Space and astronomy news
A relatively obscure meteor shower may put on a surprise performance in early December 2018. Chances are, you’ve never heard of the Andromedids, though it’s worth keeping an eye out for these swift-moving meteors over the next week. Continue reading “A 2018 Outburst From the December Andromedids?”
On October 19th, 2017, the first interstellar object – named 1I/2017 U1 (aka. ‘Oumuamua) – to be observed in our Solar System was detected. In the months that followed, multiple follow-up observations were conducted to gather more data on its composition, shape, and possible origins. Rather than dispel the mystery surrounding the true nature of ‘Oumuamua – is a comet or an asteroid? – these efforts have only managed to deepen it.
In a recent study, Harvard Professor Abraham Loeb and Shmuel Bialy – a postdoctoral researcher from the Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) – addressed this mystery by suggesting that ‘Oumuamua may be an extra-terrestrial solar sail. Building on this, Loeb and Amir Siraj (a Harvard undergraduate student) conducted a new study that indicated that hundreds of “‘Oumuamua-like” objects could be detectable in our Solar System.
How many exoplanets are there? Not that long ago, we didn’t know if there were any. Then we detected a few around pulsars. Then the Kepler spacecraft was launched and it discovered a couple thousand more. Now NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) is operational, and a new study predicts its findings.
We need to talk about the dark ages. No, not those dark ages after the fall of the western Roman Empire. The cosmological dark ages. The time in our universe, billions of years ago, before the formation of the first stars. And we need to talk about the cosmic dawn: the birth of those first stars, a tumultuous epoch that completely reshaped the face the cosmos into its modern form.
Those first stars may have been completely unlike anything we see in the present universe. And we may, if we’re lucky, be on the cusp of seeing them for the first time.
Continue reading “We May Soon Be Able To See the First, Supergiant Stars in the Universe”
If climate change models are correct, humanity is working itself—and dragging the rest of life on Earth with it—into a corner. Scientific pleas to control emissions and battle climate change are starting to have some effect, but not enough. So now we have some tough decisions looming.
Yesterday, NASA’s Mars InSight lander successfully touched down on the Martian surface after spending seven long months in space. Over the course of the next few hours, the lander began the surface operations phase of its mission, which involved deploying its solar arrays. The lander also managed to take some pictures of the surface, which showed the region where it will be studying Mars’ interior for the next two years.
In the midst of all that, another major accomplishment received only passing attention. This was the Mars Cube One (MarCO) mission, an experiment conducted by NASA to see if two experimental CubeSats could survive the trip to deep space. Not only did these satellites survive the journey, they managed to relay communications from the lander and even took some pictures of their own.
Hosts:
Fraser Cain (universetoday.com / @fcain)
Dr. Paul M. Sutter (pmsutter.com / @PaulMattSutter)
Dr. Kimberly Cartier (KimberlyCartier.org / @AstroKimCartier )
Dr. Morgan Rehnberg (MorganRehnberg.com / @MorganRehnberg & ChartYourWorld.org)
This week we are joined by David Eicher, co-author with Dr. Brian May of Mission Moon 3-D: A New Perspective on the Space Race. During David’s appearance, we will be giving away three copies of the book which is co-published with the MIT Press and the London Stereoscopic Association.
David Eicher is one of the most widely recognized astronomy enthusiasts in the world. He has been Editor in Chief of Astronomy magazine for the past thirty-five years. Eicher is the author or editor of 21 books on science and history. In 2014, he wrote and edited, along with Brian May and astronomer Garik Israelian, Starmus: 50 Years of Man in Space, and in 2016 edited the follow-up volume, Starmus: Discovering the Universe. In 1990, the International Astronomical Union named a minor planet, 3617 Eicher, for Eicher in recognition of his service to astronomy. He has spoken to and inspired many science and business groups around the world, including at Harvard University, the Starmus Festival and the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Dave was president of the Astronomy Foundation, the telescope industry and astronomy outreach group, from 2011–2017.
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Ion engines are a mainstay of science fiction, featured in both Star Trek and Wars. But this is a very real technology, successfully used on several missions out there in the Solar System right now. How do they work and what are the limits?
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If you would like to join the Weekly Space Hangout Crew, visit their site here and sign up. They’re a great team who can help you join our online discussions!
Want to support CosmoQuest? Here are specific ways you can help:
* Donate! (Streamlabs link) https://streamlabs.com/cosmoquestx
* Buy stuff from our Redbubble https://www.redbubble.com/people/cosmoquestx
* Volunteer for our Hangout-a-thon either to promote, provide a
giveaway, or to come on as a guest https://goo.gl/forms/XSm1yi0PKOM166m12
* Help us find sponsors by sharing our program and fundraising efforts through your networks
* Become a Patreon of Astronomy Cast https://www.patreon.com/astronomycast
* Sponsor 365 Days of Astronomy http://bit.ly/sponsor365DoA
* A combination of the above!
The Hubble Space Telescope is a hero in the astronomy world. And when it suffered a malfunctioning gyro on October 5th, it took a heroic effort on the part of the Hubble team to get it working again. Now we have Hubble’s first picture after its return to service.
Continue reading “Hubble’s First Picture After Returning to Service. The Telescope is Fully Operational Again with Three Working Gyros”
Yesterday, NASA’s Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) lander reached Mars after a seven months journey. NASA broadcast the landing live, showing the mission control team eagerly watching as the spacecraft entered the Martian atmosphere and began the nail-biting entry, descent and landing (EDL) process.
At exactly 11:52:29 am PST (2:52:59 pm EST) mission controllers received a signal via the Mars Cube One (MarCO) satellites that the lander had successfully touched down. About a minute later, InSight began to conduct surface operations, which involved the deployment of its solar arrays and prepping its instruments for research.
Continue reading “InSight Deploys its Solar Cells, Prepared for Surface Operations on Mars!”