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SPACE India, American Center to launch astronomy & space science workshop series
SPACE India, American Center to launch astronomy & space science workshop series IANS | 14 May 2024 5:59 AM GMT Highlights SPACE India, a space educational organisation, has joined hands with the American Center to launch an astronomy and space science workshop series, it said on Tuesday. New Delhi: SPACE India, a space educational…
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The New Extremely Large Telescopes And The US’ Waning Influence In Astronomy
For many decades, the USA has been at the forefront of astronomy, whether with ground-based telescopes or space-based observatories like Hubble and the JWST. Yet this is now at risk as US astronomers are forced to choose between funding either the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) or the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) as part of the…
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Giant structure in space challenges our understanding of the universe
About 9.2 billion light-years from Earth is a colossal structure which has confounded astronomers. The discovery might upend current cosmological theories. What they’ve found is a 1.3-billion-light-year-across, almost perfect ring of galaxies. No such structure has been seen before. And it doesn’t match any known formation mechanism. It has been dubbed the “Big Ring.” The…
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Expert Commentary: What caused so many auroras this weekend, and could we see more?
13 May 2024 Expert commentary Solar flares and storms have the potential to damage satellites, knock down power grids, and — as seen this weekend — trigger bright auroras. Solar activity is closely linked with the number of sunspots, or bundles of magnetically charged plasma, which can collide, shear, and snap, sending strong radiation out…
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James Webb Space Telescope finds best evidence yet for rocky exoplanet atmosphere
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has detected the best evidence to date for the existence of an atmosphere around a rocky exoplanet. The discovery could aid the continued search for habitable planets outside our solar system. “55 Cancri e” is a hot rocky planet orbiting a star 41 light-years from Earth. Its orbit is…
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Space photo of the week: ‘God’s Hand’ leaves astronomers scratching their heads
What it is: CG 4, a “cometary globule” often called “God’s Hand” Where it is: Gum Nebula, 1,300 light-years away in the constellation Puppis (the “poop deck”) When it was shared: May 6, 2024 Why it’s so special: CG 4 is a fairly typical cloud of gas and dust where stars are being born, but…
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Why can’t we see the far side of the moon?
Some people see a face in the moon; others see a rabbit or a toad. But regardless of what you see on the lunar surface, we all view the same side of our natural satellite. So why don’t we ever see the far side of the moon? From Earth, it appears as if the moon…
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50 of the greatest, most famous astronomers of all time
Who are the greatest and most famous astronomers of all time? The history of astronomy is the story of how humanity has uncovered the secrets of the cosmos, from early astronomers defining the mechanics of the Solar System and how the night sky changes over time, to astrophysicists studying the chemistry of stars, the expansion…
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A Severe Solar Storm Is Hitting the Earth, and Auroras May Be Visible
Officials warned of potential blackouts or interference with navigation and communication systems this weekend, as well as auroras as far south as Northern California or Alabama. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured these images of the solar flares, as seen in the bright flashes in the upper right, on May 5 and May 6. The image…
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GMT or TMT? Fate of next-generation telescope falls to expert panel set up by US National Science Foundation
Grand plans: Both the Giant Magellan Telescope and the Thirty Meter Telescope are seen as the future of US ground-based astronomy and stem from advances in mirror technology (courtesy: Damien Jemison/Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)) The US National Science Foundation (NSF) is to assemble a panel to help it decide whether…