Let the moon show you Antares, a red supergiant star and the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius the Scorpion on the morning of March 5. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/moon-antares-morning-of-mar-5-2021…
Tag: bright
Closest Mars-Pleiades conjunction until 2038
This year – on March 3, 2021 – the red planet Mars and the Pleiades star cluster – also known as the Seven Sisters – stage their closest conjunction on the sky’s dome until February 4, 2038. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/closest-mars-pleiades-conjunction-until-2038…
The distance to the North Polar Spur
One of the largest structures in the Milky Way galaxy, the North Polar Spur, was discovered at radio and X-ray wavelengths. The Spur is a giant ridge of bright emission that rises roughly perpendicularly out of the plane of the galaxy starting roughly in the constellation of Sagittarius and then curves upward, stretching across the sky for over thirty degrees (the…
Moon, star Spica on Mar 1, 2021
This evening – March 1, 2021 – look eastward before going to bed and you just might catch the bright waning gibbous moon and the star Spica over the horizon. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/moon-star-spica-on-mar-1-2021…
What is a quasar?
A quasar is an extremely bright and distant point-like source visible to radio telescopes. The source is a so-called Active Galactic Nucleus, fueled by a supermassive black hole. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/definition-what-is-a-quasar…
Perseverance saw its own descent stage crash
The Mars rover images a plume of debris from the impact of the descent stage that helped the spacecraft land safely on the red planet. Source: https://earthsky.org/todays-image/photo-mars-perseverance-descent-stage-smoke-plume…
Cosmic ray originated in cataclysmic event
Astronomers found a high energy neutrino – a cosmic ray – that apparently originated during a “tidal disruption event,” that is, when a supermassive black hole shredded a distant star. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/origin-cosmic-ray-when-black-hole-shreds-star…
Parker Solar Probe captures a glimpse of Venus
The Parker Solar Probe turned its camera on Venus as the spacecraft flew by during a gravity assist. Source: https://earthsky.org/todays-image/solar-probe-flyby-photo-of-venus…
Full Snow Moon on February 26-27, 2021
These next few nights – February 26 and 27, 2021 – watch for the full Snow Moon to light up the nighttime form dusk till dawn. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/full-snow-moon-on-feb-26-27-2021…
Astronomers detect new super-Earth exoplanet orbiting nearby star
Using the radial velocity (RV) technique, astronomers have discovered a new super-Earth alien world as part of the HADES and CARMENES programs. The newfound exoplanet, designated GJ 740 b, orbits a bright star some 36 light-years away and is at least three times more massive than the Earth. The finding is reported in a paper published February 18 on the arXiv…