Space and astronomy news
Astronomers have determined that so-called “leaky” galaxies may have responsible for triggering the last great transformational epoch in our universe, one which ionized the neutral interstellar gas.
Continue reading “The James Webb Is Getting Closer to Finding What Ionized the Universe”
The average temperature of the universe is downright cold – right around 3 degrees above absolute zero.
Continue reading “How Cold is Space?”
Over over 50% of high mass stars reside in multiple star systems. But due to their complex orbital interactions, physicists have a difficult time understanding just how stable and long-lived these systems are. Recently a team of astronomers applied machine learning techniques to simulations of multiple star systems and found a new way that stars in such systems can arrange themselves.
Continue reading “A.I. Finds a New Way to Build Multiple-Star Systems”
A team of astronomers have used a model of earthquakes to understand glitches in the timing of pulsars. Their results suggest that pulsars may have interiors that are far stranger than can be imagined.
Continue reading “Astronomers use Earthquakes to Understand Glitches on Neutron Stars”
Astronomers continue to hunt for the elusive kind of star known as Population III stars, the first stars to appear in the young universe. New research has revealed that the James Webb Space Telescope may be on the cusp of discovering them.
Continue reading “The James Webb May See the First Stars to Appear in the Universe”
The universe was simply different when it was younger. Recently astronomers have discovered that complex physics in the young cosmos may have led to the development of supermassive stars, each one weighing up to 100,000 times the mass of the Sun.
Continue reading “The First Stars May Have Weighed More Than 100,000 Suns”
Simulations of the formation of the solar system have been largely successful. They are able to replicate the positions of all the major planets along with their orbital parameters. But current simulations have an extreme amount of difficulty getting the masses of the four terrestrial planets right, especially Mercury. A new study suggests that we need to pay more attention to the giant planets in order to understand the evolution of the smaller ones.
Continue reading “Astronomers Come Closer to Understanding How Mercury Formed”
Astronomers have not yet been able to map large portions of the radio emissions from our universe because of interference from the Earth itself. A team of astronomers hopes to change that, beginning with the LuSEE Night mission to the far side of the Moon. It will launch in 2025 and chart a new pathway to Lunar observatories.
Continue reading “Astronomers Prepare to Launch LuSEE Night, A Test Observatory on the Far Side of the Moon”
Astronomers have recently discovered that giant clouds of molecular hydrogen, the birthplace of stars, can live for tens of millions of years despite the facts that individual molecules are constantly getting destroyed and reassembled. This new research helps place a crucial piece of understanding in our overall picture of how stars are born.
Continue reading “Molecular Clouds Have Long Lives By Constantly Reassembling Themselves”
Astronomers have begun using a sophisticated suite of simulations, an advanced machine learning model of the formation of galaxy clusters, and an exotic relationship between galaxies to understand the origins of dark matter and dark energy.
Continue reading “Using the Shadows of Clusters to Measure the Universe”