The Sky Tonight

December 23, 2015

Giant comets may threaten Earth: astronomers
Paris (AFP) Dec 22, 2015
Planet Earth could be at higher risk of a space rock impact than widely thought, according to astronomers who suggested Tuesday keeping a closer eye on distant giant comets. Most studies of potential Earth-smashers focus on objects in the asteroid belt roughly between Mars, Earth's outside neighbour, and Jupiter on its other flank, said the researchers. But they noted that the discovery in the last two decades of hundreds of giant comets dubbed centaurs, albeit with much larger orbits, requires ... read more

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Chandra Finds Remarkable Galactic Ribbon Unfurled An extraordinary ribbon of hot gas trailing behind a galaxy like a tail has been discovered using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. This ribbon, or X-ray tail, is likely due to gas strippe ... more		Twisted magnetic fields give new insights on star formation Using new images that show unprecedented detail, scientists have found that material rotating around a very young protostar probably has dragged in and twisted magnetic fields from the larger area s ... more		Wukong's journey to the darkness In a crowd 1,500 meters from the launch pad, Liu Cixin watched the rocket rising into the sky, wondering how its payload will change astrophysics and humanity's future. The Long March-2D carri ... more
				Dark Universe Mission ready to take shape Euclid, a planned mission to investigate the profound cosmic mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, has passed its preliminary design review. This clears the way for construction to begin. Euclid ... more		New Electron-Positron Collider Launched in Siberia The launch of a new electron-positron collider in Novosibirsk will allow the Russian Nuclear Physics Institute to make a huge leap forward, according to Gov. Vladimir Gorodetsky. The first rin ... more

New study details skeleton of the Milky Way galaxy Researchers with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics claim to have traced the "skeletal structure" of the Milky Way galaxy. They shared their findings earlier this month in the Astrophysical Journal. ... more		Canada delivers Laser Altimeter for OSIRIS-REx spacecraft integration A sophisticated laser-based mapping instrument has arrived at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver for integration onto NASA's Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security- ... more		Greenland is helpful, but not vital, for US missile defense European military mission in Greenland as US aim 'remains intact' Amazon expands 'sovereign cloud' in Europe		China receives message from dark matter probe Ground stations in China have received data sent by "Wukong" - the country's first dark matter probe satellite, scientists announced Monday. A station in Kashgar in northwest China's Xinjiang ... more
				Cassini Completes Final Close Enceladus Flyby NASA's Cassini spacecraft has begun transmitting data and images from the mission's final close flyby of Saturn's active moon Enceladus. Cassini passed Enceladus at a distance of 3,106 miles (4,999 ... more		Hubble sees the force awakening in a newborn star Just in time for the release of the movie "Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens," NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has photographed what looks like a cosmic, double-bladed lightsaber. In the ... more

Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

Rare full moon on Christmas Day Not since 1977 has a full moon dawned in the skies on Christmas. But this year, a bright full moon will be an added gift for the holidays. December's full moon, the last of the year, is called ... more		The Puzzle of the Origin of Elements in the Universe A rare nuclear reaction that occurs in red giants has been observed for the first time at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Italy. This result was achieved by the LUNA experiment, the world's on ... more		China bids to host secretariat of new high seas treaty Protected forests under threat in DRC's lucrative mining belt Hundreds in London protest against Beijing 'mega embassy'		Euclid dark Universe mission ready to take shape Euclid, ESA's dark Universe mission, has passed its preliminary design review, providing confidence that the spacecraft and its payload can be built. It's time to start 'cutting metal'. "This ... more
LADEE Mission Shows Force of Meteoroid Strikes on Lunar Exosphere NASA scientists have released new findings about the Moon's tenuous exosphere - the thin layer of gas surrounding the Moon that is one 25-trillionth the density of Earth's atmosphere. The data revea ... more		Nearby star hosts closest alien planet in the 'habitable zone' UNSW Australia astronomers have discovered the closest potentially habitable planet found outside our solar system so far, orbiting a star just 14 light years away. The planet, more than four times ... more		S3 delays ZeroG launch and IPO campaign Technical and contractual delays in the calendar of the young Swiss startup have resulted in the postponement of the ZeroG flight campaign. They were last scheduled to begin at end of 2015. Sw ... more		Asteroid WT24 looks even better second time around Asteroid 1998 WT24 safely flew past Earth on Dec. 11 at a distance of about 2.6 million miles (4.2 million kilometers, 11 lunar distances). During its flyby, NASA scientists used the 230-foot (70-me ... more

	ALMA reveals planetary construction sites Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have found the clearest indications yet that planets with masses several times that of Jupiter have recently formed in the d ... more		VERITAS detects gamma rays from halfway across the universe In April 2015, after traveling for about half the age of the universe, a flood of powerful gamma rays from a distant galaxy slammed into Earth's atmosphere. That torrent generated a cascade of light ... more

Trump offers Egypt to mediate on Ethiopia dam

US to repeal the basis for its climate rules: What to know

jaslovske-nuclear-slovakia-npp-hg.jpgpremier to meet Trump, eyeing nuclear plant deal

Is evolution more intelligent than we thought		Researchers at Gothenburg create focused spin wave beams		History of Andromeda Galaxy Studied Through Stellar Remains		Gemini and Keck Put New Spin on Galaxy Formation		A cosmic clumpy doughnut around black hole
The awakened force of a star		Meanwhile, in a galaxy not so far, far away		Cassini Closes in on Enceladus, One Last Time		Survey Maps Neutral Hydrogen in Northern Sky		Quasar outburst revises understanding of universe, quasars

Supernova explosion caught in the act

A new spin on star-forming galaxies

Monster planet is 'dancing with the stars'

Cassini gets bull's eye view of Enceladus and Tethys

Twin civilisations? How life on an exoplanet could spread to its neighbour

Gamma rays from distant galaxy tell story of an escape

NASA: Asteroid to pass by Earth on Christmas Eve

Exoplanets Water Mystery Solved

XXL hunt for galaxy clusters

Quantum physics problem proved unsolvable

Huge organs defy austerity for tiny cave snails in the subterranean realm

Mystery of missing exoplanet water solved

New Results from the LUX Dark Matter Detector

Ride along with Rosetta through the eyes of OSIRIS

Hubble reveals diversity of exoplanet atmosphere

Hayabusa2 Earth Swing-by Result

Planetary Science Institute receives Data Archiving Services

Astronomers recall discovery of source of Geminids

'Quasiparticles' reveal incredibly minute distortions in light waves

Japan asteroid probe enters 'target orbit' in space quest

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