Universe Today (Page 194)

Discovery Of A Nearby Super Earth With Only 5 Times Our Mass

By Matthew Williams - November 10, 2016 02:45 PM UTC | Exoplanets

An international team of researchers have found another planet orbiting a red dwarf; in this case, a small super-Earth less than 33 light years away.

Astronomy Cast Ep. 428: The Moons of Mars

By Fraser Cain - November 10, 2016 01:32 PM UTC | Planetary Science

Rock Legends – the Asteroids and Their Discoverers

By Mark Mortimer - November 10, 2016 09:47 AM UTC | Planetary Science

Preview: Comet 45P/Honda–Mrkos–Pajdušáková Brightens in December

By David Dickinson - November 10, 2016 02:24 AM UTC | Planetary Science

Looking for a good binocular comet? Well, if luck is on our side, we should be getting our first looks at periodic Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdušáková as it tops +10th magnitude in dusk skies over the next few weeks.

Where Will President-Elect Trump Take American Space Endeavours?

By Matthew Williams - November 09, 2016 03:14 PM UTC | Space Policy

With the election over, there are concerns over at NASA at how a Trump presidency might affect their research and exploration efforts

November's Supermoon 2016 - Closest of a Lifetime?

By David Dickinson - November 09, 2016 05:58 AM UTC | Planetary Science

By now, you've heard the news. We'll spare you the "it's a bird, it's a plane..." routine to usher in the Supermoon 2016. This month's Full Moon is not only the closest for the year, but the nearest Full Moon for a 80 year plus span.

What are Active Galactic Nuclei?

By Matthew Williams - November 08, 2016 05:00 PM UTC | Extragalactic

The center of large galaxies are active places, where supermassive black holes pump out an incredible amount of light and radiation!

SpaceX Aims for Mid-December Falcon 9 Launch Resumption: Musk

By ken-kremer - November 08, 2016 04:26 PM UTC | Space Exploration

Hoping to recover quickly after suffering a calamitous launch pad explosion of their Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral some two months ago, SpaceX is aiming to resume launches of the booster in mid-December, said company founder and CEO Elon Musk in a recent televised interview on Nov. 4.

Mars One Merges With Mobile Payment Company In Odd Restructuring

By Evan Gough - November 08, 2016 02:44 PM UTC | Space Policy

Space exploration oddball Mars One has announced a merger with a Swiss mobile payment company called InFin AG.

What are Magellanic Clouds?

By Matthew Williams - November 08, 2016 01:15 PM UTC | Extragalactic

Beyond the Milky Way Galaxy lies the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds, two bundles of stars and dust that orbit our galaxy at a distance of 160,000 and 200,000 light years.

What I Learned Writing 'Night Sky with the Naked Eye'

By bob-king - November 08, 2016 11:45 AM UTC | Observing

Next Cygnus Cargo Launch to Space Station Switched to ULA Atlas V

By ken-kremer - November 07, 2016 04:51 PM UTC | Missions

In a complete change of plans from less than three weeks ago, NASA has asked Orbital ATK to switch rockets and launch the firms next Cygnus commercial cargo freighter to the space station on the tried and true Atlas V rather than their own Antares rocket - which just successfully delivered another Cygnus to the orbiting outpost with a hefty stash of science and supplies.

Messier 26 - The NGC 6694 Open Star Cluster

By tammy-plotner - November 07, 2016 04:05 PM UTC | Stars

Located in the direction of the Scutum Constellation, about 5,000 light years from Earth, is the open star cluster known as Messier 26

A Pulsar and White Dwarf Dance Together In A Surprising Orbit

By Matthew Williams - November 07, 2016 03:31 PM UTC | Stars

The discovery of a millisecond pulsar orbiting a low-mass white dwarf star has astronomers puzzled, mainly because its orbit defies conventional models of stellar formation

Carnival of Space #482

By susie - November 07, 2016 02:31 PM UTC | Site News

Some Of The Deepest & Sharpest Shots of The Moon from Earth

By Nancy Atkinson - November 07, 2016 11:48 AM UTC | Planetary Science

The Orbit of the Moon

By Matthew Williams - November 05, 2016 04:20 PM UTC | Planetary Science

The Orbit of the Moon is strange, which gives rise to changes in its appearance. It is also slowly changing, moving farther away from Earth.

Carnival of Space #481

By susie - November 05, 2016 04:12 PM UTC | Site News

When Was the First Light in the Universe?

By Fraser Cain - November 04, 2016 06:50 PM UTC | Cosmology

When was the first time that the Universe cooled down enough that light could finally move around?

The Cancer Constellation

By tammy-plotner - November 04, 2016 06:05 PM UTC | Stars

Located in the Zodiac, the asterism known as Cancer is a medium-sized and relatively faint constellation, and one of 88 recognized by the IAU today.

SpaceX's Fueling Process Makes NASA Queasy

By Matthew Williams - November 04, 2016 03:02 PM UTC | Space Policy

A NASA advisory group has expressed concerns over SpaceX's safety standards in the wake of the explosion that claimed one of the company's rockets

Astronomy Cast Ep. 427: Click Bait vs Clear Science

By Fraser Cain - November 04, 2016 01:32 PM UTC | Site News

Weekly Space Hangout - November 4, 2016: Mars and Where to Land on it with Dr. Matt Golombek

By Fraser Cain - November 04, 2016 12:46 PM UTC | Missions

Monster Meteorite Found in Texas

By bob-king - November 04, 2016 10:54 AM UTC | Planetary Science

Meet the largest single chondrite in Texas.

Somebody Get This Supermassive Black Hole A Towel

By Evan Gough - November 03, 2016 03:19 PM UTC | Black Holes

Two galaxies collide, and one super-massive black hole is stripped almost naked of stars.

Beautiful Planetary Rings Are Dead Dwarf Planets! Dead Dwarf Planets!!!

By Matthew Williams - November 03, 2016 02:59 PM UTC | Planetary Science

A new study from a team of Japanese researchers shows that the rings of the gas giants might be the remains of dwarf planets, which they encountered billions of years ago

China Just Launched Its Largest Rocket Ever

By Nancy Atkinson - November 03, 2016 12:13 PM UTC | Space Exploration

What is the World's Deepest Ocean?

By Matthew Williams - November 02, 2016 07:00 PM UTC | Planetary Science

Determining which ocean is the deepest is tricky, but on average, the Pacific Ocean is deeper than the rest, thanks to the extreme depth of the Mariana Trench

NASA's New Asteroid Alert System Gives 5 Whole Days of Warning

By Evan Gough - November 02, 2016 03:17 PM UTC | Planetary Science

NASA's Scout Program for the early detection of asteroids passed it's first test, giving us 5 days notice of 2016 UR36's close encounter with Earth.

Watch Asteroid 2016 VA Pass Through Earth's Shadow

By David Dickinson - November 02, 2016 07:52 AM UTC | Planetary Science

Pure Metal Asteroid Has Mysterious Water Deposits

By Nancy Atkinson - November 01, 2016 09:02 PM UTC | Planetary Science

Water has been showing up in all sorts of unexpected places in our Solar System, such as the Moon, Mercury and Saturn's moon Ganymede. Add one more place to the list: Asteroid 16 Psyche. This metal-rich asteroid may have traces of water molecules on its surface that shouldn't be there, researchers say.

How Many Galaxies Are There in the Universe?

By Fraser Cain - November 01, 2016 06:45 PM UTC | Extragalactic

Did you hear that the Universe has 10x the number of galaxies? How did astronomers discover this, and what does it mean for the number of stars?

Why Does it Rain?

By Matthew Williams - November 01, 2016 06:10 PM UTC | Planetary Science

Rain is part of Earth's all-important hydrological cycle, where water evaporates from the Earth's surface, condenses, and falls from the sky.

Curiosity Finds a Melted Space Metal Meteorite on the Surface of Mars

By Matthew Williams - November 01, 2016 03:53 PM UTC | Planetary Science

An small object noticed in some of the Curiosity rover's images has been identified as a small meteorite, likely composed of iron-nickel

Even Though it's an Alien World, Titan's Canyons Would Look Very Familiar

By Matthew Williams - November 01, 2016 02:49 PM UTC | Planetary Science

The Cassini probe has found more features on Titan that resemble Earth, steep river valleys that empty into its largest methane lake

November Opens with a Splendid Gathering of Moon and Planets

By bob-king - November 01, 2016 10:30 AM UTC | Observing

At dusk on November 2, skywatchers will see a beautiful crescent Moon pair up with the planets Venus and Saturn.

Here's What Happens When NASA Engineers Carve Their Pumpkins

By Nancy Atkinson - October 31, 2016 09:44 PM UTC | Site News

Messier 25 - The IC 4725 Open Cluster

By tammy-plotner - October 31, 2016 04:30 PM UTC | Stars

SpaceX Makes Progress Replicating Failure that Caused Falcon 9 Pad Explosion

By ken-kremer - October 30, 2016 11:43 PM UTC | Space Exploration

SpaceX is making significant progress in replicating the failure in the helium pressurization system that led to the catastrophic launch pad explosion of the firms Falcon 9 rocket during a routine fueling test at their Florida Space Coast launch complex on September 1.

The Search Is On For Alien Signals Around Tabby's Star

By bob-king - October 28, 2016 06:03 PM UTC | Exoplanets

What's the Most Stable Shape for an Interstellar Lightsail?

By Matthew Williams - October 28, 2016 05:46 PM UTC | Space Exploration

A recent study by an international team of scientists looked at Project Starshot and assessed the likelihood of its success, based on several design features

Best Photos Yet of the Mars Lander's Demise

By bob-king - October 28, 2016 04:41 PM UTC | Planetary Science

New photos from NASA's Mars orbiter reveal the Schiaparelli lander crash in finer detail.

If it Wasn't Already Strange Enough, now Saturn's Hexagon Storm is Changing Color

By Matthew Williams - October 28, 2016 02:39 PM UTC | Planetary Science

Recent images from the Cassini space probe show that Saturn's hexagonal polar storm is changing, which may be due to seasonal variation

Weekly Space Hangout - October 28, 2016: Dr. Derrick Pitts of the Fels Planetarium

By Fraser Cain - October 28, 2016 02:20 PM UTC | Site News

It Took 15 Months, but all of New Horizons' Data Has Finally Been Downloaded

By Nancy Atkinson - October 27, 2016 07:22 PM UTC | Planetary Science

Planets Around Stars like Proxima Centauri are Probably Earth-Sized Water Worlds

By Matthew Williams - October 27, 2016 03:10 PM UTC | Exoplanets

A new study from the University of Bern indicates that most planets that orbit red dwarf stars might be water worlds, which could have a serious effect on the hunt for extra-terrestrial life

What is the Mars Curse?

By Fraser Cain - October 27, 2016 02:33 PM UTC | Planetary Science

If you're going to send a spacecraft to Mars, you've got to know that place has an insatiable hunger for our plucky robot companions. Why is this place cursed?