Universe Today (Page 444)

Massive Volcanic Eruptions 66 Million Years Ago Happened Almost Exactly When the Dinosaurs Died Off Everyone knows an asteroid strike wiped out the dinosaurs, right? Lots of evidence shows that the Chicxulub impact event had terrible consequences for the dinosaurs. But the picture is a little more complicated than that. Extreme volcanic activity may have contributed to the extinction. At the end of the Cretaceous period, about 66 million years … Continue reading “Massive Volcanic Eruptions 66 Million Years Ago Happened Almost Exactly When the Dinosaurs Died Off” The post Massive Volcanic Eruptions 66 Million Years Ago Happened Almost Exactly When the Dinosaurs Died OffRead More →

Messier 79 – the NGC 1904 Globular Cluster Located 42,000 light-years from Earth is the globular cluster known as Messier 79, which may have originated outside of our galaxy. The post Messier 79 – the NGC 1904 Globular Cluster appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

The Latest Images of Ultima Thule are in, and they are the Sharpest Yet! The latest images taken by New Horizons of Ultima Thule are the most detailed to date, and are providing new clues about the objects origin and evolution. The post The Latest Images of Ultima Thule are in, and they are the Sharpest Yet! appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

X-rays Might be a Better Way to Communicate in Space In the coming years, NASA plans to test x-ray technology aboard the ISS as a way of creating more robust communication systems. The post X-rays Might be a Better Way to Communicate in Space appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Meet WFIRST, The Space Telescope with the Power of 100 Hubbles WFIRST ain’t your grandma’s space telescope. Despite having the same size mirror as the surprisingly reliable Hubble Space Telescope, clocking in at 2.4 meters across, this puppy will pack a punch with a gigantic 300 megapixel camera, enabling it to snap a single image with an area a hundred times greater than the Hubble. With … Continue reading “Meet WFIRST, The Space Telescope with the Power of 100 Hubbles” The post Meet WFIRST, The Space Telescope with the Power of 100 Hubbles appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Say Hello to Hippocamp! The New Moon Discovered at Neptune, Which Could Have Broken off from the Larger Moon Proteus Moons have the coolest names, don’t they? Proteus, Titan, and Callisto. Phobos, Deimos, and Encephalitis. But not Io. That’s a stupid name for a moon. There’s only two ways to pronounce it and we still get it wrong. Anyway, now we have another cool one: Hippocamp! Okay, maybe the new name isn’t that cool. It … Continue reading “Say Hello to Hippocamp! The New Moon Discovered at Neptune, Which Could Have Broken off from the Larger Moon Proteus” The post Say Hello to Hippocamp! TheRead More →

The Oldest and Coldest White Dwarf Ever Found has Bizarre Dust Rings Around it A citizen scientist recently discovered a white dwarf star that has multiple dust rings, a finding which could force a rethink of how planetary systems evolve. The post The Oldest and Coldest White Dwarf Ever Found has Bizarre Dust Rings Around it appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Shout Out to Japan! Their Hayabusa2 Spacecraft has Collected its First Samples from Asteroid Ryugu Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft has completed an important part of its mission to asteroid Ryugu. The spacecraft descended to the surface of the asteroid to collect two samples with its sampling horn. We don’t know for sure if samples were successfully collected, but all indications are that the sampling mission went well. The successful touchdown took … Continue reading “Shout Out to Japan! Their Hayabusa2 Spacecraft has Collected its First Samples from Asteroid Ryugu” The post Shout Out to Japan! Their Hayabusa2 Spacecraft has Collected its First Samples from Asteroid RyuguRead More →

Signs that Ancient Rivers Flowed Across the Surface of Mars, Billions of Years Ago Billions of years ago, Mars was likely a much warmer and wetter place than the cold, dry, barren world we see today. Whether there was life there or not remains an open question. But there’s a massive, growing wall of evidence showing that Mars may have had the necessary conditions for life in the past, … Continue reading “Signs that Ancient Rivers Flowed Across the Surface of Mars, Billions of Years Ago” The post Signs that Ancient Rivers Flowed Across the Surface of Mars, Billions of Years Ago appeared first onRead More →

Antarctica is About to Unleash an Iceberg Twice the Size of New York City An ice shelf in Antarctica is about to give birth to a baby. This baby is a giant, spawned by growing cracks in the Brunt Ice Shelf. It’s not clear what this’ll mean to the scientific infrastructure in the area, and to the human presence, which were both established in the 1950s. The Brunt Ice … Continue reading “Antarctica is About to Unleash an Iceberg Twice the Size of New York City” The post Antarctica is About to Unleash an Iceberg Twice the Size of New York City appeared first onRead More →

Japan’s Hayabusa2 is About to Shoot Up the Surface of Ryugu with Tiny Impactors so they can Collect a Sample Japan’s Hayabusa2 mission is about to get down to business. After arriving at asteroid Ryugu at the end of June 2018, and dispatching its tiny rovers to the surface, the spacecraft is about to approach the surface of the asteroid and get some samples. Back in October, Hayabusa 2 performed some touchdown rehearsals. It left … Continue reading “Japan’s Hayabusa2 is About to Shoot Up the Surface of Ryugu with Tiny Impactors so they can Collect a Sample” The post Japan’s Hayabusa2 is About toRead More →

Did You Know the Earth’s Atmosphere Extends Beyond the Orbit of the Moon? Strictly speaking, there aren’t strict boundaries between Earth and space. Our atmosphere doesn’t just end at a certain altitude; it peters out gradually. A new study from Russia’s Space Research Institute (SRI) shows that our atmosphere extends out to 630,000 km into space. The lead author of this study is Igor Baliukin. a researcher at … Continue reading “Did You Know the Earth’s Atmosphere Extends Beyond the Orbit of the Moon?” The post Did You Know the Earth’s Atmosphere Extends Beyond the Orbit of the Moon? appeared first on Universe Today. UniverseRead More →

Gateway Foundation Shows off Their Plans for an Enormous Rotating Space Station The Gateway Foundation is looking to build a rotating space station in orbit. And thanks to Elon Musk and his plans for the BFR, it might just be affordable! The post Gateway Foundation Shows off Their Plans for an Enormous Rotating Space Station appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

This is a Dust Devil… on Mars We live in a time when our spacecraft orbiting Mars at an altitude of about 300 km. can snap photos of a dust devil and transmit them back to us so we can share them on the internet. Not only that, but we have rovers wandering around on the surface taking pictures of the dust … Continue reading “This is a Dust Devil… on Mars” The post This is a Dust Devil… on Mars appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Weekly Space Hangout: Feb 20, 2019 – Dr. Emily Holt talks Archaeology and Ancient Astronomy Hosts: Fraser Cain (universetoday.com / @fcain) Dr. Paul M. Sutter (pmsutter.com / @PaulMattSutter) Dr. Kimberly Cartier (KimberlyCartier.org / @AstroKimCartier ) Dr. Morgan Rehnberg (MorganRehnberg.com / @MorganRehnberg & ChartYourWorld.org) Dr. Emily Holt is an Environmental Archaeologist and Anthropologist who is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at Miami University of Ohio. Emily’s research focuses on human-environment dynamics … Continue reading “Weekly Space Hangout: Feb 20, 2019 – Dr. Emily Holt talks Archaeology and Ancient Astronomy” The post Weekly Space Hangout: Feb 20, 2019 – Dr. Emily Holt talks Archaeology and Ancient AstronomyRead More →

This Star Has Been Going Nova Every Year, for Millions of Years A nova star is like a vampire that siphons gas from its binary partner. As it does so, the gas is compressed and heated, and eventually it explodes. The remnant gas shell from that explosion expands outward and is lit up by the stars at the center of it all. Most of these novae explode … Continue reading “This Star Has Been Going Nova Every Year, for Millions of Years” The post This Star Has Been Going Nova Every Year, for Millions of Years appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go toRead More →

Messier 78 – the NGC 2068 Reflection Nebula Located in the Orion Constellation, roughly 13,500 light years from Earth, is the bright reflection nebula known as Messier 78. The post Messier 78 – the NGC 2068 Reflection Nebula appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Astronomy Cast Ep. 518: When the Universe tried to Declare War We always say the Universe is trying to kill us. But there was this one time, when the Universe used our own fear of nuclear attack against us, nearly setting off a global nuclear war. Nice try Universe, we’re on to you now. We usually record Astronomy Cast every Friday at 3:00 pm EST / … Continue reading “Astronomy Cast Ep. 518: When the Universe tried to Declare War” The post Astronomy Cast Ep. 518: When the Universe tried to Declare War appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

Carnival of Space #599 This week’s Carnival of Space is hosted by Allen Versfeld at his Urban Astronomer blog. Click here to read Carnival of Space #599. 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 #599” The post Carnival of Space #599 appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →

British Satellite Tests its Space Junk Harpoon The RemoveDebris spacecraft recently tested out its harpoon, one of the tools it will use to remove space debris from Earth’s orbit. The post British Satellite Tests its Space Junk Harpoon appeared first on Universe Today. Universe Today Go to SourceRead More →