-
Astronomers watch monster black hole spit out a light-year-long jet
Astronomers have, for the first time, watched the moment a feeding supermassive black hole at the heart of a distant galaxy spat out a jet of material at one-third of the speed of light. Plus, the structure is technically made up of two jets, each about half a light-year across. The black hole in question,…
-
An asteroid got deleted because it was actually Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster
That’s no asteroid. That’s … a car? Credit: SpaceX On Jan. 2, the Minor Planet Center at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts, announced the discovery of an unusual asteroid, designated 2018 CN41. First identified and submitted by citizen scientist H. A. Güler, the object’s orbit was notable: It came less than 150,000…
-
Astronomers keep hearing eerie bird sounds from space – and they finally know why
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting…
-
Why some astronomers are excited about the search for alien life : Short Wave
Enlarge this image Bettymaya Foott/National Radio Astronomy Observatory At the turn of the century, 3.8 million people banded together in a real-time search for aliens — with screensavers. The project was called SETI@home. The hope was that with the power of millions of computers, researchers could comb through radio signals hitting Earth from outer space…
-
Explore Space Like Never Before! Students Dive into Astronomy
Students Engage with the Cosmos at Potter Gray Elementary In an extraordinary event at Potter Gray Elementary in Bowling Green, Kentucky, students immersed themselves in a unique educational experience with the Orbit Earth Expo. This interactive program featured massive inflatables representing the Earth, sun, and moon, capturing the imaginations of young learners the moment they…
-
Telescope – Technology, Optics, Astronomy
Besides the telescope itself, the electronic computer has become the astronomer’s most important tool. Indeed, the computer has revolutionized the use of the telescope to the point where the collection of observational data is now completely automated. The astronomer need only identify the object to be observed, and the rest is carried out by the…
-
Telescope – Technology, Optics, Astronomy
Besides the telescope itself, the electronic computer has become the astronomer’s most important tool. Indeed, the computer has revolutionized the use of the telescope to the point where the collection of observational data is now completely automated. The astronomer need only identify the object to be observed, and the rest is carried out by the…
-
Weird icy balls in space could be a totally new kind of star
Images of the two peculiar icy objects captured by the ALMA radio telescope Takashi Shimonishi/Niigata University Two strange, icy objects in our galaxy that look unlike anything astronomers have ever seen could be an entirely new kind of star. In 2021, Takashi Shimonishi at Niigata University in Japan and his colleagues spotted what appeared to…
-
Wrinkles in spacetime could remember the secrets of exploding stars
Asymmetric collapse: Simulations of core-collapse supernovae indicate that existing gravitational-wave detectors such as LIGO could spot telltale signs of cosmic distortions known as gravitational memory if the supernova is close enough to Earth. (Courtesy: M. Sandoval/Oak Ridge National Laboratory) Permanent distortions in spacetime caused by the passage of gravitational waves could be detectable from Earth.…
-
3D structure of iconic Ring Nebula gives ‘a brand new view of an old astronomical friend’
One of the most photographed objects in the night sky is the Ring Nebula, wreckage of a bygone sun-like star about 2,000 light-years from Earth. Its striking, smoke-ring-like appearance has both awed and puzzled astronomers, who have long debated whether this remnant truly takes on a ring shape or if its appearance is merely an…