Astronomers Find and Confirm 44 New Extrasolar Planets
An international team of astronomers has confirmed the existence of 44 new extrasolar planets. The planets were first spotted by the astronomers through data gathered from Campaign #10 of NASA’s Kepler K2 mission. According to NASA’s Kepler and K2 webpage, campaign #10 ran from July 6, 2016, to September 20, 2016. To verify their findings, […]
Oumuamua: It’s a Comet, It’s an Asteroid, No, wait, It’s a Comet
An odd rocky cigar-shaped object called Oumuamua made news late last year when it was determined to be of interstellar origin. It was touted as the solar system’s first visitor from another star system. Some scientists first pegged Oumuamua as a comet soon after its discovery. A few months later studies indicated that it was […]
NASA Launches TESS the Exoplanet Hunter
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, will soon join NASA’s fleet of exoplanet-hunters that, so far, includes the Kepler, Hubble, and the Spitzer Space Telescopes. TESS was launched at 2251 UTC on April 18, 2018, from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The space observatory is expected to survey about 85% of […]
More Testing Needed: NASA Delays Launch of Webb Space Telescope
Have you been anxiously waiting to see some of the new and more dazzling views of space that NASA promises will be provided by the new James Webb Space Telescope? Well, sorry to disappoint you, but you’re going to have to wait a little longer. The US space agency says they must delay sending the more powerful […]
Lots of Water Detected in Exoplanet WASP 39b Atmosphere
Scientists, who studied a “hot Jupiter-like” exoplanet with NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes, were able to detect signs of water in its atmosphere. And, they didn’t just find signs of a little water – but a lot of water, three times the amount of water on our solar system’s largest planet, Jupiter. The exoplanet they […]
Science Images – January 2018
September 2017 Science Images
January 2017 Science Images
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Ants Goof Off Too; Milky Way Steals Stars; Astronomers Spot Exocomets
Ants Balance Work and Rest to Maintain Colony Ants have a reputation of being dedicated and hardworking creatures. But did you know that like humans, ants also seek to maintain a healthy balance of work and rest? While an ant colony appears to be filled with busy workers, according to new research, there are also […]
Cosmic Cannon; Mars Dust Storm Forecast; Dione’s Subsurface Ocean
Astronomers Find a Cosmic Cannon Astronomers have spotted super-hot blobs of plasma blasting into space like cannonballs near a dying red giant star, some 1,200 light years away. Using the Hubble Space Telescope to make their discovery, the scientists found that the balls of hot gas are flying so fast a trip from the Earth […]