Category: Space and Astronomy

  • The Unistellar eQuinox 2 scope reviewed

    The Unistellar eQuinox 2 scope reviewed

    The Unistellar eQuinox 2 telescope can be used in or out of the city thanks to the Deep Dark Technology that removes any light pollution effects. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the long-lived Hubble Space Telescope (HST) have been providing amazing images to earthbound viewers for some time now. Along with other instruments,…

  • Astronomers Want JWST to Study the Milky Way Core for Hundreds of Hours

    Astronomers Want JWST to Study the Milky Way Core for Hundreds of Hours

    To understand the Universe, we need to understand the extreme processes that shape it and drive its evolution. Things like supermassive black holes (SMBHs,) supernovae, massive reservoirs of dense gas, and crowds of stars both on and off the main sequence. Fortunately there’s a place where these objects dwell in close proximity to one another:…

  • 1st-ever radio images of an annular solar eclipse showcase the sun’s extended corona

    1st-ever radio images of an annular solar eclipse showcase the sun’s extended corona

    Your social media feeds might’ve been filled over the past couple of weeks with photos of the recent “ring of fire” annular eclipse, which crossed the western U.S. on Oct. 14. But it wasn’t just photographers who imaged the celestial event. Scientists from the New Jersey Institute of Technology’s Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research (NJIT-CSTR) used…

  • JWST captures immense, rare explosion

    JWST captures immense, rare explosion

    The exceptionally bright gamma-ray burst, GRB 230307A, and its associated kilonova — an explosion produced by a neutron star merging with either a black hole or with another neutron star. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Andrew Levan (IMAPP, Warw) In March of this year, astronomers detected a brilliant burst of gamma rays more than a…

  • Second-brightest gamma-ray burst ever seen observed creating elements needed for life

    Second-brightest gamma-ray burst ever seen observed creating elements needed for life

    A team of scientists has used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to observe an exceptionally bright gamma-ray burst, GRB 230307A, and its associated kilonova. Kilonovas—an explosion produced by a neutron star merging with either a black hole or with another neutron star—are extremely rare, making it difficult to observe these events. The highly sensitive infrared…

  • Bright flash leads astronomers to a heavy-metal factory 900 million light years away

    Bright flash leads astronomers to a heavy-metal factory 900 million light years away

    An extraordinary burst of high-energy light in the sky has pointed astronomers to a pair of metal-forging neutron stars 900 million light years from Earth. In a study appearing today in Nature, an international team of astronomers, including scientists at MIT, reports the detection of an extremely bright gamma-ray burst (GRB), which is the most…

  • Look to the stars

    Look to the stars

    Attendees viewing the moon outside of the Goshen County Library on “International Observe the Moon Night.” Cynthia Sheeley/Torrington Telegram By: Cynthia Sheeley Updated: 2 hours ago / Posted Oct 25, 2023 TORRINGTON – The moon and the night sky have always instilled awe and wonder in those who observe them. By teaching astronomy, adults and…

  • What Does Extraterrestrial Mean and Why Are Experts looking for It?

    What Does Extraterrestrial Mean and Why Are Experts looking for It?

    If you hear “extraterrestrial,” what do you picture? Google it, and chances are you’ll find at least one visualization of a humanoid alien, maybe even waving at the camera. The idea that extraterrestrials, specifically intelligent ones, might exist has long captured our fascination. Its longevity across the ages indicates a burning question: Is something or…

  • Roman set to ID our furthest-known exoplanet in its uncharted-space jaunt

    Roman set to ID our furthest-known exoplanet in its uncharted-space jaunt

    With a field of view 100 times greater than the Hubble, NASA’s anticipated Roman Space Telescope is set to measure light from a billion galaxies, perform a microlensing survey deep in the Milky Way to find thousands of exoplanets, monitor hundreds of millions of stars and offer a look into distant galactic neighborhoods that could…

  • Scientists zoom in on Betelgeuse, show why it hasn’t exploded yet

    Scientists zoom in on Betelgeuse, show why it hasn’t exploded yet

    The colossal star Betelgeuse — so giant that it would reach to Jupiter in our solar system — is on the highway to collapsing under its own weight and creating a blast so bright, it would outshine even the moon in our night sky. Although some hype up Betelgeuse’s looming doom, its coming explosion, called…