You probably know the very nearest star to our sun is Proxima in the triple star system we call Alpha Centauri. Guy Ottewell shows you where in space Proxima is. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/where-is-proxima-centauri…
Tag: alpha
Moon and Mars before dawn June 12 and 13
Enjoy the early morning sky on June 12 and 13, 2020, as the moon swings 3 degrees south of the red planet Mars. Meanwhile, although your eye won’t catch it, Mars will swing 1.7 degrees south of distant Neptune. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/see-moon-mars-before-dawn-june-12-and-13…
A 2nd exoplanet confirmed for Proxima Centauri
Astronomers at McDonald Observatory have confirmed a second planet – 7 times more massive than Earth – orbiting Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our sun. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/2nd-exoplanet-confirmed-proxima-centauri…
First optical measurements of Milky Way’s Fermi Bubbles probe their origin
Using the Wisconsin H-Alpha Mapper telescope, astronomers have for the first time measured the Fermi Bubbles in the visible light spectrum. The Fermi Bubbles are two enormous outflows of high-energy gas that emanate from the Milky Way and the finding refines our understanding of the properties of these mysterious blobs. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-06-optical-milky-fermi-probe.html…
Proxima Centauri b confirmed as nearest exoworld
Researchers at the University of Geneva have confirmed the existence of an Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting in the habitable zone of Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our sun. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/exoplanet-proxima-centauri-b-confirmed…
Signal To Move Away From Using Phone Numbers as User IDs
Secure instant messaging app Signal launched this week a new feature called “Signal PINs” which the company says will help users migrate account data between devices. From a report: Signal says that in the long run, this new feature is the base and the first step towards moving away from using phone numbers as profile IDs. The new Signal profile PIN…
Here’s how SOHO and a skywatcher discovered Comet SWAN
Almost every day, the SWAN instrument aboard the sun-watching SOHO spacecraft makes a map of the sky. Anyone with internet access them maps and join the search for new comets. To date, 12 comets have been spotted in the SWAN data! Source: https://earthsky.org/space/discovery-comet-swan-solar-watcher-soho…
Vega: Brilliant blue-white star in the Summer Triangle
Vega is 1 of 3 stars in an asterism – or noticeable star pattern – called the Summer Triangle in the early evening sky. Source: https://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/vega-brilliant-blue-white-is-third-brightest-star…
Meet Regulus, the Lion’s Heart
The bright star Regulus is very prominent in the evening sky in May. It looks like a single point of light, but is really 4 stars. It’s the brightest star in the constellation Leo the Lion. Source: https://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/best-regulus-the-heart-of-the-lion…
NASA’s Webb Telescope to unravel riddles of a stellar nursery
A bustling stellar nursery in the picturesque Orion Nebula will be a subject of study for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled to launch in 2021. A team led by Mark McCaughrean, the Webb Interdisciplinary Scientist for Star Formation, will survey an inner region of the nebula called the Trapezium Cluster. This cluster is home to a thousand or so young…