Astronomers used radio waves to study conditions in the vicinity of Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to our sun. The results suggest Proxima’s 2 known planets are likely bathed in intense radiation from this star, casting doubt on the planets’ potential for life. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/proxima-centauri-space-weather-planets-uninhabitable…
Tag: burst
We may have seen a huge explosion in the oldest galaxy in the universe
An explosion of high-energy radiation may have been spotted coming from a galaxy in the distant universe – a gamma-ray burst that occurred just 400 million years after the big bang Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2262665-we-may-have-seen-a-huge-explosion-in-the-oldest-galaxy-in-the-universe/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Space weather discovery puts ‘habitable planets’ at risk
A discovery that links stellar flares with radio-burst signatures will make it easier for astronomers to detect space weather around nearby stars outside the Solar System. Unfortunately, the first weather reports from our nearest neighbour, Proxima Centauri, are not promising for finding life as we know it. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-12-space-weather-discovery-habitable-planets.html…
Voyager Probes Detect New Kind of ‘Electron Burst’ in Interstellar Space
“NASA’s twin Voyager probes keep making discoveries in interstellar space,” reports Space.com The Voyager mission has detected a new type of “electron burst,” which will provide insights into the mechanisms of flaring stars, a new study reports. The bursts occur when cosmic ray electrons — fast-moving particles from far beyond the solar system — are pushed by shock waves generated by…
Voyager mission finds a new type of electron burst at the edge of our solar system
The Voyager probes left our Solar System years ago, yet even as they travel through interstellar space, they are still detecting bursts of cosmic rays from our Sun, more than 23 billion kilometres (14 billion miles) away. Source: https://www.livescience.com/voyager-finds-electron-burst-at-solar-system-edge.html
Voyager spacecraft detect new type of solar electron burst
More than 40 years since they launched, the Voyager spacecraft are still making discoveries. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-12-voyager-spacecraft-solar-electron.html…
Does Jupiter’s moon Europa have geysers? If so, what’s their source?
If watery plumes do burst from Europa’s surface, they might originate not in the moon’s underground ocean, but instead in pockets of brine trapped in the moon’s crust. If that’s so, it could be a source of frustration for those who want to probe Europa’s ocean for possible life. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/jupiter-moon-europa-plumes-salty-water-in-crust…
Hubble sees the brightest kilonova yet
Observations by the Hubble Space Telescope reveal intense infrared radiation from an unusual kilonova probably created by the collision of neutron stars. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/unusual-kilonova-infrared-light-neutron-stars-grb…
Cosmic furnace seen by X-ray observatory
This burst of color shows a fascinating discovery: a galaxy cluster acting as a cosmic furnace. The cluster is heating the material within to hundreds of millions of degrees Celsius—well over 25 times hotter than the core of the sun. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-11-cosmic-furnace-x-ray-observatory.html…
Neutron star merger results in magnetar with brightest kilonova ever observed
Long ago and far across the universe, an enormous burst of gamma rays unleashed more energy in a half-second than the sun will produce over its entire 10-billion-year lifetime. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-11-neutron-star-merger-results-magnetar.html…