
Universe Today
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Universe Today provides Space and astronomy news.
Universe Today
3h ago
Roughly 4.6 billion years ago, the Sun was born from the gas and dust of a nebula that underwent gravitational collapse. The remaining gas and dust settled into a protoplanetary disk that slowly accreted to form the planets, including Earth. About 4.5 billion years ago, our planet was impacted by a Mars-sized body (Theia), which …
The post Water Arrived in the Final Stages of Earth's Formation appeared first on Universe Today ..read more
Universe Today
8h ago
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has been giving us a fabulous new view on the universe since its launch. This new image of the protostar HH30 is in amazing new detail thanks to the JWST. It was first discovered using the Hubble Space Telescope but this Herbig-Haro object, which is a dark molecular cloud, …
The post An Amazing JWST Image of a Protostar appeared first on Universe Today ..read more
Universe Today
8h ago
Hypervelocity stars (HVSs) were first theorized to exist in the late 1980s. In 2005, the first discoveries were confirmed. HVSs travel much faster than normal stars, and sometimes, they can exceed the galactic escape velocity. Astronomers estimate that the Milky Way contains about 1,000 HVSs, and new research shows that some of these originate in …
The post There Could Be a Supermassive Black Hole in the Large Magellanic Cloud Hurling Stars at the Milky Way appeared first on Universe Today ..read more
Universe Today
14h ago
We’ve only gotten one close-up view of Uranus and its moons, and it happened decades ago. In 1986, Voyager 2 performed a flyby of Uranus from about 81,500 km (50,600 mi) of the planet’s cloud tops. It was 130,000 km (80,000 mi) away from Uranus’ moon, Ariel, when it captured the leading image. It showed …
The post Uranus’ Moon Ariel has Deep Gashes, Could Reveal its Interior appeared first on Universe Today ..read more
Universe Today
14h ago
New research suggests an impact recently rattled Mars deeper than thought. Something really rang the Red Planet’s bell. Research involving two NASA missions—the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and the late InSight lander—has shed light on meteorite impacts and the seismic signals they produce. In a crucial finding, these signals may penetrate deeper inside Mars than previously …
The post A Recent Impact on Mars Shook the Planet to Its Mantle appeared first on Universe Today ..read more
Universe Today
1d ago
The current exoplanet census contains 5,832 confirmed candidates, with more than 7,500 still awaiting confirmation. Of those that have been confirmed, most have been gas giants ranging from Neptune-like bodies (1992) to those similar to or many times the size and mass of Jupiter and Saturn (1883). Like the gas giants of the Solar System, …
The post This Hot Jupiter Probably Formed Close to Its Star appeared first on Universe Today ..read more
Universe Today
1d ago
Is it possible to understand the Universe without understanding the largest structures that reside in it? In principle, not likely. In practical terms? Definitely not. Extremely large objects can distort our understanding of the cosmos. Astronomers have found the largest structure in the Universe so far, named Quipu after an Incan measuring system. It contains …
The post Astronomers Find the Largest Structure in the Universe and Name it “Quipu” appeared first on Universe Today ..read more
Universe Today
2d ago
Asteroid sampling missions are getting increasingly complex. Recent announcements about the existence of amino acids in the sample OSIRIS-REx returned from Bennu in 2023 will likely result in more interest in studying the small bodies strewn throughout our solar system. Engineering challenges abound when doing so, though, including one of the most important – how …
The post Hybrid Gas/Drill Asteroid Sampler Could Improve Collection Amounts appeared first on Universe Today ..read more
Universe Today
2d ago
What happens when one galaxy shoots a bigger galaxy right through the heart? Like a rock thrown into a pond, the smashup creates a splash-up of starry ripples. At least that’s what happened to the Bullseye galaxy, which is the focus of observations made by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and the Keck Observatory in Hawaii. …
The post Bullseye! Hubble Spots Ripples in Space From a Galaxy Collision appeared first on Universe Today ..read more
Universe Today
2d ago
The ESA’s Gaia mission mapped the positions and velocities of stars with extreme precision by measuring about one billion stars multiple times. It created a massive 3D map of the Milky Way that will pay scientific dividends for years to come. Gaia is based on astrometry, the study of the positions and movements of celestial …
The post Gaia Was Right. It Did Find a Planet. appeared first on Universe Today ..read more