Mark Thompson, Author at Universe Today

January 2, 2024January 2, 2024 by Mark Thompson

An Ancient Stone Found in Italy is an Accurate Map of the Night Sky

Digital elevation model of the frontal face of Rupinpiccolo stone disk from an adaptation of fig. 1 of Bernardini et al. (2022). The orientation is arbitrary

You know how some constellations take a little bit of imagination to see? Yes, Leo looks a bit like a lion and Orino a bit like a hunter but then we drift into the realms of powerful levels of imagination to be able to see Pegasus as a flying horse or Telescopium as a telescope! Even squinting or tilting your head really doesn’t make them visible. I found the same problem when looking at images of two stone disks discovered in Italy recently at the entrance to an ancient fort! Teams that have examined the stones have matched the subtle markings on them to positions of 28 bright stars in the sky! I had to really look to see it but I think they might actually be right!

January 2, 2024January 2, 2024 by Mark Thompson

The Sun Just Blasted its Strongest Flare in 6 Years. Get Ready for Auroras

While many of us were celebrating the end of 2023 and the coming of 2024, the Sun was having its own celebration blasting an X5.0 flare from sunspot region 3536. Records show this to be the most powerful flare seen since 10 September 2017 when an X8.2 flare erupted. The flare is expected to arrive around Jan 2 – EEK that’s today! Get your aurora watching kit out!

January 2, 2024January 2, 2024 by Mark Thompson

Simulation Perfectly Matches What We See When Neutron Stars Collide

Numerical simulation of the resulting ejecta material of two merging neutron stars. Red colors refer to ejected material with a high fraction of neutrons which will appear typically redder than blue material that contains a higher fraction of protons. © I. Markin (University of Potsdam)

There are many mysteries in the world of astronomy and a fair number relate to the processes during the end of the life of a super massive star. Throw in the complexity of collisions and you have a real head scratching problem on your hands. In 2017 colliding neutron stars were detected and the data has allowed a new simulation to be tested with predictions beautifully matching observation.

January 1, 2024January 1, 2024 by Mark Thompson

ESA’s Tiny Pinhole Thruster is Ready for Production.

ATHENA - Adaptable, THurster based on Electrospray powered NAnotechnology

Rocket propulsion technology has progressed leaps and bounds since the first weaponised rockets of the Chinese and Mongolian empires. They were nothing more than rocket powered arrows and spears but they set the foundations for our exploration of space. Liquid propellant, ion engines and solar sails have all hit the headlines as we strive for more efficient methods of travel but a team has taken the next leap with a palm sized thruster system that could boost future tiny space craft across the gulf of space.

December 28, 2023December 28, 2023 by Mark Thompson

Mars is Surprisingly Volcanically Active

This image taken by the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter shows an oblique view focusing on one of the vast lava flows in Elysium Planitia.ESA/DLR/FU Berlin

Like many that grew up watching the skies, I have been captivated by the planets. Mars is no exception, with its striking red colour, polar caps and mysterious dark features. Many of the surface features have been driven by ancient volcanic activity but whether any geological activity moulds the terrain today is still subject to scientific debate. A recent study however has revealed that Mars is surprisingly active..even today!

December 21, 2023December 21, 2023 by Mark Thompson

ESA is Stockpiling Simulated Regolith for the Ultimate Lunar Playground.

Testing interplanetary landers means putting them in an environment as close to their destination as possible. Mars landers are often tested in the ‘Mars Yard’ at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in South California and now, ESA are looking to build a similar test bed for the Moon. They are mining a mateiral in Greenland known as Anorthosite to create the largest lunar test bed yet.

December 18, 2023December 18, 2023 by Mark Thompson

Millions of Satellites Could Have a Profound Effect on the Earth’s Ionosphere

Mega-constellations of satellites. Credit: ESA-Science Office

Hardly a day goes by where a story hits the headlines about our abuse of the Earth’s precious environment be that the atmosphere or the oceans, forests or desert. When it comes to the atmosphere we all tend to immediately turn our attention to pollution, to gasses being released and disturbing the delicate balance. Yet a paper recently published points to a new demon, megaconstellations of satellites damaging the ionosphere – the ionised part of the upper atmosphere.

December 15, 2023December 15, 2023 by Mark Thompson

Photonic Crystals Could Be Exactly What Breakthrough Starshot is Looking For

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.

Light sail technology is a fascinating concept and a step change in rocket propulsion. It may not be big and impressive like the Saturn V, the Space Shuttle or the new Starship rocket but when it comes to travelling among the stars, light sails could just be the answer. And what better material to build the sails from then something that just makes me want to say it over and over again….I talk about photonics crystals. It’s sounds right out of a Star Trek episode but a new paper examines their feasibility.

December 15, 2023December 15, 2023 by Mark Thompson

What’s the Source of Binary Rogue Planets?

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is already making great strides in helping us to unravel the mysteries of the Universe. Earlier this year, hundreds of rogue planets were discovered in the Orion Nebula. The real surprise to this discovery was that 9% of the planets were paired up in wide binary pairs. To understand how this binary planets formed, astronomers simulated various scenarios for their formation.

December 14, 2023December 14, 2023 by Mark Thompson

Dark Matter Could Cause Jupiter’s Night Side to Glow

One of the aspects of our study of the universe that fascinates me is the hunt for dark matter. That elusive material that doesn’t interact with much makes it difficult but not impossible to detect. Gravitational lenses are one such phenomena that point to its existence indeed it allows us to estimate how much there is in galaxy clusters. A paper now suggests that observations of Jupiter by Cassini in 2000 suggest we may be able to detect it using planets too.