On 24 October 2012 observatories across the world were alerted about a huge stellar explosion, the GRB121024A, which had been located just hours before in the Eridanus constellation. The data obtained on that explosion, which took place about 11,000 million years ago, have made it possible to reconstruct how a black hole is formed. ...
In March 2004, the Rosetta orbiter was launched into space to analyse and observe the nucleus and environment of the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Little research has been done on comets and they still hold many secrets. One theory is that comets brought water (and thus possibly even life) to Earth. Although space probes have been able to carry out isolated investigations, this has only been while...
The SETI project scientists are known for tracking possible extraterrestrial signals, but now they are also considering sending messages from Earth telling of our position. A researcher questions this idea in view of the results from a survey taken by students, revealing the general level of ignorance about the cosmos and the influence of religion when tackling these matters. ...
Portions of rock powder collected by the hammering drill on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover from a slab of Martian sandstone will be delivered to the rover's internal instruments. ...
A common criticism of science is its quick decision to experiment, without thinking about whether or not it should. While many argue that philosophical implications do not belong within the realm of science, others argue that scientists should absolutely consider the broader implications of their results. Now, neuro-psychologist Gabriel G. de la Torre from the […]...
Roughly once a day the sky is lit up by a mysterious torrent of energy. These events — known as gamma-ray bursts — represent the most powerful explosions in the cosmos, sending out as much energy in a fraction of a second as our Sun will give off during its entire lifespan. Yet no one has […]...
To close out their final week aboard the International Space Station, three of the six Expedition 39 crew members are completing their unloading tasks inside the docked commercial SpaceX Dragon cargo freighter and other duties while teams at Mission Control in Houston conduct delicate robotics work outside with dazzling maneuvers of the Dextre robot to […]...
There’s a great book (and a not as great movie) called “Mars Needs Moms” . It’s a heartwarming (dare I say tear-jerking) story that provides a Martian’s-eye view of how important Moms are, and that they’ll love us “to the ends of the universe.” With Mother’s Day coming up — and if you’re looking for […]...
After a rather satisfying test bore into a sandstone slab at “Kimberley” just last week, NASA’s rover Curiosity decided to go all the way for a deep drill excursion into the Red Planet rock target called “Windjama” and successfully collected powdery samples on Monday evening, May 5, Sol 621, that the rover will soon consume […]...
Researchers were able to use the interstellar medium as a giant lens to magnify and look closely at the radio wave emission from a small rotating neutron star. ...
An international team of astronomers has made a measurement of a distant neutron star that is one million times more precise than the previous world’s best. The researchers were able to use the interstellar medium, the 'empty' space between stars and galaxies that is made up of sparsely spread charged particles, as a giant lens to magnify and look closely at the radio wave emission from a small rotating...
Astrophysicists have released an unprecedented map of the entire sky that charts the magnetic field shaping our Milky Way Galaxy. The map reveals magnetic field lines running parallel to the plane of the Galaxy, as well as great loops and whorls associated with nearby clouds of gas and dust. ...
I’m always amazed by the power of data visualization. In this case a video shrinks the rising levels of carbon dioxide over the course of 800,000 years to just under two minutes. The motivation is simple: April set a carbon dioxide milestone by averaging 400 parts per million for the entire month. That’s uncharted territory […]...
Captain Picard orders tea “Tea, Earl Grey, hot.” Who doesn’t remember that famous command by Captain Picard’s of TV’s “Star Trek: The Next Generation”? While no one’s yet invented a replicator that can brew a cup of tea out of thin air, scientists have taken in step in that direction by creating an amazing replica […]...
This “fingerprint” was compiled from the first all-sky observations of “polarized“ light emitted by interstellar dust in the Milky Way. ...
A rare daylight meteor streaked across the skies over southern Ontario, Canada and the U.S. Northeast during the afternoon of Sunday May 4, 2014, with brightness “rivaling that of the Sun,” said the American Meteor Society. Reports of a bright fireball followed by a loud sonic boom were reported on social media, and several dashcam […]...
Happy Cinco de Mayo! This beautiful image of Earth from Space was taken earlier this year, but today is a perfect day to share it. ISS astronaut Rick Mastracchio snapped this photo of the waxing gibbous Moon on March 12, 2014. (...)Read the rest of Earth From Space: The Moon Over Mexico (89 words) […]...
The tent is up! This week’s Carnival of Space is hosted by Pamela Hoffman at the Everyday Spacer blog. Click here to read Carnival of Space #352. (...)Read the rest of Carnival of Space #352 (89 words) susie for Universe Today, 2014. | Permalink | No comment | Post tags: Carnival of Space Feed […]...
A recently discovered comet is headed northward and is set to put on one of two fine performances for binocular observers in 2014 starting this week. Comet C/2014 E2 Jacques was discovered on March 13th 2014 by Cristóvão Jacques, Eduardo Pimentel and João Ribeiro de Barros while observing from the Southern Observatory for Near Earth Asteroids […]...
Europa — a moon of Jupiter first discovered by Galileo — never ceases to surprise and amaze astronomers and amateurs alike. Last December astronomers announced water plumes erupting 100 miles high from the moon’s icy south pole. It was the best evidence yet that Europa, heated internally by the powerful tidal forces generated by Jupiter’s […]...