Will Wide Binaries Be the End of MOND?
It’s a fact that many of us have churned out during public engagement events; that at least 50% of all stars are part of binary star systems. Some of them are simply stunning to look at, others...
View ArticleThere’s Less Dark Matter at the Core of the Milky Way
Science really does keep you on your toes. First there was matter and then there were galaxies. Then those galaxies had more stuff in the middle so stars further out were expected to move slowly, then...
View ArticleAstronomers Measure the Mass of the Milky Way by Calculating How Hard it is...
If you want to determine your mass, it’s pretty easy. Just step on a scale and look at the number it gives you. That number tells you the gravitational pull of Earth upon you, so if you feel the...
View ArticleThe SETI Ellipse Tells Us Where to Search for Extraterrestrial Civilizations
Of all the questions that remain unanswered, the question of life in the Universe is surely the one that captures our attention the most. In a Universe whose observable edge is 46 billion light years...
View ArticleScientists Track How a Giant Wave Moved Through Our Galactic Backyard
Astronomers say there’s a wave rippling through our galactic neighborhood that’s playing a part in the birth and death of stars — and perhaps in Earth’s history as well. The cosmic ripple, known as...
View ArticleAstronomers Build a 3D Map of Dust Within Thousands of Light-Years
If you explore the night sky it won’t be long before you realise there is a lot of dust and gas up there. The interstellar dust between the stars accounts for 1% of the mass of the interstellar medium...
View ArticleAre Andromeda and the Milky Way Already Exchanging Stars?
I often drag out the amazing fact that the Andromeda Galaxy, that faint fuzzy blob just off the corner of the Square of Pegasus, is heading straight for us! Of course I continue to tell people it...
View ArticleNancy Grace Roman will Map the Far Side of the Milky Way
The Galaxy is a collection of stars, planets, gas clouds and to the dismay of astronomers, dust clouds. The dust blocks starlight from penetrating so it’s very difficult to learn about the far side of...
View ArticleThis New Map of 1.3 Million Quasars Is A Powerful Tool
Quasars are the brightest objects in the Universe. The most powerful ones are thousands of times more luminous than entire galaxies. They’re the visible part of a supermassive black hole (SMBH) at the...
View ArticleOne in Twelve Stars Ate a Planet
That stars can eat planets is axiomatic. If a small enough planet gets too close to a large enough star, the planet loses. Its fate is sealed. New research examines how many stars eat planets. Their...
View Article
More Pages to Explore .....