-
Three of the Oldest Stars in the Universe Found Circling the Milky Way
Mention the Milky Way and most people will visualise a great big spiral galaxy billions of years old. It?s thought to be a galaxy that took shape billions of years after the Big Bang. Studies by astronomers have revealed that there are the echo?s of an earlier time around us. A team of astronomers from …
Continue reading "Three of the Oldest Stars in the Universe Found Circling the Milky Way"
The post Three of the Oldest Stars in the Universe Found Circling the Milky Way appeared first on Universe Today.
-
A Rotating Spacecraft Would Solve So Many Problems in Spaceflight
If you watch astronauts in space then you will know how they seem to float around their spaceship. Spaceships in orbit around the Earth are in free-fall, constantly falling toward surface fo the Earth with the surface constantly falling away from it. Any occupant is also in free-fall but living like this causes muscle tone …
Continue reading "A Rotating Spacecraft Would Solve So Many Problems in Spaceflight"
The post A Rotating Spacecraft Would Solve So Many Problems in Spaceflight appeared first on Universe Today.
-
White Dwarfs are Often Polluted With Heavier Elements. Now We Know Why
When stars exhaust their hydrogen fuel at the end of their main sequence phase, they undergo core collapse and shed their outer layers in a supernova. Whereas particularly massive stars will collapse and become black holes, stars comparable to our Sun become stellar remnants known as “white dwarfs.” These “dead stars” are extremely compact and …
Continue reading "White Dwarfs are Often Polluted With Heavier Elements. Now We Know Why"
The post White Dwarfs are Often Polluted With Heavier Elements. Now We Know Why appeared first on Universe Today.
-
Saturn-Sized Exoplanet Isn?t Losing Mass Quickly Enough
We have discovered over 5,000 planets around other star systems. Amongst the veritable cosmic menagerie of exoplanets, it seems there is a real shortage of Neptune-sized planets close to their star. A new paper just published discusses a Saturn-sized planet close to its host star which should be experiencing mass loss, but isn?t. Studying this …
Continue reading "Saturn-Sized Exoplanet Isn’t Losing Mass Quickly Enough"
The post Saturn-Sized Exoplanet Isn’t Losing Mass Quickly Enough appeared first on Universe Today.
-
Gravitational Lenses Could Pin Down Black Hole Mergers with Unprecedented Accuracy
Gravitational wave astronomy has been one of the hottest new types of astronomy ever since the LIGO consortium officially detected the first gravitational wave (GW) back in 2016. Astronomers were excited about the number of new questions that could be answered using this sensing technique that had never been considered before. But a lot of …
Continue reading "Gravitational Lenses Could Pin Down Black Hole Mergers with Unprecedented Accuracy"
The post Gravitational Lenses Could Pin Down Black Hole Mergers with Unprecedented Accuracy appeared first on Universe Today.
-
TRAPPIST-1 Outer Planets Likely Have Water
The TRAPPIST-1 solar system generated a swell of interest when it was observed several years ago. In 2016, astronomers using�the�Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope�(TRAPPIST) at�La Silla Observatory�in�Chile detected two rocky planets orbiting the red dwarf star, which took the name TRAPPIST-1. Then, in 2017, a deeper analysis found another five rocky planets. It was …
Continue reading "TRAPPIST-1 Outer Planets Likely Have Water"
The post TRAPPIST-1 Outer Planets Likely Have Water appeared first on Universe Today.
-
Perseverance Wraps Up Over 1,000 Days on Mars. Still Going Strong
I can remember when Perseverance was launched, travelled out into the Solar System and landed on Mars in February 2021.� In all the time since it arrived, having clocked up 1000 days of exploration, it has collected 23 samples from different geological areas within the Jezero Crater. The area was once home to an ancient …
Continue reading "Perseverance Wraps Up Over 1,000 Days on Mars. Still Going Strong"
The post Perseverance Wraps Up Over 1,000 Days on Mars. Still Going Strong appeared first on Universe Today.
-
Astronomers Try to Directly Observe Epsilon Eridani b. No Luck. Maybe Webb Can Find it?
Back in the year 2000, Epsilon Eridani b was discovered. It is a Jupiter-like exoplanet 10.5 light years away but it has taken decades of observations to learn more about the planet. One thing that remains a mystery is it?s orbit which, until recently has been unknown. There has never been a direct image of …
Continue reading "Astronomers Try to Directly Observe Epsilon Eridani b. No Luck. Maybe Webb Can Find it?"
The post Astronomers Try to Directly Observe Epsilon Eridani b. No Luck. Maybe Webb Can Find it? appeared first on Universe Today.
-
Some Clever Ways to Search for Primordial Black Holes
Primordial Black Holes (PBHs) have recently received much attention in the physics community. One of the primary reasons is the potential link to dark matter. In effect, if PBHs can be proven to exist, there’s a very good chance that they are what dark matter, the invisible thing that makes up 85% of the universe’s …
Continue reading "Some Clever Ways to Search for Primordial Black Holes"
The post Some Clever Ways to Search for Primordial Black Holes appeared first on Universe Today.
-
These Rocks Formed in an Ancient Lake on Mars
We already know that water has existed on the surface of Mars but for how long? Curiosity has been searching for evidence for the long term presence of water on Mars and now, a team of researchers think they have found it. The rover has been exploring the Gale Crater and found it contains high …
Continue reading "These Rocks Formed in an Ancient Lake on Mars"
The post These Rocks Formed in an Ancient Lake on Mars appeared first on Universe Today.