Citizen scientist finds ancient white dwarf star with enigmatic dust rings ASU astronomer Adam Schneider helps research team zero in on puzzling astrophysical object From ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY A volunteer working with the NASA-led Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 project has found the oldest and coldest known white dwarf — an old Earth-sized remnant of a…
In only a few days, newly-discovered Comet Iwamoto will split the orbits of Earth and Mars, making a relatively close approach to our planet visible through small telescopes. This is a rare visit. The comet comes from the realm of Extreme Trans-Neptunian Objects, a distant region of the solar system inhabited by strange objects such…
Satellite data reveals Venus is going through a change in it’s atmosphere, and the driver seems to be the sun. From the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) part of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) comes this intriguing bit of research using data from the Akatsuki satellite. Akatsuki may have discovered why Venus’s atmosphere rotates…
This is a treat. On Jan. 21st, a meteoroid slammed into the Moon. We know this because many amateur astronomers witnessed the explosion and recorded video and photos. The fireball was visible against the shadowy backdrop of a total lunar eclipse. Video of the event follows. We know this because many amateur astronomers witnessed or…
The “supermoon bloodmoon lunar eclipse” is coming to North and South America, as well and the UK and parts of Eastern Europe this month. The total lunar eclipse will start late on Sunday, Jan. 20, and finish early on Monday, Jan. 21, and because it occurs during a “supermoon”, it will appear about 14% bigger than…
Hyperactive comet 46P/Wirtanen is approaching Earth for one of the closest Earth-comet encounters of the Space Age. Observers report that the comet’s gaseous green atmosphere now covers a patch of sky as large as the full Moon–and it is growing larger. On Dec. 16th, Comet 46P/Wirtanenwill approach Earth less than 11.5 million km away–making it one…
Via MIT News and the “Astronomers with frickin’ laser beams on their heads” department comes this odd idea. If extraterrestrial intelligence exists somewhere in our galaxy, a new MIT study proposes that laser technology on Earth could, in principle, be fashioned into something of a planetary porch light — a beacon strong enough to attract…
With a series of forced maneuvers, NASA fixes the Hubble’s gyroscopes Washington, Oct 23 – The Hubble Space Telescope may soon resume science operations, say NASA scientists, after resolving a technical glitch that forced the probe to enter ‘safe mode’ earlier this month. After the telescope’s gyroscope — which helps Hubble turn and lock on…
On Oct. 8-9, European sky watchers were amazed when a flurry of faint meteors filled the sky at midnight. It was an outburst of the annual Draconids meteor shower. Turns out, that outburst was just the tip of the iceberg. Computer models show that Earth narrowly missed two streams of comet debris that would have…
Pluto is the second-most complex, interesting planet in our solar system behind Earth The reason Pluto lost its planet status is not valid, according to new research from the University of Central Florida. In 2006, the International Astronomical Union, a global group of astronomy experts, established a definition of a planet that required it to…