Astronomers want your help hunting for asteroids
Anyone can become an asteroid hunter thanks to a new program launched by astronomers at the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. As part of the Catalina Sky Survey, the scientists created an online portal that opens their mission—t.....»»
Do red dwarfs or sunlike stars have more Earth-sized worlds?
Earth is our only example of a habitable planet, so it makes sense to search for Earth-size worlds when we're hunting for potentially-habitable exoplanets. When astronomers found seven of them orbiting a red dwarf star in the TRAPPIST-1 system, peopl.....»»
Two Neptune-sized exoplanets discovered with TESS
An international team of astronomers reports the detection of two new exoplanets orbiting a bright star known as TOI-5126, using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). The newfound alien worlds are similar in size to the solar system's.....»»
"Mind-blowing": Astronomers spot most distant radio burst yet
Eight billion years ago, something happened in a distant galaxy that sent an incredibly powerful blast of radio waves hurtling through the universe......»»
NASA’s Lucy spacecraft will soon make its first flyby of an asteroid
The Lucy spacecraft is on its way to the orbit of Jupiter to study the Trojan asteroids there. But first it will make a flyby of an asteroid called Dinkinesh......»»
Space is starting to look like the better mining operation
Mining in space might be less environmentally harmful than mining asteroids on Earth. Enlarge / Metallic asteroids contain more than a thousand times as much nickel as the Earth's crust. (credit: Arne Hodalic/Getty) Eve.....»»
There are 14,000 potentially hazardous city-killing asteroids left to find
Everyone likes a cool infographic, right? Does that statement hold even if the infographic points out a gap in our knowledge that could kill millions of people? Because that's what a cool-looking infographic NASA released on October 16th does......»»
Challenging prehistoric gender roles: Research finds that women were hunters, too
It's a familiar story to many of us: In prehistoric times, men were hunters and women were gatherers. Women were not physically capable of hunting because their anatomy was different from men. And because men were hunters, they drove human evolution......»»
Things Are Looking Up for Asteroid Mining
Asteroids are rich with the metals used in clean energy technologies. As demand soars, advocates argue that mining them in space might be better than mining them on Earth......»»
NASA"s Lucy spacecraft preparing for its first asteroid flyby
NASA's Lucy spacecraft is preparing for its first close-up look at an asteroid. On Nov. 1, it will fly by asteroid Dinkinesh and test its instruments in preparation for visits in the next decade to multiple Trojan asteroids that circle the sun in the.....»»
Astronomers detect most distant fast radio burst to date
An international team has spotted a remote blast of cosmic radio waves lasting less than a millisecond. This 'fast radio burst' (FRB) is the most distant ever detected. Its source was pinned down by the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) Very Larg.....»»
Cataclysmic variable Swift J0503.7-2819 investigated by researchers
Using various spacecraft and ground-based observatories, an international team of astronomers has performed a multi-wavelength study of a cataclysmic variable system known as Swift J0503.7-2819. Results of the study, published October 11 on the pre-p.....»»
Astronomers comb telescope archive and find microsecond-duration burst
An international team of researchers led by Dutch Ph.D. candidate Mark Snelders (ASTRON and University of Amsterdam) has discovered radio pulses from the distant universe that last only millionths of a second. They found these microsecond bursts afte.....»»
New map of space precisely measures nearly 400,000 nearby galaxies
Astronomers have created a detailed atlas of almost 400,000 galaxies in our cosmic neighborhood. The Siena Galaxy Atlas was compiled using data from NSF's NOIRLab telescopes, and is designed to be the preeminent digital galaxy atlas for large galaxie.....»»
Protostars can siphon material from far away, says study
When stars are born, they do it inside a molecular cloud. Astronomers long assumed that the "crèche" supplied all the nutrients that protostars needed to form. However, it turns out they get help from outside the nest......»»
Astronomers report discovery of the closest ultrastripped supernova: SN 2021agco in UGC 3855
Astronomers report the discovery of a new ultrastripped supernova in the galaxy UGC 3855. The supernova was detected using the Half Meter Telescope (HMT) at the Xingming Observatory in China. The finding was detailed in a paper published October 7 on.....»»
After ChatGPT disruption, Stack Overflow lays off 28 percent of staff
The popular developer forum is still hunting for a "path to profitability." Enlarge (credit: Stack Overflow) Stack Overflow used to be every developer's favorite site for coding help, but with the rise of generative AI l.....»»
Special wildlife exits on busy roads help protect endangered ocelots
The Texas ocelot (Leopardus pardalis albescens) is endangered due to historic hunting, habitat loss, inbreeding, and traffic collisions. Today, only between 50 and 80 ocelots remain in the U.S., exclusively in Willacy and Cameron counties in southern.....»»
New research shows why hunting for the cheapest plane ticket is a waste of your time
Buy your ticket on a Tuesday. Search in your browser's incognito mode. Use a VPN to pretend you live in Suriname......»»
Mysterious fast radio bursts might be caused by “starquakes,” study finds
Astronomers have puzzled over possible sources since the first FRB was spotted in 2007. Enlarge / Artist's impression of a fast radio burst (FRB) traveling through space and reaching Earth. (credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser/CC BY 4.0).....»»
Mysterious fast radio bursts look a lot like earthquakes, study finds
Astronomers have puzzled over possible sources since the first FRB was spotted in 2007. Enlarge / Artist's impression of a fast radio burst (FRB) traveling through space and reaching Earth. (credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser/CC BY 4.0).....»»