. A Kuiper Belt Object that’s Only 2.6 km Across” TheRead More →

Astronomers are Continuing to Watch the Shockwaves Expand from Supernova SN1987A, as they Crash Into the Surrounding Interstellar Medium An international team of researchers was able to accurately measure the effect that a supernova shock wave had on the surrounding gas for the first time. The post Astronomers are Continuing to Watch the Shockwaves Expand from Supernova SN1987A, as they Crash Into the Surrounding Interstellar Medium appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Without the Impact that Formed the Moon, We Might Not Have Life on Earth The Earth wasn’t formed containing the necessary chemicals for life to begin. One well-supported theory, called the “late veneer theory”, suggests that the volatile chemicals needed for life arrived long after the Earth formed, brought here by meteorites. But a new study challenges the late veneer theory. Evidence shows that the Moon was created when … Continue reading “Without the Impact that Formed the Moon, We Might Not Have Life on Earth” The post Without the Impact that Formed the Moon, We Might Not Have Life on Earth appeared first onRead More →

Here it is, the high resolution photo of MU69 We’ve all been waiting for. A newly-processed image of Ultima Thule provides the highest-resolution picture of the object to date. The post Here it is, the high resolution photo of MU69 We’ve all been waiting for. appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Quasars with a Double-Image Gravitational Lens Could Help Finally Figure out how Fast the Universe is Expanding How fast is the Universe expanding? That’s a question that astronomers haven’t been able to answer accurately. They have a name for the expansion rate of the Universe: The Hubble Constant, or Hubble’s Law. But measurements keep coming up with different values, and astronomers have been debating back and forth on this issue for decades. … Continue reading “Quasars with a Double-Image Gravitational Lens Could Help Finally Figure out how Fast the Universe is Expanding” The post Quasars with a Double-Image Gravitational Lens Could Help Finally Figure outRead More →

What Would be the Benefits of an Interstellar Probe? A new study from the Initiative for Interstellar Studies outlines the benefits and requirements of sending a probe on an interstellar mission. The post What Would be the Benefits of an Interstellar Probe? appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

A Planetary Nebula Like This Will Only be Visible for About 10,000 Years Before it Fades Away For some stars, their last act is a final exhalation of gases, which we call a planetary nebula. While a living being’s last breath is closely followed by death, a star can continue to shine. And that shining illuminates the final exhalation of gases like a cosmic, diaphanous veil. Astronomers have captured one such planetary … Continue reading “A Planetary Nebula Like This Will Only be Visible for About 10,000 Years Before it Fades Away” The post A Planetary Nebula Like This Will Only be Visible for AboutRead More →

Blue Origin has Shown off a New Video of its New Glenn Rocket Design Blue Origin, the private aerospace company founded by multi-billionaire (and founder of Amazon) Jeff Bezos, is looking to make its presence felt in the rapidly expanding NewSpace industry. To this end, Blue Origin has spent years developing a fleet of reusable rockets that they hope will someday rival those of their greatest competitor, SpaceX. So … Continue reading “Blue Origin has Shown off a New Video of its New Glenn Rocket Design” The post Blue Origin has Shown off a New Video of its New Glenn Rocket Design appeared first onRead More →

One of Our Best Views of the Supermassive Black Hole at the Heart of the Milky Way An almost unimaginably enormous black hole is situated at the heart of the Milky Way. It’s called a Supermassive Black Hole (SMBH), and astronomers think that almost all massive galaxies have one at their center. But of course, nobody’s ever seen one (sort of, more on that later): It’s all based on evidence other than … Continue reading “One of Our Best Views of the Supermassive Black Hole at the Heart of the Milky Way” The post One of Our Best Views of the Supermassive Black Hole atRead More →

SpaceX Starhopper Damaged in High Winds Elon Musk indicates that the SpaceX Starhopper has been damaged after being toppled in 50 mile-per-hour winds. This will take a few weeks to repair. I just heard. 50 mph winds broke the mooring blocks late last night & fairing was blown over. Will take a few weeks to repair.— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 23, … Continue reading “SpaceX Starhopper Damaged in High Winds” The post SpaceX Starhopper Damaged in High Winds appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Weekly Space Hangout: Jan 23, 2019: Marco Parigi, Asteroid/Comet Whisperer Hosts: Fraser Cain (universetoday.com / @fcain) Dr. Morgan Rehnberg (MorganRehnberg.com / @MorganRehnberg & ChartYourWorld.org) Marco is a self-declared Asteroid/Comet whisperer. He’s dabbled in citizen science for years, and he most recently flagged many changes on 67P when this was directly requested through the Rosetta Blog: http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/06/03/the-changing-comet-call-for-contributions/ He is currently working on finding evidence for out … Continue reading “Weekly Space Hangout: Jan 23, 2019: Marco Parigi, Asteroid/Comet Whisperer” The post Weekly Space Hangout: Jan 23, 2019: Marco Parigi, Asteroid/Comet Whisperer appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

A Disc of Icy Material, not Planet 9, Might Explain the Strange Movements in the Outer Solar System Is there or isn’t there a Planet 9? Is there a planet way out on the outskirts of our Solar System, with sufficient mass to explain the movements of distant objects? Or is a disc of icy material responsible? There’s no direct evidence yet of an actual Planet 9, but something with sufficient mass is … Continue reading “A Disc of Icy Material, not Planet 9, Might Explain the Strange Movements in the Outer Solar System” The post A Disc of Icy Material, not Planet 9, MightRead More →

Amazing Images From Sunday’s Total Lunar Eclipse as Observers Spy Impact Flash Wow. Sunday night’s total lunar eclipse offered an amazing view, and for a few astute observers, a little surprise. The only total lunar eclipse for 2019 was an amazing spectacle for the Americas late Sunday night on January 20th and early Monday morning on January 21st for Africa and Europe. Like millions of other observers, … Continue reading “Amazing Images From Sunday’s Total Lunar Eclipse as Observers Spy Impact Flash” The post Amazing Images From Sunday’s Total Lunar Eclipse as Observers Spy Impact Flash appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go toRead More →

Planetary Scientists Continue to Puzzle Over the Mysterious Slope Streaks on Mars. Liquid? Sand? What’s Causing Them? New research indicates what could be causing those mysterious slope streaks on Mars, using an Earth analog. The post Planetary Scientists Continue to Puzzle Over the Mysterious Slope Streaks on Mars. Liquid? Sand? What’s Causing Them? appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Saturn’s Rings are Only 10 to 100 Million Years Old Can you imagine the Solar System without Saturn’s rings? Can you envision Earth at the time the dinosaurs roamed the planet? According to a new paper, the two may have coincided. Data from the Cassini mission shows that Saturn’s rings may be only 10 to 100 million years old. They may not have been there … Continue reading “Saturn’s Rings are Only 10 to 100 Million Years Old” The post Saturn’s Rings are Only 10 to 100 Million Years Old appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Carnival of Space #595 This week’s Carnival of Space is hosted by Brian Wang at his Next Big Future blog. Click here to read Carnival of Space #595 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 #595” The post Carnival of Space #595 appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Astronomy Cast Ep. 514: Planetary Protection Protocols As we send rovers and landers to other worlds, we have to think about the tiny microbial astronauts we’re sending along with us. In fact, NASA is so concerned about infecting other worlds that it has established the planetary protection protocols. Just to be safe. We usually record Astronomy Cast every Friday at 3:00 pm … Continue reading “Astronomy Cast Ep. 514: Planetary Protection Protocols” The post Astronomy Cast Ep. 514: Planetary Protection Protocols appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Messier 77 – the Cetus A Barred Spiral Galaxy Located 47 million light years from Earth in the Cetus constellation is the barred spiral galaxy known as Messier 77. The post Messier 77 – the Cetus A Barred Spiral Galaxy appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Steam-Powered Spacecraft Could Explore the Asteroid Belt Forever, Refueling Itself in Space A partnership between Honeybee Robotics and the University of Central Florida has produced the first steam-powered spacecraft for asteroid mining. The post Steam-Powered Spacecraft Could Explore the Asteroid Belt Forever, Refueling Itself in Space appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Geothermal Heating Could Make Life Possible on the Super Earth Planet at Barnard’s Star In 2018, scientists announced the discovery of a extrasolar planet orbiting Barnard’s star, an M-type (red dwarf) that is just 6 light years away. Using the Radial Velocity method, the research team responsible for the discovery determined that this exoplanet (Barnard’s Star b) was at least 3.2 times as massive as Earth and experienced average … Continue reading “Geothermal Heating Could Make Life Possible on the Super Earth Planet at Barnard’s Star” The post Geothermal Heating Could Make Life Possible on the Super Earth Planet at Barnard’s Star appeared first onRead More →