Universe Today (Page 148)

The Disk of the Milky Way is Warped Because it Already Collided With Another Galaxy

By Matthew Williams - March 04, 2020 03:04 PM UTC | Milky Way

Using data from the second Gaia data release, a team of astronomers has demonstrated that the "warp" in our galaxy is rapidly changing!

Weekly Space Hangout: March 4, 2020 - Did RIT Scientists Find A Baby Giant Planet?

By susie - March 04, 2020 02:47 PM UTC | Exoplanets

During A Lunar Eclipse, It's A Chance To See Earth As An Exoplanet

By Brian Koberlein - March 04, 2020 01:55 PM UTC | Exoplanets

Phew, Earth-Watching DSCOVR is Operational Again

By Nancy Atkinson - March 04, 2020 11:55 AM UTC | Solar Astronomy

Carnival of Space #653

By susie - March 03, 2020 06:49 PM UTC | Site News

NASA is Planning to Build a Lunar Rover With a 1-Meter Drill to Search for Water Ice

By Evan Gough - March 03, 2020 06:44 PM UTC | Missions

Magnetic Fields Around Mars InSight are 10x Stronger than Scientists Expected

By Matthew Williams - March 03, 2020 06:42 PM UTC | Planetary Science

Data from the first year of the InSight mission has just been released, and its revealing some unexpected things about Mars' magnetic fields.

3 Billion Years Ago, the World Might Have Been a Waterworld, With No Continents At All

By Evan Gough - March 03, 2020 04:44 PM UTC | Planetary Science

Introducing Analog Sky's 3D-Printed Giant Binoculars

By David Dickinson - March 03, 2020 12:31 PM UTC | Telescopes

Even Though it Was Observing an Asteroid, OSIRIS-REx Accidentally Spotted a Black Hole

By Nancy Atkinson - March 03, 2020 12:08 PM UTC | Black Holes

Another Reminder that Spaceflight is Difficult. Starship Prototype Explodes and Falls Over

By Matthew Williams - March 02, 2020 06:39 PM UTC | Space Exploration

SpaceX suffered another setback when its Starship prototype SN1 exploded during a loading test - similar to what happened to the last prototype.

Here's a New Planetary Nebula for Your Collection: CVMP 1

By Evan Gough - March 02, 2020 04:55 PM UTC | Stars

What is the Steady State Hypothesis?

By Matthew Williams - March 01, 2020 10:14 PM UTC | Cosmology

When it comes to cosmological theories, the Big Bang theory has historically had only one big contender - the Steady State Hypothesis

What is a Generation Ship?

By Matthew Williams - March 01, 2020 12:03 AM UTC | Space Exploration

The concept of a Generation Ship is a time-honored one, but is it the best way to send an interstellar mission to colonize a distant planet?

A Picture of Earth's New Temporary Moon

By Nancy Atkinson - February 29, 2020 10:41 AM UTC | Planetary Science

Riding the Wave of a Supernova to Go Interstellar

By Matthew Williams - February 28, 2020 04:31 PM UTC | Physics

A new paper by two Harvard professors explores the idea of using supernova as a means of high-speed interstellar travel - something advanced alien species could be doing right now!

A Commercial Satellite Just Docked with Another for the First Time, Opening Up a New Era in Orbital Maintenance

By Evan Gough - February 27, 2020 07:16 PM UTC | Space Exploration

Astronomers Discover a Tiny New Temporary Moon for the Earth. Welcome to the Family 2020 CD3

By Evan Gough - February 27, 2020 03:06 PM UTC | Planetary Science

Look down into a pit on Mars. The caved-in roof of a lava tube could be a good place to explore on the Red Planet

By Nancy Atkinson - February 27, 2020 02:37 PM UTC | Planetary Science

Future Astronauts Could Enjoy Fresh Vegetables From an Autonomous Orbital Greenhouse

By Matthew Williams - February 26, 2020 06:56 PM UTC | Space Exploration

A team from a Russian polytechnic university is working on an autonomous space module where fresh vegetables could be grown for astronauts.

The Life of Katherine Johnson Shows that 'Hidden Figures' Are Important to History

By Nancy Atkinson - February 26, 2020 06:17 PM UTC | Site News

Solar Storms Might Confuse Whale Navigation, and Make Them More Likely to Strand Themselves

By Evan Gough - February 26, 2020 05:09 PM UTC | Solar Astronomy

Weekly Space Hangout: February 26, 2020 - Czarina Salido of Time In Cosmology is 'Taking Up Space'

By susie - February 25, 2020 09:22 PM UTC | Cosmology

Detecting Exoplanets Through Their Exoauroras

By Matthew Williams - February 25, 2020 06:55 PM UTC | Exoplanets

A team of scientists from the Netherlands have proposed an exciting new approach for finding exoplanets: look for signs of auroras!

InSight has been Sensing Dust Devils Sweep Past its Landing Site

By Evan Gough - February 25, 2020 05:27 PM UTC | Planetary Science

Carnival of Space #652

By susie - February 25, 2020 04:18 PM UTC | Site News

Betelgeuse Is Brightening Again

By Brian Koberlein - February 25, 2020 04:07 PM UTC | Stars

After an usual period of dimming Betelgeuse is growing brighter. But no supernova yet.

After a Challenging First Year on Mars, InSight Shows Us that Mars is Seismically Active

By Evan Gough - February 25, 2020 01:11 PM UTC | Planetary Science

Comet Y4 Atlas in Outburst: First Good Comet for 2020?

By David Dickinson - February 25, 2020 12:55 PM UTC | Observing

Good news: Though we've been going through a cometary dry spell as of late, we may have our first good naked eye comet for 2020: Comet C/2019 Y4 ATLAS.

A New Kind of Rocket that's Lightweight and Easier to Construct: a Rotating Detonating Engine. Unfortunately, it's Also Completely Unpredictable

By Matthew Williams - February 24, 2020 04:57 PM UTC | Space Exploration

A new type of engine - known as the rotating detonation engine - could revolutionize rocketry and make space exploration more cost-effective

Who was Aristotle?

By Matthew Williams - February 23, 2020 10:19 PM UTC | Site News

In the history of science, few scholars have as much of an enduring influence as classical philosopher Aristotle, whose theories would become canon for almost 2000 years.

Solar Orbiter is Already Starting to Observe the Sun

By Matthew Williams - February 23, 2020 03:00 PM UTC | Solar Astronomy

The ESA's Solar Orbiter, which took to space over earlier this month, recently sent back its first batch of data to mission controllers on Earth.

Dust Devils Have Left Dark Streaks All Over This Martian Crater

By Evan Gough - February 22, 2020 01:00 PM UTC | Planetary Science

Nutrient-Poor and Energy-Starved. How Life Might Survive at the Extremes in the Solar System

By Evan Gough - February 21, 2020 06:08 PM UTC | Astrobiology

How Interferometry Works, and Why it's so Powerful for Astronomy

By Brian Koberlein - February 21, 2020 02:25 PM UTC | Telescopes

Japan Is Sending a Lander to Phobos

By Nancy Atkinson - February 20, 2020 07:06 PM UTC | Missions

SETI Researchers Release Petabytes of Data in the Search For Aliens

By Matthew Williams - February 20, 2020 06:31 PM UTC | Astrobiology

Breakthrough Listen, the most extensive SETI survey in history, has just made its second release of data, and its once again the biggest ever made!

Both Stars in This Binary System Have Accretion Disks Around Them

By Evan Gough - February 20, 2020 05:03 PM UTC | Stars

Weekly Space Hangout: February 19, 2020 - John Thornton, CEO of Astrobotic

By susie - February 19, 2020 07:01 PM UTC | Space Exploration

Salt Water Might Still be Able to Collect on the Surface of Mars a Few Days a Year

By Matthew Williams - February 19, 2020 05:27 PM UTC | Planetary Science

A new study from the PSI indicates that around Mars' equator, salt water could form on the surface for a few days out of the year.

ESA is Considering a Mission to Give Advanced Warnings of Solar Storms

By Evan Gough - February 19, 2020 05:22 PM UTC | Missions

A New Technique to Make Lighter Radiation Shielding For Spacecraft: Rust.

By Matthew Williams - February 19, 2020 03:38 PM UTC | Space Exploration

A new technique for creating lighter and cheaper radiation shielding involves a secret ingredient: rust!

There Could be Meteors Traveling at a Fraction of the Speed of Light When They Hit the Atmosphere

By Matthew Williams - February 18, 2020 02:23 PM UTC | Physics

According to a new study by a pair of Harvard astrophysicists, it is possible that meteors traveling close to the speed of light regularly rain down on Earth's atmosphere

Carnival of Space #651

By susie - February 17, 2020 05:25 PM UTC | Site News

War of the Worlds: Watch the Moon Occult Mars Tuesday Morning

By David Dickinson - February 17, 2020 01:21 PM UTC | Observing

Happen to have clear skies tomorrow morning and live in the western part of the United States? Then you may have a chance to spy a unique event, as the waning crescent Moon occults (passes in front of) the planet Mars.

Mars Was Hit By a Lot of Protoplanets Early in its History, Taking Longer to Form than Previously Thought.

By Evan Gough - February 13, 2020 05:12 PM UTC | Planetary Science

The Pale Blue Dot: Now New and Improved

By Nancy Atkinson - February 13, 2020 03:43 PM UTC | Planetary Science