Universe Today

November 9, 2024November 9, 2024 by Nancy Atkinson

A Trash Compactor is Going to the Space Station

A prototype trash compactor to be tested aboard the International Space Station, planned for 2026. Credit: Sierra Space.

Astronauts on the International Space Station generate their share of garbage, filling up cargo ships that then deorbit and burn up in the atmosphere. Now Sierra Space has won a contract to build a trash compactor for the space station. The device will compact space trash by 75% in volume and allow water and other gases to be extracted for reclamation. The resulting garbage blocks are easily stored and could even be used as radiation shielding on long missions.

November 9, 2024November 9, 2024 by Brian Koberlein

Using Light Echoes to Find Black Holes

Light near a black hole can travel different paths to create echoes of a single flash. Credit: Wong, et al

The most amazing thing about light is that it takes time to travel through space. Because of that one simple fact, when we look up at the Universe we see not a snapshot but a history. The photons we capture with our telescopes tell us about their journey. This is particularly true when gravity comes into play, since gravity bends and distorts the path of light. In a recent study, a team shows us how we might use this fact to better study black holes.

November 9, 2024November 9, 2024 by Andy Tomaswick

Launching Mass From the Moon Helped by Lunar Gravity Anomalies

Placing a mass driver on the Moon has long been a dream of space exploration enthusiasts. It would open up so many possibilities for the exploration of our solar system and the possibility of actually living in space. Gerard O’Neill, in his work on the gigantic cylinders that now bear his name, mentioned using a lunar mass driver as the source of the material to build them. So far, we have yet to see such an engineering wonder in the real world, but as more research is done on the topic, more and more feasible paths seem to be opening up to its potential implementation.

November 8, 2024November 8, 2024 by Evan Gough

A Star Disappeared in Andromeda, Replaced by a Black Hole

This Illustration shows a failed supernova turning directly into a black hole without an explosion. Credit: NASA/ESA/P. Jeffries (STScI)

Massive stars about eight times more massive than the Sun explode as supernovae at the end of their lives. The explosions, which leave behind a black hole or a neutron star, are so energetic they can outshine their host galaxies for months. However, astronomers appear to have spotted a massive star that skipped the explosion and turned directly into a black hole.

November 8, 2024November 8, 2024 by Matt Williams

eROSITA All-Sky Survey Takes the Local Hot Bubble’s Temperature

3D model of the solar neighbourhood. The colour bar represents the temperature of the LHB. Credit ©: Michael Yeung/MPE

About half a century ago, astronomers theorized that the Solar System is situated in a low-density hot gas environment. This hot gas emits soft X-rays that displace the dust in the local interstellar medium (ISM), creating what is known as the Local Hot Bubble (LHB). This theory arose to explain the ubiquitous soft X-ray background (below 0.2 keV) and the lack of dust in our cosmic neighborhood. This theory has faced some challenges over the years, including the discovery that solar wind and neutral atoms interact with the heliosphere, leading to similar emissions of soft X-rays.

Thanks to new research by an international team of scientists led by the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE), we now have a 3D model of the hot gas in the Solar System’s neighborhood. Using data obtained by the eROSITA All-Sky Survey (eRASS1), they detected large-scale temperature differences in the LHBT that indicate that the LHB must exist, and both it and solar wind interaction contribute to the soft X-ray background. They also revealed an interstellar tunnel that could possibly link the LHB to a larger “superbubble.”

November 8, 2024November 8, 2024 by Brian Koberlein

An Explanation for Rogue Planets. They Were Eroded Down by Hot Stars

Illustration of a Jupiter-mass binary object. Credit: Gemini Observatory/Jon Lomberg

The dividing line between stars and planets is that stars have enough mass to fuse hydrogen into helium to produce their own light, while planets aren’t massive enough to produce core fusion. It’s generally a good way to divide them, except for brown dwarfs. These are bodies with a mass of about 15–80 Jupiters, so they are large enough to fuse deuterium but can’t generate helium. Another way to distinguish planets and stars is how they form. Stars form by the gravitational collapse of gas and dust within a molecular cloud, which allows them to gather mass on a short cosmic timescale. Planets, on the other hand, form by the gradual accumulation of gas and dust within the accretion disk of a young star. But again, that line becomes fuzzy for brown dwarfs.

November 8, 2024November 8, 2024 by David Dickinson

CODEX Coronagraph Heads to the ISS on Cargo Dragon

A new space-based telescope aims to address a key solar mystery.

A new experiment will explore a region of the Sun that’s tough to see from the surface of the Earth. The solar corona—the elusive, pearly white region of the solar atmosphere seen briefly during a total solar eclipse—is generally swamped out by the dazzling Sun. Now, the Coronal Diagnostic Experiment (CODEX) will use a coronagraph to create an ‘artificial eclipse’ in order to explore the poorly understood middle corona region of the solar atmosphere.

November 7, 2024November 7, 2024 by Evan Gough

Flowing Martian Water was Protected by Sheets of Carbon Dioxide

An artistic interpretation of an ice-covered river sourced from meltwater beneath Mars’ south polar cap. Image Credit: Peter Buhler/PSI.

Mars’ ancient climate is one of our Solar System’s most perplexing mysteries. The planet was once wet and warm; now it’s dry and cold. Whatever befell the planet, it didn’t happen all at once.

New research shows that on ancient cold Mars, sheets of frozen carbon dioxide allowed rivers to flow and a sea the size of the Mediterranean to exist.

November 7, 2024November 7, 2024 by Matt Williams

Japan Launches the First Wooden Satellite to Space

An artist's illustration of the LignoSat satellite. Credit: Kyoto University

Space debris, which consists of pieces of spent rocket stages, satellites, and other objects launched into orbit since 1957 – is a growing concern. According to the ESA Space Debris Office, there are roughly 40,500 objects in LEO larger than 10 cm (3.9 inches) in diameter, an additional 1.1 million objects measuring 1 and 10 cm (0.39 to 3.9 inches) in diameter, and 130 million objects 1 mm to 1 cm (0.039 to 0.39 inches). The situation is projected to worsen as commercial space companies continue to deploy “mega-constellations” of satellites for research, telecommunications, and broadband internet services.

To address this situation, researchers from the University of Kyoto have developed the world’s first wooden satellite. Except for its electronic components, this small satellite (LingoSat) is manufactured from magnolia wood. According to a statement issued on Tuesday, November 5th, by the University of Kyoto’s Human Spaceology Center, the wooden satellite was successfully launched into orbit atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This satellite, the first in a planned series, is designed to mitigate space debris and prevent what is known as “Kessler Syndrome.”

November 7, 2024November 7, 2024 by Brian Koberlein

You Can Build a Home Radio Telescope to Detect Clouds of Hydrogen in the Milky Way

The 1-meter dish of a home radio telescope. Credit: Jack Phelps

If I ask you to picture a radio telescope, you probably imagine a large dish pointing to the sky, or even an array of dish antennas such as the Very Large Array. What you likely don’t imagine is something that resembles a TV dish in your neighbor’s backyard. With modern electronics, it is relatively easy to build your own radio telescope. To understand out how it can be done, check out a recent paper by Jack Phelps.