Carolyn Collins Petersen, Author at Universe Today

August 11, 2023August 11, 2023 by Carolyn Collins Petersen

Researchers Match Up 12 Meteorites with the Near-Earth Asteroids They Came From

NASA's "Eyes on Asteroids" site maps the known Near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) and shows the population of these objects. Some are parent bodies of meteorites found on Earth. Courtesy NASA.

Every day meteoroids blast through our planet’s atmosphere to hit the ground as meteorites. A team of researchers in Italy traced twelve of them to progenitor asteroids that orbit in near-Earth space.

August 10, 2023August 10, 2023 by Carolyn Collins Petersen

JWST Turns its Gaze on the Farthest Known Star: Earendel

The massive galaxy cluster called WHL0137-08, which is gravitational lensing the most strongly magnified galaxy known in the Universe’s first billion years: the Sunrise Arc, and within that galaxy, the most distant star ever detected. The star is , nicknamed Earendel. NASA, ESA, CSA, D. Coe (AURA/STScI for ESA), Z. Levay

In March 2022, astronomers announced the discovery of the farthest known star via an image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. They named it Earendel, after the old English name for “morning star”. Now, JWST’s Near-infrared Camera (NIRCam) and its NIRSpec spectrometer have taken a look at the same star and revealed more details about it.

August 7, 2023August 7, 2023 by Carolyn Collins Petersen

Curiosity Had to Route Around a 23-Degree Slope to Reach a Fascinating Field of Craters

Curiosity's view of an impact crater inside a region called "Jau" on the slopes of Mount Sharp. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

It’s hard to believe, but Mars Curiosity Rover has been on Mars doing its thing for 11 years. And, so what’s it doing to celebrate? Heading up a hill, making one of its toughest climbs ever.

August 4, 2023August 4, 2023 by Carolyn Collins Petersen

Follow a Simulated Journey of the Destruction of ESA’s Aeolus Mission

The Aeolus spacecraft orbited Earth and used lidar to study the winds in various parts of our atmosphere. It was brought back to Earth in a controlled re-entry on July 28th. Courtesy ESA. — The Aeolus spacecraft used lidar to study the winds in various parts of our atmosphere. It was brought back to Earth in a controlled re-entry on July 28th. Courtesy ESA.

On July 28th, the European Space Agency commanded its long-working Aeolus wind profile mission to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. It did that and disintegrated into pieces over Antarctica. Of course, satellites do this often. But, Aeolus was different. It maneuvered its way into a safe re-entry profile, a first-of-its kind activity designed to avoid populated regions on Earth.

August 4, 2023August 4, 2023 by Carolyn Collins Petersen

Yes! A JWST Image of the Ring Nebula

JWST/NIRcam composite image of the Ring Nebula. The images clearly show the main ring, surrounded by a faint halo and with many delicate structures. The interior of the ring is filled with hot gas. The star which ejected all this material is visible at the very center. Courtesy JWST/University of Manchester.

Brace yourselves for great JWST views of the iconic Ring Nebula (M57). An international team of astronomers just released a fantastic near-infrared image of the nebula, showing incredible details.

August 1, 2023August 1, 2023 by Carolyn Collins Petersen

Tether a Sunshade to an Asteroid to Slow Down Climate Change

Could a solar-sail-like structure (or structures) tethered to an asteroid provide a sunshade for Earth to block sunlight and mitigate climate change? A recent study looks into it. Courtesy NASA.

It probably comes as no surprise to people suffering through drastic weather this year that our planet is heating up. Climate change is the culprit and researchers continue to look for ways to mitigate its effects. A scientist at the University of Hawai’i suggests a novel approach: create a giant solar shade in space to block enough sunlight to counter climate change.

July 31, 2023August 1, 2023 by Carolyn Collins Petersen

Oops. NASA Accidentally Points Voyager 2’s Antenna Away from Earth, Temporarily Losing Contact

An artist concept depicting one of NASA's twin Voyager spacecraft, humanity's farthest and longest-lived spacecraft. Voyager 2 just lost contact with Earth while Voyager 1 is still reporting back. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

It’s every space mission’s nightmare: losing contact with the spacecraft. In the best case, you recover it right away. Worst case, you never hear from your hardware again. On July 21, controllers lost contact with Voyager 2, out in the depths of space. Now they’re waiting for a reset to catch Voyager 2’s next message when it “phones home”. (Update: on August 2, NASA announced via its Twitter account that it has received a “heartbeat” carrier signal from the spacecraft.)

July 29, 2023July 29, 2023 by Carolyn Collins Petersen

Astronomers are Watching a Planet Get its Atmosphere Blasted Away into Space

This artist's illustration shows a planet (dark silhouette) passing in front of the red dwarf star AU Microscopii. The planet is so close to the eruptive star a ferocious blast of stellar wind and blistering ultraviolet radiation is heating the planet's hydrogen atmosphere, causing it to escape into space. The illustration is based on measurements made by the Hubble Space Telescope. Credits: NASA, ESA, and Joseph Olmsted (STScI)

What do you get when a hot young world orbits a wildly unstable young red dwarf? For AU Microsopii b, the answer is: flares from the star tearing away the atmosphere. That catastrophic loss happens in fits and starts, “hiccuping” out its atmosphere at one point and then losing practically none the next.

July 28, 2023July 28, 2023 by Carolyn Collins Petersen

JWST Pierces Through a Thick Nebula to Reveal Newly Forming Binary Stars

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has captured a high-resolution image of a tightly bound pair of actively forming binary stars, known as Herbig-Haro 46/47, in near-infrared light. NASA, ESA, CSA, J. DePasquale (STScI), CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

In 1985, the physicist Heinz Pagels wrote that star birth was a “veiled and secret event.” That’s because the stellar crêches hide the action. But, ever since the advent of infrared astronomy, astronomers have been able to lift that veil. In particular, the Hubble Space Telescope has studied these systems and now, the Webb Telescope (JWST) gives regular detailed views of stellar nurseries.

July 28, 2023July 28, 2023 by Carolyn Collins Petersen

How Did Supermassive Black Holes Grow So Quickly, So Early?

An international team of astronomers using archival data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and other space- and ground-based observatories have discovered a unique object in the distant, early Universe that is a crucial link between young star-forming galaxies and the earliest supermassive black holes. Current theories predict that supermassive black holes begin their lives in the dust-shrouded cores of vigorously star-forming “starburst” galaxies.

Supermassive black holes haunt the cores of many galaxies. Yet for all we know about black holes (not nearly enough!), the big ones remain a mystery, particularly when they began forming. Interestingly, astronomers see them in the early epochs of cosmic history. That raises the question: how did they get so big when the Universe was still just a baby?