Space and astronomy news
Solar flares – huge eruptions of charged particles from the Sun – present little threat to Earth. On a few rare occasions these particles may disrupt our communications systems and cause radio blackouts. But they tend to be more aesthetically pleasing than harmful. It’s certainly a sight to be seen as these energetic particles collide …
The idea that there is life on other worlds is humbling and exciting, and finding life on another world would change everything. This has been a driving force for scientists for decades. We find life wherever we find water on Earth, in pools of boiling water, inside glaciers, even in nuclear reactors. Because of this, …
Continue reading “Is Life On Mars Related To Life On Earth?”
AVAST gentle reader: mild SPOILER(S) and graphic depictions of shattered satellites ahead! We recently had a chance to catch Oblivion, the first summer blockbuster of the season. The flick delivers on the fast-paced Sci-Fi action as Tom Cruise saves the planet from an invasion of Tom Cruise clones. But the movie does pose an interesting …
Continue reading “Into Oblivion: What If the Earth Had No Moon?”
I’m often asked by students in my community education astronomy classes whether any new elements have been found in outer space unknown on Earth. The answer to the question is no – nature uses the same 98 natural elements to fashion everything from the familiar stars and planets to those in the farthest galaxies we …
Continue reading “Earth is the Most Exotic Place In The Universe”
It’s time to “get real” about naming exoplanets, says Uwingu CEO and scientist Dr. Alan Stern. And so the latest project from the space funding startup company is a contest to name the nearest exoplanet, currently known as Alpha Centauri Bb. “Let’s face it,” Stern told Universe Today, “the current names astronomers use for exoplanets …
Continue reading “Closest Exoplanet Deserves a ‘Real’ Name, Says Uwingu”
After two years of doing the loop-the-loop around Mercury, MESSENGER has unveiled a bunch of surprises from Mercury — the closest planet to the Sun. The spacecraft launched in 2004 and made three flybys of the planet before settling into orbit two years ago today. Incredibly, MESSENGER is only the second NASA probe to visit …
A little more than week ago a 7,000 ton, 50-foot (15-meter) wide meteoroid made an unexpected visit over Russia to become the biggest space rock to enter the atmosphere since the Tunguska impact in 1908. While scientists still debate whether it was asteroid or comet that sent a tree-flattening shockwave over the Tunguska River valley, we know …
Continue reading “Russian Fireball Inspires Journey into the World of Meteorites”
Scientists have discovered a new planet orbiting a Sun-like star, and the exoplanet is the smallest yet found in data from the Kepler mission. The planet, Kepler-37b, is smaller than Mercury, but slightly larger than Earth’s Moon. The planet’s discovery came from a collaboration between Kepler scientists and a consortium of international researchers who employ …
Continue reading “Smallest Exoplanet Yet Discovered by ‘Listening’ to a Sun-like Star”
A view of Kepler 47c and binary stars. ©Digital Drew. All rights reserved. What would it look like on a hypothetical icy moon orbiting the exoplanet Kepler 47c? Perhaps something like this. This is an illustration by an artist who goes by the name Digital Drew on Flickr. Drew creates landscapes of imagined alien worlds …
Continue reading “A Moon With Two Suns: Making Art from Science”
Imagine moons like Europa or Enceladus that are orbiting distant gas giant exoplanets located in the habitable zone of their star. What would be the potential for life on those moons? Hopefully one day we’ll find out, as that could be the scenario at an exoplanet that has been found by the Planet Hunter citizen …
Continue reading “Exciting Potential for Habitable ExoMoons”