Search found 39 matches

by Forrest White
Tue Apr 13, 2021 4:38 am
Forum: The Asterisk Café: Discuss Anything Astronomy Related
Topic: OSIRIS-REx: Asteroid 1999 RQ36 (Bennu)
Replies: 78
Views: 62356

Re: Bennu

The observed increase in the thermal inertia of the soil as it approaches the equator suggests that a certain mechanism of transport and sorting of regolith, depending on the size or composition of particles and boulders, operates in the northern hemisphere of the asteroid.
by Forrest White
Tue Apr 13, 2021 4:25 am
Forum: The Communications Center: Breaking Science News
Topic: Tracing Gold's Cosmic Origin Story
Replies: 9
Views: 5920

Re: Tracing Gold's Cosmic Origin Story

One merger of neutron stars can create gold in the volume of 20 masses of our Moon, which means that even if there may be thousands of times more supernovae and planetary nebulae than mergers of neutron stars, the latter is the main source of elements with the highest atomic weight in the periodic t...
by Forrest White
Mon Apr 12, 2021 4:50 am
Forum: The Communications Center: Breaking Science News
Topic: Parker Solar Probe Will Have Company on Its Next Pass
Replies: 3
Views: 3466

Re: Parker Solar Probe Will Have Company on Its Next Pass

The new year 2021 will be the time of breaking new records in the probe's mission. The device will make four even closer passages near our star and pass two times near Venus. In addition, from January 12 to 23, 2021, the probe will pass the Sun from the side facing the Earth, which will allow joint ...
by Forrest White
Mon Apr 12, 2021 4:45 am
Forum: The Asterisk Café: Discuss Anything Astronomy Related
Topic: Fragments of last week's meteor found in UK
Replies: 5
Views: 3102

Re: Fragments of last week's meteor found in UK

The peculiarity of carbonaceous chondrites is that, in fact, they are the remaining building blocks of the solar system. All the ingredients needed to understand how to create a habitable planet like Earth are here.
by Forrest White
Fri Apr 09, 2021 4:54 am
Forum: The Asterisk Café: Discuss Anything Astronomy Related
Topic: Jupiter
Replies: 17
Views: 6639

Re: Jupiter

In the process of tidal heating, the gravitational pull of Jupiter's satellites and the planet itself stretches and squeezes the satellites enough to warm them. As a result, some of the icy moons are warm enough to house oceans of liquid water, and in the case of the rocky moon Io, tidal heating tur...
by Forrest White
Fri Apr 09, 2021 4:41 am
Forum: The Asterisk Café: Discuss Anything Astronomy Related
Topic: Venus
Replies: 12
Views: 5941

Re: Venus

Traces of phosphine have been found in the atmosphere of Venus. It is a potential biomarker https://bit.ly/3wHXTWg
by Forrest White
Thu Apr 08, 2021 6:01 am
Forum: The Bridge: Discuss an Astronomy Picture of the Day
Topic: APOD: Aurorae and Lightning on Jupiter (2021 Mar 24)
Replies: 19
Views: 7078

Re: APOD: Aurorae and Lightning on Jupiter (2021 Mar 24)

Is it Jupiter’s Great Red Spot which was noticed in the mid-1800’s?
by Forrest White
Wed Apr 07, 2021 5:45 am
Forum: The Communications Center: Breaking Science News
Topic: IPMU: Origin and Maximum Mass of Massive Black Holes Found
Replies: 1
Views: 1525

Re: IPMU: Origin and Maximum Mass of Massive Black Holes Found

Stars over 130 solar masses (which form helium stars over 65 solar masses) undergo "supernova pair instability" due to the explosive burning of oxygen, which completely destroys the star without leaving a black hole. Stars with a mass of more than 300 solar masses collapse and can form a b...
by Forrest White
Mon Apr 05, 2021 6:50 am
Forum: The Asterisk Café: Discuss Anything Astronomy Related
Topic: Voyager I and II
Replies: 211
Views: 515422

Re: Voyager I and II

Each year, the energy production required for the probes drops by 4 watts. By 2025, it will fall to a critical level and will no longer be enough to communicate with the Earth. Then the scientists will turn off the devices on the Voyagers, but before that the specialists will establish a communicati...
by Forrest White
Mon Apr 05, 2021 6:44 am
Forum: The Communications Center: Breaking Science News
Topic: astrobites: Daily Paper Summaries 2020
Replies: 202
Views: 64901

Re: astrobites: Daily Paper Summaries 2020

It turned out that instead of phosphine in the clouds of Venus they found sulfur dioxide
by Forrest White
Fri Apr 02, 2021 5:27 am
Forum: The Science Labs: Participate in Citizen Science or Smartphone Science
Topic: Planet Patrol: The Hunt for New Worlds
Replies: 1
Views: 38290

Re: Planet Patrol: The Hunt for New Worlds

Goddard's summer intern recently helped discover the first planet of the TESS mission, orbiting two stars, as part of another civilian science program called Planet Hunters TESS.
by Forrest White
Fri Apr 02, 2021 5:18 am
Forum: The Communications Center: Breaking Science News
Topic: Here's What May Happen When Andromeda's and the Milky Way's Black Holes Collide
Replies: 1
Views: 2887

Re: Here's What May Happen When Andromeda's and the Milky Way's Black Holes Collide

The gas halos of both galaxies have already collided, although the first stars of the participants in this cosmic accident will begin to converge in about four billion years.
by Forrest White
Thu Apr 01, 2021 5:47 am
Forum: The Communications Center: Breaking Science News
Topic: PSI: Titan's Lakes Can Stratify Like Those on Earth
Replies: 1
Views: 1727

Re: PSI: Titan's Lakes Can Stratify Like Those on Earth

This new theory explains why some of the smaller lakes near Titan's North Pole, such as Lake Winnipeg, have very steep edges above sea level.
by Forrest White
Thu Apr 01, 2021 5:15 am
Forum: The Communications Center: Breaking Science News
Topic: MPIA: Earth-like Planets Often Come with a Bodyguard
Replies: 1
Views: 2010

Re: MPIA: Earth-like Planets Often Come with a Bodyguard

Scientists have created a computer model of the solar system, which includes 100 thousand objects, mainly belonging to the Kuiper belt. The model showed that in a system without Jupiter, the likelihood of collisions of asteroids and comets with the Earth would not change. And if Jupiter had less mas...
by Forrest White
Wed Mar 31, 2021 6:24 am
Forum: The Communications Center: Breaking Science News
Topic: Arizona: Jupiter's Moons Could Be Warming Each Other
Replies: 1
Views: 2220

Re: Arizona: Jupiter's Moons Could Be Warming Each Other

Understanding how the moons affect each other is important. Ultimately, this may shed light on the evolution of the lunar system as a whole. Jupiter has about 80 satellites, the four largest of which are Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.
by Forrest White
Wed Mar 31, 2021 6:11 am
Forum: The Communications Center: Breaking Science News
Topic: CfA: Astronomers Discover First Cloudless, Jupiter-Like Planet
Replies: 1
Views: 2660

Re: CfA: Astronomers Discover First Cloudless, Jupiter-Like Planet

Another exoplanet with a clean atmosphere was discovered in 2018. Its scientific name is WASP-96b, the planet is hot enough and is classified by astrophysicists as "hot Saturn".
by Forrest White
Tue Mar 30, 2021 5:29 am
Forum: The Communications Center: Breaking Science News
Topic: Number of Milky Way Nova Explosions per year has been Pinned down
Replies: 1
Views: 3075

Re: Number of Milky Way Nova Explosions per year has been Pinned down

Previous estimates of the number of new ones ranged from 10 to 300 per year.
by Forrest White
Tue Mar 30, 2021 5:24 am
Forum: The Communications Center: Breaking Science News
Topic: Hubble Captures Fading of the Stingray Nebula
Replies: 1
Views: 2751

Re: Hubble Captures Fading of the Stingray Nebula

Astrophysicists attribute this to the fact that in its center it has an unusual star - SAO 244567. Earlier studies have shown that at first the temperature of this star rose sharply from less than 40 thousand to 108 thousand degrees Fahrenheit, and then began to fall and emit less ionizing radiation...
by Forrest White
Mon Mar 29, 2021 5:58 am
Forum: The Communications Center: Breaking Science News
Topic: Most of Mars' Missing Water May Lurk in its Crust
Replies: 1
Views: 1932

Re: Most of Mars' Missing Water May Lurk in its Crust

The Earth has a magnetic field, or magnetosphere, that prevents the atmosphere from escaping into space. Mars has a weak magnetic field, and, apparently, it could not hold water.
by Forrest White
Mon Mar 29, 2021 5:55 am
Forum: The Communications Center: Breaking Science News
Topic: New Black Hole Image Reveals Magnetic Fields
Replies: 4
Views: 3715

Re: New Black Hole Image Reveals Magnetic Fields

Such strong magnetic fields can actually repel some of the material spirally directed towards the black hole, helping it resist gravity.
by Forrest White
Fri Mar 26, 2021 9:33 am
Forum: The Communications Center: Breaking Science News
Topic: Carbon-Ring Molecules Tied to Life Have Been Found in Space
Replies: 2
Views: 2376

Re: Carbon-Ring Molecules Tied to Life Have Been Found in Space

Japanese scientists found bacteria in the lower stratosphere, where they survived despite solar radiation. Then scientists decided to test the ability of microorganisms to survive in space.
by Forrest White
Fri Mar 26, 2021 9:09 am
Forum: The Communications Center: Breaking Science News
Topic: Oumuamua May Be a Chip Off a Plutolike Planet
Replies: 3
Views: 2394

Re: Oumuamua May Be a Chip Off a Plutolike Planet

The sheer scale of the Solar System makes this a staggering challenge. We barely see things that pass close to Earth. If I recall correctly, we spotted a rogue asteroid a few years ago after it passed Earth.
by Forrest White
Thu Mar 25, 2021 10:03 am
Forum: Open Space: Discuss Anything
Topic: Perseverance - strange object on Mars.
Replies: 8
Views: 7098

Re: Perseverance - strange object on Mars.

https://prnt.sc/10uzpps If you take a close look at the photos taken by NASA's new rover, you will notice something very, very strange. Where do metal structures come from on Mars?
by Forrest White
Thu Mar 25, 2021 9:51 am
Forum: The Communications Center: Breaking Science News
Topic: We Don't Know What the Sun is Made of
Replies: 4
Views: 3640

Re: We Don't Know What the Sun is Made of

It is taught in school - the main elements of which the Sun consists are hydrogen (73%) and helium (25%). Other elements include iron, nickel, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, silicon, carbon, magnesium, calcium, chromium, neon.