Tag: astronomy

SpaceX Satellites Interfere With Astronomical Observation

Scientists using a low-frequency telescope in Europe observed that SpaceX’s satellites were emitting a radio frequency via their onboard electronics that can interfere with astronomical observations. According to a study’s press release published in the Astronomy and Astrophysics academic journal, scientists used the LOFAR telescope in the Netherlands to detect any low-frequency radio waves that…


Mysteries of Universe in Focus for South African Mega Telescope

CARNARVON, South Africa—South African officials and scientists on Monday celebrated a milestone towards building the world’s largest radio astronomy instrument, which is co-hosted with Australia and aims to unlock mysteries of the universe. The construction launch outside the remote town of Carnarvon, Northern Cape, marks the next phase of developing a complex instrument aimed at…


The Andromeda Galaxy’s Cannibalistic Feasts Revealed by a Dark Stream

An international team of scientists, led by an astrophysicist from the University of Sydney, has found the leftovers of a colossal cannibalistic feeding event in the far outskirts of the Andromeda galaxy. Honor students Tim Adams from Sydney University and Yuan Li from the University of Auckland discovered a structure of stars, known as a globular cluster (GC),…


Cost Effective Planet X-ray Developed: Deep Planetary Scan Examines Martian Core

Scientists from the Australian National University (ANU) have developed a new and cost-effective deep scanning technique that can provide a window into the interior of the planets in Earth’s solar system. The new approach uses only one on-planet instrument and has provided ANU seismologists with a scan of the Red Planet’s interior, including its core. Dynamo theory suggests that…


Astronomers Discover Closest Black Hole to Earth, Say It’s 10 Times Bigger Than the Sun

Astronomers have discovered the closest known black hole to Earth, which is 1,600 light-years away and is 10 times larger than the sun, according to a new study published on Nov. 4. The stellar-mass black hole, dubbed “Gaia BH1,” is located in the constellation Ophiuchus, according to the U.S.-based National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab)….


Stargazing Essentials

Even a casual gaze up at the heavens can spark the desire to see the stars and planets above in more detail. Unless you’re booked on an upcoming Virgin Galactic spaceflight, this equipment will have to do. On the plus side, you could buy it all for far less than the $450,000 cost of the…


Hawaii Seeks End to Strife Over Astronomy on Sacred Mountain

HONOLULU—For more than 50 years, telescopes and the needs of astronomers have dominated the summit of Mauna Kea, a mountain sacred to Native Hawaiians that’s also one of the finest places in the world to study the night sky. That’s now changing with a new state law saying Mauna Kea must be protected for future…


Amateur Astronomy Gains Fans Who Bond Through Their Shared Love of the Starry Night

One evening, viewers of a virtual “star party” hosted from central Illinois got a glimpse of their host’s passion for the night sky when the patterned group of stars known as the constellation Orion the Hunter came into view. The regular Friday night gatherings of amateur astronomers observing celestial objects are hosted by Dr. John…


Gluttonous Cosmic ‘Black Widow’ Is Heaviest-Known Neutron Star

WASHINGTON—Astronomers have observed the most massive known example of an object called a neutron star, one classified as a “black widow” that got particularly hefty by gobbling up most of the mass of a stellar companion trapped in an unhappy cosmic marriage. The researchers said the neutron star, wildly spinning at 707 times per second,…


Space Scientists Map 4.4 Million Galaxies by Scanning Over a Quarter of the World’s Northern Skies

British scientists have created a map of 4.4 million galaxies by scanning more than a quarter of the world’s northern skies. They are revealed in astonishing detail—providing spectacular images of our universe. Most are billions of light-years away. They harbor massive black holes and rapidly growing new stars. In rare cases, two separate groups are…