Science Scanner: Astronomers Find Jewel in the Cosmos
Astronomers say they’ve found a jewel in the cosmos. It’s a rare, rectangular-shaped galaxy, called LEDA 074886, that resembles an emerald-cut diamond. The scientists were looking around the galaxy NGC 1407 in the Constellation Eridanus – about 70 million light years from Earth – trying to find globular clusters of stars, when they spotted what […]
NASA Unveils Atlas, Catalog of Entire Infrared Sky
A new atlas and catalog of the entire infrared sky were unveiled recently by NASA. The atlas and catalog – which show more than a half-billion stars, galaxies and other objects – were composed from data captured by NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission. With the entire release of the sky catalog, the WISE […]
Why We Never See the Far Side of the Moon
Do you ever wonder why we never get to see the far side of the Moon? New research suggests it’s because of the rate at which the moon’s rotation slowed before locking into its current orientation with Earth. Scientists now think the moon was formed from a very large impact, according to Dr. Oded Aharonson, […]
Science Scanner: Scientists Discover New Type of Planet
Data from the Hubble Space Telescope has revealed a new class of planet, one which is water-covered and has a steamy atmosphere. We currently have three types of planets in our Solar System; rocky (Earth, Venus, Mercury and Mars), gas giants (Saturn and Jupiter) and ice giants (Uranus and Neptune). While studying the exoplanet, GJ […]
Science Scanner: Swiss Launch Attack on Space Junk
The Swiss are taking aim at space junk – the thousands of man-made objects launched into space over the years which have accumulated into a virtual junkyard filled with now-useless debris, like spent rocket stages and old satellites. NASA keeps a close eye on about 16,000 of these objects and scientists have expressed concern about […]
Science Scanner: Fear of Terrorists Keeps Man-made Avian Flu Under Wraps
In December, the U.S. government asked scientists working on a man-made version of the avian flu virus to withhold certain details of their studies out of concern terrorists might use the information to manufacture and spread the dangerous virus, causing a worldwide pandemic. At the time of the request by the U.S. National Science Advisory […]
NASA Gears Up for Intensified Solar Activity
Last week, a massive solar flare on the sun produced one of the strongest radiation storms Earth has experienced since May 2005. As a result, airlines were forced to reroute some flights that usually cross over the Polar regions. Many parts of the world, which usually can’t see the aurorae produced over the North and […]
Science Scanner: Dispute Over Life on Venus
A renowned Russian astronomer drew lots of attention after claiming there is life on Venus. Leonid Ksanfomaliti, of the Russian Academy of Sciences, analyzed photos made by Venera-13, a Soviet-era space probe that explored Venus. According to Ksanfomaliti, the photos showed objects – which looked like a disk, black flap and scorpion – that appeared […]
Effects of Solar Radiation Storm Headed for Earth
The sun is producing the strongest solar radiation storm since May 2005, according to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center. NASA says it’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observed the huge M8.7-class solar flare that erupted late on Sunday, Jan. 22 and peaked today, Jan. 23 at around 0400 UTC. Now heading for Earth, the Coronal Mass […]
Science Scanner: Did US Radar Bring Down Russian Probe?
Did powerful radar signals from the United States bring down a Russian Mars moon probe? Russian scientists will examine whether a U.S. radar station transmitted radar signals which inadvertently interfered with the Phobos-Ground probe that recently fell back to Earth. Experts say the assertion is far-fetched. NASA says the military radar equipment in question wasn’t […]