Space

Record-breaking gravitational waves reveal that midsize black holes do exist 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- September 3, 2020
Spacetime ripples reveal the most massive and most distant black hole collision yet

By David Aragorn
Meteorite strikes may create unexpected form of silica 0
- Ancient Archeology, From Around the Web, Space
- September 2, 2020
When a meteorite hurtles through the atmosphere and crashes to Earth, how does its violent impact alter the minerals found at the landing site? What can the short-lived chemical phases created by these extreme impacts teach scientists about the minerals existing at the high-temperature and pressure conditions found deep inside the planet?

By David Aragorn
Rare Hot Neptune Found Orbiting Nearby Dwarf Star 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- September 2, 2020
Using NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and two ground-based instruments, astronomers have discovered and confirmed a transiting hot Neptune exoplanet orbiting TOI-824, a K4-type dwarf star located 210 light-years away in the constellation of Circinus.

By David Aragorn
This week’s full moon happens only once every 3 years 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- September 2, 2020
September’s full moon sets the stage for a Halloween blue moon.

By David Aragorn
The Andromeda galaxy’s halo is already colliding with the Milky Way’s 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- September 1, 2020
Weirdly, the biggest part of a galaxy is the hardest thing to see in it.

By David Aragorn
Submarine could explore seas of huge Saturn moon Titan 0
- From Around the Web, Science & Technology, Space
- August 29, 2020
The sub could be ready to launch in the 2030s, researchers said.

By David Aragorn
Hubble maps giant halo around Andromeda Galaxy 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- August 29, 2020
In a landmark study, scientists using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have mapped the immense envelope of gas, called a halo, surrounding the Andromeda galaxy, our nearest large galactic neighbor. Scientists were surprised to find that this tenuous, nearly invisible halo of diffuse plasma extends 1.3 million light-years from the galaxy — about halfway to our Milky Way — and as far as 2 million light-years in some directions. This means that Andromeda’s halo is already bumping into the halo of our own galaxy.

By David Aragorn
Astronomers Observe Young, Radio-Emitting Jets in Distant Active Galaxy 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- August 28, 2020
Around five years ago, NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope detected high-energy gamma rays coming from TXS 0128+554, an elliptical galaxy located some 500 million light-years away in the constellation of Cassiopeia. Purdue University’ Professor Matthew Lister and colleagues have since taken a closer look using NSF’s Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) and NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.

By David Aragorn
NASA spots active galaxy that totally looks like a Star Wars TIE fighter 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- August 28, 2020
Now we just need to find a galaxy shaped like an X-wing fighter.

By David Aragorn
If bacteria band together, they can survive for years in space 0
- From Around the Web, Science & Technology, Space
- August 27, 2020
Dead outer microbes protect inner ones in clumps attached to the International Space Station

By David Aragorn