Space and astronomy news
The Milky Way Galaxy has its share of oddities, from black holes and magnetars to luminous blue variable stars and strange new worlds. But, have you ever heard of a “black widow binary?” Not exactly an easy name to wrap your head around, especially if you’re afraid of spiders. But, these things actually exist in our galaxy and they’re fascinating.
Continue reading “A Pulsar and Star are Orbiting Each Other Every 62 Minutes. The Fastest “Black Widow” Binary Ever Seen”
One of the great things about science is that it builds on itself over time. Data collected decades ago is still valid and helps scientists spot trends that would otherwise be lost in the flurry of new data they are trying to collect. And sometimes, that data holds something interesting. Such is the case when a group of scientists took a look at the infrared data of Neptune’s atmosphere and found not one but two weird changes happening.
Continue reading “Neptune’s Temperature is Behaving Strangely”
We’ve discovered thousands of exoplanets and are likely to find many thousands more of them. While the wide variety of planets we’ve found are scientifically interesting in their own right, what lurks behind all these discoveries is the search for a world that could harbour life.
But to sort the potentially habitable worlds from all the others, we need a way to filter through all of the exoplanets we keep discovering. We know that rocky worlds like Earth are the best places to look for habitable conditions, but according to a new study, age matters. We should pay special attention to young rocky worlds.
Why? Because youthful terrestrial planets have an internal heat source that’s critical for life.
Continue reading “The Younger the Planet, the More Likely it is to be Habitable”
Humans have long dreamed of setting foot on Mars or beyond, and the advances by companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin means perhaps the dream could be closer than ever to becoming reality. But as it stands now, sending astronauts on long-duration missions to other worlds would be impossible because of the hazardous radiation levels in space, outside of Earth’s protective magnetic field.
However, a new concept offers hope on the horizon, and the researchers behind it have received funding from the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program to build a prototype. Called CREW HaT, the proposal takes advantage of the latest advances in superconducting magnet technology to effectively shield spacecraft – and the astronauts inside — from harmful space radiation.
Continue reading “A Magnetic Bubble Could Protect Astronauts From Dangerous Space Radiation”
In the coming decade, NASA plans to conduct the first crewed missions to Mars. Whereas robotic missions have provided images of the Martian surface for decades, this will be the first time human beings experience the Red Planet directly. In anticipation of these missions, NASA and its commercial partners (Epic Games and Buendea) have come together with HeroX – the leading platform for crowdsourced solutions – to launch the NASA MarsXR Challenge.
Continue reading “NASA is Looking for Ideas on How to Simulate Missions to Mars!”
Want to take a look at some black hole binary systems? Well then NASA’s got your back with this stunning visual showing 22 confirmed systems.
Continue reading “NASA Releases a Simulation of 22 Known Black Hole Binary Systems”
Lunar exploration has advanced considerably in the last two decades, with more countries sending robotic orbiters, landers, and rovers to the surface than ever before. These missions have taught us much about the Moon’s geological evolution, composition, environment, and resources. In a few years, this information will prove vital as NASA sends the first astronauts to the Moon since the Apollo Era (as part of the Artemis Program). They will be followed by many more crewed missions, which will eventually lead to the creation of lunar bases.
Alas, there is still a lot that we still need to know before regular, long-duration missions to the Moon can be conducted. To help fill in the gaps in our knowledge, HeroX launched the “Honey, I Shrunk the NASA Payload, the Sequel” Challenge in September 2020. With up to $800,000 in prizes, this competition sought innovative miniature payload designs that could collect information about the lunar environment and its potential resources. The competition’s winners were announced today during the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium Spring meeting.
Continue reading “NASA Announces the Winners of its Second Payload Challenge!”
Spin Google Earth around until you’re looking down at the nation of Oman. Ancient rock in that country is the backdrop for a new study with consequences for our search for life. Water reacts with this rock to produce hydrogen, which could be an energy source for bacteria. Could this happen on other worlds?
Continue reading “Hydrogen Gas Can Seep Through Rock Providing Food to Bacteria. Another Place to Look for Life On Other Worlds.”
The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is providing scientists a look at what is on the road ahead for the Perseverance rover. And acting as a scout, Ingenuity can tell the team what places to avoid, too.
Continue reading “Ingenuity is now Scouting Ahead of Perseverance, Helping it Navigate Difficult Terrain”
Despite decades of study, black holes remain one of the most powerful and mysterious celestial objects ever studied. Because of the extreme gravitational forces involved, nothing can escape the surface of a black hole (including light). As a result, the study of these objects has traditionally been confined to observing their influence on objects and spacetime in their vicinity. It was not until 2019 that the first image of a black hole was captured by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT).
This feat was made possible thanks to a technique known as Very-Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), which allowed scientists to see the bright ring surrounding the supermassive black hole (SMBH) at the center of the M87 galaxy. A new study by an international team of astronomers has shown how a space-based interferometry mission could provide reveal even more secrets hiding within the veil of a black hole’s event horizon!
Continue reading “A Space Telescope Could Reveal a Black Hole's Photon Ring”