Astronomy
Wet Asteroid’s Remains Found In Old Star That Could Have Hosted Habitable Planets
Remains of a water-filled asteroid are circling a dying white dwarf star, right now, about 150 light-years from us. The…
Masked Starbirth Mapped In New Milky Way Survey
Stars are born in private. Hidden in dust and gas clouds, these bright beacons in the universe slowly coalesce. All…
Future Supernova Is Surrounded By Hydrogen Clouds
The faint green glow you see in that picture is not an early harbringer of Hallowe'en spooks. It's hydrogen gas…
Carnival of Space #323
This week's Carnival of Space is hosted by Allen Versfeld at his Urban Astronomer blog. Click here to read Carnival…
This Week’s Penumbral Lunar Eclipse and the Astronomy of Columbus
You can always count on an eclipse to get you out of a delicate situation. Today is Columbus Day in…
Astronomers Stress the Need for Characterizing the Population of Nearby Potential Earth-Impactors
The meteor explosion over Russia in February 2013 raised concerns that even small asteroid impactors may wreak some havoc given…
Technicolor Auroras? A Reality Check
I shoot a lot of pictures of the northern lights. Just like the next photographer, I thrill to the striking…
Where Did the Earth’s Water Come From?
This question comes from Andrew Bumford and Steven Stormont. In a previous episode I’ve talked about how the entire Solar…
Tranquil Galaxy With Petals Shows Clues To A Violent Past
Across the universe, some 350 million light-years away, lies a galaxy that looks like it has white rose petals. Don't…
Baby Free-Floating Planet Found Alone, Away From A Star
The planetary world keeps getting stranger. Scientists have found free-floating planets -- drifting alone, away from stars -- before. But…