Universe Today

August 18, 2021August 18, 2021 by Andy Tomaswick

Ingenuity Sees Perseverance From Above

Where’s Waldo (or Where’s Wally) is a very popular book series for all ages. One way to make it potentially more interesting is to adapt it to interplanetary exploration by searching for a Martian rover in a picture taken from a Martian helicopter. Ingenuity took a picture on its eleventh flight that would be a worthy addition to any interplanetary search game – in this image, the goal is to find Perseverance.

August 18, 2021August 16, 2021 by Paul M. Sutter

Astronomy Jargon 101: Luminosity

Artist's impression of a lava world. The exoplanet K2-141b is so close to its host star that it likely has magma oceans and surface temperatures over 3000 degrees. It's possible water is mixed in with the magma. c. ESO

In this series we are exploring the weird and wonderful world of astronomy jargon! You’ll soon see what we’re talking about this week: luminosity!

August 17, 2021August 17, 2021 by Matt Williams

2024 Artemis Landings Could Slip Because of a Lack of Spacesuits. Musk Offers to Develop Them

Artist's illustration of the new spacesuit NASA is designing for Artemis astronauts. It's called the xEMU,, or Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit. Image Credit: NASA

In March of 2019, NASA was directed to develop all the necessary equipment and planning to send astronauts back to the Moon by 2024. This plan, officially named Project Artemis, was part of an agency-wide shakeup designed to ensure that the long-awaited return to the Moon takes place sooner than NASA had originally planned. In accordance with their “Moon to Mars” framework, NASA hoped to assemble the Lunar Gateway first, then land astronauts on the surface by 2028.

Unfortunately, this ambitious proposal has led to all sorts of complications and forced NASA to shift certain priorities. Most recently, NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) submitted a report that indicated that their new Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Units (xEMU) spacesuits will not be ready in time. The resulting delay has prompted Elon Musk to offer the services of SpaceX to expedite the spacesuit’s development and get Artemis back on schedule.

August 17, 2021August 17, 2021 by Andy Tomaswick

Who was Giuseppe ‘Bepi’ Colombo and why Does he Have a Spacecraft Named After him?

Astronomers have an excellent habit of naming large projects after deserving contributors to their field. From Nancy Grace Roman to Edwin Hubble, some of the biggest missions are named after space exploration pioneers. When ESA and JAXA sat down to figure out a name for their new Mercury probe, they would have come across an important name early in their research – Giuseppe “Bepi” Colombo – the man who helped plan the Mariner 10 Mercury mission.

August 17, 2021August 16, 2021 by Paul M. Sutter

Astronomy Jargon 101: Hertzsprung–Russell (HR) diagram

The Hertzspirg-Russel diagram, showing the relation between star's color, AM. luminosity, and temperature. Credit: astronomy.starrynight.com

In this series we are exploring the weird and wonderful world of astronomy jargon! You’ll soon have a better way to categorize today’s topic: the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram!

August 16, 2021March 24, 2022 by Matt Williams

A new Assessment of the World’s Climate is out. The News Isn’t Good

In 2014, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its Fifth Assessment Report (AR5). As with previous reports, AR5 contained the latest findings of Climate Change experts from all relevant disciplines, as well as projections about the near future. In short, the AR5 and its predecessors were assessments of the impact anthropogenic Climate Change was having on the planet and how we could avoid worst-case scenarios.

On Aug. 9^th, 2021, the IPCC released a report titled Climate Change 2021: the Physical Science Basis. Combining the latest advances in climate science and multiple lines of evidence, this first report paints a rather bleak picture of the remainder of the 21^st century. At the same time, it presents a call to action and shows how mitigation strategies and reducing greenhouse gas emissions will ensure a better future for all.

August 16, 2021August 16, 2021 by Nancy Atkinson

Can you Last a Year on Mars? NASA is Recruiting Crew for a Year-Long Analog Mission

Want to try living on Mars, but not sure you want to experience the nine-month flight time to get there? NASA is looking for applicants to serve as crew members for a one-year analog mission in a habitat to simulate life on the Red Planet, beginning in Fall 2022. All you have to do is get to Houston, Texas, and you’ll even get paid.

August 16, 2021 by Paul M. Sutter

Astronomy Jargon 101: Doppler Shift

In this series we are exploring the weird and wonderful world of astronomy jargon! Watch out for today’s topic: doppler shift!

August 16, 2021August 16, 2021 by Matt Williams

Did the Moon Ever Have a Magnetosphere?

In a few years, NASA will be sending astronauts to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo Era (1969-1972). As part of the Artemis Program, the long-term goal is to create the necessary infrastructure for a “sustained program of lunar exploration.” The opportunities this will present for lunar research are profound and will likely result in new discoveries about the formation and evolution of the Moon.

In particular, scientists are hoping to investigate the long-standing mystery of whether or not the Moon had a magnetosphere. In anticipation of what scientists might find, an international team of geophysicists led by the University of Rochester examined samples of lunar material brought back by the Apollo astronauts. Based on the composition of these samples, the team determined that the Moon’s dynamo was short-lived.

August 15, 2021August 15, 2021 by Brian Koberlein

If the First Black Holes Collapsed Directly, Could we Detect Radio Signals From Those Moments?

This artist’s impression shows a possible seed for the formation of a supermassive black hole. Credit: NASA/CXC/M. Weiss

The universe is littered with supermassive black holes. There’s one a mere 30,000 light-years away in the center of the Milky Way. Most galaxies have one, and some of them are more massive than a billion stars. We know that many supermassive black holes formed early in the universe. For example, the quasar TON 618 is powered by a 66 billion solar mass black hole. Since its light travels nearly 11 billion years to reach us, TON 618 was already huge when the universe was just a few billion years old. So how did these black holes grow so massive so quickly?