Space

China’s Mars rover assigned extended mission after exceeding life expectancy 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- August 27, 2021
But first, a holiday while Mars is on the other side of the Sun

By David Aragorn
Study: Interstellar Visitors Outnumber Solar System Objects in Oort Cloud 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- August 27, 2021
The recent detection of 2I/Borisov, the first known interstellar comet to visit our Solar System, implies that interstellar objects outnumber the non-interstellar ones in the Oort Cloud, whereas the reverse is true near the Sun due to the stronger gravitational focusing of bound objects, according to a new paper authored by Harvard & Smithsonian’s Center for Astrophysics astronomers Amir Siraj and Avi Loeb.

By David Aragorn
‘Flashes of Creation’ recounts the Big Bang theory’s origin story 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- August 26, 2021
A new book tells the history of George Gamow, Fred Hoyle and the origin of the universe

By David Aragorn
Astronomers Discover Fastest-Orbiting Asteroid Ever Seen 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- August 26, 2021
The newly-discovered asteroid 2021 PH27 has a diameter of about 1 km (3,280 feet) and orbits the Sun in just 113 days — the shortest known orbital period for an asteroid and second shortest for any object in our Solar System after Mercury.

By David Aragorn
Here’s how cool a star can be and still achieve lasting success 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- August 26, 2021
The motions of nearby stars reveal the boundary between red dwarfs and brown dwarfs

By David Aragorn
Fastest orbiting asteroid found in our solar system 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- August 25, 2021
A newly discovered asteroid is sticking close to our sun — much closer than our own planet Earth.

By David Aragorn
‘Substantial’ Number of Wandering Black Holes Could Be Roaming Galaxies 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- August 25, 2021
A”substantial” number of wandering supermassive black holes probably exists, and they float through galaxies rather than sit at their center, according to a new study.

By David Aragorn
Mystery object in space could be a new arm of the Milky Way 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- August 25, 2021
Scientists spot giant feature at edge of the galaxy.

By David Aragorn
Interstellar comets are more common than thought 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- August 24, 2021
“We’re finding that there could be substantially more visitors,” say Harvard scientists

By David Aragorn
Doomed comet ATLAS had a long history with Earth 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- August 24, 2021
Source: CNN A Comet that intrigued astronomers with its first appearance in our sky at the very end of 2019, but it disintegrated into 30 tiny ice shards months later. Now, observations made while the comet, named ATLAS, was still intact have shed light on the comet’s “family,” which stretches back thousands of years. Comet

By David Aragorn