Earth & Space
The newly discovered planets ranged from the size of the moon to the size of Jupiter, and their galaxy is 3.8 billion light years away from our own.
This full moon is the third in a series of “supermoons,” when the Moon is closer to Earth in its orbit — known as perigee — and about 14 percent brighter than usual. It’s the second full moon of the month, commonly known as a “blue moon.” The super blue moon will pass through Earth’s shadow to give viewers in the right location a total lunar eclipse. While the Moon is in the Earth’s shadow it will take on a reddish tint, known as a “blood moon.”
The truly exciting part of the discovery is that these relatively pure layers of ice are so close to Mars’ surface. In some instances, they are just a few feet down, which makes the almost limitless water very accessible to human beings.
Astronomers are interested in better understanding how the stars interact with the Galactic center’s most dominant resident: the supermassive black hole known as Sagittarius A* (abbreviated Sgr A*). The Galactic Center visualization is a 360-degree movie that immerses the viewer into a simulation of the center of our Galaxy. The viewer is at the location of Sgr A* and is able to see about 25 Wolf-Rayet stars (white, twinkling objects) orbiting Sgr A* as they continuously eject stellar winds (black to red to yellow color scale).
Call it whatever you like—a blue red moon, a purple moon, a blood moon—but the moon will be a special sight on Jan. 31. Three separate celestial events will occur simultaneously that night, resulting in what some are calling a super blue blood moon eclipse. The astronomical rarity hasn’t happened for more than 150 years.
While 2017 had some sad moments, like the end of the 20–year-long Cassini mission, we also learnt a huge amount about this vast Universe in which we live. Here’s the best of space in 2017.
The recent SpaceX launch caused persons to question if UFOs were present.
The asteroid, named ‘Oumuamua, was the first object from another star system to be detected by the human race and stunned scientists with its shape — it is ten times longer than it is wide — and its color, a dark red hue caused by millions of years of exposure to radiation. The Breakthrough Listen initiative will spend $100 million to test ‘Oumuamua for radio signals. Scientists say that though it is highly unlikely, the unusual characteristics of the asteroid fit the bill of a giant interstellar probe or spaceship.
A whale-sized asteroid has come frighteningly close to the Earth
No time to read Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time? Here are Hawking’s big ideas… made simple via animation.
Mount Agung on the resort island of Bali, which has been rumbling in recent months, erupted on Tuesday afternoon, the nation’s disaster mitigation agency said. The height of the smoke reached more than 700 meters from the peak of the mountain. The alert level for the rumbling volcano that had forced more than 100,000 to flee was lowered late last month, though authorities said there was still a chance it could erupt.
On Oct. 16, 17, and 18 a team of musicians and scientists sent a message to aliens via radio waves, and transmitted it 9 different times. What’s in the message? Thirty-three musical pieces, each 10 seconds long, a tutorial on how humans keep time, and when we will be listening for a response…This is the first radio message of its kind designed for a direct response at a specific time.
For the northern Taurids, the best dates to spot them are from November 11-12, as on these dates, the waning moon will be reaching new moon, therefore interfering the minimum with the night show. The best results will happen in the early morning (just before dawn) from any dark location.
The existence of the ‘monster’ planet, ‘NGTS-1b’, challenges theories of planet formation which state that a planet of this size could not be formed around such a small star. According to these theories, small stars can readily form rocky planets but do not gather enough material together to form Jupiter-sized planets.
Ancient manuscripts describe sound levitating heavy objects, perhaps aiding in the building of huge pyramids and monuments. Ancient texts, all over the globe, describe sound as an effective method to move and alter dense physical matter.
