Study: Dinosaurs Roamed Before Saturn’s Moons and Rings Formed
A new study from researchers at the SETI Institute (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) and the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has found that most of Saturn’s 62 moons and perhaps even its celebrated rings may only be a hundred million years old. That’s more recent than when dinosaurs were roaming Earth. One of the study authors, Matija […]
Scientists Observe Rare Black Hole Event
For many here in the United States, today, Friday 11/27/15 is something called Black Friday. It’s unofficially considered to be the first shopping day of the Christmas season and many Americans mark it by heading out to shopping centers and stores in droves in hopes of finding bargains. NASA is marking the day too; only […]
Whirling Black Holes’ Dance to End in Cosmic Blast
Some 3.5 billion light years from Earth, in the Virgo Constellation, there are two black holes (binary black hole), locked by gravity, that are madly orbiting each other. But their orbits are continuing to close in and scientists from Columbia University expect that in about 100,000 years they will join together in one huge cosmic […]
Slumbering Giant Black Hole Awakes After 26 Years
Some 8,000 light years from Earth, in the constellation Cygnus, a binary system known as V404 Cygni has come to life for the first time in 26 years. While most binary systems consist of two stars orbiting a common center of mass, V404 Cygni is made up of a black hole and a star that […]
Science Scanner: MAVEN Finds Surprises, Iron Rain, Exercise Boosts Cancer Treatment
NASA’S MAVEN Gives Scientists Double Surprise Scientists studying data transmitted by NASA’s ‘Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution’ or MAVEN spacecraft were surprised when they spotted unforeseen dust clouds that formed in an area about 150-300 kilometers above the surface of Mars and an aurora that glowed across the planet’s northern hemisphere. “If the dust originates […]
Science Scanner: Mapping an Asteroid; Why the Universe Didn’t Collapse; Spicy Food Saves Lives
Scientists Create Geologic and Tectonic Map of Vesta the Asteroid A group of scientists used high-resolution images captured by NASA’s Dawn Spacecraft between 2011 and 2012 to create what they say is the first total geologic and tectonic map of the asteroid Vesta. Details on the work appear in the December edition of the journal […]
Science Scanner: Gravity Dip & Ice Loss Linked, Settling an Scientific Argument, Powerful Solar Flares Found on Mini-Star, Dolphins May Like Magnets
Drop in Gravity Field Over West Antarctic Linked with Ice Loss A group of German, Dutch and U.S. scientists who analyzed high-resolution satellite data from November 2009 until January 2012 found a drop in the gravity field over West Antarctica, which according to various reports has also experienced record ice loss. The researchers studied data […]
Flash Could Allow Scientists to Witness Birth of a Black Hole
A cosmic flash generated by a dying star might allow scientists to see something they’ve never witnessed before – the birth of a black hole. A black hole is a celestial object that is so dense not even light can escape its intense gravitational pull. This phenomenon occurs when a dying star runs out of […]