Astronomy, features and articles | Educational Science

Nov 30, 2021

What is the Fermi Paradox?

The Fermi Paradox refers to the dichotomy between the high probability that extraterrestrial intelligence exists and the fact that we have no evidence for such aliens. This paradox was described by the late British science-fiction author, Sir Arthur C. Clarke, who said: Two possibilities exist: Either we are alone in...

Nov 30, 2021

Dazzling photos of the solar eclipse from Antarctica

On Dec. 4, 2021, a total solar eclipse dazzled a few thousand lucky people in Antarctica and countless penguins, who got to witness nearly two minutes of totality as the moon blotted out the sun's light. During a total solar eclipse, the sun, moon and Earth line up (in that...

Nov 30, 2021

Black hole jet ejected by supermassive black hole is shaped like a helix

An extraordinary galactic jet ejected from a supermassive black hole boasts a corkscrew-like helical structure, new ground-based telescope views reveal. The black hole lies at the center of an elliptical galaxy called Messier 87 (M87), which is located roughly 55 million light-years from Earth. The black hole — the first,...

Oct 31, 2021

Astronomers discover enormous 'barrier' separating the center of the Milky Way from the cosmic ray sea

The center of the Milky Way may be even more bizarre than astronomers thought, according to a new study. For the study, a team of researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Nanjing investigated a map of radioactive gamma-rays — the highest-energy form of light in the universe, which...

Oct 31, 2021

Watch a black hole rip 4 stars to shreds in epic new NASA simulation

In a high-stakes game of cosmic putt-putt golf, NASA researchers knocked eight simulated stars into the path of a monstrous black hole. Four stars survived the encounter intact — a little bent out of shape, maybe, but still held together by the strength of their own gravity. And as for...

Sep 30, 2021

Stinky 'mushball' hailstones on Uranus may explain an atmospheric anomaly there

A recent discovery of giant ammonia-rich hailstones, dubbed mushballs, on Jupiter might explain why Uranus and Neptune seem to have no ammonia in their atmospheres. Scientists have puzzled for years over the apparent absence of ammonia in the atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune. Known for its unpleasant smell, ammonia is...

Sep 30, 2021

What happened when the dinosaur-killing asteroid slammed into Earth?

Hidden below the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the Chicxulub crater marks the impact site of an asteroid that struck Earth 66 million years ago. The most consequential outcome of this cataclysmic event was the fifth mass extinction, which wiped out about 80% of all animal species, including the...

Sep 30, 2021

Massive solar flare barreling toward Earth this Halloween

The sun belched up a large flare of charged particles on Oct. 28, and now that electric wind is barreling toward Earth as a strong geomagnetic storm. The storm — which ranks as a category G3 on the Space Weather Prediction Center's (SWPC) 5-tier scale — is expected to reach...

Aug 31, 2021

Strange, repeating radio signal near the center of the Milky Way has scientists stumped

Astronomers have detected a strange, repeating radio signal near the center of the Milky Way, and it's unlike any other energy signature ever studied. According to a new paper accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal and posted on the preprint server arXiv, the energy source is extremely finicky, appearing...

Aug 31, 2021

Asteroid three times the size of the Statue of Liberty will zoom past Earth on fall equinox

On Wednesday (Sept. 22), the fall equinox will bring the Earth about 12 hours of daylight, 12 hours of night and a renegade space rock measuring about three times the size of the Statue of Liberty. This asteroid, named 2021 NY1, will sail harmlessly past our planet, according to NASA's...

Aug 31, 2021

Louisiana's missing moon rock found in Florida thanks to broken gun

A long-lost piece of the moon belonging to the state of Louisiana may have remained missing — if not also been discarded or destroyed — had the plaque on which it was mounted not attracted the eye of a Florida gun collector. The man, who was looking for wood samples...

Jul 31, 2021

Mysterious dimming of bright star Betelgeuse possibly explained

The mysterious strange dimming seen last year in the huge star Betelgeuse may be from giant sunspots and temperature fluctuations. A new study suggests a large dark spot led to Betelgeuse's surface temperature dropping, which in turn contributed to a temporary dimming in the red giant's luminosity or inherent brightness....

Jul 31, 2021

Black holes could give away their size by their 'messy eating'

Astronomers think they have a new way to calculate the size of supermassive black holes: by studying the feeding patterns of these invisible giants. Scientists have long noticed flickering patterns in the brightness of accretion disks, the fat ring of matter pulled in by a black hole's gravity. But researchers...

Jul 31, 2021

What is multiverse theory?

Multiverse theory suggests that our universe, with all its hundreds of billions of galaxies and almost countless stars, spanning tens of billions of light-years, may not be the only one. Instead, there may be an entirely different universe, distantly separated from ours — and another, and another. Indeed, there may...

Jun 30, 2021

What would happen if the moon were twice as close to Earth?

In the 2003 Jim Carrey movie Bruce Almighty, Carrey's character suddenly acquires God-like powers, and uses those powers to lasso the full moon and pull it closer to Earth to woo his beloved. Later in the movie, background shots show TV news reports about massive, unprecedented flooding around the world....