Archive for the ‘space’ category: Page 717
Apr 21, 2019
Gravitational Forces at Heart of Milky Way Shaped Star Cluster Like Comet
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: space
This week’s Hubble Picture of the Week is a view of the stunning and unusual Messier 62 cluster in the constellation of Ophiuchus.
A globular cluster is a group of thousands of stars which are bound together by gravity, and which move across the sky as one group. The strong gravity means that most such clusters are perfectly spherical, like the neat and orderly Messier 3 or Messier 28 clusters.
But in the case of Messier 62, we see something different. The cluster is warped, with a long tail of stars which stretch out to one side to form a shape like a comet and its tail. It is thought that this distortion is due to Messier 62’s close proximity to the center of the galaxy, where strong gravitational forces from outside the cluster create tidal forces which pull some of the cluster toward the center.
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Apr 21, 2019
Jupiter-size star generates titanic white-light ‘superflare’
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: space
A small, borderline star about the size of Jupiter some 250 light years from Earth has been caught in the act of emitting an enormous superflare, releasing the equivalent of 80 billion tons of TNT while triggering a 10,000-fold increase in brightness.
The flare was 10 times more powerful than any known outburst from the Sun, including the Carrington event in 1859 that disrupted telegraph services around the world and caused strong, widespread auroral displays.
“The activity of low mass stars decreases as you go to lower and lower masses, and we expect the chromosphere (where flares originate) to get cooler or weaker,” said James Jackman, a doctoral student at the University of Warwick and lead author of a paper about the eruption.
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Apr 21, 2019
The board games turning science into playtime
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: entertainment, particle physics, science, space
Science-themed board games are an increasingly popular way to learn about everything from atom building to colonising space.
Apr 20, 2019
A Heavy-Metal Planet Orbiting a Dead Star May Foretell Our World’s End
Posted by Quinn Sena in category: space
Apr 20, 2019
A Mars Colony Could Be Humanity’s First Shot at a Ground-Up, Pure Economy
Posted by Klaus Baldauf in categories: economics, space
Apr 20, 2019
Light sails and stingray airships to explore space
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: innovation, space
NASA has announced the 18 projects awarded funding in its NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) programme.
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Apr 18, 2019
NASA designed a drone that could fly around Mars
Posted by Klaus Baldauf in categories: drones, space
Apr 18, 2019
Take a look at the C-Space Project Mars simulation base built in the Gobi Desert outside Jinchang, NW China’s Gansu province
Posted by Klaus Baldauf in category: space
Tourist spots in Paris, France… including Notre Dame. #NotreDame
A crisp, clear winter day over France provided the International Space Station a detailed view of the city of Paris. This image, rotated and cropped from the original, shows the recognizable street pattern of the city—and some of the world’s most notable landmarks—along the Seine River. One of the main avenues radiating like spokes from the Arc de Triomphe (image upper left) is the Avenue des Champs-Élysées running southeast to the Garden of Tuileries (Jardin des Tuileries).
The garden—recognizable by its light green color relative to the surrounding built materials—was originally commissioned by Catherine de Medici in 1559, and is now bounded by the Place de la Concorde to the northeast and the Louvre museum along the Seine River at the southeast end. Other, similarly colored parks and greenspaces are visible throughout the image. Farther south on the Seine is the Íle de la Cité, location of the famous Notre Dame cathedral. Perhaps most prominent is the characteristic €œA € profile of the Eiffel Tower west of the Jardin des Tuileries, highlighted by morning sunlight.
