On October 19th, 2017, the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System-1 (Pan-STARRS-1) in Hawaii announced the first-ever detection of an interstellar object, named 1I/2017 U1 (aka. 'Oumuamua). In the months that ...
Astronomy
Jan 11, 2019
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188
NASA's planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft began the 18th observing campaign of its extended mission, K2, on May 12. For the next 82 days, Kepler will stare at clusters of stars, faraway galaxies, and a handful of solar system ...
Astronomy
May 24, 2018
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16
While best known for its surveys of the stars and mapping the Milky Way in three dimensions, ESA's Gaia has many more strings to its bow. Among them, its contribution to our understanding of the asteroids that litter the ...
Space Exploration
Jan 24, 2017
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52
NASA's NEOWISE mission has recently discovered some celestial objects traveling through our neighborhood, including one on the blurry line between asteroid and comet. Another—definitely a comet—might be seen with binoculars ...
Space Exploration
Dec 29, 2016
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405
The search for distant solar system objects has found two more small worlds far outside the orbit of Neptune. The new objects are located beyond the Kuiper Belt, which is a belt of small icy objects just beyond Neptune, of ...
Astronomy
Jul 21, 2016
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1409
The computer found it first – Kuiper Belt Object 2014 MU69 – but University of Virginia astronomer Anne Verbiscer was the "human backup" who found it next. She confirmed the finding for NASA by using the same technique ...
Space Exploration
Jun 13, 2016
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24
Peering to the outskirts of our solar system, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has spotted a small, dark moon orbiting Makemake, the second brightest icy dwarf planet—after Pluto—in the Kuiper Belt.
Space Exploration
Apr 26, 2016
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1665
At this point, I think the astronomy textbook publishers should just give up. They'd like to tell you how many planets there are in the solar system, they really would. But astronomers just can't stop discovering new worlds, ...
Space Exploration
Apr 25, 2016
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36
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is far from done making waves in cosmic discoveries. Up next: Kuiper Belt Object 2014 MU69 a billion miles beyond Pluto.
Space Exploration
Apr 17, 2016
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1262
The announcement by Caltech astronomers of evidence of a giant planet lurking in the outskirts of the solar system has re-ignited the discussion about the existence of planets beyond Neptune. We could be on the verge of confirming ...
Space Exploration
Feb 8, 2016
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