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Bad Astronomy
30 Dec 2020, 14:00 UTC
It's possible that dark matter is made of tiny black holes created at the very beginning of time by nucleation from bubbles of false vacuum that created baby universes containing sub-lunar masses of matter during an infinitesimally brief period of cosmic hyperinflation. If so, a team of scientists think, this could solve several nagging puzzles about the Universe, including dark matter, gravitational wave sources, and an odd observation made of the Andromeda Galaxy.
Is dark matter made of teeny tiny black holes from another universe? Welllll…
30 Dec 2020, 14:00 UTC
It's possible that dark matter is made of tiny black holes created at the very beginning of time by nucleation from bubbles of false vacuum that created baby universes containing sub-lunar masses of matter during an infinitesimally brief period of cosmic hyperinflation. If so, a team of scientists think, this could solve several nagging puzzles about the Universe, including dark matter, gravitational wave sources, and an odd observation made of the Andromeda Galaxy.
Universe Today
30 Dec 2020, 06:09 UTC
The field of exoplanet photography is just getting underway, with astronomers around the world striving to capture clear images of the more than 4000 exoplanets discovered to date. Some of these exoplanets are more interesting to image and research than others. That is certainly the case for a type of exoplanet called a brown dwarf. And now scientists have captured the first ever image of exactly that type of exoplanet.
Astronomers Capture a Direct Image of a Brown Dwarf
30 Dec 2020, 06:09 UTC
The field of exoplanet photography is just getting underway, with astronomers around the world striving to capture clear images of the more than 4000 exoplanets discovered to date. Some of these exoplanets are more interesting to image and research than others. That is certainly the case for a type of exoplanet called a brown dwarf. And now scientists have captured the first ever image of exactly that type of exoplanet.
Bad Astronomy
29 Dec 2020, 14:00 UTC
For many years, planetary scientists have been tracking a Martian ghost: methane gas. It was first seen by ground-based observations of Mars back in the 2000s, then subsequently by spacecraft orbiting the Red Planet. But these observations barely detected it, and have been called into question time and again. There's been much debate, and some of the claims have been contradictory. No truly convincing observation of it has been made.
Mars methane mysteriously missing
29 Dec 2020, 14:00 UTC
For many years, planetary scientists have been tracking a Martian ghost: methane gas. It was first seen by ground-based observations of Mars back in the 2000s, then subsequently by spacecraft orbiting the Red Planet. But these observations barely detected it, and have been called into question time and again. There's been much debate, and some of the claims have been contradictory. No truly convincing observation of it has been made.
astrobites
29 Dec 2020, 02:06 UTC
Shortly after the Big Bang, the ionized plasma that made up the Universe cooled down, allowing the electrons and protons to (re)combine into neutral hydrogen. Eventually, after the formation of luminous sources, radiation started to ionize the neutral hydrogen again – a period of time known as the epoch of reionization. One of the sources thought to have helped re-ionize the Universe are a type of active galactic nuclei known as quasars. Quasars are some of the brightest objects in the Universe, allowing us to observe them even at redshifts z > 6.5, before re-ionization was complete. Although only about 50 have been discovered at such high redshifts, quasars are some of the most useful tools to study the epoch of re-ionization.
How Did Distant Quasars Grow?
29 Dec 2020, 02:06 UTC
Shortly after the Big Bang, the ionized plasma that made up the Universe cooled down, allowing the electrons and protons to (re)combine into neutral hydrogen. Eventually, after the formation of luminous sources, radiation started to ionize the neutral hydrogen again – a period of time known as the epoch of reionization. One of the sources thought to have helped re-ionize the Universe are a type of active galactic nuclei known as quasars. Quasars are some of the brightest objects in the Universe, allowing us to observe them even at redshifts z > 6.5, before re-ionization was complete. Although only about 50 have been discovered at such high redshifts, quasars are some of the most useful tools to study the epoch of re-ionization.
Universe Today
28 Dec 2020, 16:31 UTC
Dark matter is an extremely good theory. It’s supported by a wealth of observational and computational data, which is why it’s part of the standard model of cosmology. But dark matter hasn’t been directly observed, so sometimes even strong supporters of dark matter are motivated to look at the alternatives.
New Data Supports the Modified Gravity Explanation for Dark Matter, Much to the Surprise of the Researchers
28 Dec 2020, 16:31 UTC
Dark matter is an extremely good theory. It’s supported by a wealth of observational and computational data, which is why it’s part of the standard model of cosmology. But dark matter hasn’t been directly observed, so sometimes even strong supporters of dark matter are motivated to look at the alternatives.
Bad Astronomy
23 Dec 2020, 14:00 UTC
Astronomers have found what may be a very weird case of a young star and planet forming in a dense cloud of gas and dust about 500 light years away. The young system is forming in a disk, which is common enough, but in this case the disk itself appears to still be forming from gas falling into it from the surrounding nebula!
A planet eats a disk while the disk eats a nebula. It’s eating all the way down
23 Dec 2020, 14:00 UTC
Astronomers have found what may be a very weird case of a young star and planet forming in a dense cloud of gas and dust about 500 light years away. The young system is forming in a disk, which is common enough, but in this case the disk itself appears to still be forming from gas falling into it from the surrounding nebula!
SPACE.com
23 Dec 2020, 10:07 UTC
Icy worlds speckle our solar system — from Jupiter's moon Europa to Saturn's moon Enceladus, scientists have been investigating these alien worlds, discovering subsurface oceans hidden under their icy crusts. Now, researchers have turned their gaze to the moons orbiting Uranus, searching for secret oceans.
Are secret oceans hiding on the moons of Uranus?
23 Dec 2020, 10:07 UTC
Icy worlds speckle our solar system — from Jupiter's moon Europa to Saturn's moon Enceladus, scientists have been investigating these alien worlds, discovering subsurface oceans hidden under their icy crusts. Now, researchers have turned their gaze to the moons orbiting Uranus, searching for secret oceans.
Starts With a Bang!
22 Dec 2020, 15:02 UTC
And what can it teach us about our Solar System’s earliest days?
