Astronomy

SOFIA, or the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, doesn’t look much like an observatory, but more likely a 747 aircraft. Mounted in the fuselage of this bird is an infrared telescope nearly 10 feet wide, weighing almost 19 tons. NASA and the DLR, German Aerospace Center, are working together to create SOFIA. A Boeing 747SP aircraft [...]

Magnetars are dense neutron stars a type of stellar corpse with magnetic fields billions of times stronger than any magnet on Earth. They release flashes of X-rays about every 10 seconds with an occasional gamma-ray burst. They weren’t classified as a distinct star type until 1998, nearly two decades after their telltale light shows were first [...]

Yet another result from Cassini mission. During a close flyby on March 12, the spacecraft tasted and sampled a surprising organic brew erupting in geyser-like fashion from Saturn’s moon Enceladus. New heat maps of the surface show higher temperatures than previously known in the south polar region, with hot tracks running the length of giant [...]

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has discovered evidence that points to the existence of an underground ocean of water and ammonia on Saturn’s moon Titan. The findings made using radar measurements of Titan’s rotation will appear in the March 21 issue of the journal Science. According to Ralph Lorenz, lead author of the paper and Cassini radar scientist [...]

Vernal equinox (spring equinox) for this year will occur on 20 March, 05.48 UTC. The moment marks the first day of spring season in Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in Southern Hemisphere. In the southern hemisphere, the vernal equinox corresponds to the center of the Sun crossing the celestial equator moving southward. It is also the points [...]

After more than a decade of preparation, the world’s most powerful telescope, known as Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) is now looking skyward with both of its massive eyes wide open. Not only is it the largest binoculars but it also is the world’s most powerful telescope in the world. Located on a remote mountain top [...]

After the Cat’s Eye Nebula, we also have Cat’s Paw Nebula. Located in southern Scorpius, near NGC 6357 and the H 12 region with the IC 4628 nebula, it is actually an emission nebula with a red color that originates from an abundance of ionized hydrogen atoms. Like typical emission nebula, Cat’s Paw Nebula composed mostly [...]