Astronomers Create Largest 3D Map of the Universe
A team of astronomers working with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) created the largest ever three-dimensional map of the universe. Released along with an accompanying study, the astronomers say the new map is the first to exclusively use the positions of quasars to chart the significant structures of the Universe. “Because quasars are so […]
Is the Universe Connected By a Cosmic Web?
Some people think that the universe is just a hodge-podge of various celestial objects, such as planets, stars and galaxies. But over the years, scientists have found more evidence that the universe may be anything but random, and is actually more organized and interconnected—like an enormous spider web. Our place in the web Let’s start […]
Radioactive Material Found in Fracking Waste; Searching Space for H20
Radioactive Isotopes Found in Fracking Waste US oil and natural gas production, has been boosted in recent years by a drilling process known as hydraulic fracturing, commonly called “fracking.” But this practice has also been criticized for its possible impact on the environment because of the wastewater this method generates. A new study published in […]
Black Hole Awakens; Mozart Lowers B.P.; Baby Planet Found
Scientists Observe Awakening of Dormant Super Massive Black Hole Scientists say that, in the known universe, about 90% of the biggest black holes are dormant, which means they aren’t ravenously devouring matter. Because they’re dormant these black holes aren’t pumping out radiation or any kind of light. But all it takes is for a star […]
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 […]
Trio of Planets Found Circling “Ultra-cool” Star Might Support Life
An international team of astronomers has discovered three exoplanets that could possibly host alien life. The trio of planets are circling an “ultra-cool” brown dwarf that’s located about 40 light years from Earth, in the constellation of Aquarius. “Ultra-cool” dwarf stars are those that that are much cooler and redder than our Sun, and only […]
Happy 26th Birthday Hubble Space Telescope!
Sunday, April 24, 2016 will mark the 26th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope aboard the space shuttle Discovery mission STS-31. It was deployed from the shuttle’s payload bay the following day, April 25, 1990 Over its 26 years of service Hubble’s numerous discoveries and the breath-taking and detailed images it has […]
Astronomers Find a Bunch of ‘Monster Stars’ in Star Cluster
A group of astronomers probing a young star cluster within the ultraviolet section of the light spectrum just found a bunch of huge ‘monster stars.’ The R136 star cluster, located in the Tarantula Nebula, inside the Large Magellanic Cloud, is about 157,000 light years from Earth. They chose to explore in the ultraviolet range since there are […]
Astronomers Spot 80 of the Oldest Galaxies
Advancing technology is making it possible for scientists to investigate the early universe. About 200 million years after the Big Bang, it is thought that clumps of condensed primordial cold gas clouds provided material for the first stars to be born. As stars were created they formed small galaxies. An international team of researchers are […]