News

The “Great Attractor” Discovered!

- 10 February 2016

ESO/Y. Beletsky, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Since the 1970s and 1980s scientists have been trying to locate the reason why there has been “great deviations from universal expansion.” Thanks to the CSIRO’s Parkes radio telescope, which is equipped with an innovative receiver, an international team of scientists are now able to see through the stars and dust of the Milky Way into a previously unexplored region of space dubbed, “the Great Attractor.”

Landing on Europa the “Nightmare” Moon

- 6 February 2016

NASA has made public a daring mission to the “nightmare” moon of Jupiter, Europa. Aiming for sometime in the 2020s, the 230 kilogram (507 pound) lander will soar above the icy moon several times before dropping onto the rugged terrain of Europa.

“Free Floating” Planet Has a Star!

- 30 January 2016

There are a countless number of “free floating” planets in space. These “rogue” planets are described as “homeless worlds” that have neither a sunrise or a sunset. How can this be? These cosmic-wonders do not have a star in their midst so instead of being bound in a gravitational tug-of-war, they travel in a solitary arc around the Milky Way’s core.

Once such world designated as 2MASS J2126 was thought to be one of these “unmarried” gas giants until recently when a distant star was spotted…and when we say “distance” we aren’t kidding!

Rare Hot DOG Galaxy Is Most Luminous Known

- 17 January 2016

A far away galaxy, called W2246-0526, is (according to research) the most luminous galaxy known, which was discovered by NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). However, it is not only producing the highest power output of any galaxy in the universe, it is also ribbing itself apart.

An “X”citing New Shot of Pluto

- 13 January 2016

NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

One of the latest shots of Pluto received on December 24th, 2015 shows an “X” marking right in the middle of Sputnik Planum–an ice plain that forms the left side of Pluto’s “heart” feature.” But what this unique photo shot by the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) on the New Horizons spacecraft has is researchers taking on a new theory.

It’s All About the Atmosphere!

- 10 January 2016

Here on Earth we have the perfect atmosphere to sustain life as we know it. According to experts our breathable air contains 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen and trace amounts of water vapor, carbon dioxide and other gaseous molecules. This is the perfect mixture to keep every living being on this planet, well…living. But what about our fellow “space rocks” in our solar system? What makes their atmospheres so uninhabitable and dangerous? Read on to discover exactly what is going on in each planet’s atmosphere.