Space News
Hubble Observes Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 3895
SpaceRef - 1 Jun 2020 06:57
Far away in the Ursa Major constellation is a swirling galaxy that would not look out of place on a coffee made by a starry-eyed barista....
New sunspots potentially herald increased solar activity
Phys.org - 1 Jun 2020 15:33
On May 29, 2020, a family of sunspots--dark spots that freckle the face of the sun, representing areas of complex magnetic fields--sported the biggest solar flare since October 2017. Although the sunspots are not yet vis...
Rare "Ring Galaxy" Seen in the Early Universe
Universe Today - 1 Jun 2020 22:29
Astronomers have discovered a collisional ring galaxy that existed when the Universe was just 3 billion years old, a find which could have implications for our theories on galactic evolution. The post Rare “Ring Galaxy...
How heavy is the universe? Conflicting answers hint at new physics.
SPACE.com - 1 Jun 2020 14:05
Two entirely different ways of "weighing" the cosmos are producing disparate results. The discrepancy could be a sign that physicists will need to revise the standard model of cosmology.
'The trampoline is working!' The story behind Elon Musk's one-liner at SpaceX's big launch
SPACE.com - 1 Jun 2020 22:00
Musk's remark after SpaceX's first crewed launch on Saturday (May 30) references a 2014 barb by a top Russian official.
SpaceX captures the flag, beating Boeing in cosmic contest
Phys.org - 1 Jun 2020 21:56
The first astronauts launched by SpaceX declared victory Monday in NASA's cosmic capture-the-flag game.
Scientists shed light on growth of black holes
Phys.org - 1 Jun 2020 21:46
Scientists at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, and the Black Hole Initiative (BHI), have shed light on how black holes grow over time by developing a new model to predict if growth by accretion or by ...
Scientists Shed Light on Growth of Black Holes
PTTU - 1 Jun 2020 21:14
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics:
Class of stellar explosions found to be galactic producers of lithium
Phys.org - 1 Jun 2020 20:47
A team of researchers, led by astrophysicist Sumner Starrfield of Arizona State University, has combined theory with both observations and laboratory studies and determined that a class of stellar explosions, called clas...
Mysterious 'Fermi Bubbles' may be the result of black hole indigestion 6 million years ago
SPACE.com - 1 Jun 2020 19:00
Twin shock waves produced by the galaxy's central black hole could have inflated the gargantuan Fermi Bubbles about 6 million years ago, a new study suggests.
New study provides maps, ice favorability index to companies looking to mine the moon
Phys.org - 1 Jun 2020 18:50
The 49ers who panned for gold during California's Gold Rush didn't really know where they might strike it rich. They had word of mouth and not much else to go on.
SpaceX's Crew Dragon Docks with Space Station
Scientific American - 1 Jun 2020 18:15
The first-ever orbital flight of astronauts on a private spacecraft has been a historic success --
Telescope instrument is poised to begin its search for answers about dark energy
Phys.org - 1 Jun 2020 17:30
Even as the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, or DESI, lies dormant within a telescope dome on a mountaintop in Arizona, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the DESI project has moved forward in reaching the final formal a...
The Milky Way has one very hot halo, astronomers find
Phys.org - 1 Jun 2020 17:10
The halo that surrounds our own Milky Way galaxy is much hotter than scientists once believed--and it may not be unique among galaxies.
How close can you get to a black hole?
SPACE.com - 1 Jun 2020 17:09
Physicists are figuring out how close you can get to a black hole before you are unlikely to escape. That threshold is called the innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO).
Hot stars are plagued by giant magnetic spots
Phys.org - 1 Jun 2020 17:00
Astronomers using European Southern Observatory (ESO) telescopes have discovered giant spots on the surface of extremely hot stars hidden in stellar clusters. Not only are these stars plagued by magnetic spots, some also...
Hot stars are plagued by giant magnetic spots, ESO data shows
PTTU - 1 Jun 2020 17:00
ESO Top News:
How to make the food and water Mars-bound astronauts will need for their mission
Phys.org - 1 Jun 2020 16:37
If we ever intend to send crewed missions to deep-space locations, then we need to come up with solutions for keeping the crews supplied. For astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS), who regularly receive...
Astronomers find cosmic golden needle buried for two decades
Phys.org - 1 Jun 2020 16:33
Determined to find a needle in a cosmic haystack, a pair of astronomers time traveled through archives of old data from W. M. Keck Observatory on Mauankea in Hawaii and old X-ray data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observator...
Astronomers Watch as Planets Are Born
Scientific American - 1 Jun 2020 16:00
High-resolution images of the debris disks around stars are revealing how solar systems form --
Study investigates the nature of binary system 7 Vulpeculae
Phys.org - 1 Jun 2020 15:38
An international team of astronomers has conducted spectroscopic and photometric observations of a binary star known as 7 Vulpeculae. The new study, described in a paper published May 22 on arXiv.org, discloses more info...
Detecting methane emissions during COVID-19
ESA - 1 Jun 2020 14:35
While carbon dioxide is more abundant in the atmosphere and therefore more commonly associated with global warming, methane is around 30 times more potent as a heat-trapping gas. Given its importance, Canadian company GH...