Universe Today (Page 213)

Weekly Space Hangout - Apr. 8, 2016: Space News Roundup

By Fraser Cain - April 08, 2016 02:57 PM UTC | Site News

What Is The Electron Cloud Model?

By Matthew Williams - April 08, 2016 09:00 AM UTC | Physics

The Electron Cloud Model was of the greatest contributions of the 20th century, leading to a revolution in physics and quantum theory

SpaceX Dragon Set for 'Return to Flight' Launch to ISS Apr. 8 - Watch Live

By ken-kremer - April 07, 2016 11:47 PM UTC | Space Exploration

The SpaceX Dragon is set for its 'Return to Flight' mission on Friday, April 8, packed with nearly 7000 pounds (3100 kg) of critical cargo and research experiments bound for the six-man crew working aboard the International Space Station.

Supermassive Black Hole Found In The Cosmic Boonies

By Evan Gough - April 07, 2016 05:11 PM UTC | Black Holes

A supermassive black hole of 17 billion solar masses has been found in an isolated region of space. How did such a large object form in a relatively sparse area?

Venus Compared to Earth

By Matthew Williams - April 07, 2016 09:00 AM UTC | Planetary Science

Venus and Earth share many characteristics, being terrestrial planets, but are also significantly different. Here's how and where they differ...

Watch the Moon Occult Vesta and Aldebaran This Weekend

By David Dickinson - April 07, 2016 02:09 AM UTC | Observing

The Moon occults the bright star Aldebaran on the evening of April 10th for North America, and, for a lucky few a few days earlier, asteroid 4 Vesta as well.

NASA's 'Hubble Hugger' and Science Chief John Grunsfeld To Retire

By ken-kremer - April 06, 2016 11:58 PM UTC | Missions

Five time space shuttle astronaut and current NASA science chief John Grunsfeld - best known as the 'Hubble Hugger' for three critical and dramatic servicing and upgrade missions to the iconic Hubble Space Telescope - his decided to retire from the space agency he faithfully served since being selected as an astronaut in 1992.

Astronomy Cast Ep. 409: Spin in the Solar System

By susie - April 06, 2016 07:29 PM UTC | Solar Astronomy

New Horizons Did Amazing Work Before Even Arriving At Pluto

By Evan Gough - April 06, 2016 06:17 PM UTC | Planetary Science

New Horizons collected 3 years of data during it's mission to Pluto and beyond, and that data is telling us a lot about the solar wind.

Nearby Supernovas Showered Earth With Iron

By jmajor - April 06, 2016 06:16 PM UTC | Stars

Mysterious Pull On Cassini Probe May Help Find Planet Nine

By Evan Gough - April 06, 2016 03:14 PM UTC | Planetary Science

Small perturbations in the orbit of the Cassini probe provide further evidence for the existence of Planet Nine.

Carnival of Space #452

By susie - April 06, 2016 02:18 PM UTC | Site News

How Long Does It Take to Get to Jupiter?

By Fraser Cain - April 05, 2016 05:31 PM UTC | Planetary Science

We're focused on Mars and Pluto, but what about Jupiter? Doesn't the biggest planet in the Solar System deserve a little love? How long does it take spacecraft to reach Jupiter?

GRAIL Data Points To Possible Lava Tubes On The Moon

By Matthew Williams - April 05, 2016 04:02 PM UTC | Planetary Science

Using data provided by NASA's GRAIL mission, researchers from Purdue University have found more evidence of buried lava tubes on the Moon

New Horizons Snaps Amazing 3-D View of Pluto's Mysterious 'Bladed' Terrain

By ken-kremer - April 04, 2016 09:27 PM UTC | Planetary Science

It's time to whip out your 3-D glasses to enjoy and scrutinize the remarkable detail of spectacular terrain revealed in a new high resolution stereo image of Pluto - King of the Kuiper Belt! - taken by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft.

Huygens Spots Methane Fog On Saturn's Moon Titan

By Matthew Williams - April 04, 2016 09:12 PM UTC | Planetary Science

Researchers from York University explain how old data from the Huygen's probe has confirmed that methane fog exists on Titan's south pole

Messier 10 (M10) - The NGC 6254 Globular Cluster

By tammy-plotner - April 04, 2016 06:15 PM UTC | Stars

Located in the equatorial constellation Ophiuchus, M10 is one of the brighter globular clusters in the night sky, and the brightest in this constellation

Gender Generates Biological Challenges For Long Duration Spaceflight

By Evan Gough - April 04, 2016 04:37 PM UTC | Space Exploration

Women are more susceptible to harmful changes in their microbiome during space travel. Understanding those changes will allow female astronauts to join their male counterparts on long duration space voyages.

Did the Sun Steal Planet Nine?

By jmajor - April 04, 2016 04:16 PM UTC | Solar Astronomy

Ten Interesting Facts About Jupiter

By Matthew Williams - April 03, 2016 07:15 PM UTC | Planetary Science

Some of the more interesting characteristics of Jupiter are not generally known. Here are ten particularly interesting facts about this gas giant

Opportunity Discovers Dust Devil, Explores Steepest Slopes on Mars

By ken-kremer - April 01, 2016 10:39 PM UTC | Planetary Science

A "beautiful dust devil" was just discovered today, April 1, on the Red Planet by NASA's long lived Opportunity rover as she is simultaneously exploring water altered rock outcrops at the steepest slopes ever targeted during her 13 year long expedition across the Martian surface. Opportunity is searching for minerals formed in ancient flows of water that will provide critical insight into establishing whether life ever existed on the fourth rock from the sun.

Is Planet X Linked to Mass Extinctions?

By bob-king - April 01, 2016 06:48 PM UTC | Planetary Science

Two researchers believe that the hypothetical "Planet Nine" may be responsible for cyclic extinctions seen in the biological record.

Do We Live in a Special Part of the Universe?

By Fraser Cain - April 01, 2016 04:12 PM UTC | Cosmology

In ancient times, astronomers and philosophers thought that the Earth was the center of the Universe. We know that's wrong, but is there anything special about where we live?

The Constellation Ara

By tammy-plotner - April 01, 2016 03:40 PM UTC | Extragalactic

Don't Want Aliens Dropping By? Engage Laser Cloaking Device

By Evan Gough - April 01, 2016 03:00 PM UTC | Astrobiology

Powerful arrays of lasers could hide our presence from the prying eyes of aliens.

Andromeda's First Spinning Neutron Star Found

By Evan Gough - April 01, 2016 01:31 PM UTC | Extragalactic

Astronomers combing through data from the ESA's XMM Newton telescope have found the Andromeda Galaxy's first spinning neutron star.

ALMA Captures Never-Before-Seen Details of Protoplanetary Disk

By bob-king - April 01, 2016 12:44 PM UTC | Exoplanets

ALMA, a network of radio telescopes, creates the most detailed images ever of a solar system forming around a nearby star.

Russian Space Freighter Hauling Fresh Fruit Blasts Off for ISS Crew

By ken-kremer - March 31, 2016 10:27 PM UTC | Space Exploration

An unmanned Russian space freighter hauling fresh fruit and over three tons of food, water, supplies and science experiments blasted off today, Thursday, March 31, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, commencing a two-day orbital trek to the six person crew living aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

How Do We Terraform The Moon?

By Matthew Williams - March 31, 2016 04:00 PM UTC | Planetary Science

Given its proximity to Earth and our history of exploring it, colonizing and terraforming the Moon could be much easier than other Solar bodies

Kennedy's Modernized Spaceport Passes Key Review Supporting SLS/Orion Launches

By ken-kremer - March 30, 2016 07:56 PM UTC | Space Exploration

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL - Modernization of NASA's launch infrastructure facilities at the Kennedy Space Center supporting the new SLS/Orion architecture required to send astronauts on a Journey to Mars in the 2030s, has passed a comprehensive series of key hardware reviews, NASA announced, paving the path towards full scale development and the inaugural liftoff by late 2018.

Mars Colony Will Have To Wait, Says NASA Scientists

By Matthew Williams - March 30, 2016 06:47 PM UTC | Space Policy

Despite NASA's proposed mission to Mars in the 2030s, two NASA scientists recently indicated that a permanent colony is still a long ways away

Inflatable Space Habitat To Be Tested On The ISS

By Evan Gough - March 30, 2016 02:05 PM UTC | Space Exploration

The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, an inflatable space habitat, will be launched onboard a SpaceX Falcon then attached to the ISS for a 2-year study.

A Challenging Daytime Occultation of Venus for Europe

By David Dickinson - March 30, 2016 02:30 AM UTC | Observing

Up for a challenge? The Moon occults Venus for Europe, the UK and northern Asia on April 6th, though it'll be a tough daytime catch. Get ready to stretch those visual skills to the limit, with our complete guide to this event.

Jupiter Just Got Nailed By Something

By bob-king - March 29, 2016 07:10 PM UTC | Planetary Science

Video from Austrian and Irish amateur astronomers points to a new impact on Jupiter by either a comet or asteroid.

Carnival of Space #451

By susie - March 29, 2016 04:57 PM UTC | Site News

Messier 9 (M9) - The NGC 6333 Globular Cluster

By tammy-plotner - March 29, 2016 02:30 PM UTC | Stars

Japan's Black Hole Telescope Is In Trouble

By Evan Gough - March 29, 2016 01:33 PM UTC | Telescopes

Astronomy Cast Ep. 408: Universe Cannibalism

By Fraser Cain - March 28, 2016 02:59 PM UTC | Milky Way

Astronomy Cast Ep. 408: Universe Cannibalism Welcome to Astronomy Cast, our weekly facts based journey through the cosmos. Where we help you understand not only what we know, but how we know what we know. My name is Fraser Cain, I'm the publisher of Universe Today. With me is Dr. Pamela Gay, a professor at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and the director of Cosmoquest. Hi Pamela, how are you doing? We've talked about stellar cannibalism and galactic cannibalism, but now it's time to take this concept to its logical extreme - universe cannibalism. In the multiverse theory of physics we live in just one of a vast range of universes which might interact with each other. Let's look for the evidence.

Teasing the Galactic Ghoul, Past and Present

By David Dickinson - March 27, 2016 03:00 AM UTC | Milky Way

The close call experienced by the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter is only one of the most recent brushes with catastrophe that spaceflight has experienced en route to Mars.

What is the Earth's Mantle Made Of?

By Fraser Cain - March 26, 2016 03:00 PM UTC | Planetary Science

Cygnus Commercial Space Freighter Arrives at Space Station with 3.5 Tons of Supplies

By ken-kremer - March 26, 2016 12:15 PM UTC | Space Exploration

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL - Following a perfectly executed three day orbital rendezvous, NASA astronaut and Expedition 47 Commander Tim Kopra successfully reached out with the International Space Station's robotic arm, Canadarm2, grabbed hold and captured Orbital ATK's commercial Cygnus cargo freighter at 6:51 a.m. EDT, this morning, Saturday, March 26, 2016.

Atlas V Engine Anomaly Forces Thrust Makeup During Cygnus Launch, Next Flight Delayed

By ken-kremer - March 25, 2016 03:50 PM UTC | Missions

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL - This week's Atlas V rocket launch of a Cygnus cargo ship to the International Space Station (ISS) apparently experienced a first stage engine anomaly during the climb to space that required a longer firing of the boosters upper stage engine so the payload could successfully achieve the required orbit

What is the Rotation of the Earth?

By Matthew Williams - March 25, 2016 03:00 PM UTC | Planetary Science

We all know that planet Earth rotates on its axis as well as around the Sun. But this period yields some different results, depending on how you measure it.

Weekly Space Hangout - Mar. 25, 2016: Andrew Helton & Ryan Hamilton of SOFIA

By Fraser Cain - March 25, 2016 02:48 PM UTC | Site News

See Historic Comet BA14 Up Close In These New Radar Images

By bob-king - March 25, 2016 02:22 PM UTC | Planetary Science

During its recent flyby of Earth, astronomers used the Goldstone radar antenna to create a remarkable series of images of a comet never seen up close before.

Streaks Galore as Cygnus Soars Chasing Station for Science; Photos, Videos

By ken-kremer - March 24, 2016 11:42 PM UTC | Space Exploration

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL - Tuesday evening, March 22, turned into 'streaks galore' on Florida's space coast, as the nighttime launch of an Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo freighter atop an Atlas V rocket was captured in unforgettable fashion by talented space photographers as it chases down the International Space Station (ISS), loaded with hundreds of science experiments.