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Astronomers Spot Massive ‘Space Tornadoes’ Swirling Around the Milky Way’s Core
In the turbulent heart of the Milky Way, near the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*, astronomers have uncovered a surprising new phenomenon—slim, swirling gas filaments that behave like space tornadoes. Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a research team led by Kai Yang of Shanghai Jiao Tong University has captured the clearest view yet…
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Astronomers Spot Massive ‘Space Tornadoes’ Swirling Around the Milky Way’s Core
In the turbulent heart of the Milky Way, near the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*, astronomers have uncovered a surprising new phenomenon—slim, swirling gas filaments that behave like space tornadoes. Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a research team led by Kai Yang of Shanghai Jiao Tong University has captured the clearest view yet…
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Dark skies above world’s best astronomy sites could be ruined by new energy project
A green energy plant expected to be built in Chile’s Atacama Desert could increase night-time sky brightness at one of the world’s most valuable astronomical locations by up to 35%, a new study has revealed. Such an increase would seriously affect the scientific observations conducted by some of the world’s largest and most expensive telescopes,…
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Overtime Pay for 9 Extra Months in Space? Nope.
Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore do not get overtime for their unexpectedly long stay on the International Space Station, according to NASA rules. But they do get $5 a day for “incidentals.” If your eight-day work trip was unexpectedly extended by nine months, you might expect to rack up some overtime pay. Not so for…
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Overtime Pay for 9 Extra Months in Space? Nope.
Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore do not get overtime for their unexpectedly long stay on the International Space Station, according to NASA rules. But they do get $5 a day for “incidentals.” If your eight-day work trip was unexpectedly extended by nine months, you might expect to rack up some overtime pay. Not so for…
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Astronomers Get ‘More Than a Hint’ That Dark Energy Isn’t What They Thought
An international team of astronomers on Wednesday unveiled the most compelling evidence to date that dark energy — a mysterious phenomenon pushing our universe to expand ever faster — is not a constant force of nature but one that ebbs and flows through cosmic time. Dark energy, the new measurement suggests, may not resign our…
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UA Little Rock Reopens Historic Observatory Following Solar Eclipse Event
Angelita Faller | March 19, 2025 UA Little Rock will celebrate the re-opening of the observatory on March 31. Photo by Benjamin Krain. The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is reopening its observatory after more than a decade of inactivity, thanks in part to the overwhelming enthusiasm sparked by the university’s public event for…
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‘Space Advertising’ Draws Astronomers’ Opposition
Imagine stepping outside to stargaze on a clear summer night, only to see no stars but rather the garish glow of advertisements streaming across the sky. This seemingly science-fictional scenario isn’t actually implausible: private companies are inching closer to launching swarms of tiny maneuverable satellites to create billboardlike displays big and bright enough to be…
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Astronomers Discover “Space Tornadoes” Around the Milky Way’s Core
Swirling through the Milky Way’s central zone, in the turbulent region surrounding the supermassive black hole at the core of our galaxy, dust and gases constantly churn as energetic shock waves ripple throughout. An international team of astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have sharpened our view of this action by a factor…
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Supernovae, Stellar Mapping, and Saturn’s New Moons: S28E34 – SpaceTime: Space & Astronomy
SpaceTime Series 28 Episode 34The Astronomy, Space and Science News PodcastSupernovae’s Role in Mass Extinctions, NASA’s Stellar Mapping Mission, and New Moons of SaturnIn this episode of SpaceTime, we explore a fascinating new study suggesting that nearby supernovae could have triggered at least two of Earth’s mass extinction events. These violent stellar explosions may have…
