The Heaviest Element Ever Seen in an Exoplanet’s Atmosphere: Barium
Astronomers have spotted barium in the atmosphere of a distant exoplanet. With its 56 protons, you have to run your…
2.46 Billion Years ago, a day on Earth was Only 17 Hours and the Moon was Much Closer
As the ages pass the Moon slowly drifts away from the Earth. In conjunction the length of our day gradually…
Will Venus finally answer, ‘Are we alone?’
We recently examined how and why Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, could answer the longstanding question: Are we alone? It’s the…
Hubble Examines the Wreckage From the 2017 Kilonova
A team of astrophysicists examined the site of the 2017 kilonova explosion and observed a rapidly-spinning disk and relativistic jets.
Remembering the Gutsy and Hilarious Apollo Astronaut Jim McDivitt
Former NASA astronaut Jim McDivitt, who commanded the important Gemini IV and Apollo 9 missions – both crucial for NASA's…
Scientists Discover a New Way Exoplanets Could Make Oxygen; Unfortunately, it Doesn’t Require Life
Finding oxygen in an exoplanet's atmosphere is a clue that life may be at work. On Earth, photosynthetic organisms absorb…
Planet Formation Doesn’t Have to be a Rush job After all
Astronomers believe that it can take 10 million years or more to build a planet like the Earth. But studies…
Arecibo Won’t Be Rebuilt
The National Science Foundation announced last week that it won’t rebuild or replace the iconic Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico,…
Shortly Before They Collided, two Black Holes Tangled Spacetime up Into Knots
An international team led from Cardiff University has confirmed that black hole binaries experience precession.
NASA is Hoping They can Break the Sound Barrier… Quietly
Seventy-five years is a long time for a technology to mature. In the case of supersonic flight, the technology has…