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Astronomy & Space news
Researchers probe ancient wood for clues about massive solar storms
The Northern Lights were visible much farther south than usual this year, and pictures of the colorful hues filled social media. Now, imagine an aurora hundreds of times brighter—except no one would be able to snap a photo ...
Planetary Sciences
2 minutes ago
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Researchers find plausibility for sun-like stars around black holes, long believed to be impossible
Buried in the treasure trove of the Gaia catalog were two strange black hole systems. These were black holes orbiting sun-like stars, a situation that astronomers long thought impossible. Recently, a team has proposed a mechanism ...
Astronomy
1 hour ago
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The Milky Way represents an outlier among similar galaxies, universe survey data shows
For decades, scientists have used the Milky Way as a model for understanding how galaxies form. But three new studies raise questions about whether the Milky Way is truly representative of other galaxies in the universe.
Astronomy
20 hours ago
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Observations inspect double-lined spectroscopic binary HD 34736
Using various telescopes, an international team of astronomers has conducted a comprehensive study of a double-lined spectroscopic binary known as HD 34736. The study, published November 6 in the Monthly Notices of the Royal ...
Chandra and Hubble tune into 'flame-throwing' Guitar Nebula
Normally found only in heavy metal bands or certain post-apocalyptic films, a "flame-throwing guitar" has now been spotted moving through space. Astronomers have captured movies of this extreme cosmic object using NASA's ...
Astronomy
13 hours ago
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Making Mars's moons: Supercomputers offer 'disruptive' new explanation
A NASA study using a series of supercomputer simulations reveals a potential new solution to a longstanding Martian mystery: How did Mars get its moons? The first step, the findings say, may have involved the destruction ...
Planetary Sciences
15 hours ago
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Predicting the next supernova explosion: New simulations reveal the physics of supernova shock breakout
Stars with masses between 10 and 30 times that of the sun, in their final evolutionary stages, form an iron core that ultimately collapses into a neutron star. This collapse releases a tremendous amount of gravitational potential ...
Astronomy
17 hours ago
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Young planet discovery could provide new insight into planet formation
The detection of a giant planet that transits a very young star is reported in Nature. The findings indicate that this is the youngest transiting planet found to date.
Planetary Sciences
16 hours ago
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Unlocking the secrets of the first quasars: How they defy the laws of physics to grow
In an article published in the Astronomy & Astrophysics journal, new evidence suggests how supermassive black holes, with masses of several billion times that of our sun, formed so rapidly in less than a billion years after ...
Astronomy
21 hours ago
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SpaceX launches giant Starship rocket, but aborts attempt to catch booster with mechanical arms
SpaceX on Tuesday launched another Starship rocket, but passed up catching the booster with giant mechanical arms.
Space Exploration
Nov 20, 2024
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NASA ocean world explorers have to swim before they can fly
When NASA's Europa Clipper reaches its destination in 2030, the spacecraft will prepare to aim an array of powerful science instruments toward Jupiter's moon Europa during 49 flybys, looking for signs that the ocean beneath ...
Space Exploration
14 hours ago
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NASA's Swift reaches 20th anniversary in improved pointing mode
After two decades in space, NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is performing better than ever thanks to a new operational strategy implemented earlier this year. The spacecraft has made great scientific strides in the ...
Astronomy
14 hours ago
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It's been 100 years since we learned the Milky Way is not the only galaxy
On Sunday November 23, 1924, 100 years ago this month, readers perusing page six of the New York Times would have found an intriguing article, amid several large adverts for fur coats. The headline read: Finds Spiral Nebulae ...
Astronomy
16 hours ago
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Many physicists argue the universe is fine-tuned for life. Our findings question this idea
Physicists have long grappled with the question of why the universe was able to support the evolution of intelligent life. The values of the many forces and particles, represented by some 30 so-called fundamental constants, ...
Astrobiology
17 hours ago
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Astronauts found to process some tasks slower in space, but no signs of permanent cognitive decline
A stay in space exerts extreme pressures on the human body. Astronauts' bodies and brains are impacted by radiation, altered gravity, challenging working conditions, and sleep loss—all of which could compromise cognitive ...
Space Exploration
Nov 20, 2024
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Canada's first moon rover will soon have a name as it prepares to explore a hostile lunar region
The Canadian Space Agency announced a competition today to name Canada's first-ever rover mission to the moon. This unmanned mission will explore the south polar region of the moon to search for water ice and explore its ...
Space Exploration
16 hours ago
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From Houston to the moon: Johnson's thermal vacuum chamber tests lunar solar technology
Imagine designing technology that can survive on the moon for up to a decade, providing a continuous energy supply. NASA selected three companies to develop such systems, aimed at providing a power source at the moon's South ...
Space Exploration
19 hours ago
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New DESI data shed light on gravity's pull in the universe
Gravity has shaped our cosmos. Its attractive influence turned tiny differences in the amount of matter present in the early universe into the sprawling strands of galaxies we see today. A new study using data from the Dark ...
Astronomy
Nov 19, 2024
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New giant radio galaxy discovered with MeerKAT
An international team of astronomers has employed the MeerKAT radio telescope to investigate giant radio galaxies in the field of the Cosmological Evolution Survey (COSMOS). They found a new giant radio galaxy that had not ...
First pairs of white dwarf–main sequence binaries discovered in clusters shine new light on stellar evolution
Astronomers at the University of Toronto (U of T) have discovered the first pairs of white dwarf and main sequence stars—"dead" remnants and "living" stars—in young star clusters. Described in a new study published in ...
Astronomy
Nov 19, 2024
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