Featured Posts
EarthSky Blog
23 Mar 2021, 10:27 UTC
Worlds with oceans beneath layers of rock and ice are common in our solar system. According to research presented at last week’s Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, worlds with underground oceans are likely to be common in other solar systems in our galaxy. These subsurface oceans might be even better environments for life than Earth’s oceans.
Subsurface oceans on alien worlds better for life than Earth’s oceans?
23 Mar 2021, 10:27 UTC
Worlds with oceans beneath layers of rock and ice are common in our solar system. According to research presented at last week’s Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, worlds with underground oceans are likely to be common in other solar systems in our galaxy. These subsurface oceans might be even better environments for life than Earth’s oceans.
SPACE.com
23 Mar 2021, 10:25 UTC
What will future astronauts living on Mars or traveling in deep space eat? Researchers have discovered three new strains of bacteria on the International Space Station that they think could one day help astronauts to grow their own food.
Newly discovered bacteria on space station could help astronauts grow plants on Mars
23 Mar 2021, 10:25 UTC
What will future astronauts living on Mars or traveling in deep space eat? Researchers have discovered three new strains of bacteria on the International Space Station that they think could one day help astronauts to grow their own food.
Sky and Telescope
22 Mar 2021, 15:14 UTC
The black hole at the heart of a nearby galaxy is drifting — which is rather an odd thing for a million-solar-mass behemoth to do.
A Supermassive Black Hole on the Move
22 Mar 2021, 15:14 UTC
The black hole at the heart of a nearby galaxy is drifting — which is rather an odd thing for a million-solar-mass behemoth to do.
Bad Astronomy
22 Mar 2021, 13:00 UTC
We're all familiar with what volcanoes are like on Earth. They come in different sizes and shapes, and eruptions can be different — some are explosive, some have arcing fountains, some just ooze out slowly — but they all have one thing in common: The lava is made of molten rock.
Full metal volcano
22 Mar 2021, 13:00 UTC
We're all familiar with what volcanoes are like on Earth. They come in different sizes and shapes, and eruptions can be different — some are explosive, some have arcing fountains, some just ooze out slowly — but they all have one thing in common: The lava is made of molten rock.
Centauri Dreams
19 Mar 2021, 14:31 UTC
I’m only just getting to Steven Desch and Alan Jackson’s two papers on ‘Oumuamua, though in a just world (where I could clone myself and work on multiple stories simultaneously) I would have written them up sooner. Following Avi Loeb’s book on ‘Oumuamua, the interstellar object has been in the news more than ever, and the challenge it throws out by its odd behavior has these two astrophysicists, both at Arizona State, homing in on a possible solution.
‘Oumuamua: A Shard of Nitrogen Ice?
19 Mar 2021, 14:31 UTC
I’m only just getting to Steven Desch and Alan Jackson’s two papers on ‘Oumuamua, though in a just world (where I could clone myself and work on multiple stories simultaneously) I would have written them up sooner. Following Avi Loeb’s book on ‘Oumuamua, the interstellar object has been in the news more than ever, and the challenge it throws out by its odd behavior has these two astrophysicists, both at Arizona State, homing in on a possible solution.
New Scientist
18 Mar 2021, 21:29 UTC
Since NASA’s Perseverance rover landed on Mars on 18 February, it’s been doing as much science as it can during the testing phase of its scientific instruments. That has involved driving short distances and taking pictures of the rocks near the landing site.
Perseverance’s first month on Mars has yielded new sights and sounds
18 Mar 2021, 21:29 UTC
Since NASA’s Perseverance rover landed on Mars on 18 February, it’s been doing as much science as it can during the testing phase of its scientific instruments. That has involved driving short distances and taking pictures of the rocks near the landing site.
Starts With a Bang!
18 Mar 2021, 14:02 UTC
A tiny layer of microscopic dust is the only reason it appears red.
The Red Color Of Mars Is Only Millimeters Thick
18 Mar 2021, 14:02 UTC
A tiny layer of microscopic dust is the only reason it appears red.
Sky and Telescope
17 Mar 2021, 15:33 UTC
Whenever I watch a TV show or movie filmed in pre-COVID times I cringe at scenes featuring packed restaurants, bars and concert crowds. What used to be normal activities now seem so alien. Hopefully, that will change soon. There's no denying the right crowd engenders energy and excitement; gathering in groups to meet and share ideas is the essence of being human. I can't wait to feel that vibe again. Likewise in the sky. When we come across a field thick with stars or spilling over with galaxies our thrill-meter goes up. Seeing three, four, or five deep-sky objects in the same view feels like reaching the summit with a sweeping view of peaks all around. Grander, really. With galaxy groups, we're looking at stellar congregations up to a million or more light-years across, separated by tens of thousands to millions of light-years. What magic frames so much space in the tidy circle of the eyepiece?
Exploring Bright Galaxy Groups in Leo
17 Mar 2021, 15:33 UTC
Whenever I watch a TV show or movie filmed in pre-COVID times I cringe at scenes featuring packed restaurants, bars and concert crowds. What used to be normal activities now seem so alien. Hopefully, that will change soon. There's no denying the right crowd engenders energy and excitement; gathering in groups to meet and share ideas is the essence of being human. I can't wait to feel that vibe again. Likewise in the sky. When we come across a field thick with stars or spilling over with galaxies our thrill-meter goes up. Seeing three, four, or five deep-sky objects in the same view feels like reaching the summit with a sweeping view of peaks all around. Grander, really. With galaxy groups, we're looking at stellar congregations up to a million or more light-years across, separated by tens of thousands to millions of light-years. What magic frames so much space in the tidy circle of the eyepiece?
Physics World Blog
17 Mar 2021, 12:37 UTC
1 December 2020 was a dark day for Puerto Rico and the global astronomy community. The iconic Arecibo Observatory collapsed, with the radio telescope’s 900-tonne suspended platform crashing into the 305 m dish below. Warning signs had been there in the preceding months, but that did little to soften the shock felt by the astronomy community.
