Space and astronomy news
Planetary nebulae are short-lived “leftovers” of sun-like stars. Most of these “star ghosts” only last—at most—about 25,000 years. Usually, their clouds of debris disperse so broadly that they fade out fairly quickly. However, there’s one that has lasted at least 70,000 years. That makes it a “grande dame” of planetary nebulae.
Continue reading “Astronomers Find the Oldest Planetary Nebula”
What’s the recipe for forming stars? Yep, lots of gas and dust. Galaxies rich in these materials get to make a lot of stars. When the supply runs out, star formation stops. That’s what’s happened in the galaxy SDSS J1448+1010, but there’s a twist. The galaxy didn’t stop making stars because it made so many it ran out of material. No, that happened because it merged with another galaxy. That action flung most of the available gas and dust out of the galaxy entirely. Essentially, the galaxy to went “dormant” and ceased star-forming operations.
Continue reading “A Merger Completely Shut Down Star Formation”
What do MINBAR, TARDIS, Cardassian Expansion, BoRG, DS9, Tatooines, and ACBAR all have in common? They’re names of astronomical surveys and software created by astronomers who say that science fiction (SF) influenced their careers. Those names are just one indicator of widespread interest in SF in the science community. It’s not surprising considering how many scientists (and science writers) grew up with the genre.
Continue reading “Science Fiction was an Inspiration for Many Professional Astronomers”
SpaceX’s Starlink satellite system has been in the news lately for both good and ill. The “Mega-constellation” of around 2,800 satellites added another 53 satellites to its roster just last week. But while it might one day provide high-speed internet for the whole of humanity, it is already causing a massive headache for one particular slice of humanity – astronomers. Starlink satellites are reflective due to the solar panels they need to power themselves.
Continue reading “With Better Communication, Astronomers and Satellites can co-Exist”
For over a century, astronomers have known that the Universe has been expanding since the Big Bang. For the first eight billion years, the expansion rate was relatively consistent since it was held back by the force of gravitation. However, thanks to missions like the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have since learned that roughly five billion years ago, the rate of expansion has been accelerating. This led to the widely-accepted theory that a mysterious force is behind the expansion (known as Dark Energy), while some insist that the force of gravity may have changed over time.
This is a contentious hypothesis since it means that Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity (which has been validated nine ways from Sunday) is wrong. But according to a new study by the international Dark Energy Survey (DES) Collaboration, the nature of gravity has remained the same throughout the entire history of the Universe. These findings come shortly before two next-generation space telescopes (Nancy Grace Roman and Euclid) are sent to space to conduct even more precise measurements of gravity and its role in cosmic evolution.
Continue reading “A New Study Confirms That Gravity has Remained Constant for the Entire age of the Universe”
In the search for extrasolar planets, astronomers and astrobiologists generally pursue a policy of “follow the water.” This comes down to searching for planets that orbit with a star’s circumsolar habitable zone (HZ), where conditions are warm enough that liquid water can flow on its surface. The reason is simple: water is the only known solvent capable of supporting life and is required by all life on Earth. However, since the 1970s, scientists have speculated that there may be a class of rocky planets in our Universe that are completely covered in water.
With the explosion in confirmed exoplanets, scientists have been eager to find examples of this type of planet, so they study them more closely. Thanks to an international team of researchers led by the Institute for Research on Exoplanets (iREx) at the Université de Montréal, an exoplanet orbiting within its system’s HZ was recently discovered that could be completely covered in deep oceans. This “ocean world” (aka. “Waterworld”) could reveal things about the nature of habitability when it is the subject of follow-up observations using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
Continue reading “Astronomers Find a Waterworld Planet With Deep Oceans in the Habitable Zone”
Protoplanetary disks—those nurseries around young stars where planets form—are filled with gas and dust. In particular, many show a lot of carbon monoxide gas. It’s a handy “tracer” to estimate the mass of a cloud, its composition, and even its temperature. It’s also easy to observe. However, astronomers think there should be more of it than they’re observing in many disks. And that prompted a question: where’s the rest of it?
Continue reading “Carbon Monoxide is Plentiful in Nebulae, but Then Disappears When Planets Form. Now we Know Where it Goes!”
Astrophotographer Judy Schmidt (aka. Geckzilla, SpaceGeck) is at it again! Earlier this month, she released a processed image of the Great Barred Spiral Galaxy (NGC 1365). The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) recently observed this iconic double-barred spiral galaxy, which resulted in the most-detailed look at this galaxy to date. This time, Schmidt shared a series of images via Twitter that provide a closer look at NGC 1365’s core region, a widefield view that shows the galaxy’s long arms, and lovely animation that shows the galaxy in near- and mid-infrared wavelengths.
Continue reading “Gaze Into the Heart of NGC 1365, Captured by Webb”
Northrop Grumman will partner with startup Firefly Aerospace to continue sending cargo to the International Space Station.
It’s truly a time of ‘crisis and opportunity’ out there in the spaceflight industry, as private startups carve out their niche, in a traditionally government-based environment. This was especially apparent last week, when aerospace giant Northrop Grumman stated that it will partner with the small space startup Firefly Aerospace to build the next generation of Antares rockets.
Continue reading “Firefly, Northrop Grumman to Redesign Antares”
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is designed to probe the farthest frontiers of the universe, but newly released images of Jupiter prove that the observatory can also bring fresh perspectives to more familiar celestial sights.
The infrared images reveal Jupiter’s polar auroras and its faint rings as well as two of its moons — plus some galaxies in the far background. The planet’s Great Red Spot is there as well, but because it’s seen through three of JWST’s specialized filters, it looks white rather than red.
JWST’s new perspective should give scientists a better sense of how the complex Jupiter system is put together.
Continue reading “Webb Telescope Sees Jupiter and Its Auroras in a New Light”