Tuesday, June 24, 2014

A New Mantra: Follow the Methane — May Advance Search for Extraterrestrial Life

A New Mantra: Follow the Methane — May Advance Search for Extraterrestrial Life:

Extrasolar planet HD189733b rises from behind its star. Is there methane on this planet? Image Credit: ESA

Extrasolar planet HD189733b rises from behind its star. The new work presented here shows this planet has 20 times more methane than previously thought. Image Credit: ESA
The search for life is largely limited to the search for water. We look for exoplanets at the correct distances from their stars for water to flow freely on their surfaces, and even scan radiofrequencies in the “water hole” between the 1,420 MHz emission line of neutral hydrogen and the 1,666 MHz hydroxyl line.

When it comes to extraterrestrial life, our mantra has always been to “follow the water.” But now, it seems, astronomers are turning their eyes away from water and toward methane — the simplest organic molecule, also widely accepted to be a sign of potential life.

Astronomers at the University College London (UCL) and the University of New South Wales have created a powerful new methane-based tool to detect extraterrestrial life, more accurately than ever before.(...)
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India’s 1st Mars Mission Celebrates 100 Days and 100 Million Kilometers from Mars Orbit Insertion Firing – Cruising Right behind NASA’s MAVEN

India’s 1st Mars Mission Celebrates 100 Days and 100 Million Kilometers from Mars Orbit Insertion Firing – Cruising Right behind NASA’s MAVEN:

India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) marked 100 days from Mars on June 16, 2014 and the Mars Orbit Insertion engine firing when it arrives at the Red Planet on Sept 24, 2014 after its 10 month interplanetary journey. Credit ISRO

India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) marked 100 days from Mars on June 16, 2014 and the Mars Orbit Insertion engine firing when it arrives at the Red Planet on September 24, 2014 after its 10 month interplanetary journey. Credit ISRO
India’s inaugural voyager to the Red Planet, the Mars Orbiter Mission or MOM, has just celebrated 100 days and 100 million kilometers out from Mars on June 16, until the crucial Mars Orbital Insertion (MOI) engine firing that will culminate in a historic rendezvous on September 24, 2014.

MOM is cruising right behind NASA’s MAVEN orbiter which celebrated 100 days out from Mars on Friday the 13th of June. MAVEN arrives about 48 hours ahead of MOM on September 21, 2014. (...)
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Rosetta Detects Water on its Target Comet

Rosetta Detects Water on its Target Comet:

Artist's impression (from 2002) of Rosetta orbiting Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Credit: ESA, image by AOES Medialab

Artist’s impression (from 2002) of Rosetta orbiting Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Credit: ESA, image by AOES Medialab
It’s no surprise that there is a lot of water in comets. The “dirty snowballs” (or dusty ice-balls, more accurately) are literally filled with the stuff, so much in fact it’s thought that comets played a major role in delivering water to Earth. But every comet is unique, and the more we learn about them the more we can understand the current state of our Solar System and piece together the history of our planet.

ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft is now entering the home stretch for its rendezvous with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in August. While it has already visually imaged the comet on a couple of occasions since waking from its hibernation, its instruments have now successfully identified water on 67P for the first time, from a distance of 360,000 km – about the distance between Earth and the Moon.

(...)
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‘Time Capsule On Mars’ Team Hopes To Send a Spacecraft There With Your Messages

‘Time Capsule On Mars’ Team Hopes To Send a Spacecraft There With Your Messages:

Mars photographed with the Mars Global Surveyor.

Mars photographed with the Mars Global Surveyor.
It’s an ambitious goal: land three Cubesats on Mars sometime in the next few years for $25 million. And all this from a student-led team.

But the group, led by Duke University, is dutifully assembling sponsors and potential in-kind contributions from universities and companies to try to reach that goal. So far they have raised more than half a million dollars.

“We were thinking that something was missing,” said Emily Briere, the student team project lead who attends Duke University, explaining how it seemed few Mars missions were being done for the benefit of humanity in general.

(...)
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An Earth-size Diamond in the Sky: The Coolest Known White Dwarf Detected

An Earth-size Diamond in the Sky: The Coolest Known White Dwarf Detected:



Artist impression of a white dwarf star in orbit with pulsar PSR J2222-0137. It may be the coolest and dimmest white dwarf ever identified. Credit: B. Saxton (NRAO/AUI/NSF)

An artist’s conception of a white dwarf star in orbit with pulsar PSR J2222-0137. Image Credit: B. Saxton (NRAO/AUI/NSF)
We live in a vast, dark Universe, which makes the smallest and coolest objects extremely difficult to detect, save for a stroke of luck. Often times this luck comes in the form of a companion. Take, for example, the first exoplanet detected due to its orbit around a pulsar — a rapidly spinning neutron star.

A team of researchers using the National Radio Astronomy Observatory’s Green Bank Telescope and the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), as well as other observatories have repeated the story, detecting an object in orbit around a distant pulsar. Except this time it’s the coldest, faintest white dwarf ever detected. So cool, in fact, its carbon has crystallized.

The punch line is this: with the help of a pulsar, astronomers have detected an Earth-size diamond in the sky.(...)

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Sunday, June 8, 2014

Pink Floyd and Coldplay Go to Space

Pink Floyd and Coldplay Go to Space:



Two great music videos published this week feature incredible imagery from space. Above, Pink Floyd released an 20th anniversary video version of their instrumental “Marooned” which uses timelapse video photography taken by astronauts on the International Space Station (which we’ve featured many times, like here and here). For you Pink Floyd-aphiles, the anniversary edition of ‘The Division Bell‘ will be released on June 30th — including a double vinyl edition!

Below, a new video from Coldplay and their song “Sky Full of Stars” uses aurora imagery taken by Swedish astrophotopher Göran Strand, whose work we post frequently:

(...)


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Physicists Pave the Way to Turn Light into Matter

Physicists Pave the Way to Turn Light into Matter:

This artist's conception shows two photons (in green) colliding. Image Credit: ATLAS / LHC

This artist’s conception shows two photons (in green) colliding. Image Credit: ATLAS / LHC
E = mc². It’s one of the most basic and fundamental equations throughout astrophysics. But it does more than suggest that mass and energy are interconnected, it implies that light can be physically transformed into matter.

But can it really — physically — be done? Scientists proposed the theory more than 80 years ago, but only today have they paved the way to make this transformation routinely on Earth.

(...)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:34 PM 0 comments

New Supernova Likely Arose From Massive Wolf-Rayet Star

New Supernova Likely Arose From Massive Wolf-Rayet Star:

M1-67 is the youngest wind-nebula around a Wolf-Rayet star, called WR124, in our Galaxy. Credit: ESO

M1-67 is the youngest wind-nebula around a Wolf-Rayet star, called WR124, in our Galaxy. Credit: ESO
They’ve been identified as possible causes for supernovae for a while, but until now, there was a lack of evidence linking massive Wolf-Rayet stars to these star explosions. A new study was able to find a “likely” link between this star type and a supernova called SN 2013cu, however.

(...)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:28 PM 0 comments

“With a Little Help From Their Friends,” Magnetars Form in Binary Systems, New Study Suggests

“With a Little Help From Their Friends,” Magnetars Form in Binary Systems, New Study Suggests:

This artist’s impression shows the magnetar in the very rich and young star cluster Westerlund 1. This remarkable cluster contains hundreds of very massive stars, some shining with a brilliance of almost one million suns. European astronomers have for the first time demonstrated that this magnetar — an unusual type of neutron star with an extremely strong magnetic field — probably was formed as part of a binary star system. The discovery of the magnetar’s former companion elsewhere in the cluster helps solve the mystery of how a star that started off so massive could become a magnetar, rather than collapse into a black hole. Credit: ESO/L. Calçada

This artist’s conception shows the magnetar in the very rich and young star cluster Westerlund 1. Image Credit: ESO / L. Calçada
Astronomy is a discipline of extremes. We’re constantly searching for the most powerful, the most explosive, and the most energetic objects in the Universe. Magnetars — extremely dense and highly magnetic neutron stars — are no exception to the rule. They’re the strongest known magnets in the Universe, millions of times more powerful than the strongest magnets on Earth.

But their origin has eluded astronomers for 35 years. Now, an international team of astronomers think they’ve found the partner star of a magnetar for the first time, an observation that suggests magnetars form in binary star systems.

(...)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:27 PM 0 comments

Amateur Asteroid Hunters Take Note: NASA and Slooh Will Ask For Your Help

Amateur Asteroid Hunters Take Note: NASA and Slooh Will Ask For Your Help:

Artist's impression of an asteroid breaking up. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Artist’s impression of an asteroid breaking up. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Do you lack a telescope, but have a burning desire to look for asteroids near Earth? No problem! NASA and the Slooh telescope network will soon have you covered, as the two entities have signed a new agreement allowing citizen scientists to look at these objects using Slooh.

This is all related to NASA’s Asteroid Grand Challenge (which includes the agency’s desire to capture and redirect an asteroid for further study.) What the two entities want to do is show citizen astronomers how to study asteroids after they are discovered by professionals, looking at properties such as their size and rotation and light reflectivity.

(...)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:27 PM 0 comments

Selfies from Around the World Combine to Make a Portrait of Earth

Selfies from Around the World Combine to Make a Portrait of Earth:

Images of Earth assembled from over 36,000 fan-submitted "selfless" on Earth Day, April 22, 2014 (NASA)

Images of Earth assembled from over 36,000 fan-submitted “selfless” on Earth Day, April 22, 2014 (NASA)
On Earth Day, April 22, NASA invited people around the world to share their “selfies” on social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and Instagram, showing where on Earth they are and marking them with the hashtag #GlobalSelfie. Well, here we are a month later and the results have just been released… proof of what a beautiful world we all make up!

(...)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:26 PM 0 comments

Gas Cloud Survives Collision With Milky Way

Gas Cloud Survives Collision With Milky Way:

A false-color image of the Smith Cloud made with data from the Green Bank Telescope (GBT). New analysis indicates that it is wrapped in a dark matter halo. Credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF

A false-color image of the Smith Cloud made with data from the Green Bank Telescope (GBT). New analysis indicates that it is wrapped in a dark matter halo. Image Credit: NRAO / AUI / NSF
A high-velocity cloud hurtling toward the Milky Way should have disintegrated long ago when it first collided with and passed through our Galaxy. The fact that it’s still intact suggests it’s encased in a shell of dark matter, like a Hobbit wrapped in a mithril coat.

(...)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:25 PM 0 comments

Seeing in Triplicate: Catching a Rare Triple Shadow Transit of Jupiter’s Moons

Seeing in Triplicate: Catching a Rare Triple Shadow Transit of Jupiter’s Moons:

Hubble nabs a triple shadow transit in this false color image taken in 2004. Credit: NASA/HST.

Hubble nabs a triple shadow transit in this false color image taken in 2004. Credit: NASA/HST.
The planet Jupiter is always fascinating to watch. Not only do surface features pop in and out of existence on its swirling cloud tops, but its super fast rotation — once every 9.9 hours — assures its face changes rapidly. And the motion of its four large Galilean moons is captivating to observe as well. Next week offers a special treat for well-placed observers: a triple shadow transit of the moons Callisto, Europa and Ganymede on the evening of June 3rd.(...)hion and Music News

Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:25 PM 0 comments

Observing Alert – Space Station ‘Marathon’ Starts This Week

Observing Alert – Space Station ‘Marathon’ Starts This Week:

Time exposure showing the International Space Station making a bright pass across the northern sky. Credit: Bob King

Time exposure showing the International Space Station (ISS) making a bright pass across the northern sky. Beginning later this week, it will be in continuous sunlight and visible on every pass during the night. Credit: Bob King
What’s your favorite satellite? For me it’s the space station. Not only is it the brightest spacecraft in the sky, but it’s regularly visible from so many places. It’s also unique. Most satellites are either spent rocket stages or unmanned science and surveillance probes. The ISS is inhabited by a crew of astronauts. Real people.

Every time I see that bright, moving light I think of the crew floating about the cabin with their microgravity hair, performing experiments and pondering the meaning of it all while gazing out the cupola windows at the rolling blue Earth below. Starting Friday, the station will make up to 5 flybys a night from dusk till dawn. Marathon anyone?(...)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:24 PM 0 comments

More Camelopardalids: Persistent Trains and that Satellite Fuel Dump Cloud

More Camelopardalids: Persistent Trains and that Satellite Fuel Dump Cloud:

A Camelopardalids meteor captured at Jebel Al Jais mountain near Dubai on the morning of May 24, 2014. Credit and copyright: Justin Ng.

A Camelopardalids meteor captured at Jebel Al Jais mountain near Dubai on the morning of May 24, 2014. Credit and copyright: Justin Ng.
The first ever Camelopardalids Meteor Shower ended up being more of a drizzle than a shower, said astrophotographer John Chumack. “The new shower had very few meteors per hour, I estimated about 8 to 12 per hour, most were faint, but it did produce a few bright ones, as seen captured by my Meteor Video Camera network at my backyard observatory in Dayton Ohio.”

The above image is by Justin Ng who went to Jebel Al Jais mountain near Dubai to capture the meteor shower.

As our own Bob King reported the morning after — with several images and apt descriptions of the shower — the peak activity seem to occur around 2:00am to 4:00am EST (0700 to 900 UT).

There was a lot of buzz about a weird gigantic persistent train that occurred early on (about 1 am EST) and it ended up being a cameo appearance by the Advanced Land Observation Satellite a new Japanese mapping satellite, and a fuel dump from a booster stage of the satellite’s launch vehicle. Read more about it at Bob’s article, and see some images of it below.

Also, see a great video capture of a persistent train, shot by astrophotographer Gavin Heffernan:

(...)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:24 PM 0 comments

Update: Possible ‘Nearby’ Gamma Ray Burst Alert Was False Alarm

Update: Possible ‘Nearby’ Gamma Ray Burst Alert Was False Alarm:

Color view of M31 (The Andromeda Galaxy). Credit and copyright: Terry Hancock.

Color view of M31 (The Andromeda Galaxy). Credit and copyright: Terry Hancock.
Following the late night news yesterday of a possible gamma ray burst in our next door neighboring galaxy Andromeda, it was an “Oh darn!” moment this morning to find out the big event was likely a false alarm. The false alert — and the ensuing false excitement — was due to an unlikely combination of Swift’s Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) detecting what was a previously known object and a power outage at Goddard Space Flight Center and Swift Data Center, so that the data couldn’t be analyzed by the regular team of astronomers around the world.

Also, according to a blog post by Phil Evans, a post-doctoral research assistant from the University of Leicester and a member of the support team for Swift, the Swift team never actually announced a claim of such an event, and it turns out that the tentative data that triggered this story was overstated.

(...)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:23 PM 0 comments

Will We Find Alien Life Within 20 Years? You Can Bet On It.

Will We Find Alien Life Within 20 Years? You Can Bet On It.:

SETI's Allen Telescope Array monitor the stars for signs of intelligent life (SETI.org)

SETI’s Allen Telescope Array monitor the stars for signs of intelligent life (SETI.org)
During a hearing last week before the U.S. House Science and Technology Committee SETI scientists Seth Shostak and Dan Werthimer asserted that solid evidence for extraterrestrial life in our galaxy — or, at the very least, solid evidence for a definitive lack of it — will come within the next two decades. It’s a bold claim for scientists to make on public record, but one that Shostak has made many times before (and he’s not particularly off-schedule either.) And with SETI’s Allen Telescope Array (ATA) continually scanning the sky for any signals that appear intentional, exoplanets being discovered en masse, and new technology on deck that can further investigate a select few of their (hopefully) Earth-like atmospheres, the chances that alien life — if it’s out there — will be found are getting better and better each year.

Would you put your bet on E.T. being out there? Actually, you can.

(...)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:23 PM 0 comments

How Much Can Titan’s Sunsets Teach Us About Alien Planets?

How Much Can Titan’s Sunsets Teach Us About Alien Planets?:

An illustration of a Titanic lake by Ron Miller. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

An illustration of a Titanic lake by Ron Miller. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
Titan — that smoggy, orangy moon circling Saturn — is of great interest to exobiologists because its chemistry could be good for life. It has a thick atmosphere of nitrogen and methane and likely has lakes filled with liquid hydrocarbons, and scientists believe there is enough light filtering down into the atmosphere to drive chemical reactions.

It turns out the moon could also be a good analog to help us understand the atmospheres of exoplanets far beyond our solar system. From looking at sunsets on the moon, scientists led by NASA believe that a thick atmosphere could influence how we perceive a planet from afar.

(...)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:22 PM 0 comments

Astrophoto: Spectacular View of the Triffid Nebula in Narrowband

Astrophoto: Spectacular View of the Triffid Nebula in Narrowband:

M20, the Triffid Nebula in narrowband, Taken remotely from Siding Springs Observatory in Australia. 38 hours of exposure, taken during May 2014. Credit and copyright: Ian Sharp.

M20, the Triffid Nebula in narrowband, Taken remotely from Siding Springs Observatory in Australia. 38 hours of exposure, taken during May 2014. Credit and copyright: Ian Sharp.
What a gorgeous deep sky astrophoto! M20, also known as the Trifid Nebula is located in Sagittarius, and its name means ‘divided into three lobes.’ The ‘lobes’ are clearly visible in this very pretty palette of colors by astrophotographer Ian Sharp.

“I’ve been agonising about this one because it was a real struggle to find a palette that worked because the Hα data was so strong,” Ian told Universe Today via email. He said the regular Hubble palette caused a very green result, so instead he used this mix of channels:

(...)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:22 PM 0 comments

There Might Be 100 Million Planets In The Galaxy With Complex Life

There Might Be 100 Million Planets In The Galaxy With Complex Life:

Artist's impression of complex life on other worlds. Credit: PHL @ UPR Arecibo, NASA, Richard Wheeler @Zephyris

Artist’s impression of complex life on other worlds. Credit: PHL @ UPR Arecibo, NASA, Richard Wheeler @Zephyris
What a multitude of worlds! A new study suggests that the Milky Way could host 100 million planets with complex life, leaving no lack of choice for astronomers to look for organisms beyond Earth. The challenge is, however, that these worlds might be too far away from us to do much yet.

“On the one hand, it seems highly unlikely that we are alone,” stated Louis Irwin, lead author of the study and professor emeritus at the University of Texas at El Paso. “On the other hand, we are likely so far away from life at our level of complexity, that a meeting with such alien forms is extremely improbable for the foreseeable future.”

(...)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:22 PM 0 comments

Surprise! Fireballs Light up the Radio Sky, Hinting at Unexplored Physics

Surprise! Fireballs Light up the Radio Sky, Hinting at Unexplored Physics:

A series of All-Sky (fish eye) images showing the plasma trail left by a fireball, which extends 92 degrees across the northern half of the sky. These images are 5 second snapshots captured at 37.8 MHz with the LWA1 radio telescope. The bright steady sources (Cygnus A, Cassiopeia A, the galactic plane, etc) have been removed using image subtraction. Image Credit: Gregory Taylor (University of New Mexico)

A series of All-Sky (fish eye) images showing the plasma trail left by a fireball, which extends 92 degrees across the northern half of the sky. These images are 5 second snapshots captured at 37.8 MHz with the LWA1 radio telescope. The bright steady sources (Cygnus A, Cassiopeia A, the galactic plane, etc) have been removed using image subtraction. Image Credit: Gregory Taylor (University of New Mexico)
At any given moment, it seems, the sky is sizzling with celestial phenomena waiting to be stumbled upon. New research using the Long Wavelength Array (LWA, a collection of radio dishes in New Mexico, found quite the surprise. Fireballs — those brilliant meteors that leave behind glowing streaks in the night sky — unexpectedly emit a low radio frequency, hinting at new unexplored physics within these meteor streaks.

(...)ashion and Music News

Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:21 PM 0 comments

‘Mega-Earth’ And Doomed Planets Top Today’s Exoplanet Finds

‘Mega-Earth’ And Doomed Planets Top Today’s Exoplanet Finds:

Artist's impression of

Artist’s impression of “mega-Earth” Kepler 10c. Credit: David A. Aguilar (CfA)
Can you imagine a world that is 17 times as massive as Earth, but still rocky? Or two planets that are doomed to be swallowed up by their parent star in just a blink of astronomical time?

While these scenarios sound like science fiction, these are real-life finds released today (June 2) at the American Astronomical Association meeting in Boston.

Here’s a rundown of the finds about these planets in our ever-more-amazing universe.

(...)shion and Music News

Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:20 PM 0 comments

Catch the Dramatic June 10th Occultation of Saturn by the Moon

Catch the Dramatic June 10th Occultation of Saturn by the Moon:

The May 15th, 2014 occultation of Saturn by the Moon as seen from Australia. (Credit: Byuki/Silveryway).

The May 15th, 2014 occultation of Saturn by the Moon as seen from Australia. (Credit: Byuki/Silveryway).
Some terms in astronomy definitely have a PR problem, and are perhaps due for an overhaul.  One such awkward term is occultation, which simply means that one celestial body is passing in front of another from an observer’s vantage point, nothing more, and nothing less. (...)
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Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:19 PM 0 comments

Galaxy Violence Revealed! Cosmic Crash Shows Cluster Crunch

Galaxy Violence Revealed! Cosmic Crash Shows Cluster Crunch:

Galaxy clusters MACS J0717+3745 colliding about five billion light-years away from Earth. This is a composite image of visible light from the Hubble Space Telescope (background), X-ray data from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory (blue) and radio waves from the Very Large Array (red).Credit: Van Weeren, et al.; Bill Saxton, NRAO/AUI/NSF; NASA

Galaxy clusters MACS J0717+3745 colliding about five billion light-years away from Earth. This is a composite image of visible light from the Hubble Space Telescope (background), X-ray data from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory (blue) and radio waves from the Very Large Array (red).Credit: Van Weeren, et al.; Bill Saxton, NRAO/AUI/NSF; NASA
Shock waves! Fast-moving particles! Magnetic fields! This image has it all. Behold the merging galaxy clusters MACS J0717+3745 about five billion light-years from our planet.

That funny red thing you see in the center is new data from the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array showing a spot where “shocks caused by the collisions are accelerating particles that then interact with magnetic fields and emit the radio waves,” officials at the National Radio Astronomical Observatory stated.

(...)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:19 PM 0 comments

Amazing New X-Ray Image of the Whirlpool Galaxy Shows it is Dotted with Black Holes

Amazing New X-Ray Image of the Whirlpool Galaxy Shows it is Dotted with Black Holes:

The Whirlpool galaxy seen in both optical and X-ray light. Image Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Wesleyan Univ./R.Kilgard, et al; Optical: NASA/STScI

The Whirlpool galaxy seen in both optical (red, green and blue) and X-ray (purple) light. Image Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Wesleyan Univ./R.Kilgard, et al; Optical: NASA/STScI
In the Milky Way there’s a single X-ray binary — a system consisting of a black hole capturing and heating material from an orbiting companion star — known as Cygnus X-1. But 30 million light-years away in the Whirlpool galaxy, M51, there are hundreds of X-ray points of light and a full 10 X-ray binaries. (...)
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Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:17 PM 0 comments

Discovered: Two New Planets for Kapteyn’s Star

Discovered: Two New Planets for Kapteyn’s Star:

An artist's conception of the planets orbiting Kapteyn's Star (inset) and the stream of stars associated with an ancient galaxy merger. Credit: image courtesy of Victor Robles, James Bullock, and Miguel Rocha at University of California Irvine and Joel Primack at University of California Santa Cruz.

An artist’s conception of the planets orbiting Kapteyn’s Star (inset) and the stream of stars associated with an ancient galaxy merger. Credit: image courtesy of Victor Robles, James Bullock, and Miguel Rocha at University of California Irvine and Joel Primack at University of California Santa Cruz.
The exoplanet discoveries have been coming fast and furious this week, as astronomers announced a new set of curious worlds this past Monday at the ongoing American Astronomical Society’s 224th Meeting being held in Boston, Massachusetts.

Now, chalk up two more worlds for a famous red dwarf star in our own galactic neck of the woods. (...)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:17 PM 0 comments

Move Over, Gravity: Black Hole Magnetic Fields May Have Powerful Pull

Move Over, Gravity: Black Hole Magnetic Fields May Have Powerful Pull:

Artist rendering of a supermassive black hole. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Artist rendering of a supermassive black hole. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.
It’s oft-repeated that black holes are powerful gravity wells, because they represent a dense concentration of matter in one location. But what about their magnetic fields? A new study suggests that this force could be at least as strong as gravity in supermassive black holes, the singularities that lurk in the center of many galaxies.

(...)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:16 PM 0 comments

Astronomers Find Evidence of a Strange Type of Star

Astronomers Find Evidence of a Strange Type of Star:

Illustration of the red supergiant Betelgeuse, as seen from a fictional orbiting world. © Digital Drew.

Illustration of the red supergiant Betelgeuse, as seen from a fictional orbiting world. © Digital Drew.
One has never been spotted for sure in the wild jungle of strange stellar objects out there, but astronomers now think they have finally found a theoretical cosmic curiosity: a Thorne-Zytkow Object, or TZO, hiding in the neighboring Small Magellanic Cloud. With the outward appearance of garden-variety red supergiants, TZOs are actually two stars in one: a binary pair where a super-dense neutron star has been absorbed into its less dense supergiant parter, and from within it operates its exotic elemental forge.


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:16 PM 0 comments

‘Cosmic Zombie’ Star Triggered This Explosion In Nearby Galaxy

‘Cosmic Zombie’ Star Triggered This Explosion In Nearby Galaxy:

An infrared image of N103B, the remainders of a supernova that exploded about 1,000 years ago in the Large Magellanic Cloud, which is one of the closest galaxies to the Milky Way. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Goddard

An infrared image of N103B, the remainders of a supernova that exploded about 1,000 years ago in the Large Magellanic Cloud, which is one of the closest galaxies to the Milky Way. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Goddard
It might be a bad idea to get close to dead stars. Like a White Walker from Game of Thrones, this “cosmic zombie” white dwarf star was dangerous even though it was just a corpse of a star like our own. The result from this violence is still visible in the Spitzer Space Telescope picture you see above.

Astronomers believe the giant star was shedding material (a common phenomenon in older stars), which fell on to the white dwarf star. As the gas built up on the white dwarf over time, the mass became unstable and the dwarf exploded. What’s left is still lying in a pool of gas about 160,000 light-years away from us.

(...)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:16 PM 0 comments

Astrophoto: Sky of Milk in a Lake of Fire

Astrophoto: Sky of Milk in a Lake of Fire:

The Milky Way over the Lake of Fire, 'Lagoa do Fogo' on the island São Miguel in the Azores in Portugal. Credit and copyright: Miguel Claro.

The Milky Way over the Lake of Fire, ‘Lagoa do Fogo’ on the island São Miguel in the Azores in Portugal. Credit and copyright: Miguel Claro.
A gorgeous new 21-image mosaic from our of our “regulars,” Miguel Claro. Miguel explains the view:

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Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:15 PM 0 comments

Eager To Tour SpaceX’s Headquarters? Here’s Your Chance To Go For Charity

Eager To Tour SpaceX’s Headquarters? Here’s Your Chance To Go For Charity:

The SpaceX Dragon capsule on approach to the ISS during the COTS 2 mission. Credit: NASA.

The SpaceX Dragon capsule on approach to the ISS during the COTS 2 mission. Credit: NASA.
Hot off the excitement of showing off the inside of its manned Dragon spacecraft, SpaceX is prepared to offer a few members of the public a rare chance for a tour of its facilities. There’s a lot on the agenda, including seeing an uncrewed Dragon that has actually returned from space.

Here’s the deal: SpaceX has partnered with Charitybuzz to offer a single tour for up to 10 people. Bidding is open now and closes June 19 at this site.

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Read the rest of Eager To Tour SpaceX’s Headquarters? Here’s Your Chance To Go For Charity (179 words)

© Elizabeth Howell for Universe Today, 2014. |
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Posted by Nelio Inacio at 2:15 PM 0 comments
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