Scientists have assembled a movie of one Martian moon eclipsing another, taken from Curiosity.
Scientists have assembled a movie of one Martian moon eclipsing another, taken from Curiosity.
Video below the fold.
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Tag: astronomy
The engineering tests to try to save Kepler have found that the mission is essentially over.
The engineering tests to try to save Kepler have found that the mission is essentially over.
A headline at this New York Times article, “NASA’s Kepler Mended, but May Never Fully Recover” is wrong, as the telescope has not been “mended.” They have found they might be able to do some limited science, at the most. NASA is going to review this possibility, weighing the cost versus the benefit, and decide in the fall.
Scientists today published a new model that suggests that Voyager 1 actually entered interstellar space in July of last year.
Ad astra: Scientists today published a new model that suggests that Voyager 1 actually left the solar system and entered interstellar space in July of last year.
In describing on a fine scale how magnetic field lines from the sun and magnetic field lines from interstellar space can connect to each other, they conclude Voyager 1 has been detecting the interstellar magnetic field since July 27, 2012. Their model would mean that the interstellar magnetic field direction is the same as that which originates from our sun.
Other models envision the interstellar magnetic field draped around our solar bubble and predict that the direction of the interstellar magnetic field is different from the solar magnetic field inside. By that interpretation, Voyager 1 would still be inside our solar bubble.
This new model might very well explain the conflicting data received from the spacecraft, some of which said it was out of the solar system and some of which said it was not.
Comet ISON has come out from behind the Sun, and it looks like it will not produce a grand show for us later this year.
Comet ISON has come out from behind the Sun, and it looks like it will not produce a grand show for us later this year.
There will be a lot of stupid commentary criticizing astronomers for hyping this comet, all unfair. The comet had the strong possibility of being spectacular. Astronomers pointed that out, being as hopeful as everyone to see a bright and beautiful comet grace our night skies for a few months. That this is not turning out to be so is not their fault.
Astronomers have taken an image of an exoplanet only a few times the mass of Jupiter.
Worlds without end: Astronomers have taken an image of an exoplanet only a few times the mass of Jupiter.
An update on the effort to bring Kepler back to life.
An update on the effort to bring Kepler back to life.
A graveyard of comets.
Even more interesting, some of these comets have risen from the dead!
Many in the astronomy community do not agree with the recent conclusions of one astronomer that Comet ISON is likely a dud.
The uncertainty of science: Many in the astronomy community do not agree with the recent conclusions of one astronomer that Comet ISON is likely to be a dud.
The arguments from both sides are quite interesting. Stay tuned. We will find out in only a few more months.
According to the observations of one Italian astronomer, it appears that Comet ISON will not be the “Comet of the Century,” as hoped.
According to the observations of one Italian astronomer, it appears that Comet ISON will not be the “Comet of the Century,” as hoped.
This fits with other recent reports, all of which suggested that the comet is not brightening as it should.
A supernova has exploded in the galaxy M74, only 30 million light years away.
A supernova has exploded in the galaxy M74, only 30 million light years away.
This is one of the closest supernovae in recent years. Though it is still brightening and has reached 12th magnitude, it is not expected to brighten to naked eye visibility (about 6th magnitude). Astronomers however have spotted the progenitor star in archival Hubble images, which they have identified as a M-type red supergiant that was also particularly bright in the infrared.
Scientists have finalized their flyby plans of Pluto when New Horizons arrives there in 2015.
Scientists have finalized their flyby plans of Pluto when New Horizons arrives there in 2015.
The effort to bring Kepler back to life does not look good.
The effort to bring Kepler back to life does not look good.
Observations of Comet ISON have detected strong carbon dioxide emissions escaping from the comet.
Call Al Gore! Observations of Comet ISON have detected strong carbon dioxide emissions escaping from the comet.
Images captured June 13 with Spitzer’s Infrared Array Camera indicate carbon dioxide is slowly and steadily “fizzing” away from the so-called “soda-pop comet,” along with dust, in a tail about 186,400 miles (300,000 kilometers) long. “We estimate ISON is emitting about 2.2 million pounds (1 million kilograms) of what is most likely carbon dioxide gas and about 120 million pounds (54.4 million kilograms) of dust every day,” said Carey Lisse, leader of NASA’s Comet ISON Observation Campaign and a senior research scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. “Previous observations made by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission and Deep Impact spacecraft gave us only upper limits for any gas emission from ISON. Thanks to Spitzer, we now know for sure the comet’s distant activity has been powered by gas.”
The continuing technical troubles of the James Webb Space Telescope.
The continuing technical troubles of the James Webb Space Telescope.
Though it appears they are keeping within their latest budget and scheduling margins (which is almost nine times the original budget and almost a decade behind the original schedule), the number of issues described in this article is quite worrisome.
“Comet of the Century”? We’ll soon find out.
“‘Comet of the Century’? We’ll soon find out.”
This article, as well as a bunch of others published this week about Comet ISON, suggest to me that the comet is going to be a dud. These articles all are suggesting that we won’t know if the comet will be as bright as hoped until after it flies around the sun. This is absolutely wrong. As the comet drops down towards the sun it should heat up and begin brightening, producing a tail. This is what all comets do. If it doesn’t brighten on its journey in, then it won’t be bright on its journey out.
That the authors of these articles don’t know that, or are hiding it, is simply bad journalism. Moreover, this effort to spin the comet’s dimness now suggests that the comet is now far dimmer than hoped, which strongly suggests it will remain that way.
Astronomers have found evidence which suggests that most of the universe’s gold was created during the collision and merger of two neutron stars.
Astronomers have found evidence which suggests that most of the universe’s gold was created during the collision and merger of two neutron stars.
A binary of two neutron stars will eventually spiral into each other. When they do, scientists believe that their violent merger produces short gamma ray bursts (GRB). Observations of a short GRB burst in June found a lot of spectroscopic evidence of gold.
[T]he explosion had been responsible for the creation of a whole menagerie of heavy elements. They estimated that an equivalent of 1% of the sun’s matter was being flung out from the collision in a tail, and about 10 parts per million of that tail was made of gold.
Part of the gas cloud being ripped apart by the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way have already swung past the black hole.
Part of a gas cloud, being ripped apart by the super massive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, has already swung past the black hole.
“The ionised gas at the head of the cloud is now stretched over more than 150 light-hours (about 160 billion kilometres) at the pericentre of the orbit around the black hole, with the closest approach being about 25 light-hours (or a bit more than 25 billion kilometres)”, explains Stefan Gillessen from MPE, who led the observing team. “The pericentre approach however is not a singular event but rather a process that will be stretching over a period of at least one year.”
The black hole, dubbed Sagittarius A* (pronounced A-star), is more than 4 billion times the mass of our Sun, but emits very little energy for its size. (Most super massive black holes emit energy as they swallow the mass around them.) Astronomers are hoping that they will see some action when it eats this cloud sometime next year.
Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have discovered another moon orbiting Neptune.
Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have discovered another moon orbiting Neptune.
A blue exoplanet the size of Jupiter where glass rains sideways.
A blue exoplanet the size of Jupiter where glass rains sideways.
Engineers will attempt one more try this month to revive one of Kepler’s reaction wheels so that the telescope can resume observations.
Engineers will attempt one more try this month to revive one of Kepler’s reaction wheels so that the telescope can resume observations.
They admit that the odds are not good that the attempt will work, but they are going to give it chance anyway.