Universe Today
Book Review: A History of the Solar System
Can We Get Space Madness?
If science fiction has taught us anything, it's that nothing makes a person go crazier than the harsh isolation of deep space. Will we all go crazy out there, among the stars?
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Boo! A Black Moon Halloween Weekend
This Halloween weekend's top astronomical event features something that you won't see in the sky: a Black Moon.
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How Many Planets are There in the Galaxy?
Humans have wondered how many planets could exist within our Galaxy, and some of our best estimates say there could be ten of billions!
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Seasonal Change On Titan Is Dynamic Business
At a joint meeting in Pasadena, California last week, European and American scientists were treated to some of the latest findings about Saturn's moon Titan.
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What are Molecules?
Molecules are the basic buildings blocks of life and matter, and our understanding of them has evolved considerably over time.
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First Cygnus Cargo Ship from Virginia in Two Years Docks at Space Station
What is a Magnetic Field?
Magnetic fields are fascinating things. They are intrinsic to Iron magnets, but can also be generated by electrical circuits and even planets!
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MIT Claims they are Programming Humanoid Robots to help Explore Mars. But we all Know It's Cylons!
MIT and other institutions are programming NASA's R5 robot to help astronauts explore Mars and other worlds beyond!
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Schiaparelli is Gone. Smashed on the surface of Mars
It appears that Europe's Schiaparelli Mars lander crashed-landed on the planet's surface and may have exploded.
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Astronomers Think They Know Where Rosetta's Comet Came From
A new study reveals that Rosetta's Comet likely spent billions of years chilling in the Kuiper Belt before chance interactions with Neptune and Jupiter wrangled it into the inner Solar System.
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Weekly Space Hangout - October 21, 2016: Dr. Voula Saridakis of @histastro & Morgan is a Tilted Sun
Mars' Moon Deimos
The smaller of Mars' two moons - Deimos - is a strange mysterious satellite. And while its origins are still not clear, future missions might remedy that!
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No, There Won't Be 15 Days of Darkness in November. It's Another Stupid Hoax.
Don't bother stocking up on candles. There won't be 15 days of darkness in November.
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Carnival of Space #479
What is a Nova?
We've talked about supernovae plenty of times, but what about just regular, plain old novae? What are they, and how are they different from the star destroying explosions we know and love?
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Here Are the Last Images We'll Ever See From Rosetta
Forget Mars, Now You Can Kickstart an Antimatter Propulsion System to Another Star!
Dr, Gerald Jackson and Hbar Technologies LLC are looking to crowdsource the creation of the world's first antimatter engine!
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Either Stars are Strange, or There Are 234 Aliens Trying to Contact Us
Astronomers have found 234 stars that are acting suspiciously like signals sent by extra-terrestrials.
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Europe's Orbiter is Safely at Mars, but No Word from the Lander
After a long journey, the ExoMars 2016 orbiter is safe and doing well, but the state of the lander is unknown.
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Astronomy Cast Ep. 425: Naming Spacecraft
Watch Live: ExoMars Arrival and Landing
Latest Results from New Horizons: Clouds on Pluto, Landslides on Charon
What Is an Earthquake?
Earthquakes are a regular part of our planet's geological activity, with over 3 million happening a year. But to human societies, they are a powerful force of nature!
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What Are Cosmic Voids?
We talked about the biggest structures in the Universe, but what about the opposite? The biggest empty spaces in the Universe, the cosmic voids that separate the clusters of galaxies.
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Photobomb: The Moon Occults Aldebaran Wednesday
How about that Hunter's Supermoon this past weekend, huh? Follow that Moon, as it's meeting up with the Hyades again this week, and occults (passes in front of) Aldebaran Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.
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Antares 'Return to Flight' Blastoff Soars to Stellar Success
NASA WALLOPS FLIGHT FACILITY, VA - The 'Return to Flight' blastoff of Orbital ATK's upgraded Antares rocket soared to a stellar success this evening, Oct. 17, on a space station bound mission to stock the orbiting outpost with two and a half tons of science and supplies.
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What is Binding Energy?
When it comes to everything from stellar objects to atoms and chemical compounds, binding energy is the measure of what holds it together - and what would be needed to split it apart.
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Antares Return to Flight Set for Magnificent Monday Night Launch - Watch Live
NASA WALLOPS FLIGHT FACILITY, VA - The 'Return to Flight' blastoff of Orbital ATK's upgraded Antares rocket will have to wait one more day to come to fruition with a magnificent Monday night launch - after a technical scrub was called this afternoon, Oct. 16, at NASA's Virginia launch base due to a faulty cable.
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What are Volcanoes?
Volcanoes are a powerful force of nature, and can be found all over the Solar System. In addition to hot lava, they also spew forth cold water and ice.
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What is the Wettest Place on Earth?
Several different locations around the world have been called the "wettest place on Earth" at one time or another. Here are some of the top contenders!
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The Moon Is Getting Slammed Way More Than We Thought
A new study of the current rate of meteoroid impacts on the Moon suggests that those iconic astronaut boot prints we thought would be around for 2 million years may instead disappear after something like 80,000!
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Antares Raised to Launch Position for Sunday Night Launch to ISS
After a two year stand down, an upgraded commercial Antares rocket was rolled out to the NASA Wallops launch pad on Virginia's eastern shore and raised to its launch position today in anticipation of a spectacular Sunday night liftoff, Oct. 16, to the International Space Station (ISS) on a critical resupply mission for NASA.
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The Hidden Glaciers Of Mars
New photos taken by the Mars Express probe reveal evidence of buried glaciers in a region that separates the planet's southern highlands and the northern lowlands.
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The Universe's Galaxy Population Just Grew Tenfold
New research from a team of UK scientists shows how the early Universe had 10 times more galaxies than previously thought!
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Weekly Space Hangout - October 14, 2016: Europe Crashes the Mars Party
Astronomy Cast Ep. 424: Lightning
We Land on Mars in Just 2 days!
An Exoplanet With Huge Rings Intrigues
A new study by a team of researchers has shed further light on J1407b, a distant exoplanet that is believed to have a ring system 100 times as big as Saturn's
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Exclusive Photos Of The Recently Found 30-Ton Argentine Meteorite
Shouldn't We Fix the Earth First?
Fraser gives 5 answers to the question, "why should we explore space when we have so many problems here on Earth?"
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Carnival of Space #478
This Weekend: A Hunter's Full Moon Kicks Off Supermoon Season
Ready for some lunar action of proxigean proportions? This weekend's Full Moon ushers in that most (infamous?) of internet ready cultural memes: that of the Supermoon. This moniker stands above the Blood, Mini, and Full Moons both Black and Blue as the Full Moon of the year that folks can't seem to get enough of, and astronomers love to hate.
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Opportunity Blazes Through 4500 Sunsets on Mars and Gullies are Yet to Come!
The longest living Martian rover ever - Opportunity - has just surpassed another unfathomable milestone - 4500 Sols (or days) exploring the Red Planet !! That's 50 times beyond her "warrantied" life expectancy of merely 90 Sols.
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A New Dwarf Planet Joins The Solar System Family
Relying on data collected by the Dark Energy Survey, astronomers have found evidence of a new dwarf planet that is the farthest object from our Sun to date.
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Turns out Proxima Centauri is Strikingly Similar to our Sun
Contrary to what we previously though, Proxima Centauri has some striking similarities to our Sun, which includes a solar cycle
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President Obama Puts US All In For Mars
President Obama has always been a strong supporter of science, and now he has reaffirmed his support for a mission to Mars.
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SpaceX's Space Coast Launch Facilities Escape Hurricane Matthew's Wrath, May Resume Launches this Year
SpaceX's key launch facilities on the Florida Space Coast escaped the wrath of Hurricane Matthew's 100 mph wind gusts late last week, suffering only some exterior damage to the satellite processing building, a company spokesman confirmed to Universe Today.
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X-Rays Are Coming From The Dark Side of Venus
A new study takes a look at observational evidence obtained about Venus during its 2012 transit of the Sun, which shows unexpected x-rays coming from the planet
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How Do Supernovae Fail?
You know what's scarier than a supernova? A supernova that fails, imploding into a black hole, vanishing from the Universe.
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