coreyspowell

coreyspowell, 2 months ago to science

Last night's Asimov Debate at the American Museum of Natural History covered the latest cosmic findings from JWST. A few highlights:

Early results from JWST show a lot more bright galaxies & massive black holes than expected in the very early universe. Cosmologist Rachel Somerville admitted that her galaxy-formation models turned out to be way off. We still have a lot to learn!

https://www.vox.com/science/24040534/jwst-galaxies-big-bright-mystery-black-holes-cosmology #science #space #astronomy #nature

coreyspowell, 3 months ago to science

Did you know we have a remote observatory on Mars?

When NASA's Perseverance rover isn't busy studying the Martian landscape, it turns its gaze upward to do a little skygazing. This is its view of Mars's inner moon, Phobos.

https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/status/410/things-that-go-bump-in-the-night-on-mars/ #science #astronomy #astrodon #NASA

coreyspowell, 1 year ago to random

Aurora photos are pouring in now, from locations as far south as Kentucky in the U.S.
Photos: Dwight Slone (US), Kamila Osiak (Poland)
https://spaceweathergallery2.com/index.php?title=aurora #AuroraBorealis

Aurora photo from Poland

coreyspowell, 9 months ago to space

A lot of activity on the way to the Moon right now! Russia's Luna-25 is set to land on August 21. India's Chandrayaan-3's is scheduled for touchdown just a day or two later.

While we're waiting, here's a spectacular image sequence of Chandrayaan-3 entering lunar orbit on 5 August. https://www.isro.gov.in/Ch3_Video_Lunar_Orbit_Insertion.html #space #india #russia

The Moon, as viewed by Chandrayaan-3 during Lunar Orbit Insertion. Credit: ISRO

coreyspowell, 1 month ago to space

I'm so excited about this upcoming space mission.

NASA has just confirmed that the Dragonfly octocopter will launch in July, 2028. When it arrives, it will spend at least two years flying over the organic-rich sands of Titan, Saturn's largest moon.

https://dragonfly.jhuapl.edu/News-and-Resources/news/20231128.php #space #science #nasa #life #tech

The Dragonfly rotorcraft lander, shown here in an artist's rendering of the mission concept, will land on Saturn's moon Titan and then make multiple flights to explore diverse locations as it characterizes the habitability of the ocean world's environment. Image credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben

coreyspowell, 2 months ago to science

Johannes de Sacrobosco ("John of Hollywood") published detailed geometric descriptions of a solar eclipse in the year 1230. People in the "dark ages" were not so dumb!

I dig through 5000 years of eclipse investigations in my latest Invisible Universe column:

https://invisibleuniverse.substack.com/p/how-we-learned-to-love-the-invisible #science #nature #history #eclipse

coreyspowell, 9 months ago to space

Russia spent more than 12 years developing Luna-25, and it has just crashed into the Moon.

The failure shows that, yes, space is hard. But it also reveals the dismal decline of non-military science and technology in Russia. #Luna25 #space #Russia
https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/luna-25-crashes-into-moon/

coreyspowell, 8 months ago to Astronomy

NASA's Psyche mission just launched on its 2-billion-mile journey to a metal asteroid!
Amazing shot of the Falcon Heavy rocket carrying it away from Earth:
https://blogs.nasa.gov/psyche/
#astronomy #asteroids #space #science

coreyspowell, 1 year ago to space

These abstract-looking data points tell an extraordinary story: The first time anyone has witnessed a star eating one of its planets.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/first-time-astrophysicists-star-eating-planet #Astronomy #Cannibalism

coreyspowell, 1 year ago to random

In a new study, researchers scanned the brain activity of test subjects and translated their thoughts into a stream of narrative text.
If the research is at all close to what's being described here, this is an astonishing achievement. https://cns.utexas.edu/news/podcast/brain-activity-decoder-can-reveal-stories-peoples-minds #Brain #Mind

coreyspowell, 1 year ago to space

More information about the new supernova in galaxy M101 (near the Big Dipper in the sky). It is the closest supernova observed in a decade, though "closest" is relative: M101 is 21 million light years away.
https://earthsky.org/todays-image/supernova-in-m101-pinwheel-galaxy-closest-in-a-decade-how-to-see/ #Supernova #Astronomy

coreyspowell, 11 months ago to history

The first published telescopic illustration of Saturn was done by Galileo in 1613. He slipped his drawing directly into the text of his treatise "Istoria e dimostrazioni intorno alle macchie solari e loro accidenti comprese in tre lettere." https://www.loc.gov/item/65059245 #history #science #astronomy

coreyspowell, 1 year ago to space

50 years ago today, astronauts moved into the world's first space station. NASA's Skylab had suffered significant damage on launch & required a makeshift sunshade to avoid deadly overheating.
https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4011/contents.htm. #Skylab50 #NASA

coreyspowell, 3 months ago to science

Scientists have to reset their superlatives. A quasar known as J0529-4351 is the most luminous single object in the known universe, emitting as much energy as 500 trillion suns.

It's powered by a supermassive black hole that swallows 300,000 Earth masses of gas every day.

https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2402/ #science #nature #astronomy #space

coreyspowell, 7 months ago to science

NASA has released stereoscopic images of rocks collected from asteroid Bennu!
In the spirit of those old Magic Eye artworks: It takes a little effort, but once you train your eyes to see the 3D view the result is very cool.
https://blogs.nasa.gov/osiris-rex/
#science #NASA #space

coreyspowell, 1 year ago to space

During its 51st flight on Mars, NASA's Ingenuity helicopter spotted its shadow, indicating at least 6 more weeks of winter on the Red Planet.
https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/#Helicopter-Highlights #NASA #Mars

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coreyspowell, 3 months ago to science

Keep your eyes to the sky! There's a good chance that a bright new star will appear in the constellation Corona Borealis over the next six months.

This is a rare event: a recurring nova that last erupted 80 years ago. (I've simulated the view so you can see what to expect.)

#science #astronomy #nature
https://blogs.nasa.gov/Watch_the_Skies/2024/02/27/view-nova-explosion-new-star-in-northern-crown/

A star system, located 3,000 light-years away from Earth, is predicted to become visible to the unaided eye soon. This could be a once-in-a-lifetime viewing opportunity as the nova ouburst only occurs about every 80 years. T Coronae Borealis, or T CrB, last exploded in 1946 and astronomers believe it will do so again between February and September 2024.

coreyspowell, 10 months ago to space

Jupiter's largest moon, Ganymede, is bigger than planet Mercury -- and is blanketed in thin clouds of hydrogen peroxide, as seen in a remarkable new image from JWST. https://news.berkeley.edu/2023/07/27/james-webb-space-telescope-sees-jupiter-moons-in-a-new-light/ #space #science #JWST

coreyspowell, 7 months ago to space

It's hard to comprehend the vastness of space. A new atlas helps, a little.
The Siena Galaxy Atlas contains the most precise overview of galaxies in the nearby universe: 380,000 of them, each one as vast and storied as our own Milky Way. https://noirlab.edu/public/news/noirlab2328/
#space #science #astronomy

coreyspowell, 8 months ago to space

For the first time, a spacecraft has flown directly into a major solar eruption.
NASA's Parker Solar Probe passed through a coronal mass ejection originating on the far side of the Sun, witnessing an intense barrage of dust & plasma. #space #science #astronomy
https://www.jhuapl.edu/news/news-releases/230915b-nasa-parker-probe-close-encounter-with-coronal-mass-ejection-cme

A composite of images collected by Parker Solar Probe’s Wide-field Imager for Solar Probe (WISPR) instrument captures the moment the spacecraft passed through a coronal mass ejection (CME) on Sept. 5, 2022.

coreyspowell, 6 months ago to science

I often hear researchers worry (understandably) about declining levels of public trust in science.

But there is a bigger social issue here: New polling finds declining levels of public trust in pretty much everyone. Scientists, police, business leaders, journalists & religious leaders all registered notable declines over the past 5 years.

https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2023/11/14/confidence-in-scientists-medical-scientists-and-other-groups-and-institutions-in-society/ #science #politics #research

coreyspowell, 3 months ago to science

Oh wow! Look at this image of the Odysseus Moon lander at the moment of touchdown, with its engines firing like mad to avoid a fatal skid.

Just released by Intuitive Machines.

#science #space #moon #Odysseus

coreyspowell, 3 months ago to Astronomy

Halley's Comet won't reappear until 2061, but Pons-Brooks is a similar big, long-period comet putting -- and it's putting on a show right now.

You'll need good binoculars, but oh is it pretty. Photo taken on Monday by Michael Jäger.

https://theskylive.com/12p-info
#astronomy #space #science #comet #photography

coreyspowell, 3 months ago to science

I turn philosophical in my latest column.

The starlight you see at night is many years old. And for each one of us, there's a bright star whose light is the same age that you are!

When you find your corresponding star, it can trigger a profound perspective shift & sense of connection. Read the column here:

https://invisibleuniverse.substack.com/p/stars-of-your-life #science #space #astronomy #life

coreyspowell, 2 months ago to space

This is the surface of a comet! Dust is swirling around the surface of Comet 67/P -- captured in 2016 by ESA's Rosetta spacecraft, processing by Jacint Roger Perez.

Still one of the most remarkable scenes in space exploration.

#space #science #astronomy #ESA

INT. #ROSETTA MISSION #COMET #67P/CHURYUMOV-GERASIMENKO 01 jun 2016 Distance to Target: 13.5 km Camera: OSINAC Near_Ir+Orange+blue filt.