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☆ NASA may build giant telescopes on the moon in your lifetime. Check out the blueprints.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

One moonshot plan would build a giant radio dish spanning an entire crater on the far side of the moon. An illustration of a conceptual radio telescope within a crater on the moon. Silk argues that lunar telescopes would open the door to a new era of major space discoveries. A satellite trail streaks in front of galaxies in this image from the Hubble Space Telescope. Any radio telescope on the moon's back end would pick up the pure emissions of the universe.

Persons: —, Vladimir Vustyansky, James Webb, Dallan Porter, Roger Angel, Joseph Silk, Jack Burns, Burns, That's, Stefica Nicol, Artemis, Ronald Polidan, FarView, Jack Burns Karan Jani, LILA, Fermilab LILA, Jani, NASA's James Webb, Temim, Webb, Angel, Chris Gunn, Nick Woolf, Angel Roger, Phil, Martin Elvis, Elvis Organizations: Service, NASA, Business, Vanderbilt Lunar Labs, Telescope, University of Arizona, American Astronomical Society, Payload, University of Colorado Boulder, Hubble Space, Hubble, ESA, Radio Telescope, REUTERS, NASA JPL, Caltech, Radio Science Investigations, Houston, Lunar Resources, Resources, Inc, Vanderbilt University, Fermilab, Telescopes, CSA, Princeton University, Engineers, James Webb Space, Industry, AP Locations: New Orleans, Australia

☆ Weeks after the Peregrine lunar lander failed, NASA is launching the IM-1 mission to touch down on the moon
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Houston-based company Intuitive Machines, in collaboration with NASA, is launching its first mission to the moon atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. AdvertisementUnlike China, India, and Japan, the US hasn't put anything on the lunar surface in more than 50 years. AdvertisementThrough a $118 million contract, the agency is sponsoring Intuitive Machines to launch its first mission, called IM-1, toward the moon early Wednesday. SOPA Images/Getty ImagesThe mission's Nova-C lander should descend to the lunar surface just one week later, on February 22. To date, only India has landed in the lunar south pole region.

Persons: —, NASA hasn't, NASA’s, SLIM, TAKARA TOMY, ispace, Trent Martin, we've Organizations: Service, SpaceX, NASA, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight, Arizona State University, Russia, TAKARA, Sony, Doshisha University, Reuters, AP Locations: Houston, China, India, Japan, Cape Canaveral , Florida, Russia

☆ Astronomers detect mysterious 8 billion-year-old energetic burst
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A fast radio burst, or FRB, is a pulse of radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation. It lasts a small fraction of a second but outshines most other sources of radio waves in the universe. Radio waves have the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum. "The radio waves in FRBs are similar to those used in microwave ovens. Fast radio bursts were discovered in 2007.

Persons: Ryan Shannon, Stuart Ryder, Shannon, Will Dunham, Daniel Wallis Organizations: ESO, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Australian SKA Pathfinder, European Southern, Swinburne University of Technology, Macquarie University, Thomson Locations: Handout, Western Australia, European, Chile, Australia

☆ Mysterious fast radio burst traveled 8 billion years to reach Earth
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The fast radio burst is one of the most distant and energetic ever observed. Fast radio bursts, or FRBs, are intense, millisecond-long bursts of radio waves with unknown origins. Many FRBs release super bright radio waves lasting only a few milliseconds at most before disappearing, which makes fast radio bursts difficult to observe. “J-P showed that the (farther) away a fast radio burst is, the more diffuse gas it reveals between the galaxies. Astronomers said they hope that future radio telescopes, currently under construction in South Africa and Australia, will enable the detection of thousands more fast radio bursts at greater distances.

Persons: FRB 20220610A, ”, Dr, Stuart Ryder, Ryan Shannon, ” Shannon, “, Jean, Pierre Macquart, ” Ryder, you’re Organizations: CNN —, Macquarie University, Southern, Swinburne University of Technology, “ Locations: Western Australia, Australia, Chile, Australian, South Africa

☆ Craft beer, marriages and air travel: The collateral damage of a government shutdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Alex Seitz-Wald | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

Staff, meanwhile, have been forced to put their real jobs on hold to prepare for the looming shutdown. National parksThe National Park Service plans to close its parks and furlough park rangers if the government shuts down on Sunday. During the 2018-2019 shutdown, the parks themselves remained accessible, but without most services. Some presidential libraries would remain open as long as they have sufficient funds, but others would close and research services would be reduced. A shutdown would result in a "data blackout" of critical economic statistics that influence markets and businesses around the globe.

Persons: Donald Trump, that's, Biden, Joshua, Armando L, Sanchez, Pete Buttigieg, they're, White, Treasury Department furloughed, shutdowns Organizations: Yosemite, Fresno Bee, Tribune, Service, Getty, White House Council, Economic Advisers, Management, Staff, National Park Service, Park Service, Department of Interior, NBC, Congressional Research Service, National Zoo, U.S . Holocaust, Museum, National, Science, National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, FBI Agents Association, FBI, Air, Transportation Security, LaGuardia, TSA, O'Hare International, State Department, Consular, Education Department, AmeriCorps, Agriculture Department, Assistance, Women, Small Business Administration, Federal Housing Administration, Social, Consumer, Food and Drug Administration, Consumer Product Safety, Environmental Protection Agency, Occupational Safety, Health Administration, Labor, —, Social Security, Medicare, Treasury Department, Foreign Assets Control, Russia Locations: El Capitan, Yosemite Valley, Washington, Civil, U.S, Europe, Southeast Asia, New Mexico, shutdowns, New York, Chicago, Russia, Iran, Ukraine

☆ Trinity Site, where first atomic blast was set off, opens for one day in October
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Kathleen Bangs | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Trinity Site is the national historic landmark that’s home to mankind’s first nuclear blast on July 16, 1945, where plutonium gamma rays lit up the night sky. A caution sign warns of radioactive materials at Trinity Site in New Mexico back in 2008. The open house event, hosted by the US Army, is free but limited to the first 5,000 guests, on a first-come, first-served basis. Trinity Site’s atmosphere during an open house is reminiscent of a small-town carnival from a bygone era. And on April 6, 2024, Trinity Site again opens for a single day.

Persons: CNN —, “ Oppenheimer, ”, Matt McClain, Jonathan Larsen, J, Robert Oppenheimer, McDonald, Sam Wasson, you’ll, Jim Lo Scalzo, Oppenheimer, “, John Dempsey, brightens, Jim Eckles, Trinity, we’ve, Bettymaya, Patricia Henning, Henning, Karl G, Jon G, Fuller Organizations: CNN, Jornada, Trinity, Washington Post, US Army, White, Manhattan Project, Sipa, AP, Albuquerque, Army, Venture, Jumbo, Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico Gov, National Security Research, Alamogordo Air Base, Radio Astronomy, Getty, “ SETI, Extraterrestrial Intelligence Locations: New Mexico, New York City, Nagasaki, Japan, Trinity, Hiroshima, Socorro, San Antonio . New Mexico, San Agustin, Mexico

☆ Opinion: The Deep Space Network is in trouble
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Opinion Don Lincoln | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The Deep Space Network, or DSN, is an interconnected set of three radio telescope facilities spread across the globe. Indeed, without the DSN, NASA’s robotic exploration of deep space would simply not be possible. On the contrary, if humanity is going to once again venture into deep space, it will be crucial to be able to maintain a radio link with those intrepid explorers. Both of those missions, indeed all deep space programs, depend on reliable communication, or they will fail. The Deep Space Network is NASA’s link to the planets, and it needs additional support if we ever hope to boldly go where no one has gone before.

Persons: Don Lincoln, James Webb, NASA Artemis, Artemis Organizations: Fermi, Accelerator Laboratory, Facebook, CNN, Space, NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Telescope, Orion, Twitter, James Webb Space Telescope Locations: California, Spain, Australia

☆ Black holes mysteriously burp up fragments of stars they destroyed years earlier, and scientists have no idea why
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Black holes have been spotted spitting up remnants of stars years after gobbling them up. AdvertisementAdvertisementSince then, the collaborators have been turning their instruments to monitor 24 black holes for years on end. In another two of the cases, Cendes noticed the black holes peaking, then fading, then turning on again. Everything we know about accretion disks may be wrongThe findings could mean we need to rethink how black holes swallow up stars, Cendes said. The new findings suggest astronomers will have to rethink the relationship between stars and black holes.

Persons: Yvette Cendes, we'd, Cendes, They've, She's, Cendres, I've Organizations: Service, Harvard, Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, ESO, ESA, Hubble, Kornmesser Locations: Wall, Silicon, TDEs

From a distance, the whole site could be mistaken for an old mining camp you might come across in Montana or Idaho. They were listening to the last sigh of the Big Bang, which birthed the universe 13.8 billion years ago and is detectable now only as a faint, omnipresent hiss of microwave radiation. Up until then, scientists had debated whether the universe even had a beginning; maybe it was timeless. As important, the discovery brought the beginning of time into the lab, where it could be pinched, squeezed and dissected. The cosmic microwave background offered a new window into the nature of reality, one into which astronomers have been peering intently ever since.

Persons: Crawford Hill, Arno Penzias, Robert Wilson, Penzias, Wilson Organizations: Historic Landmark Locations: Crawford, Monmouth County, N.J, Manhattan, Montana, Idaho

☆ Unusual type of stellar object discovered beaming out radio waves
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

In those moments, it became the brightest source of radio waves viewable from Earth through radio telescopes, acting like a celestial lighthouse. The object, dubbed GPM J1839−10, released radio waves every 22 minutes. “The object we’ve discovered is spinning way too slowly to produce radio waves — it’s below the death line,” Hurley-Walker said. “Assuming it’s a magnetar, it shouldn’t be possible for this object to produce radio waves. The intense, millisecond-long bursts of radio waves have unknown origins, but magnetars have been pinpointed as a potential cause.

Persons: Tyrone O’Doherty, ”, Natasha Hurley, Walker, Hurley, ” Hurley, it’s Organizations: CNN —, Curtin University, Curtin, International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Giant Locations: Australia, Western Australia, South Africa, India, USA

☆ What do we have to lose if Starlink satellites and others like them take over the night sky? Studying dark matter, observing distant galaxies, and finding signs of extraterrestrial intelligence.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Experts who spoke to Insider say radio astronomy helps us study dark matter and look for alien life. The Starlink satellites — chosen for their abundance in the sky compared to other low-orbit satellites — were observed using the Low-Frequency Array telescope in the Netherlands. Using the telescope, scientists detected frequencies from the Starlink satellites at 110 to 188 megahertz — a unit of measure used for electromagnetic waves. "We are not saying that right now that radio astronomy is doomed, and that we will not be able to do astronomy anymore. There is also the financial loss: Millions of dollars go into planning and building these massive radio telescopes over decades.

Persons: Elon, Vahe, Peroomian, Federico Di Vruno, Di Vruno, Jean, Luc Margot, we're, Margot, Musk Organizations: Elon Musk's, Service, Netherlands Institute of Radio Astronomy, Astrophysics, SpaceX, University of Southern, Federal Communications Commission, Iridium, Elon Musk Locations: Wall, Silicon, Netherlands, Europe, University of Southern California, Los Angeles

☆ Break Out the S’mores: This Star Is Cooler Than a Campfire
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When you sit at a campfire and look up at the stars, even the tiniest pinpricks of light that you see are massive furnaces, producing intense heat. But hidden among these infernal embers are celestial bodies so dim that they’re invisible to the naked eye. One such star, a brown dwarf smaller than Jupiter, recently became the coldest star ever to be detected with a radio telescope. At a paltry 797 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s cooler than the average campfire: an ideal star for roasting marshmallows. The existence of brown dwarfs was hypothesized 60 years ago, but “they were very hard to find, because they’re not very bright,” Dr. Murphy said.

Persons: Don’t, graham, Kovi Rose, ”, Tara Murphy, Rose, “, they’re, Dr, Murphy Organizations: University of Sydney

☆ Astronomers ‘hear’ the celestial choir of gravitational waves for the first time
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Astronomers have been able to “hear” the celestial hum of powerful gravitational waves, created by collisions between black holes, echoing across the universe for the first time. Gravitational waves, initially predicted by Albert Einstein in 1916, are ripples in space-time that were first detected in 2015. Einstein theorized that gravitational waves would stretch and compress space as they moved across the universe, affecting how radio waves travel. More than 190 scientists set out to discover the frequencies of gravitational waves as part of the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves collaboration, also known as NANOGrav. Searching for a celestial choirThe newly detected gravitational waves are the most powerful ever measured.

Persons: Albert Einstein, Einstein, ”, Chiara Mingarelli, We’ve, Simonnet, Scott Ransom, “, ” Ransom, Luke Kelley, ” Kelley, it’s, ” Mingarelli, “ It’s, Stephen Taylor Organizations: CNN —, American Nanohertz, Green Bank, Yale University, National Radio Astronomy, University of California, Vanderbilt University Locations: Arecibo, Puerto Rico, West Virginia, New Mexico, Berkeley, Europe, India, China, Australia

☆ Humans pump so much groundwater that Earth’s axis has shifted, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Mindy Weisberger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Humans’ unquenchable thirst for groundwater has sucked so much liquid from subsurface reserves that it’s affecting Earth’s tilt, according to a new study. That shift is even observable on Earth’s surface, as it contributes to global sea level rise, researchers reported in the study published June 15 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. Seo and his colleagues had questions about long-term changes to the axis — specifically, how groundwater contributed to that phenomenon. Revealing groundwater extraction’s impactShifts in Earth’s axis are measured indirectly through radio telescope observations of immobile objects in space — quasars — using them as fixed points of reference. The redistribution of groundwater tilted Earth’s rotational axis east by more than 31 inches (78.7 centimeters) in just under two decades, according to the models.

Persons: ”, Ki, Weon Seo, Surendra Adhikari, Adhikari, Seo, ” Adhikari, “, ” Seo Organizations: CNN, Research, Seoul National University, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA Locations: South Korea, North America, India

☆ Total solar eclipse: What to expect during the 2024 event
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Sky-gazers across North America are in for a treat in 2024 when a total solar eclipse will pass over Mexico, the United States and Canada. The last total solar eclipse visible from the US occurred on August 21, 2017. During a total solar eclipse, the sky will darken as it would at dawn or dusk, and there are several stages of the eclipse that sky-gazers anticipate. The total solar eclipse will be visible in parts of Mexico, Canada and more than 10 US states, while the partial solar eclipse is expected to appear in 49 states — weather permitting. A map shows the path of the annular solar eclipse in October in yellow circles and the 2024 total solar eclipse in blue circles.

Persons: Aubrey Gemignani, NASA That’s, It’s, Prince Edward Island, Ross, Bill Ingalls, you’re, ”, Kelly Korreck, “, Carla Thomas, Joel Kowsky Organizations: CNN, NASA, Astronauts, Space Station, NASA Armstrong, Research, Gulfstream, Amateur, Telescope Locations: North America, Mexico, United States, Canada, Madras , Oregon, Ocean, Texas , Oklahoma , Arkansas , Missouri , Illinois , Kentucky , Indiana , Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York , Vermont , New Hampshire, Maine, Ontario, Quebec , New Brunswick, Prince, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Central, South America, Oregon, Texas, Gulf, Oregon , Nevada , Utah, New Mexico, California , Idaho , Colorado, Arizona, Belize, Honduras, Panama, Colombia, Natal, Brazil, Ross Lake, Northern, Washington

☆ Scientists expand search for signs of intelligent alien life
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Efforts to detect alien technological signatures previously have focused on a narrowband radio signal type concentrated in a limited frequency range or on single unusual transmissions. The search involves a frequency range covering a bit less than a tenth the width of an average FM radio station. "Aliens may possibly use such beacons for galaxy-wide communications, for which the core of the Milky Way is ideally placed. The scientists in the various monitoring efforts passively scan for signals of alien beings and do not actively send their own signals advertising our presence on Earth. "In my personal opinion, as a relatively young species in the grand cosmic scale, it would be prudent for us to focus on listening and investigating before embarking on deliberate transmissions," Gajjar said.

Persons: Akshay Suresh, Suresh, Vishal Gajjar, Gajjar, BLIPSS, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Cornell University, Cornell, SETI Institute, SETI Institute and University of California, Thomson Locations: Berkeley, West Virginia

☆ New image reveals violent events near a supermassive black hole
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] This image shows the jet and shadow of the black hole at the center of the M87 galaxy together for the first time. The supermassive black hole pictured resides at the center of a relatively nearby galaxy called Messier 87, or M87, about 54 million light-years from Earth. This black hole, with a mass 6.5 billion times that of our sun, was the subject of the first image of such an object ever obtained, released in 2019, with another black hole pictured last year. Seeing the entire scene in the vicinity of a supermassive black hole can be insightful. The EHT project has yielded the images of the two supermassive black holes.

☆ Webb telescope captures glowing starburst as galaxies collide
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A brilliant starburst feature shines in the latest image taken by the James Webb Space Telescope. The space observatory captured a bright burst of star formation triggered by two spiral galaxies crashing into one another. The colliding galaxies, known collectively as Arp 220, generated an infrared glow that contains the light of more than 1 trillion suns. This brilliant luminosity creates the diffraction spikes, or starburst feature witnessed by Webb. The new Webb image also reveals tails, or material streaming away from the galaxies due to gravity, in blue, to indicate activity as the galaxies continue to collide.

☆ First photo of a black hole resembles 'skinny' doughnut
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —The first photo ever taken of a black hole looks a little sharper now. The central region is darker and larger, surrounded by a bright ring as hot gas falls into the black hole in the new image. The Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration, called EHT, is a global network of telescopes that captured the first photograph of a black hole. Computers using PRIMO analyzed more than 30,000 high-resolution simulated images of black holes to pick out common structural details. But if heated materials in the form of plasma surround the black hole and emit light, the event horizon could be visible.

☆ Scientists unveil new and improved 'skinny donut' black hole image
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) - The 2019 release of the first image of a black hole was hailed as a significant scientific achievement. There is also a larger "brightness depression" at the center - basically the donut hole - caused by light and other matter disappearing into the black hole. This supermassive black hole resides in a galaxy called Messier 87, or M87, about 54 million light-years from Earth. The M87 black hole image stems from data collected by seven radio telescopes at five locations on Earth that essentially create a planet-sized observational dish. "The image we report in the new paper is the most accurate representation of the black hole image that we can obtain with our globe-wide telescope."

☆ Repeating radio signal leads astronomers to an Earth-size exoplanet
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Astronomers have detected a repeating radio signal from an exoplanet and the star that it orbits, both located 12 light-years away from Earth. The signal suggests that the Earth-size planet may have a magnetic field and perhaps even an atmosphere. The researchers believe the radio signal was created by interactions between the planet’s magnetic field and the star. How strong radio waves occurIn order for the radio waves to be detectable on Earth, they must be very strong, the researchers said. “This research shows not only that this particular rocky exoplanet likely has a magnetic field but provides a promising method to find more.”

☆ Oumuamua Was a Comet After All, a Study Suggests
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Dennis Overbye | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ever since 2017, when astronomers in Hawaii discovered an object they called Oumuamua (Hawaiian for “scout”) zipping through the solar system, they have been arguing about what it was. To date, all the comets observed in our solar system have ranged from around a half-mile to hundreds of miles across. Initially Oumuamua was pegged as an asteroid, as it exhibited none of the sizzle and flash typical of comets. There was no evidence of gas or dust around the object, and radio telescopes heard nothing when pointed at it. But further analysis revealed that something was making Oumuamua speed up as it exited the solar system, leaving scientists with a delicious puzzle.

☆ 5 times scientists thought they'd maybe discovered signs of extraterrestrial life but sadly didn't
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Extraterrestrial life could exist, but mysterious objects in the sky aren't evidence of aliens. Scientists have thought they were close to discovering alien life a few times — none of it via UFOs. As the US discovered a flurry of UFOs — officially called "unidentified anomalous phenomena," or UAPs — in early February, Google searches for "extraterrestrial life" and "are aliens real" spiked. There have been incidents in the past where some researchers thought they'd come close to discovering signs of alien life — or even extraterrestrial intelligence — but none were UFOs. They dubbed the first interstellar object 'Oumuamua, which is a Hawaiian term meaning "a messenger from afar arriving first."

Work is finally underway on the world’s largest radio astronomy observatory. Known as the Square Kilometre Array, the mega telescope consists of huge clusters of dishes and antennas spread across remote parts of South Africa and Western Australia. The Square Kilometre Array has been called one of the biggest scientific projects of the 21st century. A journey to deliver the world’s largest scientific instrument,” she said in a statement. The South African component will consist of nearly 200 dishes, expanded from the 64-dish MeerKAT telescope that already exists on the site.

☆ Puerto Rico's iconic Arecibo Observatory won't be replaced after crashing to its doom 2 years ago. Dramatic photos and video show pieces of the broken telescope being overtaken by the jungle.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Paola Rosa-Aquino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Before-and-after images of the Arecibo Observatory show a dramatic collapse that ended an era in space research. For nearly 60 years, the Arecibo Observatory made significant contributions to astronomy. The Arecibo Observatory, a legendary radio telescope nestled in the lush mountains of Puerto Rico, has served as an essential lookout into the cosmos for nearly six decades. From tracking asteroids to discovering the first planets outside our solar system, Arecibo made fundamental contributions to our knowledge of space. The telescope's observing equipment hung from a platform strung over a 1,000-foot radio dish until December 1, 2020.

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