Featured Posts
Bad Astronomy
16 Sep 2019, 13:00 UTC
In a galaxy with at least a couple of hundred billion stars in it, you can expect some of them are going to be weird. For a while now, it looks like Tabby's Star — one that's been experiencing weird dips in its starlight that have proven extremely difficult to — was unique among the Milky Way's population. No other star exhibited the same behavior.
Remember Tabby's Star? It may have a friend... and maybe lots of them
16 Sep 2019, 13:00 UTC
In a galaxy with at least a couple of hundred billion stars in it, you can expect some of them are going to be weird. For a while now, it looks like Tabby's Star — one that's been experiencing weird dips in its starlight that have proven extremely difficult to — was unique among the Milky Way's population. No other star exhibited the same behavior.
SPACE.com
16 Sep 2019, 11:00 UTC
They sound like some sort of mandatory nutritional supplement added to food, but they're actually chunks of mineral studding the interiors of space rocks — and they could help scientists pinpoint when the solar system began to form.
Tiny Space-Rock Particles Could Hold Secrets to Early Solar System
16 Sep 2019, 11:00 UTC
They sound like some sort of mandatory nutritional supplement added to food, but they're actually chunks of mineral studding the interiors of space rocks — and they could help scientists pinpoint when the solar system began to form.
Universe Today
14 Sep 2019, 20:26 UTC
On August 30th, amateur astronomer Gennady Borisov spotted a comet of extrasolar origin passing through our Solar System. This is the second time in as many years that an interstellar object has been observed (the last being ‘Oumuamua 2.0 in 2017). Thanks to the Gemini Observatory, we now have pictures of this comet, making it the first object of its kind to be successfully imaged in multiple colors!
Images are Starting to Come in of the New Interstellar Comet
14 Sep 2019, 20:26 UTC
On August 30th, amateur astronomer Gennady Borisov spotted a comet of extrasolar origin passing through our Solar System. This is the second time in as many years that an interstellar object has been observed (the last being ‘Oumuamua 2.0 in 2017). Thanks to the Gemini Observatory, we now have pictures of this comet, making it the first object of its kind to be successfully imaged in multiple colors!
Parabolic Arc
14 Sep 2019, 11:42 UTC
GREENBELT, Md. (NASA PR) — Its size and surface gravity are much larger than Earth’s, and its radiation environment may be hostile, but a distant planet called K2-18b has captured the interest of scientists all over the world. For the first time, researchers have detected water vapor signatures in the atmosphere of a planet beyond our solar system that resides in the “habitable zone,” the region around a star in which liquid water could potentially pool on the surface of a rocky planet.
NASA’s Hubble Finds Water Vapor on Habitable-Zone Exoplanet for 1st Time
14 Sep 2019, 11:42 UTC
GREENBELT, Md. (NASA PR) — Its size and surface gravity are much larger than Earth’s, and its radiation environment may be hostile, but a distant planet called K2-18b has captured the interest of scientists all over the world. For the first time, researchers have detected water vapor signatures in the atmosphere of a planet beyond our solar system that resides in the “habitable zone,” the region around a star in which liquid water could potentially pool on the surface of a rocky planet.
Astro Watch
13 Sep 2019, 23:11 UTC
The topography of Titan, the largest of moon of Saturn, seems serene in Cassini mission images, but lakes of liquid methane that pock the landscape were likely formed by explosive, pressurized nitrogen just under the moon’s crusty surface, according to research published Sept. 9 in Nature Geoscience.
Explosive Nitrogen Created Craters That Pock Titan
13 Sep 2019, 23:11 UTC
The topography of Titan, the largest of moon of Saturn, seems serene in Cassini mission images, but lakes of liquid methane that pock the landscape were likely formed by explosive, pressurized nitrogen just under the moon’s crusty surface, according to research published Sept. 9 in Nature Geoscience.
The Planetary Society Blog
13 Sep 2019, 16:22 UTC
It’s looking likely that a newly discovered comet is actually an interstellar interloper from beyond our solar system.
Astronomers May Have Found an Interstellar Comet. Here's Why That Matters.
13 Sep 2019, 16:22 UTC
It’s looking likely that a newly discovered comet is actually an interstellar interloper from beyond our solar system.
Forbes articles by Brian Koberlein
13 Sep 2019, 15:59 UTC
Periodic x-ray flares give clues about how black holes eat.
A Flickering Black Hole Shows Us How They Eat
13 Sep 2019, 15:59 UTC
Periodic x-ray flares give clues about how black holes eat.
Physics World Blog
13 Sep 2019, 14:39 UTC
An unusual set of chemical fingerprints spotted in the light from a distant star could be the remnants of a digested planet, according to a new study by researchers in Sweden. In 2017 astronomers making spectroscopic observations of several stars in the open star cluster Messier 67 spotted one – dubbed Y2235 – with elevated levels of certain elements on its “surface”. These included carbon, magnesium and oxygen as well as heavier elements such as cerium, iron and yttrium.
Planet-eating star could be lurking in nearby cluster
13 Sep 2019, 14:39 UTC
An unusual set of chemical fingerprints spotted in the light from a distant star could be the remnants of a digested planet, according to a new study by researchers in Sweden. In 2017 astronomers making spectroscopic observations of several stars in the open star cluster Messier 67 spotted one – dubbed Y2235 – with elevated levels of certain elements on its “surface”. These included carbon, magnesium and oxygen as well as heavier elements such as cerium, iron and yttrium.
SPACE.com
13 Sep 2019, 12:03 UTC
Astronomers have discovered a bright, young star that is running away from home. Why? What did the star's parents do to deserve this? According to a study published Aug. 6 in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, it's nobody's fault; it seems the young star simply fell in with the wrong crowd — namely, a very hungry black hole.
This Ridiculously Speedy Star Might Be Running Away from a Rare, Unproven Type of Black Hole
13 Sep 2019, 12:03 UTC
Astronomers have discovered a bright, young star that is running away from home. Why? What did the star's parents do to deserve this? According to a study published Aug. 6 in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, it's nobody's fault; it seems the young star simply fell in with the wrong crowd — namely, a very hungry black hole.
Astronaut.com
13 Sep 2019, 11:15 UTC
If you could pack a hot air balloon onto an interstellar spaceship and travel 110 light years to a certain planet orbiting a dim star in the constellation Leo, you’d have an experience not entirely unlike ballooning on Earth. The temperature, pressure, and moist air could feel quite pleasant, though you’d need an oxygen mask—and possibly an umbrella.
