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…

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…

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.…

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…

The guest presenter who’ll launch Nanaimo Astronomy Society’s 2025 lecture series will bring some Hubble history and wonders from the Webb to this month’s meeting. Chris Gainor, president of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada’s Victoria Centre and editor of Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly, will be the guest presenter at the society’s meeting Thursday,…

A planet-size object that possibly once visited the solar system may have permanently changed our cosmic neighborhood by warping the orbits of the four outer planets, a new study suggests. The findings may shed light on why these planets’ paths have certain peculiar features. For decades, astronomers have debated how the solar system’s planets formed.…

Marcus Chown’s “A Crack in Everything” is a journey through space and time with the people studying one of the most enigmatic objects in the universe. A CRACK IN EVERYTHING: How Black Holes Came In From the Cold and Took Cosmic Centre Stage, by Marcus Chown When writing about the complexities of our universe, the…

The internet is absolutely full of myths and urban legends about space and just about everything else, so readers must be a skeptical these days. From claims of aliens crashing on Earth and UFOs being hidden on military bases, to Mars being abnormally large and the moon turning green, space tends to attract some outlandish…