Universe Today

November 30, 2019December 9, 2019 by Matt Williams

There’s Now an Operational Radio Telescope on the Far Side of the Moon

Diagram of the Chang'e-4s mission architecture. Credit: Planetary Society/CSNA-LESEC

The Chang’e-4 mission, the fourth installment in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, has made some significant achievements since it launched in December of 2018. In January of 2019, the mission lander and its Yutu 2 (Jade Rabbit 2) rover became the first robotic explorers to achieve a soft landing on the far side of the Moon. Around the same time, it became the first mission to grow plants on the Moon (with mixed results).

In the latest development, the Netherlands-China Low Frequency Explorer (NCLE) commenced operations after a year of orbiting the Moon. This instrument was mounted on the Queqiao communications satellite and consists of three 5-meter (16.4 ft) long monopole antennas that are sensitive to radio frequencies in the 80 kHz – 80 MHz range. With this instrument now active, Chang’e-4 has now entered into the next phase of its mission.

November 29, 2019December 3, 2019 by Matt Williams

Interstellar Comet Borisov is About to Make its Closest Approach to Earth

Left: A new image of the interstellar comet 2l/Borisov. Right: A composite image of the comet with a photo of the Earth to show scale. (Pieter van Dokkum, Cheng-Han Hsieh, Shany Danieli, Gregory Laughlin)

On August 30th, 2019, astronomers with NASA, the ESA, and the International Scientific Optical Network (ISON) announced the detection of the interstellar comet C/2019 Q4 (2I/Borisov). News of the object was met with a great deal of excitement since it was only the second interstellar object to be detected by astronomers – the first being the mysterious object known as ‘Oumuamua (which astronomers are still unsure about)!

After a lot of waiting and several follow-up observations, 2I/Borisov is about to make its closest approach to Earth. To mark the occasion, a team of astronomers and physicists from Yale University captured a close-up image of the comet that is the clearest yet! This image shows the comet forming a tail as it gets closer to the Sun and even allowed astronomers to measure how long it has grown.

November 28, 2019November 28, 2019 by Evan Gough

Astronomers Are About to Detect the Light from the Very First Stars in the Universe

The Murchison Widefield Array radio telescope in remote Western Australia. Brown University.

A team of scientists working with the Murchison Widefield Array (WMA) radio telescope are trying to find the signal from the Universe’s first stars. Those first stars formed after the Universe’s Dark Ages. To find their first light, the researchers are looking for the signal from neutral hydrogen, the gas that dominated the Universe after the Dark Ages.

November 27, 2019November 27, 2019 by Evan Gough

When Martian Storms Really Get Going, they Create Towers of Dust 80 Kilometers High

The yellow-white cloud in the bottom-center of this image is a Mars "dust tower" - a concentrated cloud of dust that can be lofted dozens of miles above the surface. The blue-white plumes are water vapor clouds. This image was taken on Nov. 30, 2010, by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

When a huge dust storm on Mars—like the one in 2018—reaches its full power, it can turn into a globe-bestriding colossus. This happens regularly on Mars, and these storms usually start out as a series of smaller, runaway storms. NASA scientists say that these storms can spawn massive towers of Martian dust that reach 80 km high.

And that phenomenon might help explain how Mars lost its water.

November 27, 2019November 27, 2019 by Evan Gough

NASA Supercomputer Simulates the Weather on Mars

A screenshot of a NASA simulation of Martian water-ice clouds. Image Credit: NASA/Ames Research Center/D. Ellsworth

The Martian atmosphere is a lot different than Earth’s. It’s over 95% carbon dioxide, and contains only trace amounts of oxygen and water vapor. But that trace amount of water vapor still plays a pronounced role in the climate.

November 27, 2019November 28, 2019 by Susie Murph

Weekly Space Hangout: November 27, 2019 – Dylan O’Donnell, Director of DNA Digital and zen10 Australia

Hosts: Fraser Cain (universetoday.com / @fcain)

Dr. Kimberly Cartier (KimberlyCartier.org / @AstroKimCartier )

Allen Versfeld (https://www.urban-astronomer.com/ / @uastronomer)

Veranika Klimovich ( @VeronikaSpace)

November 26, 2019November 26, 2019 by Evan Gough

Finally! Scientists Find a Place on Earth with Liquid Water But No Life

Hyperacid, hypersaline and hot ponds in the geothermal field of Dallol (Ethiopia). Despite the presence of liquid water, this multi-extreme system does not allow the development of life, according to a new study. The yellow-greenish colour is due to the presence of reduced iron. Image Credit: Puri López-García

In recent years research into extremophiles has captured the interest of astrobiologists. The discovery of lifeforms in some of Earth’s most extreme environments has helped shape our thinking about extraterrestrial life. Life on other worlds may not need the kind of temperate, balanced environment that most life on Earth is adapted to.

November 26, 2019November 26, 2019 by Brian Koberlein

A Fifth Fundamental Force Could Really Exist, But We Haven’t Found It Yet

Simulation of dark matter and gas. Credit: Illustris Collaboration (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The universe is governed by four fundamental forces: gravity, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces. These forces drive the motion and behavior of everything we see around us. At least that’s what we think. But over the past several years there’s been increasing evidence of a fifth fundamental force. New research hasn’t discovered this fifth force, but it does show that we still don’t fully understand these cosmic forces.

November 26, 2019November 26, 2019 by Susie Murph

Carnival of Space #639

Carnival of Space. Image by Jason Major.

This week’s Carnival of Space is hosted by Allen Versfeld at his Urban Astronomer blog.

Click here to read Carnival of Space #639.

November 26, 2019November 26, 2019 by Fraser Cain

Building Space Telescopes… In Space

Concept of an in-space assembled telescope. Credit: NASA

When it comes to telescopes, bigger is better. That’s true down here on Earth, and it’s especially true out in space. As astronomers and engineers design the next generation of giant space telescopes, they’re running up against the limits of current launch providers. There are only so many ways you can fold a huge telescope to get it to fit inside a 5-meter launch fairing.