Featured Posts
Universe Today
25 Sep 2019, 19:19 UTC
Last July, a once-in-a-lifetime event happened. Not the good kind; the football-field-sized-asteroid near-miss kind. And that near miss is the catalyst for a renewed effort from NASA to detect more dangerous space-rocks that might threaten Earth.
This Summer’s Asteroid Near-Miss Helped Greenlight NASA’s NEOCam Mission to Search the Skies for Killer Spacerocks
25 Sep 2019, 19:19 UTC
Last July, a once-in-a-lifetime event happened. Not the good kind; the football-field-sized-asteroid near-miss kind. And that near miss is the catalyst for a renewed effort from NASA to detect more dangerous space-rocks that might threaten Earth.
Bad Astronomy
25 Sep 2019, 13:00 UTC
On September 30, 2016 — just three years ago — the phenomenal and phenomenally successful Rosetta mission came to an end. The spacecraft had orbited the comet 67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko (or 67P for short) for over two years, taking over 100,000 images and far more measurements of the comet and its environment. It even sent a lander, called Philae, down to the surface, with mixed results.
What's shakin', 67P? Cliff collapses and bouncing boulders on a comet
25 Sep 2019, 13:00 UTC
On September 30, 2016 — just three years ago — the phenomenal and phenomenally successful Rosetta mission came to an end. The spacecraft had orbited the comet 67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko (or 67P for short) for over two years, taking over 100,000 images and far more measurements of the comet and its environment. It even sent a lander, called Philae, down to the surface, with mixed results.
Scientific American
25 Sep 2019, 11:00 UTC
Its surface could, in principle, preserve the remains of organisms or even technology from beyond our solar system
The Moon as a Fishing Net for Extraterrestrial Life
25 Sep 2019, 11:00 UTC
Its surface could, in principle, preserve the remains of organisms or even technology from beyond our solar system
Universe Today
24 Sep 2019, 18:40 UTC
It’s hard living in a relativistic Universe, where even the nearest stars are so far away and the speed of light is absolute. It is little wonder then why science fiction franchises routinely employ FTL (Faster-than-Light) as a plot device. Push a button, press a petal, and that fancy drive system – whose workings no one can explain – will send us to another location in space-time.
Just How Feasible is a Warp Drive?
24 Sep 2019, 18:40 UTC
It’s hard living in a relativistic Universe, where even the nearest stars are so far away and the speed of light is absolute. It is little wonder then why science fiction franchises routinely employ FTL (Faster-than-Light) as a plot device. Push a button, press a petal, and that fancy drive system – whose workings no one can explain – will send us to another location in space-time.
Astro Bob
24 Sep 2019, 17:21 UTC
The sun sneezed on Sept. 20 and blew a bunch of electrons and protons into space in a coronal mass ejection. That material is expected to arrive later this afternoon and evening and potentially spark a minor display of the northern lights. Skywatchers in the fringes of the northern U.S. and across Canada should be on the watch tonight from nightfall till around midnight. I suspect we’ll see a glow or possibly a bright arc low in the northern sky from northern Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Aurora Bump Tonight, Storm Expected This Weekend Sept. 27-28
24 Sep 2019, 17:21 UTC
The sun sneezed on Sept. 20 and blew a bunch of electrons and protons into space in a coronal mass ejection. That material is expected to arrive later this afternoon and evening and potentially spark a minor display of the northern lights. Skywatchers in the fringes of the northern U.S. and across Canada should be on the watch tonight from nightfall till around midnight. I suspect we’ll see a glow or possibly a bright arc low in the northern sky from northern Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Sky and Telescope
24 Sep 2019, 14:34 UTC
Remember KIC 8462852, better known as Boyajian’s star (or you may have seen it referred to as the “alien megastructure” star)? We still don’t have a definitive explanation for this source’s odd behavior — in part because we thought that Boyajian’s star was one-of-a-kind. But what if it isn’t?
Are There More Stars Like Boyajian’s Star?
24 Sep 2019, 14:34 UTC
Remember KIC 8462852, better known as Boyajian’s star (or you may have seen it referred to as the “alien megastructure” star)? We still don’t have a definitive explanation for this source’s odd behavior — in part because we thought that Boyajian’s star was one-of-a-kind. But what if it isn’t?
Universe Today
24 Sep 2019, 07:59 UTC
A new image from the ESA’s Mars Express Orbiter shows exactly how different regions in Mars are from one another. From the cloudy northern polar region all the way to the Helles Planitia down in the south, Mars is a puzzle of different terrain types. At the heart of it all is what’s known as the Martian dichotomy.
Planet Mars, From Pole to Pole
24 Sep 2019, 07:59 UTC
A new image from the ESA’s Mars Express Orbiter shows exactly how different regions in Mars are from one another. From the cloudy northern polar region all the way to the Helles Planitia down in the south, Mars is a puzzle of different terrain types. At the heart of it all is what’s known as the Martian dichotomy.
Universe Today
23 Sep 2019, 20:09 UTC
Messier 110 (NGC 205) is a satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy. It’s a dwarf elliptical galaxy, a common type of galaxy often found in galaxy clusters and groups, and it contains about 10 billion stars. Like all dwarf ellipticals, it doesn’t have the characteristic shape of galaxies like Andromeda or the Milky Way, with their vast, spiral arms. It has a smooth, featureless shape.
Elliptical Galaxy Messier 110 Has a Surprising Core of Hot Blue Stars
23 Sep 2019, 20:09 UTC
Messier 110 (NGC 205) is a satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy. It’s a dwarf elliptical galaxy, a common type of galaxy often found in galaxy clusters and groups, and it contains about 10 billion stars. Like all dwarf ellipticals, it doesn’t have the characteristic shape of galaxies like Andromeda or the Milky Way, with their vast, spiral arms. It has a smooth, featureless shape.
New Scientist
23 Sep 2019, 16:41 UTC
A pair of strange galaxies seem to defy our standard model of cosmology. We can’t pin down how far away they are, but both probable distances come with problems. If they are relatively distant, they appear to have clusters of stars that are brighter than any seen before. If they are closer, then it looks like they are moving far too fast.
