Tag: astronomy
Have three little photons broken theoretical physics?
A bright super bubble in space
Astronomers have detected molecules of sugar in the gas cloud surrounding a young binary star about 400 light years away.
Sweet! Astronomers have detected molecules of sugar in the gas cloud surrounding a young binary star about 400 light years away.
Sweet! Astronomers have detected molecules of sugar in the gas cloud surrounding a young binary star about 400 light years away.
An analysis of the survey data produced by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) has uncovered literally millions of black hole candidates as well as a thousand of the brightest galaxies yet found.
An analysis of the survey data produced by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) has uncovered literally millions of black hole candidates as well as a thousand of the brightest galaxies yet found.
An analysis of the survey data produced by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) has uncovered literally millions of black hole candidates as well as a thousand of the brightest galaxies yet found.
A solar system with two suns.
Planets without end: A solar system with two suns.
Kepler had previously found two planets orbiting two different binary stars. Here, the space telescope has found a binary star which has its own solar system of two planets.
Planets without end: A solar system with two suns.
Kepler had previously found two planets orbiting two different binary stars. Here, the space telescope has found a binary star which has its own solar system of two planets.
In a paper published today in Science, astronomers show that Type 1a supernovae, the kind used to measure the expansion rate of the universe, can be caused in more than one way, something not previously expected.
The uncertainty of science: In a paper published today in Science, astronomers show that Type 1a supernovae, the kind used to measure the expansion rate of the universe, can be caused in more than one way, something not previously expected.
Andy Howell, second author on the study, said: “It is a total surprise to find that thermonuclear supernovae, which all seem so similar, come from different kinds of stars. It is like discovering that some humans evolved from ape-like ancestors, and others came from giraffes. How could they look so similar if they had such different origins?” Howell is the leader of the supernova group at LCOGT, and is an adjunct faculty member in physics at UCSB.
Recently, some studies have found that Type Ia supernovae are not perfect standard candles –– their brightness depends on the type of galaxy in which they were discovered. The reason is a mystery, but the finding that some Type Ia supernovae come from different progenitors would seem to suggest that the supernova’s ultimate brightness may be affected by whether or not it comes from a nova or a white dwarf merger.
“We don’t think this calls the presence of dark energy into question,” said Dilday. “But it does show that if we want to make progress understanding it, we need to understand supernovae better.”
The uncertainty of science: In a paper published today in Science, astronomers show that Type 1a supernovae, the kind used to measure the expansion rate of the universe, can be caused in more than one way, something not previously expected.
Andy Howell, second author on the study, said: “It is a total surprise to find that thermonuclear supernovae, which all seem so similar, come from different kinds of stars. It is like discovering that some humans evolved from ape-like ancestors, and others came from giraffes. How could they look so similar if they had such different origins?” Howell is the leader of the supernova group at LCOGT, and is an adjunct faculty member in physics at UCSB.
Recently, some studies have found that Type Ia supernovae are not perfect standard candles –– their brightness depends on the type of galaxy in which they were discovered. The reason is a mystery, but the finding that some Type Ia supernovae come from different progenitors would seem to suggest that the supernova’s ultimate brightness may be affected by whether or not it comes from a nova or a white dwarf merger.
“We don’t think this calls the presence of dark energy into question,” said Dilday. “But it does show that if we want to make progress understanding it, we need to understand supernovae better.”
Astronomers have found what they believe is the first evidence of a planet consumed by its star as the star expanded and aged.
Astronomers have found what they believe is the first evidence of a planet consumed by its star as the star expanded and aged.
Sadly, for those of you out there who like the idea of watching planets getting destroyed, the event happened a long time ago, and all the astronomers have is circumstantial evidence that is most likely explained by such an event.
Astronomers have found what they believe is the first evidence of a planet consumed by its star as the star expanded and aged.
Sadly, for those of you out there who like the idea of watching planets getting destroyed, the event happened a long time ago, and all the astronomers have is circumstantial evidence that is most likely explained by such an event.
Astronomers have now confirmed 41 new exoplanets, first pinpointed by the Kepler space telescope
Astronomers have now confirmed 41 new exoplanets, first pinpointed by the Kepler space telescope.
One paper, by Jiwei Xie at the University of Toronto, confirms 24 new planets in 12 systems. Another study, by Steffen and his colleagues, confirms 27 planets in 13 systems. Five of the systems, and 10 of the planets, are the same in both papers. All in all, the new research adds 20 new planetary systems to the 47 that Kepler had previously confirmed, marking a more than 40 percent increase.
Among the Kepler candidates are five Earth-sized planets in the habitable zone, according to the vidoe at the link. However, this announcement does not tell us if any of those candidates were confirmed by these two papers.
Astronomers have now confirmed 41 new exoplanets, first pinpointed by the Kepler space telescope.
One paper, by Jiwei Xie at the University of Toronto, confirms 24 new planets in 12 systems. Another study, by Steffen and his colleagues, confirms 27 planets in 13 systems. Five of the systems, and 10 of the planets, are the same in both papers. All in all, the new research adds 20 new planetary systems to the 47 that Kepler had previously confirmed, marking a more than 40 percent increase.
Among the Kepler candidates are five Earth-sized planets in the habitable zone, according to the vidoe at the link. However, this announcement does not tell us if any of those candidates were confirmed by these two papers.
The 1006 AD supernova, thought to be the brightest in recorded history, apparently left no star behind.
The 1006 AD supernova, thought to be the brightest in recorded history, apparently left no star behind.
The 1006 AD supernova, thought to be the brightest in recorded history, apparently left no star behind.
Facing tight budgets, a National Science Foundation panel has recommended the shuttering of five major ground-based telescopes.
Facing tight budgets, a National Science Foundation panel has recommended the shuttering of five major ground-based telescopes.
Stay tuned for loud screams of outrage. However, some of these facilities have not been very useful for years. Consider the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Radio Telescope. It was only rebuilt after it collapsed in 1988 because of the political clout of Senator Robert Byrd. By the time that reconstruction was finished, a process that took more than 20 years, the telescope was completely obsolete. Though it has done some good science, it is far outmatched by other radio telescope arrays.
Many of the facilities are funded merely due to bureaucratic and political inertia. For the astronomical community to be willing to recognize this is a good thing, for which they should be lauded.
Facing tight budgets, a National Science Foundation panel has recommended the shuttering of five major ground-based telescopes.
Stay tuned for loud screams of outrage. However, some of these facilities have not been very useful for years. Consider the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Radio Telescope. It was only rebuilt after it collapsed in 1988 because of the political clout of Senator Robert Byrd. By the time that reconstruction was finished, a process that took more than 20 years, the telescope was completely obsolete. Though it has done some good science, it is far outmatched by other radio telescope arrays.
Many of the facilities are funded merely due to bureaucratic and political inertia. For the astronomical community to be willing to recognize this is a good thing, for which they should be lauded.
The European Southern Observatory today released a spectacular image of the Pipe Nebula.
Pretty picture: The European Southern Observatory today released a spectacular image of the Pipe Nebula.
Pretty picture: The European Southern Observatory today released a spectacular image of the Pipe Nebula.
The Earth destroyed repeatedly, in the name of science.
The Earth destroyed repeatedly, in the name of science.
The Earth destroyed repeatedly, in the name of science.
In celebration of the European Southern Observatory’s fiftieth anniversary, they are holding two competitions
Pick the target: In celebration of the European Southern Observatory’s fiftieth anniversary, they are holding two competitions, one of which allows the public to pick what the Very Large Telescope will look at. With awards!
Pick the target: In celebration of the European Southern Observatory’s fiftieth anniversary, they are holding two competitions, one of which allows the public to pick what the Very Large Telescope will look at. With awards!
R.I.P. Astronomer Bernard Lowell.
R.I.P. Astronomer Bernard Lowell.
R.I.P. Astronomer Bernard Lowell.
More signs that the Voyager 1 spacecraft is about to enter interstellar space.
More signs that the Voyager 1 spacecraft is about to enter interstellar space.
For the last seven years, Voyager 1 has been exploring the outer layer of the bubble of charged particles the sun blows around itself. In one day, on July 28, data from Voyager 1’s cosmic ray instrument showed the level of high-energy cosmic rays originating from outside our solar system jumped by five percent. During the last half of that same day, the level of lower-energy particles originating from inside our solar system dropped by half. However, in three days, the levels had recovered to near their previous levels.
A third key sign is the direction of the magnetic field, and scientists are eagerly analyzing the data to see whether that has, indeed, changed direction. Scientists expect that all three of these signs will have changed when Voyager 1 has crossed into interstellar space. A preliminary analysis of the latest magnetic field data is expected to be available in the next month.
Based on this report, expect scientists to announce that Voyager 1 has left the solar system sometime before the end of the year.
More signs that the Voyager 1 spacecraft is about to enter interstellar space.
For the last seven years, Voyager 1 has been exploring the outer layer of the bubble of charged particles the sun blows around itself. In one day, on July 28, data from Voyager 1’s cosmic ray instrument showed the level of high-energy cosmic rays originating from outside our solar system jumped by five percent. During the last half of that same day, the level of lower-energy particles originating from inside our solar system dropped by half. However, in three days, the levels had recovered to near their previous levels.
A third key sign is the direction of the magnetic field, and scientists are eagerly analyzing the data to see whether that has, indeed, changed direction. Scientists expect that all three of these signs will have changed when Voyager 1 has crossed into interstellar space. A preliminary analysis of the latest magnetic field data is expected to be available in the next month.
Based on this report, expect scientists to announce that Voyager 1 has left the solar system sometime before the end of the year.
Have astronomers found a future supernova?
A press release from the Carnegie Institute today described a recent paper by astronomers that might have identified a star in the Milky Way that might go supernova sometime in the future. The star QU Carinae, is a cataclysmic variable, a binary system in which material dumped from one star onto another periodically causes an outburst of X-rays.
I emailed Stella Kafka, the lead scientist of the research paper, to find out how far away QU Carinae is and how soon it might go supernova. She responded as follows:
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What one supernovae looks like after the boom.
What one supernovae looks like after the boom.
What one supernovae looks like after the boom.
A tranquil spiral galaxy, home to supernovae.
A tranquil spiral galaxy, home to supernovae. And a beautiful image too!
A tranquil spiral galaxy, home to supernovae. And a beautiful image too!
One of Kepler’s reaction wheels — used to orient the space telescope — has failed.
Bad news: One of Kepler’s four reaction wheels — used to orient the space telescope — has failed.
Kepler only needs three wheels to function – one to control the probe’s motion along each axis – and the probe resumed its observations on 20 July. “Kepler is functioning very well on three reaction wheels,” says mission manager Roger Hunter of NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California. If the glitch can’t be fixed, though, Kepler will be left without a backup wheel. “This is reducing the odds of making the mission go as long as we can,” says Kepler chief scientist William Borucki of NASA Ames, who doubts that Kepler could point accurately enough to look for transiting planets if reduced to two reaction wheels. “It was a disappointing surprise to find this wheel stopped so early.”
Bad news: One of Kepler’s four reaction wheels — used to orient the space telescope — has failed.
Kepler only needs three wheels to function – one to control the probe’s motion along each axis – and the probe resumed its observations on 20 July. “Kepler is functioning very well on three reaction wheels,” says mission manager Roger Hunter of NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California. If the glitch can’t be fixed, though, Kepler will be left without a backup wheel. “This is reducing the odds of making the mission go as long as we can,” says Kepler chief scientist William Borucki of NASA Ames, who doubts that Kepler could point accurately enough to look for transiting planets if reduced to two reaction wheels. “It was a disappointing surprise to find this wheel stopped so early.”
Watching a big asteroid zip past the earth, live
Watching a big asteroid zip past the earth, live.
Watching a big asteroid zip past the earth, live.
Some spectacular images of galaxies from the new Discovery Channel Telescope.
Some spectacular images of galaxies from the new Discovery Channel Telescope (DCT).
Funded privately by the Discovery channel, the DCT has a primary mirror 4.3 meters wide, or about 170 inches, almost as large as the Hale Telescope on Palomar Mountain. This is a world class telescope which will do real research, and it was built the old-fashioned way, with private money donated to a private observatory in exchange for publicity and good will.
Some spectacular images of galaxies from the new Discovery Channel Telescope (DCT).
Funded privately by the Discovery channel, the DCT has a primary mirror 4.3 meters wide, or about 170 inches, almost as large as the Hale Telescope on Palomar Mountain. This is a world class telescope which will do real research, and it was built the old-fashioned way, with private money donated to a private observatory in exchange for publicity and good will.
Using the Hubble Space Telescope astronomers have found the most distant spiral galaxy ever seen.
Using the Hubble Space Telescope astronomers have found the most distant spiral galaxy ever seen.
Using the Hubble Space Telescope astronomers have found the most distant spiral galaxy ever seen.
Scientists have failed to detect one of the leading theoretical candidates for dark matter.
Null result: Scientists have failed to detect one of the leading theoretical candidates for dark matter.
Null result: Scientists have failed to detect one of the leading theoretical candidates for dark matter.
Astronomers have discovered the first exoplanet smaller than Earth.
Astronomers have discovered the first exoplanet smaller than Earth.
The University of Central Florida has detected what could be its first planet, only two-thirds the size of Earth and located right around the corner, cosmically speaking, at a mere 33-light years away. The exoplanet candidate called UCF 1.01, is close to its star, so close it goes around the star in 1.4 days. The planet’s surface likely reaches temperatures of more than 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The discoverers believe that it has no atmosphere, is only two-thirds the gravity of Earth and that its surface may be volcanic or molten.
What is especially remarkable about this discovery is that the scientists used the Spitzer Space Telescope to do it, detecting the planet’s transits across the star’s face, just like Kepler. Spitzer was not designed to be able to do this.
Astronomers have discovered the first exoplanet smaller than Earth.
The University of Central Florida has detected what could be its first planet, only two-thirds the size of Earth and located right around the corner, cosmically speaking, at a mere 33-light years away. The exoplanet candidate called UCF 1.01, is close to its star, so close it goes around the star in 1.4 days. The planet’s surface likely reaches temperatures of more than 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The discoverers believe that it has no atmosphere, is only two-thirds the gravity of Earth and that its surface may be volcanic or molten.
What is especially remarkable about this discovery is that the scientists used the Spitzer Space Telescope to do it, detecting the planet’s transits across the star’s face, just like Kepler. Spitzer was not designed to be able to do this.
Hubble has discovered a fifth moon orbiting Pluto.
Using the Hubble Space Telescope astronomers have discovered a fifth moon orbiting Pluto.
Five moons, eh? That’s pretty good for something that isn’t supposed to be a planet.
Using the Hubble Space Telescope astronomers have discovered a fifth moon orbiting Pluto.
Five moons, eh? That’s pretty good for something that isn’t supposed to be a planet.
A hotel for stargazers
Astronomers have found four different binary star systems with the stars orbiting so close to each other that they complete their orbits in less than four hours, orbits that astronomers had previously believed “impossible.”
The uncertainty of science: Astronomers have found four different binary star systems with the stars orbiting so close to each other that they complete their orbits in less than four hours, orbits that astronomers had previously believed “impossible.”
The uncertainty of science: Astronomers have found four different binary star systems with the stars orbiting so close to each other that they complete their orbits in less than four hours, orbits that astronomers had previously believed “impossible.”
Inexplicably, a dust disk detected around a star about 460 light years away has vanished in the last two years.
The uncertainty of science: Inexplicably, a dust disk detected around a star about 460 light years away has vanished in just two years.
The uncertainty of science: Inexplicably, a dust disk detected around a star about 460 light years away has vanished in just two years.
Astronomers think they have found the fastest moving pulsar yet found, flying through space at between 5 to 6 million miles per hour.
Running away: Astronomers think they have found the fastest moving pulsar yet found, flying through space at between 5 to 6 million miles per hour.
Running away: Astronomers think they have found the fastest moving pulsar yet found, flying through space at between 5 to 6 million miles per hour.
The new X-ray telescope NuSTAR has opened its eye and taken its first images.
The new X-ray telescope NuSTAR has opened its eye and taken its first images.
The new X-ray telescope NuSTAR has opened its eye and taken its first images.