NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Astronomers just measured the mass of a free-floating planet without a star for the first time Topics: Astronomy, Astrophysics, Exoplanets, NASA When we imagine a planet, we think of one like ours, orbiting a star. But some have a far lonelier existence, drifting through interstellar space without a sun toContinue reading “Rogue Planet…”
Category Archives: Astronomy
Dark or Lumpy…
An artist’s impression of the cosmic web (Volker Springel/Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics/et al) Topics: Astronomy, Astrophysics, Cosmology, Dark Matter, Einstein, Research Q: Why does science seem to always change its mind? A: Because, the enterprise of science is about discovery, and a lot of discoveries happen when you have better instrumentation, apply The ScientificContinue reading “Dark or Lumpy…”
Black Holes and Dark Matter…
Artist’s impression of a microlensing event caused by a black hole observed from Earth toward the Large Magellanic Cloud. The light of a background star located in the LMC is bent by a putative primordial black hole (lens) in the Galactic halo and magnified when observed from the Earth. Microlensing causes very characteristic variation ofContinue reading “Black Holes and Dark Matter…”
Spectral Molecule…
Scientists detected 2-Methoxyethanol in space for the first time using radio telescope observations of the star-forming region NGC 6334I. Credit: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Topics: Astronomy, Chemistry, Instrumentation, Interstellar, Research, Spectrographic Analysis New research from the group of MIT Professor Brett McGuire has revealed the presence of a previously unknown molecule in space. The team’sContinue reading “Spectral Molecule…”
Communal…
Topics: Astronomy, Astrophysics, Carl Sagan, Civilization, Existentialism, Star Wars, Star Trek, STEM Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, and Armstrong became the first person to step onto the Moon’s surface six hours and 39 minutes later, onContinue reading “Communal…”
Eclipse…
Topics: Astronomy, Astrophysics, Philosophy, Planetary Science, Space Exploration There will be a partial eclipse here in Greensboro. These glasses (6 pair), I purchased in 2017 for ANOTHER partial eclipse that I missed due to working in the lab my first year in grad school. Nano took precedent over astro. The current show starts around 1:56Continue reading “Eclipse…”
Science, or Spectacle…
Avi Loeb, a Harvard University astrophysicist, displays a small vial of material recovered from the floor of the Pacific Ocean. The material, Loeb says, includes fragments of a meteorite that he claims came from another star system—and perhaps even from an alien spacecraft. Credit: Anibal Martel/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Topics: Astronomy, Astrophysics, Civilization, Cosmology,Continue reading “Science, or Spectacle…”
Nano Racetracks…
In this image, optical pulses (solitons) can be seen circling through conjoined optical tracks. (Image: Yuan, Bowers, Vahala, et al.) An animated gif is at the original link below. Topics: Applied Physics, Astronomy, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, Nanoengineering, Optics (Nanowerk News) When we last checked in with Caltech’s Kerry Vahala three years ago, his labContinue reading “Nano Racetracks…”
Dark Matter, Ordinary Matter…
Topics: Astronomy, Astrophysics, Dark Matter, Research, Theoretical Physics Dark matter, composed of particles that do not reflect, emit, or absorb light, is predicted to make up most of the matter in the universe. However, its lack of interactions with light prevents its direct detection using conventional experimental methods. Physicists have been trying to devise alternativeContinue reading “Dark Matter, Ordinary Matter…”
Gas Nephilim…
Artist’s depiction of an extra-solar system that is crowded with giant planets. Credit: NASA/Dana Berry Topics: Astronomy, Astrophysics, Planetary Science, Space Exploration Giant gas planets can be agents of chaos, ensuring nothing lives on their Earth-like neighbors around other stars. New studies show in some planetary systems, the giants tend to kick smaller planets outContinue reading “Gas Nephilim…”
Physics and Nano 