Searching for Phosphorus in Other Stars

The Search for Life can be a lot messier than it sounds. The three words make a nice, tidy title, but what it entails is extraordinarily difficult. How, in this vast galaxy, can we find life and the planets or moons that might host it? We’re barely at the point of either discovering or ruling … Continue reading "Searching for Phosphorus in Other...

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The Space Court Foundation is Now in Session!

The Space Court Foundation hopes to play a pivotal role in the evolving domain of space law, which is going to become very important in the coming years! The post The Space Court Foundation is Now in Session! appeared first on Universe Today.

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James Webb Will Look for Signs of Life on Planets Orbiting Dead Stars

Can the galaxy’s dead stars help us in our search for life? A group of researchers from Cornell University thinks so. They say that watching exoplanets transit in front of white dwarfs can tell us a lot about those planets. It might even reveal signs of life. A new study presents this idea in The … Continue reading "James Webb Will Look for Signs...

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Weekly Space Hangout: September 16, 2020 – Dr. Merav Opher Discusses the Shape of the Sun’s Heliosphere

This week we are pleased to welcome Dr. Merav Opher, Professor from the Astronomy Department of Boston University and the Director of the SHIELD (Solar wind with Hydrogen Ion charge Exchange and Large-Scale Dynamics) DRIVE Science Center. Using data from NASA’s planetary science missions, SHIELD scientists use data/computer modeling to predict the characteristics...

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Astronomers Measure a 1-billion Tesla Magnetic Field on the Surface of a Neutron Star

We recently observed the strongest magnetic field ever recorded in the Universe. The record-breaking field was discovered at the surface of a neutron star called GRO J1008-57 with a magnetic field strength of approximately 1 BILLION Tesla. For comparison, the Earth’s magnetic field clocks in at about 1/20,000 of a Tesla – tens of trillions … Continue...

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Colliding Neutron Stars Don’t Make Enough Gold to Explain What We See in the Universe

Much of the gold we find on Earth was created by colliding neutron stars, but astronomers now know gold must also be formed elsewhere. The post Colliding Neutron Stars Don’t Make Enough Gold to Explain What We See in the Universe appeared first on Universe Today.

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Check Out How Big the Planets and the Moon Will be in Our Sky Over the Next Two Years

Everything in space is moving. Galaxies collide and merge, massive clouds of gas migrate, and asteroids, comets, and rogue planets zip around and between it all. And in our own Solar System, the planets follow their ancient orbits. Now a new data visualization shows us just how much our view from Earth changes in two … Continue reading "Check Out...

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Thousands Saw a UFO in New Jersey. It was the Goodyear Blimp

It was like the opening scene from a movie: cars pulled over on a busy freeway, with everyone gawking in disbelief at what they were seeing. Drivers in New Jersey this week thought a flying saucer was hovering above them. But in reality, it was just another day in 2020 and the UFO was an … Continue reading "Thousands Saw a UFO in New Jersey. It was...

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Missions Are Already Being Planned to Figure Out What’s Creating the Biosignature on Venus

The discovery of phosphine in the upper clouds in Venus’ atmosphere has generated a lot of excitement. On Earth, phosphine is produced biologically, so it’s a sign of life. If it’s not produced by life, it takes an enormous amount of energy to be created abiologically. On other planets like Jupiter, there’s enough energy to … Continue reading "Missions...

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Uranus’ Moons are Surprisingly Similar to Dwarf Planets in the Kuiper Belt

Astronomer William Herschel discovered Uranus—and two of its moons—230 years ago. Now a group of astronomers working with data from the telescope that bears his name, the Herschel Space Observatory, have made an unexpected discovery. It looks like Uranus’ moons bear a striking similarity to icy dwarf planets. The Herschel Space Observatory has been...

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