In 2020, astronomers added a new member to an exclusive family of exotic objects with the discovery of a magnetar. New observations from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory help support the idea that it is also a pulsar, meaning ...
Astronomy
Jan 8, 2021
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546
Looking its best ever is the star cluster NGC 2203, here imaged by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Aside from its dazzling good looks, this cluster of stars contains lots of astronomical treats that have helped astronomers ...
Astronomy
Aug 3, 2020
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15
While changing the rotation rate/axis of a thrown baseball has long been a weapon in a pitcher's arsenal, some pitchers, like Washington Nationals star Stephen Strasburg, manipulate the baseball's wake to create unexpected ...
General Physics
Nov 24, 2019
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222
Venus is covered in a thick layer of clouds, one reason that it appears so bright in the sky. Ancient astronomers had a good idea of what (since Copernicus) we know as its orbital period; the modern measurement is that Venus ...
Space Exploration
Oct 21, 2019
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136
In late 2018, the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft arrived at Bennu, the asteroid it will be studying and sampling over the next several years.
Space Exploration
Mar 12, 2019
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Saturn's distinctive rings were observed in unprecedented detail by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, and scientists have now used those observations to probe the interior of the giant planet and obtain the first precise determination ...
Space Exploration
Jan 18, 2019
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Resonating oscillations of a planet's atmosphere caused by gravitational tides and heating from its star could prevent a planet's rotation from steadily slowing over time, according to new research by Caleb Scharf, who is ...
Space Exploration
Nov 5, 2018
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35
NASA took great strides last week to press into service a Hubble Space Telescope backup gyroscope (gyro) that was incorrectly returning extremely high rotation rates. The backup gyro was turned on after the spacecraft entered ...
Space Exploration
Oct 23, 2018
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16
The study of exoplanets—planets that lie outside our solar system—could help scientists answer big questions about our place in the universe, and whether life exists beyond Earth. But, these distant worlds are extremely ...
Astronomy
Jun 29, 2018
0
128
Pulsars are rapidly rotating neutron stars and sometimes they abruptly increase their rotation rate. This sudden change of spin rate is called a "glitch" and I was part of a team that recorded one happening in the Vela Pulsar, ...
Astronomy
Apr 12, 2018
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