In our solar system, we have two types of planets. Small, warm, rocky worlds populate the inner region, while the outer region has cold gas giants. Intuitively this makes a lot of sense. When the solar system was forming, the Sun’s light and heat must have pushed much of the gas toward the outer system, …
Hot Stars Blast Away at gas Giants Until Only Their Rocky Cores Remain Read More »
James Webb delivers scientific results, SLS and Starship go closer to their maiden flights, remote surgery robot is going to the ISS, Perseverance continues to find weird stuff on Mars, and Hubble is still going strong. All this and more in this week’s episode of Space Bites. All this and more in this week’s episode …
JWST’s Science, Surgeon Robot for ISS, Booster 7 Test Fire Read More »
Climate change is a real problem. Human caused outputs of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane are the main driver of an unprecedented rise in global average temperatures at a speed never before seen in the Earth’s geologic record. The problem is so bad that any attempts to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions may be …
MIT Researchers Propose Space Bubbles to Stop Climate Change Read More »
When you look at a region of the sky where stars are born, you see a cloud of gas and dust and a bunch of stars. It’s really a beautiful sight. In most places, the stars all end up being about the same mass. That mass is probably the most important factor you want to …
In Wildly Different Environments, Stars End Up Roughly the Same Read More »
The early moments of the universe were turbulent and filled with hot and dense matter. Fluctuations in the early universe could have been great enough that stellar-mass pockets of matter collapsed under their own weight to create primordial black holes. Although we’ve never detected these small black holes, they could have played a vital role …
Primordial Black Holes Could Have Triggered the Formation of Supermassive Black Holes Read More »
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soars downrange from Vandenberg Space Force Base on the Starlink 3-3 mission. Credit: William G. Hartenstein SpaceX launched 46 more Starlink internet satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket Friday from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, adding more broadband relay platforms to the polar-orbiting segment of the network. The 229-foot-tall …
SpaceX launches more Starlink satellites in afternoon launch from California Read More »
Betelgeuse, the big reddish star that is the second brightest point in the constellation Orion (after Rigel), has been puzzling astronomers for years. Starting in October 2019, Belegeuse began to dim considerably, eventually reaching 1/3rd of its normal brightness a few months later. And then, just as mysteriously, it began to brighten again and (as …
A view of 46 flat-packed Starlink satellites in orbit following a launch in July. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX plans to launch a Falcon 9 rocket with 46 Starlink internet satellites into polar orbit Friday from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, continuing deployment of the company’s commercial broadband network. A Falcon 9 rocket is set to …
SpaceX preps 46 more Starlink satellites for launch into polar orbit Read More »
Our Sun is doomed. Billions of years from now, the Sun will deplete its hydrogen fuel and swell to a red giant before becoming a white dwarf. It’s a well-known story, and one astronomers have understood for decades. Now, thanks to the latest data from Gaia, we know the Sun’s future in much greater detail. …
Thanks to Gaia we Know Exactly how and When the Sun Will die Read More »
The new generation of Starlink satellites remain above the accepted brightness threshold. It’s one of the stranger sights of the modern Space Age. Recently, we found ourselves under the relatively dark skies of southern Spain. Sure enough, within a few minutes, we caught sight of a chain of flashing ‘stars’ winking in and out of …
