Universe Today (Page 145)

Galaxies Like the Milky Way are the Best for Life

By Matthew Williams - May 08, 2020 04:06 PM UTC | Astrobiology

A new study indicates that, contrary to what has been previously argued, galaxies like our own may be the most likely place to find intelligent life

New Data Show How Phytoplankton Pumps Carbon Out of the Atmosphere at an Enormous Scale

By Evan Gough - May 08, 2020 03:48 PM UTC | Astrobiology

Review: Galileo and the Science Deniers by Mario Livio

By David Dickinson - May 08, 2020 10:13 AM UTC | Site News

So, you think you know Galileo? A new book out from Simon and Schuster publishing looks at the life and times of one of the most famous astronomers there ever was: Galileo Galilei. Galileo and the Science Deniers by Dr. Mario Livio not only looks at the life and times of the famous astronomer Galileo, but busts some of the most famous myths surrounding Galileo, and looks at his greatest discoveries and tempestuous clash with the Roman Catholic Church and its aftermath. Livio also connects the science denialism of the day, with comparisons to modern clashes between politics and science.

When Did Mars Lose its Global Magnetic Field?

By Matthew Williams - May 07, 2020 07:08 PM UTC | Planetary Science

New research using data from MAVEN shows that Mars had a magnetic field earlier and later in its history than previously thought.

More Pictures of Planet-Forming Disks Around Young Stars

By Evan Gough - May 07, 2020 05:48 PM UTC | Exoplanets

A Fast Radio Burst Has Been Detected From Inside The Milky Way

By Brian Koberlein - May 07, 2020 01:39 PM UTC | Milky Way

Fast radio bursts last for such a short time that it is difficult to track down the source. Now astronomers have found one in our own back yard.

Our Review of Stellina: a 'Smart Telescope' for 21st Century Astronomy

By David Dickinson - May 07, 2020 08:55 AM UTC | Telescopes

A new breed of smart telescopes is set to take users past these hurdles, and get them out under the night sky. We recently had a chance to put Vaonis' Stellina 'smart telescope' through its paces, and we're intrigued at the glimpse it provides at the future of observational astronomy.

In the far future, the universe will be mostly invisible

By Paul Sutter - May 07, 2020 08:52 AM UTC | Cosmology

New Photos From LightSail 2

By Evan Gough - May 06, 2020 07:51 PM UTC | Space Exploration

Astronomers Can Actually See the Clouds and Weather on Brown Dwarf 6.5 Light-Years Away

By Evan Gough - May 06, 2020 07:09 PM UTC | Exoplanets

The Atmosphere On Venus Rotates Faster than the Planet, and Now Astronomers Think They Know Why

By Evan Gough - May 06, 2020 04:46 PM UTC | Planetary Science

Weekly Space Hangout: May 6, 2020 - Human Exploration of the Moon and Mars

By susie - May 05, 2020 09:43 PM UTC | Space Exploration

Astronomers Find a Planet With Three Times the Mass of Jupiter

By Evan Gough - May 05, 2020 06:45 PM UTC | Exoplanets

The Sun is less active magnetically than other stars

By Brian Koberlein - May 05, 2020 04:36 PM UTC | Solar Astronomy

While the Sun can be active, it is often quite a calm star. We now know it is unusually calm when compared to other stars.

Worlds With Hydrogen in Their Atmospheres Could Be the Perfect Place to Search for Life

By Evan Gough - May 05, 2020 04:01 PM UTC | Astrobiology

Want to Mine the Moon? Here's a Detailed Map of all its Minerals

By Matthew Williams - May 04, 2020 10:15 PM UTC | Space Exploration

The USGS' Astrogeology Science Center has released a complete mineral map of the Moon, which the lunar mining crowd is sure to appreciate!

When Universities Reopen, Will Students Return?

By Paul Sutter - May 04, 2020 07:48 AM UTC | Site News

Supermassive Black Hole Orbits an Even More Massive Black Hole, Crashing Through its Accretion Disk Every 12 Years

By Matthew Williams - May 02, 2020 07:41 PM UTC | Black Holes

Recent observations by the now-retired Spitzer mission have led to accurate predictions OJ 287, a blazar that contains a supermassive black hole orbited by another black hole.

The Companies Taking NASA Back to the Moon in 2024: Blue Origin, SpaceX and Dynetics

By Matthew Williams - May 01, 2020 05:04 PM UTC | Space Exploration

NASA recently announced the three companies that will be building lunar landing systems to take astronauts back to the Moon - SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Dynetics.

Rocky Planets Orbiting White Dwarf Stars Could be the Perfect Places to Search for Life

By Evan Gough - May 01, 2020 03:11 PM UTC | Astrobiology

NASA's Perseverance Rover is Going to Jezero Crater, Which is Looking Better and Better as a Place to Search for Evidence of Past Life on Mars

By Evan Gough - April 30, 2020 05:50 PM UTC | Astrobiology

Could The Physical Constants Change? Possibly, But Probably Not

By Brian Koberlein - April 30, 2020 03:55 PM UTC | Physics

The laws of physics are rooted in universal physical constants. But what if these constants change over time?

Mars Helicopter gets a Name: Ingenuity

By Nancy Atkinson - April 30, 2020 02:41 PM UTC | Missions

You're Looking at Spiral Galaxies, Already Forming When the Universe was Just a Baby

By Matthew Williams - April 29, 2020 07:14 PM UTC | Extragalactic

The ALPINE survey recently observed 118 galaxies dated to just 1-1.5 billion years ago, and found that the early galaxies were surprisingly developed.

Terrible Luck. The Only Person Ever Killed by a Meteorite - Back in 1888

By Nancy Atkinson - April 29, 2020 05:21 PM UTC | Planetary Science

China's First Mars Lander is Going to be Called "Tianwen"

By Evan Gough - April 29, 2020 05:04 PM UTC | Missions

How Do You Weigh The Universe?

By Brian Koberlein - April 29, 2020 04:15 PM UTC | Cosmology

If we can find the weight of everything in the universe, we can better understand how the universe came to be.

There Might Be Dust Devils On Titan Too

By Evan Gough - April 29, 2020 03:01 PM UTC | Planetary Science

How Will Covid-19 affect the Future of Science?

By Paul Sutter - April 29, 2020 10:57 AM UTC | Site News

Can wormholes act like time machines?

By Paul Sutter - April 29, 2020 10:37 AM UTC | Physics

Fomalhaut's Planet Has Gone Missing, But it Might Have Been Something Even More Interesting

By Matthew Williams - April 28, 2020 08:08 PM UTC | Exoplanets

Ongoing observations of the Fomalhaut system using Hubble data has revealed that the mysterious "disappearing" exoplanet may not have been an exoplanet at all.

Weekly Space Hangout: April 29, 2020 - Alcohol in Space with Chris Carberry

By susie - April 28, 2020 01:49 AM UTC | Site News

Now This is Progress! Starship Passes its Cryogenic Test and Doesn't Explode

By Matthew Williams - April 27, 2020 06:21 PM UTC | Space Exploration

The fourth Starship prototype (SN4) achieved a crucial milestone this weekend by passing the cryogenic load test - the same one that caused its three predecessors to explode.

Carnival of Space #660-661

By susie - April 27, 2020 05:16 PM UTC | Site News

OSIRIS-REx Descended Down to Just 75 Meters Above the Surface of Bennu in a Recent Test

By Evan Gough - April 27, 2020 04:18 PM UTC | Missions

Watch Asteroid 1998 OR2 Zip Past Earth This Week

By David Dickinson - April 27, 2020 01:52 PM UTC | Planetary Science

A fascinating asteroid nammed 1998 OR2 pays our neck of the inner solar system a visit early Wednesday morning, and if skies are clear, you might just get a chance to watch it slide by.

A Star is Orbiting the Milky Way's Black Hole and Moving Exactly How Einstein Predicted it Should

By Matthew Williams - April 25, 2020 10:17 PM UTC | Black Holes

After almost 30 years of observing a star that orbits the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy, scientists have confirmed yet again that Einstein was right!

This is the Final Picture NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope

By Matthew Williams - April 25, 2020 05:24 PM UTC | Telescopes

NASA has just released a mosaic of the California Nebula, which was created from the final images snapped by the Spitzer Space Telescope.

Astronomers Find a Six-Planet System Which Orbit in Lockstep With Each Other

By Matthew Williams - April 24, 2020 07:55 PM UTC | Exoplanets

Astronomers have found a star system with six exoplanets that orbit with an almost perfect 3:2 resonance.

Astronomers Detected a Black Hole Merger With Very Different Mass Objects

By Matthew Williams - April 22, 2020 06:09 PM UTC | Black Holes

In another first, the latest gravitational wave event to be detected came from the merger of two black holes of vastly different mass.

Super-Supernova Released Ten Times More Energy than a Regular Supernova

By Evan Gough - April 22, 2020 06:02 PM UTC | Stars

BepiColombo captured images of Earth during its recent flyby

By Paul Sutter - April 22, 2020 02:53 PM UTC | Planetary Science

Crew Dragon Will Be Launching on May 27th

By Nancy Atkinson - April 22, 2020 02:42 PM UTC | Missions

Weekly Space Hangout: April 22, 2020 - Dr. Fred Watson talks Exploding Stars and Invisible Planets

By susie - April 22, 2020 01:31 PM UTC | Site News

Hubble Sees a Galaxy With Spiral Arms, Surrounded by Other Spiral Arms

By Matthew Williams - April 21, 2020 08:10 PM UTC | Extragalactic

After 30 years, Hubble is still providing us with breathtaking images - like this one of NGC 2273, a spiral galaxy that has arms within arms!

Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov Formed in a Very Cold Environment

By Matthew Williams - April 21, 2020 06:52 PM UTC | Planetary Science

Using the ALMA array, astronomers were able to detect the chemical composition of an interstellar object as 2I/Borisov began releasing gas from its interior.

Astronomers Watch a Nova Go From Start to Finish for the First Time

By Evan Gough - April 21, 2020 05:25 PM UTC | Stars

An ocean floor bacteria has been found with a totally bizarre metabolism

By Paul Sutter - April 21, 2020 01:37 PM UTC | Astrobiology

Rocket Lab was Able to Catch Falling Inert Rocket Stage With a Helicopter, Continuing Their Path to Reusability

By Matthew Williams - April 20, 2020 09:12 PM UTC | Space Exploration

Just prior to the isolation order, commercial launch provider Rocket Lab conducted a successful mid-air recovery of a test stage, paving the way for reusable rockets.

Catching the Peak of the 2020 April Lyrids

By David Dickinson - April 20, 2020 02:02 PM UTC | Observing

Stuck at home with clear skies? We're all in a similar situation, as the ongoing pandemic sees most of the worldwide amateur astronomy community observing from home or from their backyard. One astronomical sure-fire event coming up this week requires no special equipment: just a set of working Mk-1 eyeballs and a clear sky: the April Lyrids.