#Astronomers
Did you work on Astro-1? Astro-2? #uv #spaceshuttle missions?
35th & 30th anniversary event planning is underway
Read Nicolle Zellner's announcement to join the festivities and celebrate their #NASAscience achievements
#Astronomers
Did you work on Astro-1? Astro-2? #uv #spaceshuttle missions?
35th & 30th anniversary event planning is underway
Read Nicolle Zellner's announcement to join the festivities and celebrate their #NASAscience achievements
Much smaller than gas-giants and typically cooler than hot Jupiters, sub-Neptunes were extremely challenging to observe before the launch of #JWST.
Though they appear to be the most common type of #exoplanet in our galaxy, you won’t find them in our solar system.
Astronomers are trying to understand how these planets formed and evolved, why they are so common, and why they don’t orbit our Sun.
#astronomers #exoplanets
https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2025/news-2025-113
#Astronomers crack the case of a mysterious deep #space radio signal that repeats every 2hr
Team tracked to a strange binary system containing a dead star or "white dwarf" and a red dwarf stellar companion. The radio pulse repeats every 2hr and was first detected a decade ago.
Research indicates that cause of this repeating radio signal is magnetic fields of the white dwarf and its red dwarf stellar companion slamming together in this tight binary, designated #ILTJ1101.
https://www.space.com/the-universe/astronomers-crack-the-case-of-a-mysterious-deep-space-radio-signal-that-repeats-every-2-hours
#JamesWebb #Space #Telescope (#JWST) Reveals That Most #Galaxies Rotate Clockwise
This preferred direction of spin might be due to one of two reasons: either our entire universe exists in a #blackhole, or #astronomers have been measuring the universe’s expansion incorrectly https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/james-webb-space-telescope-reveals-that-most-galaxies-rotate-clockwise-180986224/
3D map of #exoplanet #atmosphere shows wacky climate
#Astronomers have mapped the 3D structure of the layered atmosphere of one such ultra-hot #Jupiter-size exoplanet, revealing powerful winds that create intricate #weather patterns across that atmosphere.
"This planet’s atmosphere behaves in ways that challenge our understanding of how weather works."
#Astronomy and #Astrophysics reported on unexpected identification of #titanium in the exoplanet's atmosphere as well.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/02/3d-map-of-exoplanet-atmosphere-shows-wacky-climate/
"But there are indeed (at least) four major discoveries — purely serendipitous discoveries, that only occurred because we dared to look at the Universe as we’ve never looked at it before — that have truly shown us aspects of the Universe that were total surprises. Because of them, our cosmic picture is forever changed."
https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/science-great-paradox/
@carapace First thought of mine on seeing that: why is the jet turbulent?
That is, it's waving like smoke coming off a candle or cigarette.
And from what I understand of the turbulent behaviour of smoke, it's that it's interacting with the air through which it's moving.
But that jet ... is jetting off into the hard vacuum of space, modulo perhaps some space dust. But that dust really shouldn't be interacting as a whole, but as widely dispersed point masses. I'd expect the jet to spread out, but for it to show turbulent behaviour? That's ... bizarre.
The Wikipedia video caption suggests that the pulsar is precessing, and that this results in a helical structure to the jet. And it could be that turbulence is just my projection onto the video. But it sure looks turbulent...
Any real #astronomers out there know what theory/ies are proposed for this behaviour?
Sitting here watching #DrBecky on #YouTube and a scary thought came to me. #Astronomers come from all over the globe come to the #US to conduct their science or for conferences, whether it's an optical telescope like in Arizona or Hawaii or a radio telescope.
With the current draconian #Gestapo tactics being put in-place by #Trump and his minions, I think the risk is super-high now for astronomers and other #academics for being detained and/ or harassed. If there's one thing Trump and his minions hate more than woke people, it's people that are smarter than them.
Frankly, the #US should be kicked out of most international #STEM organizations at this point. #USpol
Keele University and Universidad de Alicante #astronomers believe a #supernova explosion close to #Earth could be to blame for both the Late Devonian and Ordovician #extinction events, which occurred 372 and 445 million years ago respectively.
https://www.sci.news/astronomy/nearby-supernova-explosions-mass-extinctions-13746.html
Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #58: Williamina Fleming. And Happy International Women's Day!
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On #InternationalWomensDay (and all other days) -- let's celebrate the amazing #women #astronomers who often get left out of history books & pushed to the margins
Learn more (and feel free to comment with others!):
: https://starrytimepodcast.podbean.com/e/asterism-annie-jump-cannon-spectral-types/
: https://daily.jstor.org/eight-women-astronomers-you-should-know/
: https://www.space.com/trailblazing-women-in-astronomy-astrophysics
: https://astrosociety.org/education-outreach/resource-guides/women-in-astronomy-an-introductory-resource-guide.html
: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Mink
: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Oppenheimer