The Sky Tonight

December 18, 2015

Quasar outburst revises understanding of universe, quasars
St. Louis, MO (SPX) Dec 17, 2015
"On April 20, 2015, we got word from the Fermi satellite and the MAGIC telescope observatory that they had spotted a very active source - one that was getting very bright in gamma rays," said Manel Errando, PhD, research scientist in physics in Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. "At the time, I was chair of the committee at VERITAS that decides which sources we'll observe. "We decided to give it a go." VERITAS is a telescope array in southern Arizona that is sensitive to very ... read more

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Supernova explosion caught in the act The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured the image of the first-ever predicted supernova explosion. The reappearance of the Refsdal supernova was calculated from different models of the gala ... more		A new spin on star-forming galaxies Australian researchers have discovered why some galaxies are "clumpy" rather than spiral in shape - and it appears low spin is to blame. The finding challenges an earlier theory that high levels of ... more		Monster planet is 'dancing with the stars' A team made up almost entirely of current and former Carnegie scientists has discovered a highly unusual planetary system comprised of a Sun-like star, a dwarf star, and an enormous planet sandwiche ... more
				Cassini gets bull's eye view of Enceladus and Tethys Like a cosmic bull's-eye, Enceladus and Tethys line up almost perfectly for Cassini's cameras. Since the two moons are not only aligned, but also at relatively similar distances from Cassini, the ap ... more		Gamma rays from distant galaxy tell story of an escape A flare of very high-energy gamma rays emitted from a galaxy halfway across the universe has put new bounds on the amount of background light in the universe and given astrophysicists clues to how a ... more

NASA: Asteroid to pass by Earth on Christmas Eve That's not Rudolph's nose, it's just a giant rock hurtling through space. NASA scientists calculate that asteroid 163899, also known as 2003 SD220, will make its closest approach to Earth on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2015. ... more		Exoplanets Water Mystery Solved A survey of 10 hot, Jupiter-sized exoplanets conducted with NASA's Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes has led a team to solve a long-standing mystery - why some of these worlds seem to have less wa ... more		HawkEye 360 expands signals intelligence network with operational deployment of Cluster 12 York confirms successful deployment and health of 21 satellites for SDA Tranche 1 mission Spain faces uphill battle to cut Israel military ties: experts		XXL hunt for galaxy clusters Galaxy clusters are massive congregations of galaxies that host huge reservoirs of hot gas - the temperatures are so high that X-rays are produced. These structures are useful to astronomers because ... more
				Mystery of missing exoplanet water solved Astronomers from the University of Exeter have helped shed light on the atmospheres of a group of planets which orbit stars outside our solar system, known as exoplanets. Exeter academics led ... more		Japan asteroid probe enters 'target orbit' in space quest A Japanese space probe successfully entered "target orbit" and is on its way to rendezvousing with a far away asteroid, in a quest to study the origin of the solar system, authorities said Monday. ... more

Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

New Results from the LUX Dark Matter Detector The Large Underground Xenon (LUX) dark matter experiment, which operates nearly a mile underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in the Black Hills of South Dakota, has already ... more		Hubble reveals diversity of exoplanet atmosphere Astronomers have used the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the NASA Spitzer Space Telescope to study the atmospheres of ten hot, Jupiter-sized exoplanets in detail, the largest number of such pla ... more		Climate change causing havoc with global water cycle: UN Schools shut, flights cancelled as Typhoon Ragasa nears Hong Kong Over 60,000 Europeans died from heat during 2024 summer: study		Hayabusa2 Earth Swing-by Result The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) confirmed that the Asteroid Explorer "Hayabusa2" is cruising on its target orbit after measuring and calc ... more
Twin civilisations? How life on an exoplanet could spread to its neighbour Imagine two nearby exoplanets orbiting the same sun, each with its own indigenous civilisation. They're going through history either as companionable neighbours or deadly rivals. This is a familiar ... more		Quantum physics problem proved unsolvable A mathematical problem underlying fundamental questions in particle and quantum physics is provably unsolvable, according to scientists at UCL, Universidad Complutense de Madrid - ICMAT and Technica ... more		Huge organs defy austerity for tiny cave snails in the subterranean realm While most of the knowledge about tiny snails comes from studying empty shells sifted out from piles of dust and sand, the present research is the first contemporary microscopic exploration of organ ... more		Ride along with Rosetta through the eyes of OSIRIS Rosetta's OSIRIS camera team has launched a new website to showcase their recent images of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The high-resolution images, taken either with the narrow- or wide-angle s ... more

	Planetary Science Institute receives Data Archiving Services The Planetary Science Institute received a $4 million, five year cooperative agreement from NASA to manage the Planetary Data System's Asteroid and Dust Subnode. The Subnode is part of the Small Bod ... more		Astronomers recall discovery of source of Geminids The beautiful Geminids meteor shower is due to light up the heavens this weekend, but the source of the enigmatic cosmic display had eluded stargazers for more than 120 years. Although the pop ... more

Tariff uncertainty delays World Cup orders for China's merch makers

EU business lobby head says China rare earths snag persists

IEA feels the heat as Washington pushes pro-oil agenda

'Quasiparticles' reveal incredibly minute distortions in light waves		Saving NASA's STEREO-B		No extraterrestrial laser pulses detected from KIC 8462852		What spawned the Jellyfish Nebula?		Dwarf planet Ceres: water vapor in Occator crater
A 'ghost from the past' recalls the infancy of the Milky Way		NASA telescopes detect Jupiter-like storm on small star		XPRIZE verifies moon express launch contract, kicking off new space race		Airbus signs contract to develop and build JUICE spacecraft		Student helps discover new planet, calculates frequency of Jupiter-like planets

VLT revisits a curious cosmic collision

New clues to Ceres' bright spots and origins

Titan helps researchers explore explosive star scenarios

Geminid meteors will dazzle on December 13th and 14th

Study: Sun capable of destructive superflare

Scientists explain origin of heavy elements in the Universe

Prometheus up close about Saturn

Alternative stellar lifestyle: Common, curious, solved at last

Robot arm simulates close approach of ESA's asteroid mission

Minutest absolute magnetic field measurement

Peering Through Titan's Haze

Texas Astronomer Solves Mystery of 'Born Again' Stars

Russia's Kanopus-ST Research Satellite Deorbited, Heading to Earth

Radio Shadow Reveals Tenuous Cosmic Gas Cloud

To Jupiter with JunoCam

New US space mining law to spark interplanetary gold rush

Space Debris - A Growth Industry?

A new technique to gauge the distant Universe

ALMA spots monstrous baby galaxies cradled in dark matter

Student discovers stellar chamaeleon had astronomers fooled for years

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