Video: The universe in a box: Preparing for Euclid's survey
ESA's Euclid mission will create a 3D-map of the universe that scientists will use to measure the properties of dark energy and dark matter and uncover the nature of these mysterious components. The...
View ArticleThe positions of stars on an ancient navigation device tell us when it was made
Astrolabes serve two purposes. First, they are useful as an astronomical tool, especially for finding a ship's latitude. But second, they are works of art in themselves. Besides having to be precise,...
View ArticleInnovative X-ray lobster-eye mission set to launch
The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) spacecraft Einstein Probe is ready to launch in January 2024. Equipped with a new generation of X-ray instruments with high sensitivity and a very wide view, this...
View ArticleCosmic chemistry unveils stellar dance: ALMA telescope discovers hidden orbit...
A team of international scientists, armed with the powerful ALMA telescope array in Chile, has unraveled the cosmic mysteries surrounding a dying star, revealing an intricate celestial dance shaped by...
View ArticleThe strange story of the grave of Copernicus
Nicholas Copernicus was the astronomer who, five centuries ago, explained that Earth revolves around the sun, rather than vice versa. A true Renaissance man, he also practiced as a mathematician,...
View ArticleEinstein Probe lifts off on a mission to monitor the X-ray sky
The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) spacecraft Einstein Probe lifted off on a Chang Zheng (Long March) 2C rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China at 15:03 CST / 07:03 GMT / 08:03 CET...
View ArticleThe implications of 'Oumuamua on the panspermia theory
On October 19, 2017, astronomers with the Pan-STARRS survey detected an interstellar object (ISO) passing through our solar system for the first time. The object, known as 1I/2017 U1 'Oumuamua,...
View ArticleCan astronomers use radar to spot a cataclysmic asteroid?
How can humans protect the Earth from "devastating asteroid and comet impacts?" According to the National Academies and their 2023-2032 Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey, ground-based...
View ArticleA mass of 17 billion suns: Growing black hole is the most luminous object...
A new study published in Nature Astronomy describes the most luminous object ever observed by astronomers. It is a black hole with a mass of 17 billion Suns, swallowing a greater amount of mass than...
View ArticleDark Energy Camera captures remains of a massive star that exploded nearly...
This colorful web of wispy gas filaments is the Vela Supernova Remnant, an expanding nebula of cosmic debris left over from a massive star that exploded about 11,000 years ago. Located around 800...
View ArticleSurprising facts and beliefs about eclipses from the medieval and Renaissance...
In medieval and Renaissance society and culture, celestial events were not mere spectacles in the sky. Rather, they were omens, predictors of the future, and windows into the workings of the universe.
View ArticleEinstein probe opens its wide eyes to the X-ray sky
The first images captured by the innovative mission were presented at the 7th workshop of the Einstein Probe consortium in Beijing. They illustrate the satellite's full potential and show that its...
View ArticleThe sun is reaching the peak of its activity—here's how that could cause more...
Many more people around the world than normal were recently able to see the northern and southern lights overhead with the naked eye. This unusual event was triggered by a very strong solar storm,...
View ArticleEinstein Telescope could launch a new era in astronomy
It's still just a plan, but a new telescope could soon be measuring gravitational waves. Gravitational waves are something like the sound waves of the universe. They are created, for example, when...
View ArticleElliptical orbits could be essential to the habitability of rocky planets
A seismic shift occurred in astronomy during the Scientific Revolution, beginning with 16th-century polymath Copernicus and his proposal that the Earth revolved around the sun. By the 17th century,...
View ArticleAstronomers discover new planet in Great Bear constellation
Astronomers from the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun have discovered a new planet in the constellation of the Great Bear. It has a mass as much as 11 times that of Jupiter, orbits its star in...
View ArticleThose aren't Dyson spheres, they're HotDOGs
If there really are advanced alien civilizations out there, you'd think they'd be easy to find. A truly powerful alien race would stride like gods among the cosmos, creating star-sized or galaxy-sized...
View Article