Category: Astronomy

Attention Earthlings: Help Wanted in Finding a New Planet

The pursuit of Planet Nine -a hypothesized Neptune-like giant that some scientists believe may be cruising along a remote orbit in our solar system-can now go door-to-door. A new NASA-launched citizen science project seeks the public’s help in reviewing more than a million animations to identify moving space objects that could be new discoveries.

See Earth Fly Through Meteor Showers’ Wandering, Warped Paths

The dusty debris streams that cause meteor showers are much more complex than scientists had thought: They warp and change on their trips around the sun, rather than following one path, close observation has revealed. These dramatic shifts are clearly apparent in a new animation, which uses crowdsourced footage that tracks meteoroid trajectories through the sky to plot more than 45 meteor showers and their debris’ paths through the solar system.

Solar explosion captured in stunning new footage

Solar explosion that missed Earth is captured in stunning new footage as Nasa prepares a probe destined for the sun to study ‘dangerous activity’ A solar flare that erupted from the sun in the early hours of Monday morning has been captured in a stunning new video. The flare missed Earth on its flight path but could have knocked out communications and navigation systems had it reached the planet’s magnetic field.

Studying TRAPPIST-1 With James Webb Space Telescope

With the discovery of seven earth-sized planets around the TRAPPIST-1 star 40 light years away, astronomers are looking to the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope to help us find out if any of these planets could possibly support life. “If these planets have atmospheres, the James Webb Space Telescope will be the key to unlocking their secrets,” said Doug Hudgins, Exoplanet Program Scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Probing seven worlds with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope

Washington, Mar 4 : With the discovery of seven earth-sized planets around the TRAPPIST-1 star 40 light years away, astronomers are looking to the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope to help us find out if any of these planets could possibly support life. If these planets have atmospheres, the James Webb Space Telescope will be the key to unlocking their secrets, said Doug Hudgins, Exoplanet Program Scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

‘Women of NASA’ Lego Set: Q&A with Creator Maia Weinstock

Maia Weinstock is the creator of the Women of NASA Lego set that the company recently announced it will be producing as part of its Lego Ideas program. Lego announced on Tuesday that it would be making a fan-created set called ” Women of NASA ,” featuring five important women who have worked for the agency.

Hubble captures ‘incredibly’ massive galaxy

Washington, March 4 – The Hubble space telescope has captured an image to showcase an incredible massive galaxy, UGC 12591, that lies just under 400 million light-years away from the Earth. The galaxy and its halo together contain several hundred billion times the mass of the Sun — four times the mass of the Milky Way, NASA said in a statement on Friday.

Total solar eclipse coming to Oregon

Oregon will be the first to witness the total eclipse of the sun on Aug. 21, and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry has front row seats. Complete with science lectures, astronomy-related community groups, and dramatic drummers ringing in each stage of the eclipse, the museum is adding even more not-to-forget experiences to a memorable astronomical event.

In Our View: Continue to Boldly Go

Humans have long been drawn to news that allows us to escape our earthly constraints. So it is that a couple recent items have piqued our interest, reminding that the universe holds secrets that extend well beyond Washington, D.C., or Olympia – and that those secrets are often more interesting than politics.

NASA takes a look back at Supernova 1987a

Three decades ago, astronomers spotted one of the brightest exploding stars in more than 400 years. The titanic supernova, called Supernova 1987A , blazed with the power of 100 million suns for several months following its discovery on February 23rd, 1987.

Swimmable target for 2040

The target, announced yesterday , is estimated to cost the Government, farmers and councils $2 billion over the intervening 23 years. Other additions to the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management include replacing “wadeable” with “swimmable”, adding macroinvertebrate monitoring for ecological health and requiring instream limits for nitrogen and phosphorus.

7 things to know now: New planets; SpaceX, Powerball, CPAC

Capt. David Bursten of the Indiana State Police is joined by law enforcement officials from numerous departments to provide the latest details of the investigation into the murders of Liberty German and Abigail Williams on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017, at Delphi United Methodist Church in Delphi, Ind. German, 14, Williams, 13, were murdered last week while hiking the High Bridge Trail just east of Delphi.

Celebrities React to NASA’s New Planet Announcement

British astronomer Dr Chris Copperwheat, from Liverpool John Moores University, who co-led the global team, said: ‘The discovery of multiple rocky planets with surface temperatures which allow for liquid water make this awesome system an exciting future target in the search for life’. The boffins at Nasa have discovered three habitable planets in a newly discovered solar system a mere 39 light years away from Earth.

Newly found planets tidally locked to star, have short orbits10 min ago

Washington, Feb 23 The seven newly discovered Earth-sized planets in the ultra cool dwarf star system may only face one way towards their sun, similar to the Earth’s moon, and orbit very close to it, scientists have found. Astronomers, using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, announced the discovery of the first known system of seven Earth-sized planets around a single star – located a mere 40 light years away – that could have liquid water, and possibly host alien life.

Astronomers find seven Earth-size planets where life is possible

This handout artist’s conception released by the European Southern Observatory on February 22, 2017 shows a size comparison of the planets of the TRAPPIST-1 system, lined up in order of increasing distance from their host star. The planetary surfaces are portrayed with an artist’s impression of their potential surface features, including water, ice, and atmospheres.

7 Earth-size planets found orbiting nearby star

For the first time, astronomers have discovered seven Earth-size planets orbiting a single nearby star – and these new worlds could hold life. This cluster of planets is less than 40 light-years away in the constellation Aquarius, according to NASA and the Belgian-led research team who announced the discovery Wednesday.

7 Earth-size worlds found orbiting star; could hold life

Art comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and if you’re looking to get creative, but aren’t sure of the tools you need, we’ve got you cove This illustration provided by NASA/JPL-Caltech shows an artist’s conception of what the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system may look like, based on available data about their diameters, masses and distances from the host star. The planets circle tightly around a dim dwarf star called Trappist-1, barely the size of Jupiter.

Seven Earth-sized planets found

Feb 22: Astronomers have discovered a set of seven Earth-sized planets orbiting a nearby star, three of them lying within its habitable zone with temperatures likely to be just right to harbour oceans of water and thus candidates to host life. The planets orbit a small ultracool dwarf star named TRAPPIST-1 about 40 light years from the solar system and are set to provide astronomers their first-ever opportunity to search for signs of life on exoplanets.

7 Earth-size worlds found orbiting star; could hold life

For the first time ever, astronomers have discovered seven Earth-size planets orbiting a nearby star – and these new worlds could hold life. This cluster of planets is less than 40 light-years away in the constellation Aquarius, according to NASA and the Belgian-led research team who announced the discovery Wednesday.

Scientists discover 7 rocky earth-sized exoplanets around nearby star

The illustration released by NASA on Feb. 22, 2017 shows the artist’s concept of what the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system may look like, based on available data about the planets’ diameters, masses and distances from the host star. A compact analogue of our inner solar system about 40 light years away from the Earth has been discovered, NASA announced during a press conference on Wednesday.

Scientists discover 7 rocky earth-sized exoplanets around nearby star

The illustration released by NASA on Feb. 22, 2017 shows the artist’s concept of what the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system may look like, based on available data about the planets’ diameters, masses and distances from the host star. A compact analogue of our inner solar system about 40 light years away from the Earth has been discovered, NASA announced during a press conference on Wednesday.

Several Earth-Like Planets Discovered Orbiting Nearby Star

When astronomers eyeball little stars twinkling through their telescopes, they now know for certain that circling around some of them are worlds not unlike our own. On Wednesday, a Dutch-led international research team using both ground and space-based telescopes announced they’d discovered a solar system 40 light-years away with seven Earth-size planets revolving around a small star.

Newly-found star system has SEVEN Earth-like planets

We’ll know if life exists in a decade, but it is likely to take hundreds of thousands of years to reach the system Seven Earth-like planets have been discovered orbiting nearby dwarf star ‘Trappist-1’, and all of them could have water at their surface, one of the key components of life. Researchers claim that they will know whether or not there is life on any of the planets within a decade, and said ‘this is just the beginning.’