Universe Today

June 26, 2023June 26, 2023 by Brian Koberlein

Watching the Watchers With Nancy Grace Roman

The Earth Transit Zone, where distant observers could see the Earth pass in front of the Sun. Credit: Axel Quetz (MPIA) / Axel Mellinger, Central Michigan University

Astronomers are getting better at gathering data about exoplanets. We have discovered thousands of them, measuring their mass, size, and orbital parameters, and we are starting to measure other aspects such as their temperature and atmospheric composition. Of course, the big hope is that in time we will discover the presence of life on some of these distant worlds, and perhaps even find evidence of an alien civilization. And if there are aliens out there, it’s reasonable to assume they might be looking for us as well. A new study proposes one way we might find each other.

June 25, 2023June 25, 2023 by Carolyn Collins Petersen

Supervillains Take Note. Here’s a New Way to Destroy a Star

Astronomers studying a powerful gamma-ray burst (GRB) with the International Gemini Observatory may have observed a never-before-seen way to destroy a star. Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/M. Garlick/M. Zamani

If you’re an evil genius supervillain looking to freak out your enemy with a big messy space kablooie, here’s a novel way to do it. Smack a couple of ancient star remnants together right in front of your nemesis. The result will give you a gratifyingly huge, bright explosion plus a bonus gamma-ray burst visible across the Universe. And, it’ll scare everybody into doing your evil bidding.

June 25, 2023June 25, 2023 by Brian Koberlein

Another Key Amino Acid Found in Space: Tryptophan

Tryptophan found in the nebula IC348. Credit: Jorge Rebolo-Iglesias/NASA/Spitzer Space Telescope

Astrochemistry is the study of how molecules can form and react in space. Its roots trace back to the 1800s when astronomers such as William Wollaston and Joseph von Fraunhofer began identifying atomic elements from the spectral lines of the Sun. But it wasn’t until recent decades that the field began to mature.

June 25, 2023June 25, 2023 by Laurence Tognetti

The Clouds of Venus Could Support Life

Image of Venus taken by NASA’s Pioneer-Venus Orbiter in 1979. (Credit: NASA)

A recent study published in Astrobiology examines the likelihood of the planet Venus being able to support life within the thick cloud layer that envelopes it. This study holds the potential to help us better understand how life could exist under the intense Venusian conditions, as discussions within the scientific community about whether life exists on the second planet from the Sun continue to burn hotter than Venus itself.

June 24, 2023June 24, 2023 by Brian Koberlein

Extending Earth's Internet to Mars With Orbital Data Servers

How an interplanetary internet might work. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

You’ve done it. After years of effort and training, sacrifice, and pain, you become an astronaut and have finally set foot on Mars. Time to post your triumph on TikTok for that sweet social media cred. If only you can get a signal.

June 24, 2023June 24, 2023 by Scott Alan Johnston

Early Black Holes Were Bigger Than We Thought

Every large galaxy in the nearby universe contains a supermassive black hole at its core. The mass of those black holes seems to have a relationship to the mass of the host galaxies themselves. But estimating the masses of more distant supermassive black holes is challenging. Astronomers extrapolate from what we know about nearby galaxies to estimate distant black hole masses, but it’s not a perfectly accurate measurement.

An astrophysicist at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Joseph Simon, recently proposed that there might be a better way to measure black hole mass, and his model indicates that early black holes may be much larger than other predictions suggest.

June 24, 2023June 24, 2023 by Brian Koberlein

There Could Be Captured Planets in the Oort Cloud

An icy planet distantly orbiting its star. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Our solar system has had a chaotic past. Earth and the other planets are now in stable orbits, but while they were forming they experienced drastic location shifts. Jupiter was likely much closer to the Sun than it is now, and its shift not only shifted other planets but also cleared the solar system of debris, tossing much of it to the Oort Cloud.

June 23, 2023June 23, 2023 by Carolyn Collins Petersen

Mind-Blowing Animation Shows What the World Would Look Like If You Could See Carbon Dioxide Emissions

A map of carbon dioxide in atmosphere from various sources during 2021. CourtesyNASA's Scientific Visualization Studio — A map of carbon dioxide in atmosphere over North America from various sources during 2021. CourtesyNASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

It’s a strange, eerie-looking place. Carbon dioxide gas appears… and disappears in cycles and bursts throughout the year. It’s how our planet would look if we could detect carbon dioxide (CO₂) with our eyes. Scientists at NASA’s Global Modeling and Assimilation Office made computer animations of its presence in our atmosphere. Those videos show an almost-alien view of Earth under the influence of this gas.

June 23, 2023June 23, 2023 by Andy Tomaswick

The Earth’s Rotational Pole has Shifted from All the Groundwater We’ve Pumped Out

Earth is, in many ways, a water world. Around two-thirds of its surface is covered in water, and the oceans that provide that cover make up over 96% of all water on Earth, according to the US Geological Survey. Glaciers and ice caps make up another 1.74%, but groundwater is the third most plentiful source at 1.69% of all water available on Earth. That’s an astonishing 23.4 million cubic kilometers of the stuff, dwarfing the mere 176,000 cubic kilometers contained in all the lakes in the world. But that does not mean the total amount of groundwater is unlimited, and removing it can have a lasting impact on more than just the people who use it for bathing and drinking. A new study points to how humans pumping out groundwater impacts Earth’s rotation.

June 23, 2023June 23, 2023 by Brian Koberlein

Nancy Grace Roman Could Detect Supermassive Dark Stars

Artist view dark neutron star. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab

The first stars of the universe were very different than the stars we see today. They were made purely of hydrogen and helium, without heavier elements to help them generate energy in their core. As a result, they were likely hundreds of times more massive than the Sun. But some of the first stars may have been even stranger. In the early universe, dark matter could have been more concentrated than it is now, and it may have powered strange stellar objects known as dark stars.