The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) has fascinated us for decades. Now a team of researchers have used the Murchison Widefield Array in Australia to scan great swathes of sky for alien signals. Unusually for a SETI project, this one focussed attention on 2,800 galaxies instead of stars within our own. They have been on the lookout for advanced civilisations that are broadcasting their existence using the power of an entire star. Alas they weren’t successful but its an exciting new way to search for alien intelligence.
Continue reading “Giant Low-Frequency Scan Searches for Aliens in 2,800 Galaxies”Is Betelgeuse Actually a Binary Star?
Betel-gurz or Beetle-juice has been a favourite among amateur astronomers for many years. However you pronounce it, its unexpected dimming draw even more attention to this red supergiant variable star in Orion. It has a few cycles of variability, one of them occurs over a 2,170 day period, 5 times longer than its normal pulsation period. A paper has just been published that suggests a companion star of 1.17 solar masses could be the cause. It would need an orbit about 2.43 times the radius of Betelgeuse and it might just lead to the modulation of dust in the region that causes the variations we see.
Continue reading “Is Betelgeuse Actually a Binary Star?”X-Ray Telescopes Could Study Exoplanets Too
Exoplanets are often discovered using the transit method (over three quarters of those discovered have been found this way.) The same transit technique can be used to study them, often revealing detail about their atmosphere. The observations are typically made in visible light or infrared but a new paper suggests X-rays may be useful too. Stellar wind interactions with the planet’s atmosphere for example would lead to X-ray emissions revealing information about the atmosphere. As we further our exploration of exoplanets we develop our understanding of our own Solar System and ultimately, the origins of life in the Universe.
Continue reading “X-Ray Telescopes Could Study Exoplanets Too”There Might Be Water on the Surface of the Metal Asteroid Psyche
While a NASA probe heads for an asteroid known as Psyche, telescopes have been probing it to prepare for the arrival. Data from the James Webb Space Telescope has found something quite unexpected on the surface – hydrated molecules and maybe even water! The origin of the water is cause for much speculation, maybe it came from under the surface or from chemical interactions with the solar wind!
Continue reading “There Might Be Water on the Surface of the Metal Asteroid Psyche”Citizen Scientists Find a Star Escaping the Milky Way
Citizen science is such a great concept. Using the combined computing power of a gazillion (exaggeration) desktop and laptops to churn through data is an excellent and efficient way of analysing volumes of data. This has been shown yet again as a star has been identified to be hurtling out to intergalactic space! Most stars in the Milky Way are not travelling fast enough to be able to escape its immense gravity but the suspected brown dwarf is travelling at 1.5 million km/h, fast enough to escape.
Continue reading “Citizen Scientists Find a Star Escaping the Milky Way”Primordial Black Holes Could Kick Out Stars and Replace Them.
Primordial black holes formed during the earliest stages of the evolution of the universe. Their immense gravity may be playing havoc in stellar systems. They can transfer energy into wide binary systems disrupting their orbits. Like celestial bullies their disruption might lead to extreme outcomes though like the ejection of a star, only to be replaced by the black hole itself! A new paper studies the interactions of systems like these and looks at ways we might be able to detect them.
Continue reading “Primordial Black Holes Could Kick Out Stars and Replace Them.”Can Meteor Showers Be Dangerous to Spacecraft?
We’ve all read the advice, during a meteor shower there is no equipment needed. All you need to do is lay back and wonder at one of the most spectacular sights the universe has to offer. That’s about it though and while you lay back on a lounger and watch it really can be a wonderfully grounding and relaxing experience. Unless you happen to be on National TV and miss a meteor behind your head and just tell the world there’s nothing to see. Not that I’m bitter about that of course!
Continue reading “Can Meteor Showers Be Dangerous to Spacecraft?”NASA is Looking for a Commercial Partner to Save VIPER
Space exploration has led the world in that wonderful human ability to co-operate, alas history shows we don’t do it quite as much as we should! Recently NASA has put a request out to the wider community for ideas for their VIPER rover which was designed for lunar exploration. The exact purpose of VIPER was to hunt for volatile minerals in the polar regions of the Moon. The big question, will NASA get any takers?
Continue reading “NASA is Looking for a Commercial Partner to Save VIPER”How a Black Hole Could Eat a Neutron Star from the Inside Out
Primordial black holes are thought to have formed early in the evolution of the universe. None have been discovered yet but if they do exist and they may be plentiful, drifting almost invisibly through the cosmos, then they might account for dark matter. One possible way to search for them is to see the results of their meals and a bizarre new theory suggests low mass black holes could be captured by neutron stars and become trapped inside, devouring them from within. If these strange objects existed then it would make neutron stars less common in locations where black holes would proliferate as observed around Galactic centre.
Continue reading “How a Black Hole Could Eat a Neutron Star from the Inside Out”If Advanced Civilizations Using Quantum Communications, Is That Why We’ve Never Seen Them?
Establishing communication with an alien intelligence is one of the news items I, and I’m sure many others, long to see. Since we have started the search for advanced civilisations we have tried numerous ways to detect their transmissions but to date, unsuccessfully. A new paper suggests quantum communication may be the ideal method for interstellar communication. It has many benefits but the challenge is that it would require a receiver over 100km across to pick up a signal. Alas they know we don’t have that tech yet!
Continue reading “If Advanced Civilizations Using Quantum Communications, Is That Why We’ve Never Seen Them?”