Posted on by Matt Williams

An Extremely Large Hole has Been Dug for the Extremely Large Telescope

Construction site for the ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) in the remote Chilean Atacama Desert. Credit: G. Hüdepohl/ESO

All over the world, some truly groundbreaking telescopes are being built that will usher in a new age of astronomy. Sites include the mountain of Mauna Kea in Hawaii, Australia, South Africa, southwestern China, and the Atacama Desert – a remote plateau in the Chilean Andes. In this extremely dry environment, multiple arrays are being built that will allow astronomers to see farther into the cosmos and with greater resolution.

One of these is the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), a next-generation array that will feature a complex primary mirror measuring 39 meters (128 feet) in diameter. At this very moment, construction is underway atop the Andean mountain of Cerro Armazones, where construction teams are busy pouring the foundations for the largest telescope every built.

Continue reading “An Extremely Large Hole has Been Dug for the Extremely Large Telescope”

Posted on by Evan Gough

Timelapse Shows the Glowing Wreckage from Supernova 1987a Expanding Outward Over 30 Years

The remnant of supernova 1987a. Image: Yvette Cendes, University of Toronto.
The remnant of supernova 1987a. Image: Yvette Cendes, University of Toronto.

Supernovae are the granddaddies of all cosmic light shows, and Supernova 1987a is one of the most studied objects in the history of astronomy. As its name makes clear, it was first observed in 1987, and it’s the closest supernova observed since the telescope was invented. The ‘a’ was added to its name because it was the first supernova spotted that year.

Continue reading “Timelapse Shows the Glowing Wreckage from Supernova 1987a Expanding Outward Over 30 Years”

Posted on by Fraser Cain

Weekly Space Hangout: Oct 31, 2018 – David Dickinson

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)

David Dickinson discusses his new book, written with Fraser, called The Universe Today Ultimate Guide to Viewing the Cosmos. Find out more about the book here – https://www.universetoday.com/139658/our-book-the-universe-today-ultimate-guide-to-viewing-the-cosmos/

Announcements:

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!

If you’d like to join Dr. Paul Sutter and Dr. Pamela Gay on their Cosmic Stories in the SouthWest Tour in August 2019, you can find the information at astrotours.co/southwest.

We record the Weekly Space Hangout every Wednesday at 5:00 pm Pacific / 8:00 pm Eastern. You can watch us live on Universe Today, or the Weekly Space Hangout YouTube page – Please subscribe!

Posted on by Matt Williams

It’s Over For Kepler. The Most Successful Planet Hunter Ever Built is Finally out of Fuel and Has Just Been Shut Down.

NASA's Kepler space telescope, shown in this artist's concept, revealed that there are more planets than stars in the Milky Way galaxy. Credit: NASA
NASA's Kepler space telescope, shown in this artist's concept, revealed that there are more planets than stars in the Milky Way galaxy. Credit: NASA

It’s been quite a tumultuous time for space telescopes lately! Less than a month ago, the Hubble Space Telescope went into safe mode after experiencing a mechanical failure with one of its gyroscopes (which has since been remedied). Shortly thereafter, the Chandra X-ray telescope went into safe mode as well, and for similar reasons. After three days, it’s operations team managed to get it back in working order as well.

And now, after nine years of service, NASA has officially announced that the Kepler Space Telescope will be retiring. With no fuel remaining to conduct its science observations, NASA has decided to leave the telescope in its current safe orbit (well away from Earth). Far from being a sad occasion, Kepler’s retirement is an opportunity to reflect upon the immense accomplishments of this telescope and how it revolutionized the study of exoplanets.

Continue reading “It’s Over For Kepler. The Most Successful Planet Hunter Ever Built is Finally out of Fuel and Has Just Been Shut Down.”

Posted on by Evan Gough

This is What Icebergs Look Like at the End of Their Lives. This One’s 18 Years Old

The coffin-shaped iceberg B-15T is drifting to its death after 18 years of "life." Image Credit: NASA/Jeremy Harbeck.
The coffin-shaped iceberg B-15T is drifting to its death after 18 years of "life." Image Credit: NASA/Jeremy Harbeck.

Nothing lasts forever, especially an iceberg drifting away from its frigid home. This coffin-shaped iceberg was spotted by astronauts on the International Space Station as it drifted northwards. It split off from a much larger iceberg about 18 years ago, and is moving into warmer and warmer waters.

Continue reading “This is What Icebergs Look Like at the End of Their Lives. This One’s 18 Years Old”

Posted on by Evan Gough

Parker Solar Probe Became the Closest Thing We’ve Ever Sent to the Sun. And it’s Just Getting Started.

An artist's illustration of the Parker Solar Probe approaching the Sun. Image: NASA
An artist's illustration of the Parker Solar Probe approaching the Sun. Image: NASA

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is now the closest object to the Sun that we’ve ever sent into space. On Oct. 29, 2018, at about 1:04 p.m. EDT, NASA’s probe broke the old record for the close-to-Sun distance of 42.73 million km (26.55 million miles). That record was held by the German-American Helios 2 spacecraft in 1976. And the probe will keep getting closer to the Sun.

Continue reading “Parker Solar Probe Became the Closest Thing We’ve Ever Sent to the Sun. And it’s Just Getting Started.”

Posted on by Matt Williams

Yes! Hubble is Back in Operation

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Credits: NASA

Since it was first launched into space in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope has become something of a household name. Over the course of its almost thirty years of service, Hubble has established a reputation as one of NASA’s Great Observatories, giving astronomers the ability to look farther into the cosmic field than ever before and learn new and fascinating things about our Universe.

It was therefore a bit of a scare then when NASA announced earlier this month that one of Hubble’s gyroscopes (gyros) had failed, causing it to go into safe mode. But on Oct. 26th, after a considerable effort on behalf of the operations team, NASA announced that the venerable Hubble had been restored to working order. As we speak, it is collecting science data and carrying on in the tradition it helped establish.

Continue reading “Yes! Hubble is Back in Operation”

Posted on by Susie Murph

Carnival of Space #584

Carnival of Space. Image by Jason Major.
Carnival of Space. Image by Jason Major.

The tent is up! This week’s Carnival of Space is hosted by Kimberly Arcand at the Chandra X-Ray Observatory blog.

Click here to read Carnival of Space #484.

And if you’re interested in looking back, here’s an archive to all the past Carnivals of Space. If you’ve got a space-related blog, you should really join the carnival. Just email an entry to [email protected], and the next host will link to it. It will help get awareness out there about your writing, help you meet others in the space community – and community is what blogging is all about. And if you really want to help out, sign up to be a host. Send an email to the above address.

Posted on by Matt Williams

Could ‘Oumuamua Be an Extraterrestrial Solar Sail?

Project Starshot, an initiative sponsored by the Breakthrough Foundation, is intended to be humanity's first interstellar voyage. Credit: breakthroughinitiatives.org

On October 19th, 2017, the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System-1 (Pan-STARRS-1) in Hawaii announced the first-ever detection of an interstellar asteroid, named 1I/2017 U1 (aka. ‘Oumuamua). In the months that followed, multiple follow-up observations were conducted that allowed astronomers to get a better idea of its size and shape, while also revealing that it had the characteristics of both a comet and an asteroid.

Interestingly enough, there has also been some speculation that based on its shape, ‘Oumuamua might actually be an interstellar spacecraft (Breakthrough Listen even monitored it for signs of radio signals!). A new study by a pair of astronomers from the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) has taken it a step further, suggesting that ‘Oumuamua may actually be a light sail of extra-terrestrial origin.

The study – “Could Solar Radiation Pressure Explain ‘Oumuamua’s Peculiar Acceleration?“, which recently appeared online – was conducted by Shmuel Bialy and Prof. Abraham Loeb. Whereas Bialy is a postdoctoral researcher at the CfA’s Institute for Theory and Computation (ITC), Prof. Loeb is the director of the ITC, the Frank B. Baird Jr. Professor of Science at Harvard University, and the head chair of the Breakthrough Starshot Advisory Committee.

Continue reading “Could ‘Oumuamua Be an Extraterrestrial Solar Sail?”
Posted on by David Dickinson

Comet 46P Wirtanen Rounds Out 2018

Comet Wirtanen
Comet 46P Wirtanen in Cetus from September, 2018. Image credit and copyright: Hisayoshi Kato.

One. More. Comet. Though the next great ‘Comet of the Century’ has yet to make its appearance in 2018, we’ve had a steady stream of binocular comets this year, including Comets C/2017 S3 PanSTARRS, 38P Stephan-Oterma, and 21P Giacobini-Zinner.

Now, the calendar year may have saved the best for last, as periodic Comet 46P Wirtanen takes center stage. Continue reading “Comet 46P Wirtanen Rounds Out 2018”