Space and astronomy news
Natural disasters are, unfortunately, something that we must contend with. For example, a flash flood can plunge towns into unexpected chaos, a hurricane strike can suddenly devastate an entire region and science has found evidence of an ancient asteroid impact that curtailed the rein of the dinosaurs by affecting climate across our planet. But these …
Continue reading “Astrophoto: Centaurus A by Johannes Schedler”
Mike Salway took this picture of Crux and Centaurus on the 9th July, 2005 from Kulnura, on the Central Coast of NSW, Australia. This image was taken with a Sony Cybershot 5.1mp digicamthe and is a result of 5 images @30s each (ISO400).
Do you have photos you’d like to share? Post them to the Universe Today astrophotography forum or email them to me directly, and I might feature one in Universe Today.
About half a century ago, astronomers theorized that the Solar System is situated in a low-density hot gas environment. This hot gas emits soft X-rays that displace the dust in the local interstellar medium (ISM), creating what is known as the Local Hot Bubble (LHB). This theory arose to explain the ubiquitous soft X-ray background …
Continue reading “eROSITA All-Sky Survey Takes the Local Hot Bubble’s Temperature”
If you want to pinpoint your place in the Universe, start with your cosmic address. You live on Earth->Solar System->Milky Way Galaxy->Local Cluster->Virgo Cluster->Virgo Supercluster->Laniakea. Thanks to new deep sky surveys, astronomers now think all those places are part of an even bigger cosmic structure in the “neighborhood” called The Shapley Concentration.
When a massive star explodes as a supernova, it does more than release an extraordinary amount of energy. Supernovae explosions are responsible for creating some of the heavy elements, including iron, which is blasted out into space by the explosion. On Earth, there are two accumulations of the iron isotope Fe60 in sea-floor sediments that …
Continue reading “How a Nearby Supernova Left its Mark on Earth Life”
Black holes often appear in science fiction movies, largely because elements of their existence are still a mystery. They have fascinating impacts on the surrounding region of space too with distortions in space and time high on the list. A team of astronomers have found a supermassive black hole with twin jets blasting out an …
Continue reading “Astronomers Find the Longest Black Hole Jets Ever Seen”
“Today’s science fiction is tomorrow’s science fact.” This quote, attributed to Isaac Asimov, captures science’s intricate relationship with science fiction. And it is hardly a one-way relationship. Whereas science fiction is constantly evolving to reflect new scientific discoveries and theories, science itself has a long history of drawing inspiration from the works of visionary authors, …
Continue reading “New Study Examines the Links Between Science Fiction and Astronomy”
There’s a population of planets that drifts through space untethered to any stars. They’re called rogue planets or free-floating planets (FFPs.) Some FFPs form as loners, never having enjoyed the company of a star. But most are ejected from solar systems somehow, and there are different ways that can happen. One researcher set out to …
Continue reading “Where Are All These Rogue Planets Coming From?”
An international team of astronomers observed the quasar J1114 in the X-ray band for the first time, revealing things about its inner workings and quasars they shape their host galaxies.
A team from the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS) has revealed a new picture of the Milky Way’s morphology.