Universe Today (Page 150)

Stalking Starlink's 'DarkSat'

By David Dickinson - January 27, 2020 09:40 AM UTC | Space Policy

By now, you've no doubt heard of (or seen) Starlink. SpaceX's mega-satellite constellation has become a permanent fixture in our skies as of late, with several routine passes on any given week. But have you seen the supposed 'black sheep' of the flock, DarkSat?

China Releases New Pictures From the Surface of the Moon

By Matthew Williams - January 26, 2020 04:03 PM UTC | Planetary Science

China's Chang'e-4 mission just released a trove of data collected by the lander and rover during its year-long exploration of the far side of the Moon.

Giant Planets Could Form Around Tiny Stars in Just a Few Thousand Years

By Matthew Williams - January 24, 2020 06:34 PM UTC | Exoplanets

A new study has shown how gas giants (like Proxima c) can exist around Red Dwarf suns, the most common type of star in the Universe

OSIRIS-REx Flew 620 Meters Above its Landing Site. Confirms that it's a Boulder-Strewn Nightmare, Just Like the Rest of Bennu

By Evan Gough - January 24, 2020 05:47 PM UTC | Planetary Science

A Glitch Caused Curiosity to Freeze in Place. But It's Better Now

By Nancy Atkinson - January 24, 2020 01:31 PM UTC | Planetary Science

This is Probably Sandstone Layers on Mars. Absolutely Beautiful

By Evan Gough - January 23, 2020 07:04 PM UTC | Planetary Science

Finally! We get to See a View From Inside Boeing's Starliner During its First Flight

By Matthew Williams - January 23, 2020 06:58 PM UTC | Space Exploration

Boeing has released a highlight reel made from footage that was taken from the inside of the Starliner capsule during its recent test flight.

Rosetta Saw the Building Blocks of Life on Comet 67P

By Evan Gough - January 23, 2020 05:18 PM UTC | Astrobiology

The Evidence is Leaning More and More Towards an Asteroid Ending the Dinosaurs

By Evan Gough - January 22, 2020 06:31 PM UTC | Planetary Science

Carnival of Space #647

By susie - January 22, 2020 04:47 PM UTC | Site News

Betelgeuse is Continuing to Dim! It's Down to 1.506 Magnitude

By Evan Gough - January 22, 2020 04:12 PM UTC | Stars

Weekly Space Hangout: January 22, 2020 - Dr. Kenneth Carpenter of HST and WFIRST

By susie - January 22, 2020 03:55 PM UTC | Site News

A Twilight Tryst: Venus Meets Neptune in the Dusk Sky

By David Dickinson - January 22, 2020 09:55 AM UTC | Observing

Curiosity Looked up and Saw Phobos During the Daytime

By Matthew Williams - January 21, 2020 12:36 PM UTC | Planetary Science

This image of Phobos in the sky above Mars was taken by Curiosity in 2012 and was recently refurbished by famed NASA software engineer Kevin Gill.

China's 500-Meter FAST Radio Telescope is Now Operational

By Evan Gough - January 20, 2020 06:08 PM UTC | Telescopes

According to NASA, 2019 Was the Second Hottest Year on Record

By Evan Gough - January 20, 2020 03:11 PM UTC | Planetary Science

SpaceX Crew Dragon Capsule Nails In-Flight Abort Test! Next Stop, the ISS!

By Matthew Williams - January 20, 2020 02:48 PM UTC | Space Exploration

SpaceX nailed the in-flight abort test of its Crew Dragon capsule this weekend, putting them one step closer to sending astronauts to the ISS from US soil!

More Mysterious Space Blobs Have Been Found Near the Center of the Milky Way

By Matthew Williams - January 18, 2020 06:07 PM UTC | Milky Way

Scientists have found six objects near the center of our galaxy that orbit Sagittarius A. These objects appear to be a new class of object that astronomers have never before seen.

Crew Dragon Abort Test is Scheduled for Saturday Morning

By Matthew Williams - January 17, 2020 04:42 PM UTC | Space Exploration

On Saturday morning, Jan. 18th, 2020, SpaceX and NASA will be conducting the in-flight abort test of the Crew Dragon, bringing it one step closer to sending astronauts to the ISS.

A Mysterious Burst of Gravitational Waves Came From a Region Near Betelgeuse. But There's Probably No Connection

By Evan Gough - January 17, 2020 04:35 PM UTC | Stars

The Debate Over Cold Dark Matter Warms Up As Astronomers Take Its Temperature

By Brian Koberlein - January 17, 2020 12:51 PM UTC | Cosmology

ESA Recruits Amateur Astronomers Ahead of Hera Asteroid Mission

By David Dickinson - January 17, 2020 12:11 PM UTC | Missions

The European Space Agency is looking to recruit amateur astronomers to help characterize possible secondary targets for the upcoming Hera asteroid rendezvous mission.

An Asteroid has been Found that Orbits the Sun Closer than Venus

By Evan Gough - January 16, 2020 05:50 PM UTC | Solar Astronomy

Another Beautiful Image of Jupiter from Juno During a Flyby. Great Work by Gerald Eichstadt and Sean Doran

By Evan Gough - January 16, 2020 02:39 PM UTC | Planetary Science

Scientists Figure Out How to Continuously Watch the Entire Planet With Just 4 Satellites

By Matthew Williams - January 16, 2020 02:31 PM UTC | Missions

A new study has shown that optimal global satellite coverage can be achieved with just four satellites, and in a very cost-effective way.

Beautiful Image of Ice at Mars' Northern Polar Cap

By Evan Gough - January 16, 2020 01:40 PM UTC | Planetary Science

A Second Planet May Have been Found Orbiting Proxima Centauri! And it's a Super Earth.

By Evan Gough - January 15, 2020 06:34 PM UTC | Exoplanets

It Takes Two Stars to Make a Gamma Ray Burst

By Matthew Williams - January 15, 2020 05:39 PM UTC | Stars

A new study by researchers from the University of Warwick shows how Gamma Ray Bursts can only occur with binary systems.

Underwater Robot Captures its First Sample 500 Meters Below the Surface of the Ocean

By Evan Gough - January 15, 2020 03:41 PM UTC | Planetary Science

Weekly Space Hangout: January 15, 2020 - Dr Erin Explains the Universe

By susie - January 15, 2020 03:22 PM UTC | Site News

LightSail 2 is Still Solar Sailing, But it's Getting Lower and Lower with Each Orbit

By Evan Gough - January 14, 2020 08:08 PM UTC | Missions

Carnival of Space #646

By susie - January 14, 2020 04:53 PM UTC | Site News

Balloon-Based Cosmic Ray Observatory is Now on its Second Trip Around Antarctica

By Matthew Williams - January 14, 2020 04:22 PM UTC | Physics

The SuperTIGER-2 flight just completed its second tour around Antarctica in its mission to determine the origin and nature of cosmic rays.

New View of the Swan Nebula From NASA's Airborne SOFIA Telescope

By Matthew Williams - January 13, 2020 06:43 PM UTC | Telescopes

Using the SOFIA telescope, a team of NASA astronomers have conducted the most detailed survey of the interior of the Swan Nebula to date.

Almost 800,000 Years Ago, an Enormous Meteorite Struck Earth. Now We Know Where.

By Evan Gough - January 13, 2020 05:29 PM UTC | Planetary Science

In About 3 Million Years, WASP-12b Will Spiral into its Star and be Consumed

By Matthew Williams - January 12, 2020 08:26 PM UTC | Exoplanets

A new study led by Princeton researchers has confirmed that in the long run, hot Jupiters are destined to be devoured by their suns.

Hubble Finds Teeny Tiny Clumps of Dark Matter

By Matthew Williams - January 11, 2020 05:48 PM UTC | Cosmology

Using data from Hubble and the gravitational lensing technique, a team of astronomers have found definitive evidence that Dark Matter is indeed "cold".

There's a new method to measure the expansion rate of the Universe, but it doesn't resolve the Crisis in Cosmology

By Brian Koberlein - January 11, 2020 12:34 PM UTC | Cosmology

The Perfect Stars to Search for Life On Their Planets

By Evan Gough - January 10, 2020 05:15 PM UTC | Astrobiology

TESS Finds a Planet That Orbits Two Stars

By Evan Gough - January 09, 2020 03:40 PM UTC | Exoplanets

An Upcoming Impact With the Magellanic Clouds is Already Causing Star Formation in the Milky Way

By Matthew Williams - January 09, 2020 03:22 PM UTC | Milky Way

A new study presented at the 235th meeting of the AAS this week shows how star formation is already happening thanks to the expected collision between the Milky Way and the LMC.

A Huge Wave is Passing Through the Milky Way Unleashing New Stellar Nurseries

By Brian Koberlein - January 09, 2020 12:58 PM UTC | Milky Way

Chang'e-4 Wraps Up a Year Roving on the Far Side of the Moon

By Matthew Williams - January 08, 2020 11:53 PM UTC | Space Exploration

During its 370 days on the lunar surface, China's Yutu 2 rover has broken multiple records - including distance traveled and total time spent on the surface.

TESS Finds its First Earth-Sized World in the Habitable Zone of a Star

By Evan Gough - January 08, 2020 07:53 PM UTC | Exoplanets

Weekly Space Hangout: January 8, 2020 - Dr. Brian Weeden, Director of Program Planning, The Secure World Foundation

By susie - January 08, 2020 04:45 PM UTC | Space Policy

Forget Betelgeuse, the Star V Sagittae Should Go Nova Within this Century

By Evan Gough - January 08, 2020 04:30 PM UTC | Stars

This Simulation Shows what We'll be Able to See with WFIRST

By Matthew Williams - January 08, 2020 03:55 PM UTC | Telescopes

NASA has given us a taste of what the WFIRST will be able to see when it takes to space, previewing what the power of 100 Hubbles will look like.

New Research Casts A Shadow On The Existence Of Dark Energy

By Brian Koberlein - January 08, 2020 12:25 PM UTC | Cosmology

Our Guide to this Friday's Penumbral Lunar Eclipse

By David Dickinson - January 08, 2020 10:17 AM UTC | Observing

Ready for the first lunar eclipse of the year? The first eclipse season of 2020 comes to an end Friday, with a penumbral lunar eclipse. This season overlaps with 2019, when it kicked off with the Boxing Day annular solar eclipse of December 26th, 2019.

M87's Black Hole is Firing Out Jets that Travel 99% the Speed of Light

By Evan Gough - January 07, 2020 07:06 PM UTC | Black Holes