Evan Gough, Author at Universe Today

May 27, 2019May 27, 2019 by Evan Gough

18 – Yes, 18 – New Earth-sized Exoplanets have been Found in Kepler’s Data

Almost all known exoplanets are larger than Earth and typically as large as the gas planet Neptune. The 18 newly discovered planets (here in orange and green), for comparison, are much smaller than Neptune, three of them even smaller than Earth and two more as large as Earth. Planet EPIC 201238110.02 is the only one of the new planets cool enough to potentially host liquid water on its surface. Image Credit: NASA/JPL (Neptune), NASA/NOAA/GSFC/Suomi NPP/VIIRS/Norman Kuring (Earth), MPS/René Heller

Scientists working with data from the Kepler mission have discovered an additional 18 Earth-sized worlds. The team used a newer, more stringent method of combing through the data to find these planets. Among the 18 is the smallest exoplanet ever found.

May 23, 2019May 23, 2019 by Evan Gough

The Collision that Created the Moon Might Have Also Brought Water to the Early Earth

It is believed that 4.4 billion years ago, a celestial body (Theia) slammed into Earth and produced the Moon. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Scientists at the University of Munster have discovered that Earth got its water from a collision with Theia. Theia was the ancient body that collided with Earth and formed the Moon. Their discovery shows that Earth’s water is much more ancient than previously thought.

May 22, 2019May 22, 2019 by Evan Gough

Bizarre Star Could be the Result of Two White Dwarfs Merging Together

Three images of the infrared nebula J005311. Image Credit: Vasilii Gvaramadse/Moscow University

Stars live and die on epic time scales. Tens of millions of years, hundreds of millions of years, even billions of years or longer. Maybe the only thing that surpasses that epicness is when two dead stars join together and come back to life.

May 22, 2019May 22, 2019 by Evan Gough

NASA has Picked the Companies That’ll Help Build its Lunar Landers

An artist's illustration of lunar lander that can carry humans to the surface of the Moon. Image Credit: NASA

NASA has chosen 11 American companies to help them build the next lunar landers that will carry humans to the surface of the Moon. The 11 companies will conduct studies and work on prototype landers in the coming years. It’s all part of NASA’s Artemis mission, and the mission’s 2024 date with the surface of the Moon.

May 21, 2019May 21, 2019 by Evan Gough

Planetary Society’s Light Sail 2 is Set to Launch on a Falcon Heavy Rocket Next Month

An illustration of the Light Sail 2 craft with its solar sails deployed. Image Credit: Josh Spradling / The Planetary Society

The Planetary Society is going to launch their LightSail 2 CubeSat next month. LightSail 2 is a test mission designed to study the feasibility of using sunlight for propulsion. The small satellite will use the pressure of sunlight on its solar sails to propel its way to a higher orbit.

May 17, 2019May 17, 2019 by Evan Gough

Small, Tough Planets can Survive the Death of Their Star

An asteroid torn apart by the strong gravity of a white dwarf has formed a ring of dust particles and debris orbiting the Earth-sized burnt out stellar core. Image Credit: University of Warwick/Mark Garlick

Sad fact of the Universe is that all stars will die, eventually. And when they do, what happens to their babies? Usually, the prognosis for the planets around a dying star is not good, but a new study says some might in fact survive.

A group of astronomers have taken a closer look at what happens when stars, like our Sun for instance, become white dwarfs late in their lives. As it turns out, denser planets like Earth might survive the event. But, only if they’re the right distance away.

May 16, 2019May 16, 2019 by Evan Gough

Here’s Where Beresheet Crashed into the Moon

Beresheet's crash site as imaged by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Image Credit: NASA

The Beresheet lander came oh-so-close to touching down on the surface of the Moon, but something went wrong and it didn’t make it. Now, thanks to the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the exact point of impact can be seen.

May 16, 2019May 16, 2019 by Evan Gough

Today is the Highest Concentration of Atmospheric CO2 in Human History. 415 Parts Per Million. Last Time it Was This High, There Were Trees at the South Pole

Think about this for a minute: We humans and our emissions are helping turn back the climatological clock by 2 or 3 million years, possibly more. Not since that time, called the Pliocene Epoch, has the CO2 ppm risen above 400.

Way back then, the CO2 helped keep the Earth’s temperature 2 to 3 degrees C warmer than it is now. And the Earth was a much different place back then.

May 16, 2019May 16, 2019 by Evan Gough

NASA’s 2024 Moon Mission is called Artemis, and Will Need an Additional $1.6 Billion in Funding

NASA is adjusting to its ambitious new timeline to get to the Moon by 2024. Image: NASA.

The Moon’s going to have more human visitors in the year 2024. NASA has announced that their mission to the Moon, which is named Artemis after the Greek goddess of hunting, has been advanced by four years, from 2028 to 2024. But there’s a catch: they need more dough to do it. $1.6 billion more.

May 14, 2019May 14, 2019 by Evan Gough

The Blue Origins Founder Wants to Get to the Moon by 2024

Jeff Bezos and a mock-up of the Blue Moon lander. Credit: Blue Origin

Blue Origin is going to the Moon. In an hour-long presentation in Washington DC on May 9th, Jeff Bezos spelled out his plans for reaching the Moon, confirming what many guessed he was hinting at in a tweet from the previous week.

Bezos and his company, Blue Origin, are developing a lunar lander capable of landing a large payload of 6.5 metric tons (14,330 lbs.) on the lunar surface. The lander is being called ‘Blue Moon’ and the target date for its rendezvous with the Moon is 2024.