How weird is our solar system? Here’s a crazy fact about every planet
Our solar system is a magical place, much like the rest of the ever-expanding universe. Although we may not know much about the deepest regions of space and the secrets that lurk in the darker cosmos, we do know for sure that the universe…
‘Up Against It’ explores life in the asteroid belt
Against a currenta science fiction novel about an environmental engineer Laura J. Mixon, explores life aboard asteroid 25 Phocaea. The book takes a more realistic approach to space adventure, eschewing familiar tropes such as FTL…
NASA’s space telescope just captured a dead star eating a planet
Astronomers sifted through data acquired by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and zeroed in on a star called G238-44. SEE THE GALLERY - 2 IMAGES A team of astronomers looked at data from Hubble, along with other observations from various NASA…
The planet Jupiter “eats other planets”, according to research from the journal…
Calling Jupiter "huge" is not really relevant. At the equivalent of 318 Earths, the planet is gargantuan - and it feasts on other planets.Yes, it's true. The King of the Planets has won his throne, but don't mess with the frenzied beast…
Netflix, Meta and Lyft Alumni Launch Vibrant Planet with $17M Seed Funding to Prevent Catastrophic…
Vibrant Planet will use the funding to expand into new markets in the United States, Europe and beyond, unlocking the full benefits of forest restoration
Vibrant Planet, the creator of the Forest Restoration!-->…
101 must-see cosmic objects: NGC 1365
Most observers would agree that, of all galaxies, barred spirals are the best targets for amateur telescopes. That said, it's a shame that the best example of a barred spiral - NGC 1365 - languishes in the nearly invisible constellation of…
Fire reaches Kitt Peak Observatory, destroying several structures
On Saturday June 18, the fire subsided enough that Michelle Edwards, associate director of KPNO, and Joe Davis, security manager, accessed the property and found that the telescopes and domes were still standing. Unfortunately, some of the…
New Day Cafe: The Solar System Quilt
A description of his Marginalian work: www.themarginalian.org/…
"In October 1883, a National Capital newspaper reported under the headline "Current Gossip" that "an Iowa woman spent seven years embroidering the solar system on a…
Bad astronomy | Comet 323P/SOHO got too close to the Sun and partially separated
Comet 323P/SOHO was discovered in 1999, and has an orbit of fire and ice: In its deeply elliptical 4-year orbit around the Sun, it exits almost to the orbit of Jupiter, but then falls back just a hair more than 5 million…
The solar system gets its ducks in a row – Sky & Telescope
The five bright planets fan out in order of their distance from the Sun across the sky from dawn until early July. One of the prettiest mornings to see them will be June 24, when a striking crescent moon joins…
A shocking fact about every planet in the solar system
Do you really know our solar system?Hematite spheres (or "Martian blueberries") as imaged by the Mars Exploration Rover. These are almost certainly evidence of past liquid water on Mars, and possibly past life. NASA scientists need to be…
Aim for the stars: explore everything from astrotourism to holistic astronomy experiences
For Neeraj Ladia, "astronomy" or staring into space has been the biggest mystery for humans. “You are amazed to see the movements in the sky, fantasizing about the magical shimmering existence. Astro watching led me to a different…
The physics of accretion: how the universe pulled itself together
Dust collection
Each star grows on its own schedule. The protostar stage is like the unstable adolescence of a star. When its accretion disk stabilizes and matter stops falling into the core, it becomes a main-sequence star. There may…
Scientists Reveal Krypton in Mars Meteorite, Rewriting Red Planet’s History
Artist's concept of Mars. Image: Westend61 via Getty ImagesABSTRACT breaks down mind-blowing scientific research, future technologies, new discoveries and major breakthroughs.Scientists have discovered a new history of Mars, written in the…
Astronomers discover nearby multiplanetary system with two Earth-sized planets
MIT astronomers have discovered a new multiplanetary system located 10 parsecs, or about 33 light years, from Earth, making it one of the closest known multiplanetary systems to our system. The star at the system's core likely hosts at…
Unexplainable Podcast: 7 Solar System Mysteries Scientists Haven’t Solved Yet
The next time you look at a bright full moon, think about this: no one knows exactly where the moon came from.
"We have no idea why the moon is here," science writer Rebecca Boyle said on Inexplicable - Vox's podcast that explores big…
How the bluest asteroid in the solar system got its color
An unusual blue-tinted asteroid likely got its signature color from intense sunlight, new research finds, solving a decades-old mystery.The blue color of the asteroid Phaeton has puzzled scientists since the space rock was discovered in…
King Street Jam; astronomy; Relay for Life
Parliament Arts Organization King Street Jam The Parliament Arts Organization will host the King Street Jam, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday, in the Royal Square area of York city centre. Nationally acclaimed musicians will play…
Latest ‘plan for the planet’ calls for protecting 44% of land, home to 1.8 billion…
A new study indicates that 44% of Earth's land surface needs conservation attention to stop the rampant destruction of the natural world.This figure is significantly higher than the target currently under discussion as part of the…
The new map of the galaxy is a “gold mine” for astronomy
BERLIN (AP) — The European Space Agency has released a wealth of data on nearly 2 billion stars in the Milky Way, collected by its Gaia mission in a bid to create the most accurate and comprehensive map of our galaxy.Astronomers hope to use…
A unified satellite network to evolve connectivity on the planet
(Photo by jody amiet / AFP)Everyone is excited about satellites, but what kind of satellite really matters to them? Can a satellite network improve use cases around the world?Satellites have been around for over half a century…
In Bits of Rocks, clues to the origins of the solar system
A fifth of an ounce of dark spots brought to Earth from an asteroid by a Japanese spacecraft are among the most pristine bits of a baby solar system ever studied, scientists said Thursday.
This fact should help planetary…
Berkeley-led astronomy team makes rare discovery: free-floating black hole
A team led by astronomers from UC Berkeley has for the first time discovered what they believe to be a floating black hole located between 2,280 and 6,260 light-years from Earth.This is an incredibly rare discovery, since black holes are…
About Astronomy — See All Visible Planets | Lifestyles
In April I wrote that you could observe four planets online. Well,…
Asteroid samples could ‘rewrite the chemistry of the solar system’
A fifth of an ounce of dark spots brought to Earth from an asteroid by a Japanese spacecraft are among the most pristine bits of a baby solar system ever studied, scientists said Thursday.This fact should help planetary scientists refine…
The sky this week from June 10 to 17
Sunday June 12The Moon occults or passes in front of Dschubba of 2nd magnitude (Delta Scorpii) tonight, visible to observers in eastern Canada and the northeastern United States. Our satellite rises before sunset; as the sky darkens,…
New tool from Google shows how the planet is changing in near real time
Okavango Delta A new tool from Google Earth Engine and the nonprofit World Resources Institute extracts satellite data to create detailed maps in near real time. Called Dynamic World, it zooms in on the planet in 10 by…
“Only One Earth”: NEPA urges J’cans to help protect the planet
Senior Public Education Officer at the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), Ava Tomlinson (third from right), hosts a birding session with teachers from 20!-->…
ITV Studios buys ‘Hostile Planet’ producer Plimsoll Productions
ITV Studios buys British natural history producer Plimsoll Productions, Variety can reveal.
Although the acquisition is not yet closed, sources indicate that it should be finalized within the next two days. The deal, which sees ITV…
The comet hunter approved to intercept visitors from outside the solar system
Artist's impression of the extrasolar object, which passed close to the Sun in 2017 (ESA/Hubble, NASA, ESO, M. Kornme)The European Space Agency approved the construction of Comet Mission Interceptor, a small spacecraft designed to fly close…
Astronomy: 5 planets align this month
This month, early risers in Canada might see five planets lined up in the eastern sky: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
"You will see several bright objects in a row if you look east before sunrise," astrophysicist…
A new NASA spacecraft could survive a hellish descent on Venus | Astronomy
NASA will launch a mission that will both pass Venus and descend through its hostile atmosphere in 2029.…
Ancient Asteroids Reveal The Early Solar System Was More Chaotic Than We Thought
There is no doubt that young solar systems are chaotic places. Cascading collisions defined our young solar system when rocks, boulders, and planetesimals repeatedly collided.A new study based on pieces of asteroids that crashed into…
Maui teens study asteroids and black holes during UH astronomy program
Nine students from Maui participated in the University of Hawaii's HI STAR program to nurture interest in what exists in the universe and encourage careers in STEM. Photo Courtesy: UH Maui College
King Kekaulike High School student…
Discovery of the exoplanet “Super Earth” four times larger than our planet
Meet Ross 508b: Scientists discover a 'SUPER EARTH' exoplanet four times larger than our own planet orbiting a star 36.5 light years awayA new "super Earth" four times larger than our own planet has been spottedThe exoplanet,…
The sky this week from June 3 to 10
Sunday June 5Saturn stands still against a backdrop of Capricorn stars at 10:00 a.m. EDT. The ringed planet is currently prominent in the pre-dawn sky, shining at magnitude 0.6 in the upper left (northeast) corner of Deneb Algedi.
But…
The early solar system was total chaos
There is no doubt that young solar systems are chaotic places. Cascading collisions defined our young solar system when rocks, boulders, and planetesimals repeatedly collided. A new study based on pieces of asteroids that crashed into…
Objects that share the same orbit are common in the solar system. But we have never seen co-orbital…
"Where are all the Trojans" is a valid question in both the study of ancient history and the study of exoplanets. Trojan bodies, which share orbital paths with other larger planets, are widespread in our solar system - most obviously in…
101 must-see cosmic objects: M87
M87 is another elliptical Messier galaxy in the Virgo cluster, 55 million light-years distant and some 120,000 light-years wide. It lies about 3½° northwest of Rho Virginis. But M87 surpasses M84 and M86 in terms of mass: it has at least…
China proposes mission to alien planet to hunt habitable worlds
A proposed Chinese mission would search for potentially habitable alien worlds nearby by launching a spacecraft to take ultra-precise measurements of how orbiting planets wobble a star.For this mission, called the Closeby Habitable…
Shouldn’t another life have existed before us?
If the solar system is only 4.6 billion years old but the universe has been around for 13.8 billion years, isn't it likely that other forms of life existed long before us in the universe?
Bob Spangler
Fruita, Colorado
With…
When is a bee a fish?
When is a bee a fish?
California Court of Appeals Finds Invertebrates May Be Protected Under California Endangered Species Act
Bees are fish! And…
Bad astronomy | Hypatia meteorite linked to a white dwarf supernova
A very strange meteorite discovered in western Egypt in 1996 may contain tiny bits of debris from a supernova, and not just any supernova, but a supernova created by the explosion of a white dwarf, the remnant core of a…
The most mysterious asteroids in the solar system
They are trapped.Two swarms of curious and diverse space rocks – called Trojan asteroids – are constantly traveling around the sun, one in front of the gas giant Jupiter and the other behind. Jupiter and the Sun's gravity have combined to…
A giant planet may have ‘escaped’ from our solar system, study finds
Although Pluto lost its "Planet Nine" status when it was downgraded to a dwarf planet, there is ample evidence that our solar system had or currently has a major planet far beyond Pluto that may one day claim dominance.…
Zero Altitude: How flightlessness can help save the planet and change the way you see the world
OWhen I had the idea to write my first book, Zero altitudee – and tempt, as The Independentfrom the travel editor, not to fly for a year - the world was on a stubborn path from which there was seemingly no turning back: growth. Growth,…
Astronomy & Astrophysics 101: Comet
This ground image of Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) was taken on July 16, 2020 from the Northern Hemisphere. The inset image, taken on August 8, 2020, by the Hubble Space Telescope, reveals a close-up of the comet after passing through the Sun.…
Scientists chart the future of solar system exploration
Though rather small, Saturn's 310-mile-wide (500 km) moon Enceladus also got the star treatment in this latest 10-year report. That's partly because the Cassini mission saw plumes of liquid erupting from Enceladus in 2005. And where…
Cooperation will be crucial to protect the planet – World
Photo taken on Nov. 17, 2021 shows the landscape of a terrestrial forest in Yuanmou County, southwest China's Yunnan Province.
Humanity has only one home: Earth. But it is not ours…
Babies born this decade could visit Jupiter’s moons and the asteroid belt, scientists say
3D rendering of a spacecraft approaching Jupiter
Getty
As many as nine robotic missions have visited the Jovian system - home to the solar system's largest planet, Jupiter - and in less than 80 years humans could…
The Science of LA Rams ILB: Chemistry, Physics, Astronomy
The more I learn about the LA Rams' inside linebacker combination of veteran Bobby Wagner and sophomore linebacker Ernest Jones, the more I like it. Historically, the LA Rams had continued to devote their resources to other positions on…
Asteroids reveal the chaotic childhood of our solar system
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‘Persian Gulf of the Solar System’ – US and China speeding up race to moon to hunt…
Natural resources in space worth billions, if not trillions of dollars, are on the verge of contention between the United States and China. The two superpowers are aggressively vying for dominance in space and at the center of this rivalry…
an unofficial scientific guide to “fresh water”
The third episode of prehistoric planet takes viewers away from the hot sands and into freshwater environments.The opening scene of "Freshwater" focuses on a trio of Velociraptor as they ambush a pterosaur, which may be a tribute to…
Neptune: The furthest planet from our sun
Neptune is the farthest planet from the sun and one of the two "ice giants" of our solar system. The cold, blue planet is about 30 times farther from the sun than Earth and takes about 165 Earth years to complete a single orbit around our…
Brett Morgen teleports you to planet David Bowie in a musical space extravaganza [Cannes]
The vast majority of us could only aspire, before "Lunar Reverieto get into the spirit of david bowie — the character, the artist, the terrestrial entity not yet confirmed. Eclectic, shamelessly maximalist and variously philosophical:…
Jupiter’s massive gravity launched the strange Ceres into the asteroid belt
A new computer simulation suggests that the dwarf planet Ceres may have been thrown by the gravity of gas giant Jupiter toward the sun during the volatile era of planet formation 4.5 billion years ago. There's always been something out of…
70-year-old astronomy photos could be clues to extraterrestrial visitors – study
On a series On 70-year-old photographic plates containing images of the night sky, a few astronomers say they found something odd: flashes of light that appear and then disappear, like ghosts.“We found an image where nine stars were there,…
Astronomy and Astrophysics 101: James Webb Space Telescope
In addition to observing distant stars, galaxies and exoplanets, the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope will study our solar system. 1 creditthehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMIlMIr5nhEThe James Webb Space Telescope will be the next…
The Webb Space Telescope is almost ready to explore the solar system
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is NASA's next major observatory; in line with the Hubble Space Telescope, the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory and the Spitzer Space Telescope. JWST combines the qualities…
Prepare for the close confrontation of Jupiter and Mars – Astronomy Now
At dawn on Sunday, May 29, Jupiter and Mars are only 0.6 degrees (36 arc minutes) apart on the east-southeast horizon. On a flat horizon, bright Venus can be seen more than 25 degrees east of Jupiter and Mars. This is the view of London…
China plans world’s first search for nearby habitable planet with space telescope
The exploration of habitable planets outside the solar system is one of the main frontiers of fundamental research in astronomy.
The exploration of habitable planets outside the solar system is one of the main frontiers of…
NASA may receive the full $24 billion in funding in the new Omnibus Spending Bill
NASA has requested $24 billion in funding from the US government for fiscal year 2022.
This month, legislators are discussing the request. According to The Register, the expensive budget is still over $760.2 million, a bit less than!-->!-->!-->…
China plans world’s first search for nearby habitable planet via telescope
An artistic illustration of exoplanets. /APC
An artistic illustration of exoplanets. /APC
Chinese scientists have proposed a space project to survey the…
Earth’s space dust comes from the edges of the solar system
When you notice that faint glow of reflected sunlight in the dark sky just before dawn and after dusk, you are actually looking at the zodiacal dust cloud. Dust shrouds our inner solar system, and up to 30,000 tons of its particles drift…
Maryland student’s science project wins national solar system research competition
A North County High School student skyrockets at the top of a national solar system research competition with a out of this world project. Dominic Alfinito won the Exploration of the Moon and Asteroids by…
Earth-bound space dust comes from the edge of the solar system
When you notice that faint glow of reflected sunlight in the dark sky just before dawn and after dusk, you are actually looking at the zodiacal dust cloud. Dust shrouds our inner solar system, and up to 30,000 tons of its particles drift…
101 must-see cosmic objects: M104
Dust is a common component of spiral galaxies. Astronomers believe this dust is carbon- or silicate-rich and no more than 0.25 microns wide. This does not greatly affect the brightness of galaxies, except in cases where they appear almost…
AstroDay gives the community the chance to learn about astronomy and science
Keiki and other community members visit one of the booths provided by a participating organization on Saturday, May 14 during AstroDay at Prince Kūhiō Plaza in Hilo. (Photos by Nathan Christopher)
At least one future astronaut, one…
What makes supermassive black holes like Sagittarius A* shine?
Black holes are, by definition, places where gravity is so strong that not even light can escape. So they are black - dark - and impossible to imagine. To the right?
As evidenced by the success of the Event Horizon telescope, we can…
Can we protect the Earth from an asteroid hurtling towards us
The best-known asteroid to collide with Earth is the Chicxulub crater, which struck the Yucatán Peninsula 65 million years ago. It is known for having wiped out the dinosaurs, as well as three quarters of life on the planet. Other huge…
Studying the invisible in terrestrial ecosystems to save our planet
Our climate is warming rapidly and rising temperatures are impacting the physical environments that support entire ecosystems. Humans and animal species are facing daunting challenges to their survival due to climate…
Cosmic Fossils: What Meteorites Reveal About Our Solar System
First visitors
Humans have seen rocks falling from the sky for thousands of years. One of the earliest potential recorded accounts dates back to 1478 BC. AD, when, according to the Chronicle of Parian, a "lightning stone" fell on the…
Research and study on the synthesis of materials in the terapascal range — ScienceDaily
Jules Verne couldn't even dream of it: a research team from the University of Bayreuth, in collaboration with international partners, has pushed the limits of high-pressure and high-temperature research into cosmic dimensions. For the…
Venus: The Hellish Planet Next Door
Venus is a hot, hellish world and the second planet from the sun. The Earth-sized planet could be considered our twin if not for its thick, toxic atmosphere and surface temperatures hot enough to melt lead. Despite such extremes,…
101 must-see cosmic objects: Omega Centauri
The most glorious of all globular clusters is Omega Centauri. (NGC 5139 is its more commonplace designation.) It is the 24th brightest "star" in Centaurus, which is the ninth largest of the 88 constellations. It was noted in Ptolemy's…
Should earthlings blow up our location in the cosmos
Sending new messages
Nearly half a century after the Arecibo message, two international teams of astronomers are planning new attempts at extraterrestrial communication. One uses a giant new radio telescope and the other chooses a…
Bad astronomy | Why does the asteroid Bennu launch small rocks into space?
Why does Bennu spit pebbles into space?
It's one of the weirdest things he does, and that's saying something. Bennu is a small asteroid just over 500 meters across. It has the shape of two cones glued together base to…