Universe Today

September 13, 2019September 14, 2019 by Matt Williams

Oumuamua 2.0? It Looks Like There’s a New Interstellar Object Passing Through the Solar System

Artist’s impression of the interstellar object, `Oumuamua, experiencing outgassing as it leaves our Solar System. Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA, ESO, M. Kornmesser

In 2017, astronomers and the world were surprised to learn that an interstellar object (named ‘Oumuamua) passed by Earth on its way to the outer Solar System. After multiple surveys were conducted, scientists were left scratching their heads as to what this object was – which speculation ranging from it being a comet or an asteroid to comet fragment or even an extra-terrestrial solar sail!

But one of the greatest takeaways from that event was the discovery that such objects pass through our Solar System on a regular basis (and some stay). And as it turns out, astronomers with NASA, the ESA, and the International Scientific Optical Network (ISON) announced the detection of what could be a second interstellar object! Could this be ‘Oumuamua 2.0? And if so, what mysteries might it present?

September 12, 2019September 12, 2019 by Evan Gough

Here’s Hubble’s Newest Image of Saturn

The latest view of Saturn from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captures exquisite details of the ring system — which looks like a phonograph record with grooves that represent detailed structure within the rings — and atmospheric details that once could only be captured by spacecraft visiting the distant world. Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 observed Saturn on June 20, 2019, as the planet made its closest approach to Earth, at about 845 million miles away. This image is the second in a yearly series of snapshots taken as part of the Outer Planets Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) project. OPAL is helping scientists understand the atmospheric dynamics and evolution of our solar system's gas giant planets. In Saturn's case, astronomers will be able to track shifting weather patterns and other changes to identify trends. Credits: NASA, ESA, A. Simon (GSFC), M.H. Wong (University of California, Berkeley) and the OPAL Team

Hubble has captured a new image of Saturn that makes you wonder if it’s even real. The image is so crisp it makes it look like Saturn is just floating in space. Which it is.

September 12, 2019September 12, 2019 by Evan Gough

Astronomers Find a Supermassive Black Hole That’s Feasting on a Regular Schedule, Every 9 Hours

The supermassive black hole at the heart of galaxy GSN 069 has a unique, regular feeding schedule. Every 9 hours it flares with x-rays as it consumes matter. Image Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXO/CSIC-INTA/G.Miniutti et al.; Optical: DSS.

Astronomers have found a supermassive black hole (SMBH) with an unusually regular feeding schedule. The behemoth is an active galactic nucleus (AGN) at the heart of the Seyfert 2 galaxy GSN 069. The AGN is about 250 million light years from Earth, and contains about 400,000 times the mass of the Sun.

September 11, 2019September 12, 2019 by Susie Murph

Weekly Space Hangout: September 11, 2019 – Alan Stern, Principal Investigator of New Horizons

Hosts:
Fraser Cain (universetoday.com / @fcain)
Dr. Morgan Rehnberg (MorganRehnberg.com / @MorganRehnberg & ChartYourWorld.org)
Dave Dickinson (www.astroguyz.com / @astroguyz)

Continue reading “Weekly Space Hangout: September 11, 2019 – Alan Stern, Principal Investigator of New Horizons”

September 11, 2019September 11, 2019 by Evan Gough

Hubble Has Looked at the 2017 Kilonova Explosion Almost a Dozen Times, Watching it Slowly Fade Away

An artistic rendering of two neutron stars merging. Credit: NSF/LIGO/Sonoma State/A. Simonnet

In 2017, LIGO (Laser-Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory) and Virgo detected gravitational waves coming from the merger of two neutron stars. They named that signal GW170817. Two seconds after detecting it, NASA’s Fermi satellite detected a gamma ray burst (GRB) that was named GRB170817A. Within minutes, telescopes and observatories around the world honed in on the event.

The Hubble Space Telescope played a role in this historic detection of two neutron stars merging. Starting in December 2017, Hubble detected the visible light from this merger, and in the next year and a half it turned its powerful mirror on the same location over 10 times. The result?

The deepest image of the afterglow of this event, and one chock-full of scientific detail.

September 11, 2019September 11, 2019 by Matt Williams

India has Located the Vikram Lander, But it’s Still not Communicating With Home

On Sunday (Sept. 8th), the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) announced that they had located Vikram, the lander element of their Chandrayaan-2 mission. The search began almost immediately after the space agency lost contact with the robotic spacecraft, which occurred moments before it set down on the lunar surface (on Friday, Sept. 6th).

September 11, 2019September 11, 2019 by Evan Gough

Water Discovered in the Atmosphere of an Exoplanet in the Habitable zone. It Might Be Rain

An artist's concept of K2-18b, a super-Earth exoplanet that could support life. But, not all habitable planets are pale blue dots. Some are dry and yellow. Courtesy STScI

Astronomers using the Hubble space telescope have discovered water in the atmosphere of an exoplanet in its star’s habitable zone. If confirmed, it will be the first time we’ve detected water—a critical ingredient for life as we know it—on an exoplanet. The water was detected as vapour in the atmosphere, but the temperature of the planet means it could sustain liquid water on its surface, if it’s rocky.

September 11, 2019September 11, 2019 by Evan Gough

Astronauts Try Mixing Concrete in Space

International Space Station. Credit: NASA

What sounds like a slap-stick comedy shtick is actually solid science. With so much of humanity’s space-faring future involving habitats, other structures, and a permanent presence on the Moon and Mars, mixing concrete in space is serious business. NASA has a program of study called MICS, (Microgravity Investigation of Cement Solidification) which is examining how we might build habitats or other structures in microgravity.

September 11, 2019September 11, 2019 by Matt Williams

Entrepreneurs and Engineers Come Together to Design a Peaceful Lunar Settlement

An illustration of a Moon base that could be built using 3D printing and ISRU, In-Situ Resource Utilization. Credit: RegoLight, visualisation: Liquifer Systems Group, 2018

With all the plans for sending robotic missions to the Moon in the coming years, and NASA’s plan to send the first astronauts of the post-Apollo Era there, one thing is clear: We are going back to the Moon! But unlike the Apollo Era, we intend to do more than mount “footprints and flags” missions this time. This time, we intend to create the infrastructure that would allow for a long-term, sustainable human presence on the Moon.

This is the vision behind the Open Lunar Foundation, a San Fransisco-based nonprofit organization made up of tech industry executives and engineers (some of whom worked for NASA) that is dedicated to the creation of an international lunar settlement. Intrinsic to this vision is the reliance on private enterprise and the development of open-source technology that would humanity to establish a permanent presence on the Moon.

September 10, 2019September 10, 2019 by Evan Gough

China’s FAST Telescope, the World’s Largest Single Radio Dish Telescope, is Now Fully Operational

The Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) has just finished construction in the southwestern province of Guizhou. Credit: FAST

After years of construction, China’s new radio telescope is in action. The telescope, called FAST (Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope) has double the collecting power of the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, which has a 305 meter dish. Until now, Arecibo was the world’s largest radio dish of its type.