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Experience Mars in 3D
Mars is a dynamic world that continues to intrigue us. This image, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, shows the planet wreathed in late-afternoon clouds. Credit: NASA & Allexxandar/Dreamstime Humans have long dreamt of flying to other worlds. Two destinations — the Moon and Mars — have consistently topped the wish list. Although we reached…
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15NH3 in the atmosphere of a cool brown dwarf
Abstract Brown dwarfs serve as ideal laboratories for studying the atmospheres of giant exoplanets on wide orbits as the governing physical and chemical processes in them are nearly identical1,2. Understanding the formation of gas giant planets is challenging, often involving the endeav our to link atmospheric abundance ratios, such as the carbon-to-oxygen (C/O) ratio, to…
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Princeton astrophysicist helps find record-smashing black hole born in the universe’s infancy
An international team of astrophysicists including Princeton’s Andy Goulding has discovered the most distant supermassive black hole ever found, using two NASA space telescopes: the Chandra X-ray Observatory (Chandra) and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The black hole, which is an estimated 10 to 100 million times more massive than our sun, is 13.2…
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The JWST Has Spotted Giant Black Holes All Over the Early Universe
The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. Years before she was even sure the James Webb Space Telescope would successfully launch, Christina Eilers started planning a conference for astronomers specializing in the early universe. She knew that if—preferably, when—JWST started making observations, she and her colleagues would have a lot to talk…
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Space photo of the week: A radio ‘ring of fire’ shows a solar eclipse as never seen before
What it is: Radio images of an annular solar eclipse. When it was taken: Oct. 14, 2023. Where it was taken from: Owens Valley Radio Observatory Long Wavelength Array (OVRO-LWA), California. Why it’s so special: Scientists have taken the first radio telescope images of an annular solar eclipse’s famous “ring of fire” effect — even…
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Befouling the Final Frontier
Cassini was crashed into Saturn, Opportunity sits covered in dust. The shuttles were dispersed to museums, and Kepler was shut down to remain in its Earth-trailing orbit, hunting exoplanets no more. And soon, the International Space Station will join the litany of retired NASA missions. When its time comes, in 2030 — unlike Mir before…
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Space News: What’s up for November 2023
What’s up for November? Venus and Jupiter on opposite sides of the sky, the Leonid meteors return, and the celestial “sea” surrounding Saturn. This November, Jupiter is up in the sky all night and sets just before sunrise, while Venus rises in the early morning hours. This means you can see them on opposite sides…
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Her Space, Her Time: How Trailblazing Women Scientists Decoded the Hidden Universe
Shohini Ghose is a quantum physicist and Professor of Physics and Computer Science at Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada. She is Director of the Laurier Centre for Women in Science (WinS) and the NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering. She is the recipient of several awards, including a TED Senior Fellowship and selection to…
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Civilizations Could Use Gravitational Lenses to Transmit Power From Star to Star
In 1916, famed theoretical physicist Albert Einstein put the finishing touches on his Theory of General Relativity, a geometric theory for how gravity alters the curvature of spacetime. The revolutionary theory remains foundational to our models of how the Universe formed and evolved. One of the many things GR predicted was what is known as…
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Franklin Institute has a new take on the final frontier
From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know! Derek Pitts couldn’t be happier. The astronomer and spokesperson for the Franklin Institute helped announce its newly expanded and updated outer space exhibition, Wonderous Space. It takes up two floors of the Institute’s…