Tag: astronomy
‘Perfect black’ coating can render a 3D object flat, raises intriguing dark veil possibility in astronomy
A newly developed “perfect black” coating can render a 3D object flat, which raises an intriguing dark veil possibility in astronomy.
“The carbon nanotube forest can absorb very wide range of electromagnetic wave from ultraviolet up to terahertz,” Guo said, “and in principle it can be applied to an arbitrary sized object.” Just how large an object? Guo suggested an intriguing possibility—perhaps entire planets or even stars. “Since deep space itself is a perfect dark background, if a planet or star were surrounded by a thick, sooty atmosphere of light-absorbing carbon nanomaterial gases, it would become invisible due to the same principle,” Guo said. “It would become totally dark to our instruments that rely on the detection of electromagnetic waves.”
NASA extends Messenger mission at Mercury one year
No surprise here: NASA has extended the Messenger mission at Mercury for one more year.
Gold plated interstellar clouds, sprayed by supernovae
Supernova may have kicked off solar system
A supernova may have kicked off the birth of our sun.
I have a article awaiting publication at Sky & Telescope on this same subject, though my piece also asks the question: What was the star cluster like in which the sun formed? And can we find that star cluster today?
The fastest spinning normal star
Astronomers find the fastest spinning normal star.
Astronomers find clouds of primordial gas from the early universe
Astronomers find clouds of primordial gas from the early universe.
And in related news, a new computer simulation suggests that the very first stars were not the giant monsters scientists had predicted.
Watch asteroid 2005 YU buzz the Earth tomorrow with your backyard telescope
Watch asteroid 2005 YU55 buzz the Earth tomorrow with your backyard telescope.
Finding ET by looking for their city lights
Finding ET by looking for their city lights.
Three giant ground telescopes fight for funding
Three giant ground-based telescopes fight for funding during a time of limited funds.
Kepler scientists propose extending the space telescope’s mission
The lobbying begins: Kepler scientists propose extending the space telescope’s mission.
This appears to be a response to the Zubrin article on Sunday that suggested the Obama administration was planning to shut Kepler down early.
Astronomers have proposed that the cloud of dust that surrounds about 50% of the supermassive black holes at the center of galaxies comes from destroyed planets
Science better than fiction: Astronomers have proposed that the cloud of dust surrounding about 50% of the supermassive black holes at the center of galaxies comes from planets that were ripped apart and smashed by that black hole.
Collisions between these rocky objects would occur at colossal speeds as large as 1000 km per second, continuously shattering and fragmenting the objects, until eventually they end up as microscopic dust. Dr. Nayakshin points out that this harsh environment – radiation and frequent collisions – would make the planets orbiting supermassive black holes sterile, even before they are destroyed. “Too bad for life on these planets”, he says, “but on the other hand the dust created in this way blocks much of the harmful radiation from reaching the rest of the host galaxy. This in turn may make it easier for life to prosper elsewhere in the rest of the central region of the galaxy.”