Universe Today

May 17, 2019May 17, 2019 by Evan Gough

Small, Tough Planets can Survive the Death of Their Star

An asteroid torn apart by the strong gravity of a white dwarf has formed a ring of dust particles and debris orbiting the Earth-sized burnt out stellar core. Image Credit: University of Warwick/Mark Garlick

Sad fact of the Universe is that all stars will die, eventually. And when they do, what happens to their babies? Usually, the prognosis for the planets around a dying star is not good, but a new study says some might in fact survive.

A group of astronomers have taken a closer look at what happens when stars, like our Sun for instance, become white dwarfs late in their lives. As it turns out, denser planets like Earth might survive the event. But, only if they’re the right distance away.

May 17, 2019May 17, 2019 by Paul M. Sutter

Is Dark Matter Made of Axions? Black Holes May Reveal the Answer

The early universe. Credit: Tom Abel & Ralf Kaehler (KIPACSLAC)/ AMNH/NASA

What is dark matter made of? It’s one of the most perplexing questions of modern astronomy. We know that dark matter is out there, since we can see its obvious gravitational influence on everything from galaxies to the evolution of the entire universe, but we don’t know what it is. Our best guess is that it’s some sort of weird new particle that doesn’t like to talk to normal matter very often (otherwise we would have seen it by now). One possibility is that it’s an exotic hypothetical kind of particle known as an axion, and a team of astronomers are using none other than black holes to try to get a glimpse into this strange new cosmic critter.

May 16, 2019May 16, 2019 by Evan Gough

Here’s Where Beresheet Crashed into the Moon

Beresheet's crash site as imaged by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Image Credit: NASA

The Beresheet lander came oh-so-close to touching down on the surface of the Moon, but something went wrong and it didn’t make it. Now, thanks to the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the exact point of impact can be seen.

May 16, 2019May 16, 2019 by Evan Gough

Today is the Highest Concentration of Atmospheric CO2 in Human History. 415 Parts Per Million. Last Time it Was This High, There Were Trees at the South Pole

Think about this for a minute: We humans and our emissions are helping turn back the climatological clock by 2 or 3 million years, possibly more. Not since that time, called the Pliocene Epoch, has the CO2 ppm risen above 400.

Way back then, the CO2 helped keep the Earth’s temperature 2 to 3 degrees C warmer than it is now. And the Earth was a much different place back then.

May 16, 2019May 16, 2019 by Evan Gough

NASA’s 2024 Moon Mission is called Artemis, and Will Need an Additional $1.6 Billion in Funding

NASA is adjusting to its ambitious new timeline to get to the Moon by 2024. Image: NASA.

The Moon’s going to have more human visitors in the year 2024. NASA has announced that their mission to the Moon, which is named Artemis after the Greek goddess of hunting, has been advanced by four years, from 2028 to 2024. But there’s a catch: they need more dough to do it. $1.6 billion more.

May 15, 2019May 16, 2019 by Susie Murph

Weekly Space Hangout: May 15, 2019 – Brother Guy J. Consolmagno, SJ – Director of the Vatican Observatory

Hosts:
Fraser Cain (universetoday.com / @fcain)
Dr. Kimberly Cartier (KimberlyCartier.org / @AstroKimCartier )
Dr. Morgan Rehnberg (MorganRehnberg.com / @MorganRehnberg & ChartYourWorld.org)
Dr. Paul M. Sutter (pmsutter.com / @PaulMattSutter)

Continue reading “Weekly Space Hangout: May 15, 2019 – Brother Guy J. Consolmagno, SJ – Director of the Vatican Observatory”

May 15, 2019May 15, 2019 by Susie Murph

Carnival of Space #611

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 #611.
Continue reading “Carnival of Space #611”

May 14, 2019May 14, 2019 by Matt Williams

NASA Senior Engineer Kobie Boykins talks About Exploring Mars. And I was There to See it!

Kobie Boykins and myself, holding replicas of the wheels used on the Sojourner and Opportunity rover. Credit: Carla Jack

As part of National Geographic Live, Chief Engineer Kobie Boykins of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has been touring the world of late. As part of the program’s goal of having featured speakers share their behind-the-scenes stories, Boykins has been showcasing the accomplishments of NASA’s Mars robotic exploration programs – of which he played a major role.

This week, his tour brought him to my hometown, where he delivered a presentation to a packed house at the Royal Theatre here in of Victoria, BC. Titled “Exploring Mars”, Boykins shared personal stories of what it was like to be an integral part of the team that created the Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity and Mars 2020 rovers. I had the honor of attending the event, and being able to do a little Q&A with him after the show.

May 14, 2019May 14, 2019 by Evan Gough

The Blue Origins Founder Wants to Get to the Moon by 2024

Jeff Bezos and a mock-up of the Blue Moon lander. Credit: Blue Origin

Blue Origin is going to the Moon. In an hour-long presentation in Washington DC on May 9th, Jeff Bezos spelled out his plans for reaching the Moon, confirming what many guessed he was hinting at in a tweet from the previous week.

Bezos and his company, Blue Origin, are developing a lunar lander capable of landing a large payload of 6.5 metric tons (14,330 lbs.) on the lunar surface. The lander is being called ‘Blue Moon’ and the target date for its rendezvous with the Moon is 2024.

May 14, 2019May 14, 2019 by Matt Williams

Antimatter Behaves Exactly the Same as Regular Matter in Double Slit Experiments

In 1924, French physicist Louis de Broglie proposed that photons – the subatomic particle that constitutes light – behave as both a particle and a wave. Known as “particle-wave duality”, this property has been tested and shown to apply with other subatomic particles (electrons and neutrons) as well as larger, more complex molecules.

Recently, an experiment conducted by researchers with the QUantum Interferometry and Gravitation with Positrons and LAsers (QUPLAS) collaboration demonstrated that this same property applies to antimatter. This was done using the same kind of interference test (aka. double-slit experiment) that helped scientists to propose particle-wave duality in the first place.