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‘astronomy’ Stories

Unique Martian rock found in the Sahara desert

, Jan 3rd 2013 Discuss [0]

A rock from the Red Planet was discovered in the Sahara desert, and has been under study for the last year. The results from the study show that it is different from other Martian rocks that have been discovered, in that it contains more water and is older than the majority of other discoveries. The finding has been named NWA 7034, is said to be 2.1 billion years old, and offers a glimpse into Mars' history. Read The Full Story

Quadrantid meteor shower to start around midnight

, Jan 2nd 2013 Discuss [0]

Just three days into the new year, and star gazers are in for a treat. On January 3 (starting at midnight tonight and lasting into the morning hours), the Quandrantid meteor shower will put on a show for the Western coast of the United states, as well as Asia. The Quads, as it is more commonly known, typically produce 60 to 200 meteors per hour, but will sadly fall during daylight hours for certain time zones. Read The Full Story

Earth microbes can survive on Mars, study finds

, Dec 28th 2012 Discuss [0]

In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists from the Russian Academy of Sciences and the University of Florida show that the anaerobic organism Carnobacterium can survive on the Red Planet. This comes after years of belief that any Earth microbes that make their way to Mars via devices sent there, such as the Curiosity rover, won't survive the conditions. In light of this information, scientists have to be more careful than ever to avoid sending microbes to the Martian planet. Read The Full Story

Earth twin will be discovered in 2013, according to scientists

, Dec 27th 2012 Discuss [0]

Exoplanets have been popping up in the world of astronomy with relatively high frequency over the last half decade or so, with the latest one being the 51 Pegasi b that was revealed back in October. Thanks to advances in technology and other factors, it is likely the first "Earth twin" planet will be discovered next year, according to scientists. Read The Full Story

December 13 promises grand Geminid meteor shower

, Dec 12th 2012 Discuss [0]

On December 13, star-gazers will be graced with the Geminid meteor shower, which promises dozens of shooting stars throughout the night and early morning. These particular meteor showers are known for their reliability and strong presence. This shower specifically will be extra awesome due to falling during an almost moonless week. Read The Full Story

NASA finds over 100 billion tons of ice on Mercury

, Nov 29th 2012 Discuss [0]

NASA scientists have discovered that Mercury, the closest planet to the sun, is home to a whole lot of ice. This, of course, is the same planet that gets ridiculously hot around its equator, to the tune of about 800-degrees Fahrenheit. There has been speculation for quite some time that the craters located on the planet's poles might contain ice; now we have confirmation thanks to scientists working with the Messenger mission. Read The Full Story

Penumbral lunar eclipse scheduled for 6AM PST tomorrow

, Nov 28th 2012 Discuss [0]

Tomorrow at about 6AM Pacific time, if you're not unlucky enough to have an overcast sky, you'll be able to observe a penumbral lunar eclipse. This happens when the Earth moves between the moon and sun, and the moon ends up under Earth's penumbra. According to NASA, the eclipse will be at its greatest around 6:33am, and will be visible until around 7am. Read The Full Story

Fighting asteroids with paintballs: an MIT graduate student’s winning strategy

, Oct 26th 2012 Discuss [0]

It’s like something out a strange science fiction movie: a giant asteroid careening towards earth is diverted using a massive blast of paintballs fired into space, saving mankind and forever giving paintball-lovers bragging rights over airsoft fans. As odd as it sounds, this very proposal earned Sung Wook Paek, Department of Aeronautics and Astronauts at MIT, the 2012 Move an Asteroid Technical Paper Competition. And yes, there’s a video. Read The Full Story

ESO assembles 9-gigapixel image of 84 million stars

, Oct 24th 2012 Discuss [0]

ESO has released a ginormous 9-gigapixel image of 84 million stars taken via the VISTA infrared survey telescope at its Paranal Observatory. Featuring the center of the Milky Way, this huge picture is the by-product of an international team of astronomers, and will be used to help study our galaxy. Just how big is 9-gigapixels? Printed "with the resolution of a typical book," it would be almost 30 feet long and 23 feet high. Read The Full Story

Kepler Space Telescope discovers the most tightly packed exoplanet system ever

, Oct 17th 2012 Discuss [0]

Astronomers have been on quite a roll lately with lots of new discoveries being announced over the last several months. One of the most interesting discoveries that astronomers have made in recent times was the discovery of one of the most tightly packed exoplanet systems ever identified. The discovery was made using the Kepler Space Telescope. Read The Full Story

Astronomers discover planet with four suns

, Oct 16th 2012 Discuss [0]

A group of astronomers, including some volunteers has made a very interesting discovery of a new planet in a unique system. The new planet that was discovered is a gas giant about six times the size of the Earth. The planet itself isn't as interesting as the fact that it orbits a unique star system. Read The Full Story

Massive impact on Jupiter seen from Earth

, Sep 12th 2012 Discuss [0]

Sometimes interesting discoveries in space are made by amateur astronomers rather than scientists at NASA and other organizations around the world. This is exactly what happened this week when amateur astronomer George Hall captured image of what appears to be some sort of massive impact on the surface of Jupiter. Hall was recording video observations of the planet with his telescope on September 10 from Dallas, Texas. Read The Full Story
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