Black Hole Back Doors?; Io’s Atmosphere; No New Stars in Galaxy Center
Do Black Holes Have Back Doors? Most people describe a black hole as a cosmic object with gravity so strong that it sucks in any kind of material that comes close to it. What happens to stuff that is pulled into a black hole? Some scientists think that matter that enters a black hole gets […]
They’re Sure It Exists, But Scientists Still Unable to Detect Dark Matter
Back in 1933, Caltech astronomer and astrophysicist Fritz Zwicky was observing the Coma cluster, a large group of galaxies located some 321 million light years away in the Coma Berenices constellation. He noticed the speed of the galaxies rotating within the cluster was much faster than the quantity of its mass he had calculated. According to […]
X Marks the Spot; New Radiation Monitor on ISS; 3D Astronomical Map
X Marks the Center of the Milky Way When we hear “X marks the spot,” many of us might think of old pirate maps and where treasure is supposedly buried. But “X marks the spot” could also have more of a cosmic meaning, thanks to a new study published in the Astronomical Journal. The study’s […]
Ancient Oxygen Found; Biggest Tatooine-Like Planet Spotted; 2nd Gravitational Wave Detected
Astronomers Find Really Really Old Oxygen in Distant Galaxy Astronomers say they have spotted some of the oldest oxygen in the universe. Using the European Southern Observatory’s ALMA or Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array of radio telescopes, the scientists say they’ve picked up a strong signal that indicates oxygen in a galaxy about 13.1 billion light-years […]
Our Expanding Universe; LISA Pathfinder is a Success; Drugs in Waterways
How Fast is the Universe Expanding? The universe is a big place. And it’s getting even bigger, and at a faster rate than scientists had predicted. That’s according to a new study at Johns Hopkins University, led by Professor Adam Reiss. The study is based on an analysis of data gathered by the Hubble Space […]
Black Hole Mass Measured; Ice Sheets on Mars; Saliva Diagnoses Disease
Astronomers Precisely Measure Black Hole Mass A group of astronomers have been able to determine the precise mass of a distant black hole in the center of an enormous elliptical galaxy 73 million light years away. The galaxy is called NGC 1332 and is located in the direction of the southern constellation Eridanus. To measure […]
Venusian Atmosphere; Space Mice Liver Trouble; Gravitation Wave Light Pulse
New Details of Venusian Atmosphere Revealed The European Space Agency’s Venus Express orbited Earth’s closest planetary neighbor for over eight years until its mission ended in December 2014. In its final months the spacecraft was sent deep into the Venusian atmosphere for a series of low-altitude orbits. Studying data of a previously unexplored piece of […]
Nearby Supernovae Showered Earth and Moon With Radioactive Iron
Artist Animation of Star Explosion (NASA/JPL/Australian National University) Two new studies suggest radioactive bits of a nearby star or stars that exploded into a supernova or supernovae showered the Earth and Moon with radioactive iron a couple of million years ago. Both studies found the stellar evidence in concentrations of an isotope of iron called […]
20 Years to Alpha Centauri; NASA’s Expandable Habitat; Elements of an Apology
Proposed Spacecraft Will Take 20 Years to Reach Alpha Centauri Renowned physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking and Russian internet investor and physicist Yuri Milner recently announced an ambitious new project they hope will someday send thousands of tiny spacecraft to the stars to explore space and search for life in the universe. Called ‘Breakthrough Starshot,’ […]
Laser Cloaking Device; New Device Spots Exoplanets; Malaria Older Than We Thought
Lasers Could Hide Earth from Aliens Scientists have been scanning the skies and conducting numerous studies in a search for extraterrestrial intelligent life or ETI’s. Back in 2010 renowned theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking warned that it might be too dangerous for humans to interact with ETI’s. While we’re looking for signs of intelligent […]