Extrasolar Volcanoes May Soon be Detectable

An artist's depiction of volcanoes on a moon like Io. Astronomers think that it may (barely) be possible to detect volcanic eruptions on exoplanets with the James Web Space Telescope. Exomoons will be even harder. Image credit: Wade HenningWe’ve all seen pictures of erupting terrestrial volcanoes from space, and even eruptions on Jupiter’s moon Io in the outer solar system, but would it be possible to detect an erupting volcano on an exoplanet? Astronomers say the answer is yes! (with a few caveats)It’s going to be decades before telescopes will be able to resolve even the crudest surface features of ... Read More

Aesthetics of Astronomy

This Hubble image reveals the gigantic Pinwheel Galaxy (M101), one of the best known examples of "grand design spirals," and its supergiant star-forming regions in unprecedented detail. Astronomers have searched galaxies like this in a hunt for the progenitors of Type Ia supernovae, but their search has turned up mostly empty-handed. Credit: NASA/ESAWhen I tell people I majored in astronomy, the general reaction is one of shock and awe. Although people don't realize just how much physics it is (which scares them even more when they found out), they're still impressed that anyone would choose to major in a physical ... Read More

Win ‘Star Walk’ and ‘Solar Walk’ Astronomy Apps

I've had a couple of people excitedly show me the Star Walk astronomy app on their iPhones and ipads, and it really is great. You can hold your device up to the sky and it will show you a sky map of your exact position. Move your device around the sky, and it moves with you. It is a very high quality, dynamic and realistic stargazing guide, which — if you are a beginning or experienced astronomer — makes skywatching easy for everybody! There is also a "Solar Walk" app — which has very cool 3D images, so grab your ... Read More

Two New Asteroids to Pass Earth This Week

Orbits of 2010 RF12 and 2010 RX30 as calculated by JPL's Small Body Databse Browser.Two newly discovered asteroids will pass the Earth this week. The asteroids were discovered on September 5th of this year by Andrea Boattini using the 1.5 metre reflector at Mount Lemmon in Arizona as part of the Mount Lemmon Survey.These two new asteroids have been given the designations of 2010 RF12 and 2010 RX30. Both are small bodies, which is why they were not discovered until mere days before they would pass the Earth. Estimates put the size of RF12 at 5 – 15 meters with ... Read More

Spiral Galaxies Could Eat Dwarfs All Across the Universe

Stellar streams around the galaxy M 63. Credit: D. Martínez-Delgado (MPIA)For years, astronomers have seen evidence that – at least in our own local neighborhood — spiral galaxies are consuming smaller dwarf galaxies. As they are digested, these dwarf galaxies are severely distorted, forming structures like strange, looping tendrils and stellar streams that surround the cannibalistic spirals. But now, for the first time, a new survey has detected such tell-tale structures in galaxies more distant than our immediate galactic neighborhood, providing evidence that this galactic cannibalism might take place on a universal scale. Remarkably, these cutting-edge results were obtained with ... Read More

Hubble Spies an Amazing Cosmic Spiral

An Extraordinary Celestial Spiral. Credit: ESA/NASA & R. SahaiThe Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys has captured a remarkable image of a spiral in space. No, not a spiral galaxy, (and not another Norway Spiral!) but the formation of an unusual pre-planetary nebula in one of the most perfect geometrical spirals ever seen. The nebula, called IRAS 23166+1655, is forming around the star LL Pegasi (also known as AFGL 3068) in the constellation of Pegasus. The image shows what appears to be a thin spiral pattern of amazing precision winding around the star, which is itself hidden behind thick ... Read More

Herschel Finds Water Around a Carbon Star

Herschel image of the carbon star CW Leonis. The arc visible to the left of the star is a bow shock, where the stellar wind encounters the interstellar medium. Water vapor has been discovered near the star at temperatures up to 1000 K. ESA/PACS/SPIRE/MESS ConsortiaThere’s something strange going on around the red giant star CW Leonis (a.k.a. IRC+10216). Deep within the star’s carbon-rich veil, astronomers have detected water vapor where no water should be.CW Leonis is similar in mass to the sun, but much older and much larger. It is the nearest red giant to the sun, and in its ... Read More

Step On The Scales: Weighing Up Planet Earth…

Scientists at the European Southern Observatory have identified the closest looking solar system to our own. They located a sun-like star more than 100 light years distant with as many as seven different planets, including one that might be the smallest ever found outside the solar system. “We have found what is most likely the system with the most planets yet discovered,” says Christophe Lovis, lead author of the paper reporting the result. “This remarkable discovery also highlights the fact that we are now entering a new era in exoplanet research: the study of complex planetary systems and not just ... Read More

The Origin of Exoplanets

Artist's impression of the planet OGLE-TR-L9b. Credit: ESO/H. ZodetWe truly live in an amazing time for exoplanet research. It was only 18 years ago the first planet outside our solar system was discovered. Fifteen since the first confirmation of one around a main sequence star. Even more recently, direct images have begun to sprout up, as well as the first spectra of the atmospheres of such planets. So much data is becoming available, astronomers have even begun to be able to make inferences as to how these extra solar planets could have formed.In general, there are two methods by which ... Read More

Astronomy Without A Telescope – Space Towers

(Caption) The Seattle space needle pokes through the cloud tops (well, just fog really… it's only 184 meters high). Credit: Liem Bahneman, pixduas.comArthur C Clarke allegedly said that the space elevator would be built fifty years after people stopped laughing. The first space tower though… well, that might need a hundred years. The idea of raising a structure from the ground up to 100 kilometers in height seems more than a bit implausible by today's engineering standards, given that we are yet to build anything that is more than one kilometer in height. The idea that we could build something ... Read More