News
Astronomers just discovered the smallest star ever
Wednesday, July 12th 2017 06:32 PM
A team of astronomers at the University of Cambridge was on the lookout for new exoplanets when they came across an exciting accidental discovery: They found the smallest star measured to this day.
This tiny new star, which is being called EBLM J0555-57Ab, is about 600 light-years from Earth, and has a comparable mass (85 Jupiter masses) to the estimated mass of TRAPPST-1. The new star, though, has a radius about 30 percent smaller. Like TRAPPIST-1, EBLM J0555-57Ab is likely an ultracool M-dwarf star.
The team used data from an experiment called WASP (the Wide Angle Search for Planets), which is typically used in the search for planets rather than stars, to look for new exoplanets. During their studies, they noticed a consistent dimming of EBLM J0555-57Ab’s parent star, which signified an object in orbit. Through further research to measure the mass of any orbiting companions, they discovered the object they’d detected was too massive to be...
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How to View a Solar Eclipse Without Damaging Your Eyes
Tuesday, July 11th 2017 11:03 PM
Your parents probably told you to NEVER look directly at the sun with your naked eye. In fact, you've probably been told that by lots of reputable sources (including our own Space.com). But according to NASA and four other science and medical organizations, it's OK to look at a total solar eclipse with the naked eye — but only when the face of the sun is totally obscured by the moon.
A total solar eclipse happens when the central disk of the sun is completely covered by the moon. Many people have probably seen a partial solar eclipse, in which the disk of the moon appears to take a bite out of the sun's disk, but never fully obscures it. But total solar eclipses are a much rarer sight. In 2017, a total solar eclipse will cross the continental U.S. from coast to coast.
A joint statement from NASA and the four other organizations says that with the right information, skywatchers can safely view the total sol...
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China’s quantum satellite adds two new tricks to its repertoire
Saturday, July 8th 2017 06:40 PM
A record-breaking quantum satellite has again blown away the competition, achieving two new milestones in long-distance quantum communications through space.
In June, Chinese researchers demonstrated that the satellite Micius could send entangled quantum particles to far-flung locations on Earth, their properties remaining intertwined despite being separated by more than 1,200 kilometers (SN Online: 6/15/17). Now researchers have used the satellite to teleport particles’ properties and transmit quantum encryption keys. The result, reported in two papers published online July 3 and July 4 at arXiv.org, marks the first time the two techniques have been demonstrated in space.
In quantum teleportation, the properties of one particle are transferred to another. The scientists first sent particles of light, or photons, from the ground to the satellite — a distance of up to 1,400 kilometers. When the researchers made particular measurements of other photons on the...
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Physicists Find Another Gravitational Wave to Suggest Einstein Was Right
Friday, July 7th 2017 10:56 PM
THREE BILLION YEARS ago, two black holes collided to form a larger one. In the process, they produced a massive wave rolling through the fabric of spacetime at the speed of light. When the wave finally arrived at Earth on January 4 this year, it had faded into a light tickle upon the super-sensitive instruments of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory, and for the third time ever, physicists observed a ripple in spacetime known as a gravitational wave. More detections means that physicists have a more precise understanding of how gravity works than ever—and they might have a new way to study the deepest mysteries of the universe.
The previously detected gravitational waves—the first of which was announced last year—also came from black hole collisions. “The event was a lot like our first detection, but the black holes were another two times further away,” says physicist David Shoemaker, the spokesperson for...
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Hubble Pushed Beyond Limits to Spot Clumps of New Stars in Distant Galaxy
Thursday, July 6th 2017 06:54 PM
When it comes to the distant universe, even the keen vision of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope can only go so far. Teasing out finer details requires clever thinking and a little help from a cosmic alignment with a gravitational lens.
By applying a new computational analysis to a galaxy magnified by a gravitational lens, astronomers have obtained images 10 times sharper than what Hubble could achieve on its own. The results show an edge-on disk galaxy studded with brilliant patches of newly formed stars.
“When we saw the reconstructed image we said, ‘Wow, it looks like fireworks are going off everywhere,’” said astronomer Jane Rigby of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
The galaxy in question is so far away that we see it as it appeared 11 billion years ago, only 2.7 billion years after the big bang. It is one of more than 70 strongly lensed galaxies studied by the Hubble Space Telescope, following up targets selected by the...
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A familiar galaxy with a new surprise: Two supermassive black holes
Monday, July 3rd 2017 07:32 PM
Cygnus A is an elliptical galaxy nearly 800 million light-years from Earth. In its center is a supermassive black hole at least a billion times the mass of our Sun, which appears to have recently gained a companion. New observations of this galaxy with the National Science Foundation’s Very Large Array (VLA) have unveiled a second bright object located near its central supermassive black hole — an object that radio astronomers think is a second supermassive black hole, destined to merge with the first.
Based on radio observations taken with the VLA in 2015 and 2016, astronomers have spotted a new object within 1,500 light-years of the galaxy’s supermassive black hole. This object was not visible in previous radio images of the galaxy, the most recent of which prior to the discovery were taken in 1996. It wasn’t until recent upgrades were made to the VLA in 2012 that observers considered a return to this famous galaxy, which was discovered by radio...
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Out of this world: Cassini snaps rare photos of Saturn’s ‘hexagon’ storm
Saturday, July 1st 2017 11:13 PM
© NASA
The lifespan of NASA’s Cassini is coming to an end, but in one of its final acts the space probe has captured images of an incredible vortex that experts believe has been raging on Saturn for centuries.
In 1981, the US space agency’s Voyager 2 spacecraft discovered a mass of clouds on the north pole of the gas giant that appeared to be permanently swirling.
Shaped like a hexagon, the weather anomaly has changed in color over the years from a bluish tint to a gold, possibly due to an increased reaction to light in the atmosphere.
© NASA
READ MORE: NASA’s Cassini captures creepy noise between Saturn’s rings (AUDIO)
NASA has now released new images of Saturn’s peculiar storm taken during Cassini’s orbit of the planet.
The images were taken on Wednesday using the Cassini craft’s methane and chlori...
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Celestron Nexstar SE & Omni AZ Sale! Save up to $100 only until 6/30
Monday, May 29th 2017 11:36 PM
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Meade EclipseView: Prepare for the 2017 Great American Solar Eclipse!
Friday, January 27th 2017 08:16 PM
The 2017 Great American Solar Eclipse will be one of the most awe-inspiring events our Solar System has to offer, a TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE!
On Monday, August 21st ,2017, the Sun will rise over the state of Oregon and then cut across another ten states in a southeastern path all the way to South Carolina. Million sof people will be able to experience this event by simply stepping outside and looking at the sun with the correct solar gear! The 2017 Great American Solar Eclipse will be one of the most observed visual solar events in North American history!
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Meade’s new EclipseView Line of Solar Safe telescopes are the best products available to view the upcoming Solar Eclipse! What makes EclipseView so great? They are for use both Day and Night! You can now view the Sun, Moon, Planets and more with just one telescope! Both SAF...
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Meade Coronado Save up to 30% off Solar Telescopes 1-16-17 thru 2-28-17 Are You Prepared for the 2017 Eclipse?!
Thursday, January 12th 2017 08:52 PM
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