Science’s brightest star has passed away aged 76. A physicist and best-selling author, Dr. Hawking did not allow his physical limitations to hinder his quest to answer “the… Read more “A Sad Day For The Scientific Community – Stephen Hawking Passes Away”
Category: Astronomy
Hubble Revisits an Icon
Twenty years ago, the Hubble Space Telescope snapped one of its most iconic images ever. The three towering columns of gas bathed in the light of hot,… Read more “Hubble Revisits an Icon”
Exoplanet WASP 12-B Is So Hot It Eats Light
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has observed a planet outside our solar system that looks as black as fresh asphalt because it eats light rather than reflecting it… Read more “Exoplanet WASP 12-B Is So Hot It Eats Light”
Accretion-powered pulsar reveals unique timing glitch
The discovery of the largest timing irregularity yet observed in a pulsar is the first confirmation that pulsars in binary systems exhibit the strange phenomenon known as… Read more “Accretion-powered pulsar reveals unique timing glitch”
Aussie astronomer captures rare footage of ‘upside down’ lightning sprites (VIDEO)
An amateur Australian astronomer has recorded rare flashes of space lightning in the skies above New South Wales. David Finlay, 44, from Kiama in Australia’s south western… Read more “Aussie astronomer captures rare footage of ‘upside down’ lightning sprites (VIDEO)”
Betelgeuse captured by ALMA
This orange blob shows the nearby star Betelgeuse, as seen by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). This is the first time that ALMA has ever observed… Read more “Betelgeuse captured by ALMA”
Astronomers may have seen a star collapse directly to a black hole
One of the basic truisms in astronomy is that, when a massive star ends its life, it goes out with a bang. A big one. A supernova.… Read more “Astronomers may have seen a star collapse directly to a black hole”
A Moon of Saturn Is Habitable
Today Earthlings came one very giant step closer to finding life elsewhere in our solar system. In the final months of its 20-year mission, the spacecraft Cassini… Read more “A Moon of Saturn Is Habitable”
Cassini probe shoots through Saturn’s rings
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has successfully executed its daring dive through the 1,500-mile-wide gap between Saturn and its rings, the first time a man-made object has navigated through… Read more “Cassini probe shoots through Saturn’s rings”
Saturn’s moon, Enceladus, could support life
The main illustration shows Cassini diving through the Enceladus plume in 2015. New ocean world discoveries from Cassini and Hubble will help inform future exploration and the… Read more “Saturn’s moon, Enceladus, could support life”
Black Hole Swallowing a Star Mistaken for Brightest Supernova
The universe’s brightest supernova ever may be something far more rare. An extraordinary display of light in a distant galaxy that had been previously dubbed brightest supernova… Read more “Black Hole Swallowing a Star Mistaken for Brightest Supernova”
A tour of our solar system
Our solar system is a fascinating place. For decades, ambitious engineers and scientists around the world have been sending brave humans and robotic emissaries deep into our… Read more “A tour of our solar system”
Bizarre Hexagon on Saturn Shines
A stunning new photo of Saturn’s north pole spotlights the planet’s bizarre hexagon-shaped vortex and beautiful bands of swirling winds. NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured this dramatic view… Read more “Bizarre Hexagon on Saturn Shines”
If you like the northern lights, Jupiter takes them to the next level
If you want to see beautiful auroras, forget Alaska, Canada, and Iceland—check out Jupiter. At the gas giant’s north pole, the most powerful and luminous northern lights… Read more “If you like the northern lights, Jupiter takes them to the next level”
The first galaxies came together in three minutes (video)
Minute Physics pieces together what we know about the great-great-grandfathers of galaxies that we see today. The Milky Way is just one of 100 billion galaxies in… Read more “The first galaxies came together in three minutes (video)”
Measuring a massive black hole
It’s about 660 million times as massive as our sun, and a cloud of gas circles it at about 1.1 million mph. This supermassive black hole sits… Read more “Measuring a massive black hole”
Unveiling Ceres
NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has revealed marvelous sights on dwarf planet Ceres during its first year in orbit, including the mysterious bright spots in Occator Crater. See full-resolution… Read more “Unveiling Ceres”
Shockwave Of An Exploding Star
Shockwaves (aka a “shock breakout”) like this only last for 20 minutes, so it was really exciting for astronomers to capture the moment, which they recorded as… Read more “Shockwave Of An Exploding Star”
Debating Signatures of Alien Life
Huddled in a coffee shop one drizzly Seattle morning six years ago, the astrobiologist Shawn Domagal-Goldman stared blankly at his laptop screen, paralyzed. He had been running… Read more “Debating Signatures of Alien Life”
Charon: A possible ancient ocean?
Pluto’s largest moon may have gotten too big for its own skin. Images from NASA’s New Horizons mission suggest that Pluto’s moon Charon once had a subsurface… Read more “Charon: A possible ancient ocean?”
17 of Hubble’s greatest space images
The Hubble space telescope is 25 years old. It has been inspiring and astounding us by capturing previously unseen secrets from far-away galaxies, stars and black… Read more “17 of Hubble’s greatest space images”
Black hole caught ‘burping’ galactic gas
Astronomers have spotted two huge waves of gas being “burped” by the black hole at the heart of a nearby galaxy. The swathes of hot gas, detected… Read more “Black hole caught ‘burping’ galactic gas”
Wisps Under the Rings
Dione’s beautiful wispy terrain is brightly lit alongside Saturn’s elegant rings. The “wisps” are relatively young fractures on the trailing hemisphere of Dione’s (698 miles or 1123… Read more “Wisps Under the Rings”
A “ghost from the past” recalls the infancy of the Milky Way
Globular clusters are spherical-shaped or globular stellar groupings — hence the name — which can contain millions of stars. There are about 200 of them in the… Read more “A “ghost from the past” recalls the infancy of the Milky Way”
A curious cosmic collision revisited
The spectacular aftermath of a 360-million-year-old cosmic collision is revealed in great detail in new images from the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT) at… Read more “A curious cosmic collision revisited”
Mysterious fast radio burst
Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs), brief yet brilliant eruptions of cosmic radio waves, have baffled astronomers since they were first reported nearly a decade ago. Though they appear… Read more “Mysterious fast radio burst”
Weather map of a distant world
Weather patterns in a mysterious world beyond our solar system have been revealed for the first time, a study suggests. Layers of clouds made up of hot… Read more “Weather map of a distant world”
Search For Intelligent Aliens Near Bizarre Dimming Star
The search for signs of life in a mysterious star system hypothesized to potentially harbor an “alien megastructure” is now underway. Astronomers have begun using the Allen… Read more “Search For Intelligent Aliens Near Bizarre Dimming Star”
Offering a glimpse into how the Earth could end its days
Astronomers have made the first direct discovery of a white dwarf star being orbited by a disintegrating minor planet that will ultimately collide into it. The observation,… Read more “Offering a glimpse into how the Earth could end its days”
Using general relativity to magnify the cosmos
One of the most powerful known magnifying lenses isn’t found on Earth. The lens is built from stars, gas and dark matter and lies about 4 billion… Read more “Using general relativity to magnify the cosmos”
A Portrait of Earth Shot From More Than 4 Billion Miles Away
Seeing as the Voyager-1 spacecraft has been in the news recently, here’s the story of a very special photograph that it took 23 years ago known as… Read more “A Portrait of Earth Shot From More Than 4 Billion Miles Away”
Like Tatooine in Star Wars, this planet has two suns
Fans of Star Wars might remember watching a moody Luke Skywalker gaze at a double sunset on his home planet of Tatooine. It turns out that planets with… Read more “Like Tatooine in Star Wars, this planet has two suns”
First Lunar Eclipse Ever Photographed with a Transit of the ISS
To our knowledge, this is the first time anyone has ever photographed a transit of the International Space Station of the Moon DURING a lunar eclipse. And… Read more “First Lunar Eclipse Ever Photographed with a Transit of the ISS”
Venus and a bizarre metal asteroid are leading destinations for low-cost NASA missions
Venus is back on NASA’s agenda. Today, NASA winnowed down the contenders for the agency’s next low-cost planetary science mission. Five finalists were announced from among 27… Read more “Venus and a bizarre metal asteroid are leading destinations for low-cost NASA missions”
Black holes may bounce information back out
It’s another shot in the black hole wars. The edge of a black hole might be a brick wall, says Nobel laureate Gerard ’t Hooft, against which… Read more “Black holes may bounce information back out”
Eleven-year cosmic search leads to black hole rethink
One hundred years since Einstein proposed gravitational waves as part of his general theory of relativity, an 11-year search performed with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research… Read more “Eleven-year cosmic search leads to black hole rethink”
Veil Nebula is a Supernova Remnant
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has unveiled in stunning detail a small section of the expanding remains of a massive star that exploded about 8,000 years ago. Called… Read more “Veil Nebula is a Supernova Remnant”
Life-Hunting Mission Would Bring Samples Back from Saturn Moon Enceladus
In the not-too-distant future, a spacecraft could deliver samples from an alien ocean to Earth, where scientists would scrutinize the material for signs of life. Scientists are… Read more “Life-Hunting Mission Would Bring Samples Back from Saturn Moon Enceladus”
Checking in on Uranus and Neptune, September 2015 edition
There are no spacecraft at Uranus or Neptune, and there haven’t been for 30 and 25 years, respectively. So we depend on Earth-based telescopes to monitor them.… Read more “Checking in on Uranus and Neptune, September 2015 edition”
Astronomers identify a new mid-sized black hole
Nearly all black holes come in one of two sizes: stellar mass black holes that weigh up to a few dozen times the mass of our Sun… Read more “Astronomers identify a new mid-sized black hole”
Filmmakers Create Stunning Seven-Mile Scale Model of the Solar System in Nevada Desert
The solar system is truly massive. As UniverseToday points out, it would take 6,000 years to travel from the sun to Pluto at highway speeds. Because of… Read more “Filmmakers Create Stunning Seven-Mile Scale Model of the Solar System in Nevada Desert”
Sunset on Pluto: Breathtaking NASA Photos
A spectacular new image from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft shows Pluto in an entirely new light. The photo, which New Horizons took during its epic July 14… Read more “Sunset on Pluto: Breathtaking NASA Photos”
