Discovery of most massive supernova ever identified
Artist's conception of SN2016aps, a candidate pulsational pair instability supernova. The explosion energy of SN2016aps, fueled by the shedding of a massive shell of gas, was ten times that of a normal-sized supernova, making SN2016aps the most massive supernova ever...
Wind speed measured on brown dwarf
Brown dwarf, left, and Jupiter, right. Artist's conception of brown dwarf illustrates magnetic field and atmosphere's top, which were observed at different wavelengths to determine wind speeds.CREDIT: Bill Saxton, NRAO/AUI/NSF Astronomers Measure Wind Speed on a Brown...
Expansion of the Universe is not Uniform
Cosmic expansion measured across the sky. CREDIT: K. Migkas et al. 2020 – CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO Universe's Expansion May Not Be The Same In All Directions (Chandra X-Ray Observatory)Rethinking cosmology universe expansion may not be uniform (ESA) There are different things...
Black Hole bends light with help of dust
This illustration shows how some of the light coming from a disk around a black hole is bent back onto the disk itself due to the gravity of the hefty black hole. The light is then reflected back off the disk. Astronomers using data from NASA's now-defunct Rossi X-ray...
SpaceX loses third Starship prototype
SpaceX loses third Starship prototype in cryogenic ground test (SpaceflightNow)Starship SN3 failure due to bad commanding. SN4 already under construction (NASA Spaceflight)Third Starship prototype destroyed in tanking test (Space News) And still speaking of SpaceX,...
The last Dragon I capsule returned to Earth yesterday
CREDIT: NASA/ISS Final Dragon 1 completes return to Earth to conclude CRS-20 (NASA Spaceflight)NASA TV to Air U.S. Cargo Ship Departure from Space Station (NASA)3D Printing, Biology Research Make the Journey Back to Earth aboard SpaceX’s Dragon (NASA) Speaking of...
SpaceX tests the tower escape system for Crew Dragon
Video: Slidewire basket crew egress system tested at pad 39A (SpaceflightNow)MRAP Rolls Through Pad Evacuation Runs (NASA) This past Friday, SpaceX tested the tower escape system for Crew Dragon at Pad 39A. This video shows the emergency escape baskets sliding down a...
Sulfur can significantly impact observations of far-flung planets
Chao He, an assistant research scientist in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, works with Sarah Hörst, assistant professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, on the Planetary HAZE (PHAZER) chamber.Credit: Will Kirk/Johns Hopkins University Sulfur ‘Spices’...
First Event Horizon Telescope Images of a Black-Hole Powered Jet
Illustration of multiwavelength 3C 279 jet structure in April 2017. The observing epochs, arrays, and wavelengths are noted at each panel. CREDIT: J.Y. Kim (MPIfR), Boston University Blazar program, and the EHT Collaboration. Something is Lurking in the Heart of...
Uranus: The Ringed Planet That Sits on its Side
Uranus’ tilt essentially has the planet orbiting the Sun on its side, the axis of its spin is nearly pointing at the Sun.CREDIT: © NASA and Erich Karkoschka, U. of Arizona Uranus: The Ringed Planet That Sits on its Side (Space.com) In new research coming out of the...