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Universe Today
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Space and astronomy news
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NASA to Send a Probe Into the Sun
NASA recently announced its choices for the experiments to fly aboard the Solar Probe Plus spacecraft, which is slated to launch no later than 2018. This spacecraft will perform the unprecedented task of flying into the Sun's atmosphere – or corona – to take measurements of the plasma, magnetic fields and dust that surround our [...]
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Does Tidal Evolution Cause Stars to Eat Planets?
With the success of the Kepler mission, the viability of looking for planets via transits has reached maturity. However, Kepler is not the first intensive study. Previously, other observatories have employed transit searches. To increase the chances of discovery, studies often concentrated on large clusters in which thousands of stars could be observed simultaneously. Based [...]
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The Other End of the Planetary Scale
The definition of a "planet" is one that has seen a great deal of contention. The ad-hoc redefinition has caused much grief for lovers of the demoted Pluto. Yet little attention is paid to the other end of the planetary scale, namely, where the cutoff between a star and a planet lies. The general consensus [...]
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Extrasolar Volcanoes May Soon be Detectable
We’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 [...]
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Aesthetics of Astronomy
When 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 science. Quite often, I'm asked the question, [...]
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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 [...]
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Two New Asteroids to Pass Earth This Week
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.(...)Read the rest of Two New Asteroids to Pass Earth This Week (456 words) © jvois [...]
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Spiral Galaxies Could Eat Dwarfs All Across the Universe
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 [...]
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Hubble Spies an Amazing Cosmic Spiral
The 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 [...]
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Herschel Finds Water Around a Carbon Star
There’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 [...]
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