The James Webb Space Telescope is the most powerful telescope ever launched into space. That power has led to a string of observational successes: ancient galaxies, obscured star-forming regions, and an exoplanet atmosphere. Now the telescope has identified its first exoplanet, and it’s a rocky planet the same size as Earth.
Continue reading “The Webb Has Confirmed its First Exoplanet, and it’s the Same Size as Earth.”Astronomers use the World's Biggest Radio Telescope to map new Features of the Milky Way
Despite everything astronomers have learned about the nature and structure of galaxies, there are still mysteries about the Milky Way. The reason for this is simple: since we are embedded in the Milky Way’s disk, we have difficulty mapping it and observing it as a whole. It’s also very challenging to observe the center of the galaxy, what lies beyond it, and features in the disk itself because of all the gas and dust between stars- the Interstellar Medium (ISM). However, by observing the Milky Way in the non-visible spectrum (radio, x-ray, gamma-ray, etc.), astronomers can see more of what’s out there.
There’s also the spectral line that corresponds to the emission frequency (1420 MHz) of cold neutral hydrogen gas (HI), which makes up the majority of the ISM. Using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) – the most powerful radio telescope in the world near Guizhou, China – a team of scientists located more than 500 new faint pulsars. During the survey, the team simultaneously recorded the spectral line data with high spectral and spatial resolution, making it an extremely valuable resource for studying the structure of the Milky Way Galaxy and the life cycle of its stars.
Continue reading “Astronomers use the World's Biggest Radio Telescope to map new Features of the Milky Way”Game of Probes: The First Probe Sent to Another Civilization Won’t Be the First to Arrive
If we ever detect an Extraterrestrial Civilization (ETC) and start communicating with them, the messages could take years, decades, or even centuries to travel back and forth. We face a challenging 49-minute long delay just communicating with the Juno spacecraft orbiting Jupiter, and that’s well within our Solar System. Communicating with an ETC that’s hundreds of light-years away or even further is a daunting task.
It’s even worse if we’re sending probes.
Continue reading “Game of Probes: The First Probe Sent to Another Civilization Won’t Be the First to Arrive”Will Pluto finally answer, ‘Are we alone?’
We previously examined how Neptune’s largest moon, Triton, could answer the longstanding question: Are we alone? With its nitrogen geysers discovered by NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft, possible interior ocean, and lack of craters, Triton could be geologically active, which makes it an excellent celestial body for future astrobiology missions. But Triton isn’t the only place on the edge of the solar system which garners interest for finding life beyond Earth, as one of the most familiar and well-known (former) planets also exhibits evidence of recent geological activity and crater-less surface features. This is everyone’s favorite dwarf planet, Pluto, which like Triton has only been visited by one spacecraft, this one being NASA’s New Horizons, in 2015. But even with only one visitation, we discovered so much about Pluto, and what it might be hiding, as well.
Continue reading “Will Pluto finally answer, ‘Are we alone?’”“To Boldy Go”: The Nichelle Nichols Foundation Continues Actress’ Legacy of Inspiration
Continue reading ““To Boldy Go”: The Nichelle Nichols Foundation Continues Actress’ Legacy of Inspiration”“Science is not a boy’s game, it’s not a girl’s game. It’s everyone’s game. It’s about where we are and where we’re going. Space travel benefits us here on Earth. And we ain’t stopped yet. There’s more exploration to come.”
–Nichelle Nichols (1932-2022)
How a Rotating Universe Makes Time Travel Possible
It turns out that time travel into the past is actually relatively easy. All you need to do is make the universe rotate.
Continue reading “How a Rotating Universe Makes Time Travel Possible”This Star is Blasting Out a Concentrated Jet of Material at 500 km/s
MWC 349A is a star about 3,900 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus. It’s huge, about 38 times as massive as the Sun. It’s actually a binary star and may even be a triple star. It’s an oddball and one of the brightest sources of radio emission in the sky.
One of the star’s unusual features is its natural maser. MWC 349A’s natural maser played a central role in a new discovery: the young star emits a blistering jet of material travelling at 500 km/sec (310 m/sec.) That discovery could help astronomers understand massive stars and their complexity.
Continue reading “This Star is Blasting Out a Concentrated Jet of Material at 500 km/s”The James Webb Links Modern Green Pea Galaxies to Ancient Galaxies in the Cosmic Dawn
When the James Webb Space Telescope lifted off from Earth on Christmas Day in 2021, it carried a lot of expectations with it. One of its scientific goals is to seek the light from the first galaxies in the Universe and to study how galaxies form and evolve.
A new paper shows that the JWST is doing just that and has found a link between the first galaxies and rare galaxies in our backyard that astronomers call “Green Pea” galaxies.
Continue reading “The James Webb Links Modern Green Pea Galaxies to Ancient Galaxies in the Cosmic Dawn”Newly Found Stars are Technically in the Milky Way, but They’re Halfway to Andromeda
We all know our galaxy, the Milky Way, is big. Really big. But, exactly how far out does it extend? Where are the outer limits? Astronomers aren’t exactly sure, precisely. However, a study of galaxies in the Virgo Cluster accidentally turned up a population of stars in the outer part of the Milky Way. They may answer those questions.
Continue reading “Newly Found Stars are Technically in the Milky Way, but They’re Halfway to Andromeda”Blue Straggler Stars are Weird
All stars follow a particular path in their lives once they start fusing hydrogen. As they live they steadily get brighter and hotter until they turn to fusing other elements. Every star follows this exact same path…except the blue straggler stars.
Continue reading “Blue Straggler Stars are Weird”