Evan Gough, Author at Universe Today

May 25, 2020May 25, 2020 by Evan Gough

The Coast of Antarctica is Starting to Turn Green

A bloom of green algae on the snow on Anchorage Island, Antarctica. Image Credit: Davey et al, 2020

The Antarctic Peninsula is the northernmost part of Antarctica, and has the mildest climate on the continent. In January, the warmest part of the year, the temperature averages 1 to 2 °C (34 to 36 °F). And it’s getting warmer.

Those warm temperatures allow snow algae to grow, and now scientists have used remote sensing to map those algae blooms.

May 25, 2020May 25, 2020 by Evan Gough

This is an Actual Image of a Planet-Forming Disc in a Distant Star System

An image of AB Aurigae from the ESO's VLT and its SPHERE instrument, showing what scientists think is a baby planet forming. Image Credit: ESO/Boccaletti et al.

In 2017, astronomers used ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array) to look at the star AB Aurigae. It’s a type of young star called a Herbig Ae star, and it’s less then 10 million years old. At that time, they found a dusty protoplanetary disk there, with tell-tale gaps indicating spiral arms.

Now they’ve taken another look, and found a very young planet forming there.

May 22, 2020May 22, 2020 by Evan Gough

OSIRIS-REx Will Collect a Sample from Bennu on October 20th

This artist’s concept shows NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft descending towards asteroid Bennu to collect a sample of the asteroid’s surface. The sampling procedure will take place on October 20th. Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

The date is finally set for OSIRIS-REx’s sampling maneuver. The spacecraft has been at asteroid Bennu since the end of December 2018. During that time, it’s found a few surprises, and mapped the surface in great detail.

Now, we can circle October 20th on our calendars, as the date OSIRIS-Rex will collect its sample.

May 22, 2020May 22, 2020 by Evan Gough

Ocean Circulation Might Be the Key to Finding Habitable Exoplanets

Artist's depiction of a waterworld. A new study suggests that Earth is in a minority when it comes to planets, and that most habitable planets may be greater than 90% ocean. Credit: David A. Aguilar (CfA)

We’ve found thousands and thousands of exoplanets now. And spacecraft like TESS will likely find thousands and thousands more of them. But most exoplanets are gassy giants, molten hell-holes, or frozen wastes. How can we find those needles-in-the-haystack habitable worlds that may be out there? How can we narrow our search?

Well, first of all, we need to find water. Oceans, preferably, since that’s where life began on Earth. And according to a new study, those oceans need to circulate in particular ways to support life.

May 21, 2020May 21, 2020 by Evan Gough

Astronomers Are Sure These Are Two Newborn Planets Orbiting a Distant Star

An artist's illustration of the PDS 70 system, not to scale. The two planets are clearing a gap in the circumstellar disk as they form. As they accrete in-falling material, the heat makes them glow. Image Credit: W. M. Keck Observatory/Adam Makarenko

Planet formation is a notoriously difficult thing to observe. Nascent planets are ensconced inside dusty wombs that resist our best observation efforts. But recently, astronomers have made progress in imaging these planetary newborns.

A new study presents the first-ever direct images of twin baby planets forming around their star.

May 20, 2020May 20, 2020 by Evan Gough

40 Years Ago, Mount St. Helens Blew its Top Off

Mt. St. Helens in May, 2020, in an image from the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on LandSat8. Image Credit: Joshua Stevens, Robert Simmon, and Jesse Allen, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey.

One day, my Grade Nine science class got way more interesting.

Suddenly, volcanoes weren’t just something in textbooks. Though I was in neighbouring British Columbia when Mt. St. Helens erupted, there was still a layer of ash on our cars and everything else. For a teenager with a burgeoning interest in science, it was awesome.

May 19, 2020May 19, 2020 by Evan Gough

This Laser Powered Rover Could Stay in the Shadows on the Moon and Continue to Explore

The ESA's Rover Autonomy Testbed being tested at Tenerife. Image Credit: Fernando Gandía/GMV

The craters on the Moon’s poles are in permanent shadow. But they’re also intriguing locations, due to deposits of water ice and other materials. The ESA is developing the idea for a rover that can explore these areas with power provided by lasers.

May 19, 2020May 19, 2020 by Evan Gough

TESS is Also Helping Astronomers Study Bizarre Pulsating Stars

A conceptual image of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. Image Credit: MIT

NASA’s TESS, or Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite has one main job: finding exoplanets. But it’s also helping astronomers study a strange type of star that has so far defied thorough explanation. Those stars are Delta Scuti stars, named after their prototype.

May 15, 2020May 15, 2020 by Evan Gough

Was Betelgeuse Formed by Merging Stars?

Betelgeuse was the first star directly imaged -- besides our own Sun, of course. Image obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope. Credit: Andrea Dupree (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA), Ronald Gilliland (STScI), NASA and ESA

Modern humans—or Homo Sapiens—have only been around for about 250,000 years. That’s only the blink of an eye in cosmological terms. As it turns out, the star Betelgeuse may only be about the same age.

A new study explores the idea that Betelgeuse formed from a merger of two stars only a few hundred thousand years ago.

May 15, 2020May 15, 2020 by Evan Gough

James Webb is Fully Stowed Into its Launch Configuration

The James Webb Space Telescope inside a cleanroom at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Credit: NASA/JSC

We’re inching closer and closer to the James Webb Space Telescope’s (JWST) launch date of March 30th, 2021, (or maybe July 2021.) We never thought we’d get this close, with only a year to go before we send this powerful space telescope on its way. Now the telescope has been put in its launch configuration.