UFOs: how astronomers are searching the sky for alien probes near Earth: There has been increased interest in unidentified flying objects (UFOs) ever since the Pentagon’s 2021 report revealed what appears to be anomalous objects in US airspace, dubbed unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP). Fast forward to 2023, and Nasa has already formed a panel to …
Astronomers used machine learning to mine data from South Africa’s MeerKAT telescope: what they found: SAURON: radio intensity (purple) from MeerKAT overlaid on an optical image from the Dark Energy Survey. Michelle Lochner / The Dark Energy Survey Collaboration 2005 New telescopes with unprecedented sensitivity and resolution are being unveiled around the world – and …
Ghana needs more astronomers, astrophysicists, aerospace engineers and astronauts — how to develop them: A satellite image of Lake Bosumtwi. It filled a meteorite impact crater. USGS/ NASA Landsat/Orbital Horizon/Gallo Images/Getty Images Perhaps when you think of scientific research in Africa you think of the continent’s amazing natural resources, buried out of sight under soil …
We don’t know if dark matter exists. So why do astronomers keep looking?: Spiral galaxies like M100, pictured here, may hold answers about the nature of dark matter. NASA Spitzer Space Telescope/NASA/JPL-Caltech Scientists know very little about the matter that makes up the galaxies in the Universe. About 20% of the matter in galaxies is …
Gaia mission: five insights astronomers could glean from its latest data: Gaia mapping the stars of the Milky Way. ESA/ATG medialab; background: ESO/S. Brunier, CC BY-NC The European Space Agency’s (Esa) Gaia mission has just released new data. The Gaia satellite was launched in 2013, with the aim of measuring the precise positions of a …
Astronomers think they’ve just spotted an ‘invisible’ black hole for the first time: Concept of a black hole acting as a lens on background light. Dotted Yeti/Shutterstock Astronomers famously snapped the first ever direct image of a black hole in 2019, thanks to material glowing in its presence. But many black holes are actually near …
James Webb Space Telescope: what astronomers hope it will reveal about the beginning of the universe – podcast: Dotted Yeti/Shutterstock The gigantic James Webb Space Telescope is undergoing its final tests ahead of the launch scheduled for late December. In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, we speak to two astronomers about the telescope …
South Africa in the news: “Extremely Elusive” –Astronomers Scan 8-Dimensional Space for Alien Civilizations: We can never prove that we’re alone in the universe. But a remote radio observatory in Australia’s outback with the ability to scan hundreds of times more broadly than any previous search for …: “South Africa” – BingNews Policy dialogue on …
Gravitational waves: astronomers spot a black hole so massive they weren’t sure it could exist: Artist impression of merging black holes. Mark Myers, ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav) One of the greatest things about being an astrophysicist is that you keep discovering things you didn’t think were possible. Now the Laser …
There are missing objects at the fringe of the solar system – new study puzzles astronomers: Where are the smallest of the icy worlds we thought resided in the Kuiper belt? ESO/Flickr, CC BY-SA In the dimly lit spaces of our solar system beyond Neptune’s orbit lies the Kuiper Belt. This a region between about …
‘The Cow’ explosion: how astronomers are cracking one of the greatest new mysteries of the sky: The cow erupted near a galaxy known as CGCG 137-068, marked by the yellow cross. Credit: Sloan Digital Sky Survey, CC BY-SA Something highly unusual was picked up by the Asteroid Terrestrial Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) on June …
Dramatic galaxy collision filled the Milky Way with stars, astronomers discover: Milky Way from Moke Lake in New Zealand. Paul Stewart/Flickr Imagine trying to map out your home town using only information you could gather from your window. Even with a pair of binoculars you’d find it a difficult task. Mapping out our own galaxy, …
Astronomers have found their paradise, and it’s the coldest and most remote point in Antarctica: Harvepino / shutterstock Antarctica. The name evokes images of bitter extremes, an environment unkind to humans. Stories of polar explorers battling with the weather and perishing on their way back to safety. Why would astronomers choose to go there? To …
How I helped design spaces that make astronomers’ lives easier: Reuters/Mike Hutchings The stars are an incredible source of information. Their patterns indicate when seeds should be sown or crops harvested. Their movements tell us that the seasons are changing. But it’s not just amateur enthusiasts or farmers with no scientific training who watch the …
Even astronomers viewing Seattle’s 1860 eclipse complained about Northwest weather updated: Navy Lieutenant James M. Gilliss had just received orders to head from New York to Seattle to officially survey an upcoming total solar eclipse. Only he didn't just pack up a laptop and camera and book a flight out of JFK. : Weird News …
Astronomers have solved the mystery of ‘strange signals’ that…: Astronomers who detected ” strange signals ” that appeared to come from a small, dim star have finally gotten to the bottom of the mystery. Researchers first picked up what they now call the “Weird!” signal on May 12 using the Arecibo Observatory, a huge radio …
Lack of ‘dark matter’ in early galaxies perplexes astronomers: Most modern spiral galaxies, such as NGC 1300, are thought to have loads of dark matter in their outer regions. NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team STScI/AURA) It may seem like we’ve got the universe pretty much figured out. We have a relatively good idea …