New Horizons is So Far Away, it Can Measure the True Darkness of the Universe

By Brian Koberlein - August 16, 2023 02:29 PM UTC | Cosmology
NASA's New Horizons Spacecraft has completed its flybys of Pluto and Arrakoth and is now about 8 billion kilometers from Earth. Although astronomers are looking for another Kuiper Belt target, they can send it towards; the spacecraft is perfectly positioned to look at the Universe itself. At such a great distance, the spacecraft is beyond the dust that causes light pollution in the inner Solar System, darker than the darker skies on Earth. This unique vantage point will measure just how dark the Universe is.
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Storms on Saturn Can Have Impacts That Last for Hundreds of Years

By Brian Koberlein - August 14, 2023 04:06 PM UTC | Planetary Science
While Jupiter has the famous Great Red Spot cyclonic storm, the other giant planets have less turbulent-looking surfaces. But they do have mighty storms all their own. According to a new study, mega-storms on Saturn can flare up every 20-30 years and have long-lasting effects that persist for centuries. The astronomers looked at Saturn's radio emissions and mapped the ammonia gas distribution. They found that the storms churn up this gas and can be used to trace when storms happened in the past.
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Vera Rubin Will Find Many More Interstellar Objects

By Brian Koberlein - August 13, 2023 04:05 PM UTC | Missions
Astronomers have discovered two interstellar objects, Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov. When the Vera C Rubin Observatory comes online next year, it'll scan the entire southern sky every few nights, revealing thousands of comets and asteroids. Some fraction of these will be interstellar objects, passing briefly through the Solar System. It's estimated that Vera Rubin will discover dozens of interstellar objects, some of which might make the perfect targets for an interceptor mission.
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Giant Tidal Waves are Crashing Onto the Surface of an Enormous Star

By Brian Koberlein - August 12, 2023 01:39 PM UTC | Stars
Although the surface of a star seems quite different from the ocean, the underlying effect of gravity can create similar conditions. One type of star is known as a "heartbeat star," where a binary system interacts with one another, generating enormous stellar tides from their mutual gravity. In one extreme system, the gravitational effect is 200 times larger than any heartbeat star seen before. An enormous wave is generated across the star as its binary companion approaches. Like ocean waves, these waves break, crashing down onto the star's surface.
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