Universe TodaySpace and astronomy news

Login

Satellite Images Show a Trillion Ton Iceberg Broke Off Antarctica

12 Jul , 2017 by

For several months, scientists have been keeping an eye on a piece of Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf, waiting for the inevitable. And now it has happened. Sometime between July 10 and July 12, 2017 a trillion ton iceberg split off, “changing the outline of the Antarctic Peninsula forever,” said one scientist. The new iceberg […]
A photo of the full moon, taken from Apollo 11 on its way home to Earth, from about 18,520 km (10,000 nm) away. Credit: NASA

How Long is a Day on the Moon?

10 Jul , 2017 by

A single day on the Moon lasts the equivalent of 29.5 Earth days, which is the result of its tidally-locked orbit with Earth, and Earth’s orbit around the Sun.

How Does Mercury Compare to Earth?

4 Jul , 2017 by

Mercury and Earth are a study in contrasts, with serious differences in their orbits, atmospheres, surface temperatures, and annual/diurnal cycles. But they do have a few things in common.
Type 2 Civ Tips!

Construction Tips from a Type 2 Engineer: Collaboration with Isaac Arthur

9 Jun , 2017 by

Fraser Cain and Isaac Arthur team up again to bring you another epic collaboration. This time, it’s construction tips from an engineer from a Type 2 Civilization.

Podcast (audio): Download (Duration: 10:14 — 3.5MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

Podcast (video): Download (Duration: 10:14 — 131.8MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

Space for Sale!

Can We Own Space? Buying Your Own Piece of the High Frontier

1 Jun , 2017 by

Owning land here on Earth is nice and legal. But what about a plot of land on the Moon or Mars? When can I buy some ice on Europa?

Podcast (audio): Download (Duration: 8:19 — 2.9MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

Podcast (video): Download (Duration: 8:21 — 108.4MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

Artist's impression of a Mars-sized object crashing into the Earth, starting the process that eventually created our Moon. Credit: Joe Tucciarone

Scientists Propose a New Kind of Planet: A Smashed Up Torus of Hot Vaporized Rock

24 May , 2017 by

Under the right conditions, two colliding rocky bodies might form a temporary structure called a ‘synestia’. This rotating mass of partially vaporized rock would might only last a hundred years or so.

Weekly Space Hangout – May 19, 2017: Eric Fisher of Labfundr

19 May , 2017 by

Host: Fraser Cain (@fcain) Special Guest: Eric Fisher is the head of Labfundr, a Canadian crowdsourcing platform for science research and outreach. Eric is an entrepreneur, recovering biochemist, and son of a glaciologist. He completed a PhD in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. At Dalhousie, Eric investigated how […]

Podcast (wshaudio): Download (Duration: 58:52 — 53.9MB)

Subscribe: Android | RSS

Podcast (wshvideo): Download (Duration: 1:03:45 — 553.4MB)

Subscribe: Android | RSS

When an asteroid struck the Yucatan region about 66 million years ago, it wiped out the dinosaurs, and most of life on Earth. If it had hit elsewhere, the dinosaurs might well have survived. Credit: NASA/Don Davis

Dinosaur Killing Asteroid Hit in Exactly the Wrong Place

18 May , 2017 by

A new BBC documentary called “The Day The Dinosaurs Died” explains how things might have been different for the dinosaurs if the asteroid that caused their extinction had hit deeper ocean.
Sun glints off atmospheric ice crystals (circled in red) in this view captured by NASA's EPIC instrument on NOAA's DISCOVR satellite. Image Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Mysterious Flashes Coming From Earth That Puzzled Carl Sagan Finally Have An Explanation

16 May , 2017 by

NASA’s EPIC camera aboard NOAA’s DSCOVR spacecraft solves decades old mystery that stymied Carl Sagan. Mysterious flashes are mysterious no more.
Composite Spitzer, Hubble, and Chandra image of supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. A new study shows that a supernova as far away as 50 light years could have devastating effects on life on Earth. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/STScI/CXC/SAO)

New Estimate Puts the Supernova Killzone Within 50 Light-Years of Earth

15 May , 2017 by

A new paper on supernovae and the effects on Earth increases the so-called “Supernova Kill-Zone” to 50 light years.

Subscribe to Universe Today via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 7,428 other subscribers

© Copyright 2017    Universe Today TOP
Powered by Fraser Cain
Close Help make Universe Today better today! See no ads, get videos early, hang out with the team