Category: Space and Astronomy

  • Astronomers narrow down where ‘Planet Nine’ could be hiding by playing massive game of ‘connect the dots’

    Scientists have narrowed down the likely hiding place of the elusive “Planet Nine,” after ruling out more than three-quarters of the hypothetical world’s suspected orbital pathway. In a new study, the researchers — who have been looking for the planet for almost a decade — said they believe they could find the elusive world in…

  • James Webb Space Telescope finds ‘extremely red’ supermassive black hole growing in the early universe

    Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers have discovered an “extremely red” supermassive black hole growing in the shadowy, early universe. The red hue of the supermassive black hole, seen as it was around 700 million years after the Big Bang, is the result of the expanding universe. As the universe balloons outward in…

  • Eris and Makemake unveil surprisingly active natures to the JWST

    Eris and Makemake unveil surprisingly active natures to the JWST

    Eris and Makemake are comparable in size to Pluto and its moon Charon. Credit: SwRI The vast, icy Kuiper Belt isn’t high on the list of places you’d think have relatively active worlds, but a pair of new studies shows that at least two dwarf planets are possibly geologically active. The studies — both published…

  • 22 amazing facts about space and astronomy

    22 amazing facts about space and astronomy

    Space is vast, and filled with weird and wonderful things, including amazing facts about it. Some of the bizarre inhabitants and phenomena of our Universe are more astounding than even the most extreme sci-fi or space movie. This selection of some of the most mind-boggling facts about our cosmos takes a bite-sized look at our…

  • 6 Great Space Images From February

    6 Great Space Images From February

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  • Astronomers spot white dwarf star with metallic ‘scar’

    Astronomers spot white dwarf star with metallic ‘scar’

    Astronomers have spotted a star with a dark metallic “scar” on its surface, thought to be the imprint of a doomed planetary fragment that came too close to its host. The white dwarf star, called WD 0816-310, is a dense, Earth-sized remnant of a star about 63 light years away that would have been similar…

  • NASA’s Crash Into an Asteroid May Have Altered Its Shape

    NASA’s Crash Into an Asteroid May Have Altered Its Shape

    A new study using simulations suggests the impact in 2022 transformed the space rock into an M&M-like flat-top oval. A computer model simulated the DART spacecraft colliding with the asteroid Dimorphos.Raducan et al., Nature In 2022, when NASA’s $325 million spacecraft crashed into an asteroid named Dimorphos at 14,000 miles per hour, cheers and applause…

  • What Kinds of Astronomy Could Be Done With a Telescope on the Moon?

    What Kinds of Astronomy Could Be Done With a Telescope on the Moon?

    For decades, astronomers have said that one of the most optimal places to build large telescopes is on the surface of the Moon. The Moon has several advantages over Earth- and space-based telescopes that make it worth considering as a future home for giant observatories. A new paper lists all the advantages, including how telescopes…

  • Brrr. JWST Looks at the Coldest Brown Dwarf

    Brrr. JWST Looks at the Coldest Brown Dwarf

    What are the atmospheric compositions of cold brown dwarf stars? This is what a recent study published in The Astronomical Journal hopes to address as an international team of researchers used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to investigate the coldest known brown dwarf star, WISE J085510.83?071442.5 (WISE 0855). This study holds the potential to…

  • James Webb Space Telescope spots neutron star hiding in supernova wreckage

    Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers have ended a nearly decade-long game of celestial hide-and-seek after they discovered a neutron star in the wreckage of a stellar explosion. Supernova 1987A represents the remains of an exploded star that once had a mass around 8 to 10 times that of the sun. It is…