Earth & Space
Invisible structures generated by gravitational interactions in the Solar System have created a “space superhighway” network, astronomers have discovered. #spacetravel
On Dec. 21, Jupiter and Saturn will be so closely aligned that they will appear as a “double planet,” Rice University astronomer Patrick Hartigan announced in a university press release. This is called a conjunction, and the last time such a close one between the two planets was visible from Earth was in 1226. #jupitersaturnconjunction
The missing dark matter in certain galaxies can be explained by the effects of tidal disruption: the gravity forces of a neighboring massive galaxy, literally tearing the smaller galaxy apart. #darkmatter
Amateur astronomer and YouTuber Alberto Caballero, one of the founders of The Exoplanets Channel, has found a small amount of evidence for a source of the notorious Wow! signal. #wowsignal
Stargazers are in for a treat over Christmas, as Jupiter and Saturn will get closer to each other in Earth’s night sky than they have been for nearly 800 years. #planetaryalignment
The structures of the perceptible universe, they say, are astonishingly comparable to the neuronal networks of the human brain. #universe #humanbrain
Members of the Society For Planetary SETI Research published a paper in the Journal of Space Exploration about features on the far side of the Moon that may be artificial. They analyzed images from Apollo 15 and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. #moonstructures
Every 26 seconds for the last 60 years seismologists have detected a ubiquitous pulse emanating from deep inside the Earth. #earthblip
NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) has confirmed, for the first time, water on the sunlit surface of the Moon. This discovery indicates that water may be distributed across the lunar surface, and not limited to cold, shadowed places. #Moon
One of the most respected physicists in the world recently stunned the science community by claiming there is evidence our universe formed in the aftermath of a far more ancient universe. #ancientuniverse #universe
Scientists studying exoplanets say that the search for life-sustaining planets outside our solar system has been marred by undue focus on seeking planets similar to Earth, whereas there may be very different kinds of planets even more conducive to life than our own. #habitableplanets
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) continues to approve tens of thousands of satellites and similar vehicles from SpaceX and other companies to provide internet coverage – including unsafe 5G – from space.
Astronomers have found six galaxies lying around a supermassive black hole when the Universe was less than a billion years old. This is the first time such a close grouping has been seen so soon after the Big Bang and the finding helps us better understand how supermassive black holes formed and grew so quickly. It supports the theory that black holes can grow rapidly within large structures which contain plenty of gas to fuel them. #blackholes
A number of liquid bodies have been found on Mars, raising the tantalizing possibility that liquid water could exist on the Red Planet long believed to be desolate and hostile to life. #marswater
Scientists can see how dark matter is distributed based on how its gravity affects light, but when astronomers compared recent data from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Very Large Telescope to current models, something didn’t add up. #darkmatter #sciencenews
