Lifeboat Foundation

Not only does a universal constant seem annoyingly inconstant at the outer fringes of the cosmos, it occurs in only one direction, which is downright weird.

Those looking forward to a day when science’s Grand Unifying Theory of Everything could be worn on a t-shirt may have to wait a little longer as astrophysicists continue to find hints that one of the cosmological constants is not so constant after all.

In a paper published in Science Advances, scientists from UNSW Sydney reported that four new measurements of light emitted from a quasar 13 billion light years away reaffirm past studies that found tiny variations in the fine structure constant.

Evgeni Grishin (Credit: Courtesy of The Technion)

Specifically, their work explains the unique characteristics of Arrokoth, affectionately known as “the Snowman” because it is likely predominantly made of soft ice and because of its two different sized lobes interconnected with a thin neck.

Arrokoth was first photographed in 2019 by the New Horizons space mission, the same mission that provided the world’s best pictures of Pluto and its moon Charon.

Hubble Space Telescope’s iconic images and scientific breakthroughs have redefined our view of the Universe. To commemorate three decades of scientific discoveries, this image is one of the most photogenic examples of the many turbulent stellar nurseries the telescope has observed during its 30-year lifetime. The portrait features the giant nebula NGC 2014 and its neighbour NGC 2020 which together form part of a vast star-forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, approximately 163 000 light-years away. The image is nicknamed the “Cosmic Reef” because it resembles an undersea world.

On 24 April 1990 the Hubble Space Telescope was launched aboard the space shuttle Discovery, along with a five-astronaut crew. Deployed into low-Earth orbit a day later, the telescope has since opened a new eye onto the cosmos that has been transformative for our civilization.

Hubble is revolutionising modern astronomy not only for astronomers, but also by taking the public on a wondrous journey of exploration and discovery. Hubble’s seemingly never-ending, breathtaking celestial snapshots provide a visual shorthand for its exemplary scientific achievements. Unlike any other telescope before it, Hubble has made astronomy relevant, engaging, and accessible for people of all ages. The mission has yielded to date 1.4 million observations and provided data that astronomers around the world have used to write more than 17 000 peer-reviewed scientific publications, making it one of the most prolific space observatories in history. Its rich data archive alone will fuel future astronomy research for generations to come.

Jessica Meir said she’s not used to isolation on Earth.

NASA recorded the huge space rock – known as ‘2020 HW3’ and measuring as much as 230m or 750ft wide – as an Apollo asteroid which fly close to Earth and intersect our orbit.

Thirty years ago this week — on April 24, 1990 — the Hubble Space Telescope launched into space and opened humanity’s eyes to the cosmos. Now, we reflect on how this groundbreaking instrument has changed and evolved our understanding of the universe.

Space.com spoke to retired NASA astronaut Mike Massimino, who currently serves as the senior advisor for space programs at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, about his experiences working with the telescope and its importance to science and society.

It’s the best explanation for their bizarre orbits.

We have seen before🤔🤔.

Observations suggest that its home star system could resemble our own. NASA scientists have even suggested that the object may hold water.

Now, a new study by an international team of researchers led by NASA has revealed something highly unusual: gas emanating from the comet contained unusually high amounts of carbon monoxide — up to 26 times higher than that of the average comet.

Continue reading “NASA: Something Is Off About This Interstellar Comet” »

The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico captured a radar image of 1998 OR2, which will zoom within 3.9 million miles (6.3 million kilometers) of our planet on April 29.