Featured Posts
Bad Astronomy
13 Nov 2019, 14:00 UTC
Hypervelocity stars are weird. They were first discovered a couple of decades ago, and like their name suggests, they are stars that are moving. Pretty much every star in the sky is orbiting the center of the galaxy, like the planets orbit the Sun, and those speeds can be fairly high in human terms (the Sun orbits at about 230 kilometers per second).
Our local supermassive black hole shot a star right out of the galaxy
13 Nov 2019, 14:00 UTC
Hypervelocity stars are weird. They were first discovered a couple of decades ago, and like their name suggests, they are stars that are moving. Pretty much every star in the sky is orbiting the center of the galaxy, like the planets orbit the Sun, and those speeds can be fairly high in human terms (the Sun orbits at about 230 kilometers per second).
Astro Watch
13 Nov 2019, 10:55 UTC
Scientists have reported detecting gravitational waves from 10 black hole mergers to date, but they are still trying to explain the origins of those mergers. The largest merger detected so far seems to have defied previous models because it has a higher spin and mass than the range thought possible. A group of researchers, including Rochester Institute of Technology Assistant Professor Richard O’Shaughnessy, has created simulations that could explain how the merger happened.
New Study Suggests ‘Pac-Man-like’ Mergers Could Explain Massive, Spinning Black Holes
13 Nov 2019, 10:55 UTC
Scientists have reported detecting gravitational waves from 10 black hole mergers to date, but they are still trying to explain the origins of those mergers. The largest merger detected so far seems to have defied previous models because it has a higher spin and mass than the range thought possible. A group of researchers, including Rochester Institute of Technology Assistant Professor Richard O’Shaughnessy, has created simulations that could explain how the merger happened.
Parabolic Arc
13 Nov 2019, 08:01 UTC
On November 13, 2019, JAXA operated Hayabusa2 chemical propulsion thrusters for the spacecraft’s orbit control.* The confirmation of the Hayabusa2 departure made at 10:05 a.m. (Japan Standard Time, JST) was based on the following data analyses:
Hayabusa2 Leaves Ryugu, Heads Back to Earth
13 Nov 2019, 08:01 UTC
On November 13, 2019, JAXA operated Hayabusa2 chemical propulsion thrusters for the spacecraft’s orbit control.* The confirmation of the Hayabusa2 departure made at 10:05 a.m. (Japan Standard Time, JST) was based on the following data analyses:
![https://scitechdaily.com/?p=66735: Galactic Heart of Darkness Ejects Star at Over 3.5 Million MPH [Video]](/static/archives/images/potwmedium/pttu707530.jpg)
New Scientist
12 Nov 2019, 17:09 UTC
Goodbye Ultima Thule, hello Arrokoth. The space rock that NASA’s New Horizons probe sped past earlier this year has been given a new name: Arrokoth, which means “sky” in the Powhatan and Algonquian languages.
Distant space rock known as Ultima Thule renamed to avoid Nazi links
12 Nov 2019, 17:09 UTC
Goodbye Ultima Thule, hello Arrokoth. The space rock that NASA’s New Horizons probe sped past earlier this year has been given a new name: Arrokoth, which means “sky” in the Powhatan and Algonquian languages.
Centauri Dreams
12 Nov 2019, 15:06 UTC
It’s good to see the European Space Agency’s ARIEL mission getting a bit more attention in the media. The Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey was selected earlier this year as an ESA science mission, scheduled for launch in 2028. Here the goal is to cull a statistically large sample of exoplanets to examine their evolution in the context of their parent stars. Giovanna Tinetti (University College London) is principal investigator.
ARIEL Emerging
12 Nov 2019, 15:06 UTC
It’s good to see the European Space Agency’s ARIEL mission getting a bit more attention in the media. The Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey was selected earlier this year as an ESA science mission, scheduled for launch in 2028. Here the goal is to cull a statistically large sample of exoplanets to examine their evolution in the context of their parent stars. Giovanna Tinetti (University College London) is principal investigator.
Sky and Telescope
12 Nov 2019, 00:57 UTC
I like seeing how the Crescent nebula seems to hang almost like a 3D object in front of the background of hydrogen gas.
NGC6888 Crescent with soap bubble
12 Nov 2019, 00:57 UTC
I like seeing how the Crescent nebula seems to hang almost like a 3D object in front of the background of hydrogen gas.
Scientific American
11 Nov 2019, 15:45 UTC
Grab your solar eclipse glasses or protected astronomical equipment, because Mercury is marching across the sun as we speak.
