The Sky Tonight

December 20, 2012

Shot Away from its Companion, Giant Star Makes Waves
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 20, 2012
Like a ship plowing through still waters, the giant star Zeta Ophiuchi is speeding through space, making waves in the dust ahead. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has captured a dramatic, infrared portrait of these glowing waves, also known as a bow shock. Astronomers theorize that this star was once sitting pretty next to a companion star even heftier than itself. But when that star died in a fiery explosion, Zeta Ophiuchi was kicked away and sent flying. Zeta Ophiuchi, which is 20 times more ... read more

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How white dwarfs mimic black holes A remarkable observation by astronomers from the University of Southampton has been published in one of the world's foremost astrophysics research journals. The research by Professor Phil Char ... more		Southampton researchers find a glitch' in pulsar 'glitch' theory Researchers from the University of Southampton have called in to question a 40 year-old theory explaining the periodic speeding up or 'glitching' of pulsars. A pulsar is a highly magnetised ro ... more		Monster Black Holes The black hole at the center of this galaxy is part of a survey of 18 of the biggest black holes in the universe. This large elliptical galaxy is in the center of the galaxy cluster PKS 0745-19, whi ... more
				Turbulent eddies may warm the solar wind The Sun ejects a continuous flow of electrically charged particles and magnetic fields in the form of the solar wind. One of the long-standing puzzles of solar physics is that the solar wind is hott ... more		Astronomers identify the stellar patrons of the Milky Way bar Forget the restaurant at the end of the Universe - astronomers now have the clearest understanding yet of the bar at the center of the Milky Way. Scientists with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey I ... more

CubeSats, SmallSats and MicroSats

Nearby star is good candidate for Earth-like planets Tau Ceti, one of our closest stars, is a good candidate for hosting an Earth-like planet, astronomers reported on Wednesday. ... more		From Cassini for the Holidays: A Splendor Seldom Seen Just in time for the holidays, NASA's Cassini spacecraft, in orbit around Saturn for more than eight years now, has delivered another glorious, backlit view of the planet Saturn and its rings. ... more		EU 'must respond' to Russia's 'hybrid warfare': von der Leyen Russia says missile strike kills three in Belgorod region: governor Trump unlikely to win Nobel Peace Prize, but who will?		Penn Metamaterials Experts Show a Way to Reduce Electrons' Effective Mass to Nearly Zero The field of metamaterials involves augmenting materials with specially designed patterns, enabling those materials to manipulate electromagnetic waves and fields in previously impossible ways. Now, ... more
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Math formula gives new glimpse into the magical mind of Ramanujan December 22 marks the 125th anniversary of the birth of Srinivasa Ramanujan, an Indian mathematician renowned for somehow intuiting extraordinary numerical patterns and connections without the use o ... more		NASA probes crash into the moon Two NASA probes crashed into the moon on Monday after spending months gathering data by orbiting miles above the lunar surface, the US space agency said. ... more		No peace: Trump's smoldering Nobel obsession Virtual Jesus? People of faith divided as AI enters religion New species of poisonous frog discovered in Amazon; Snakebite surge as Bangladesh hit by floods		UI-led team confirms 'gusty winds' in space turbulence Imagine riding in an airplane as the plane is jolted back and forth by gusts of wind that you can't prove exist but are there nonetheless. Similar turbulence exists in space, and a research team led ... more
				Exploding star missing from formation of solar system A new study published by University of Chicago researchers challenges the notion that the force of an exploding star forced the formation of the solar system. In this study, published online last mo ... more		GRAIL Lunar Impact Site Named for Astronaut Sally Ride NASA has named the site where twin agency spacecraft impacted the moon Monday in honor of the late astronaut Sally K. Ride, who was America's first woman in space and a member of the probes' mission ... more

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Dwarf planet Makemake lacks atmosphere

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ASU researchers propose new way to look at the dawn of life

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Nearby star is good candidate for Earth-like planets

Astronomers discover and 'weigh' infant solar system

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Charitum Montes: a cratered winter wonderland

Opportunity Continues Rock Studies

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Alcohol constrains Physical Constant in the Early Universe

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24-armed Giant to Probe Early Lives of Galaxies

NASA's Hubble Provides First Census of Galaxies Near Cosmic Dawn

Meteor shower dazzles in night sky

NASA Gravity Probes Prepare to Hit the Moon

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New knowledge about the remarkable properties of black holes

Big Asteroid Tumbles Harmlessly Past Earth

Greedy black hole discovered in Andromeda

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British astronomer Patrick Moore dead aged 89

Mining ancient ores for clues to early life

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