Cassini data suggested that Saturn’s rings were only 10 to 100 million years old. A new study suggests that a “ring rain” onto Saturn makes the rings look younger than they really are, and that in fact Saturn’s rings date back billions of years. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/saturn-rings-eject-material-young-or-old…
Tag: debris
Mystery green blob appears and disappears in distant galaxy
What is ULX-4 – a mystery green blob of X-ray light that appeared in the Fireworks Galaxy – and then soon disappeared again? A black hole or neutron star are 2 possibilities. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/mystery-green-blob-ulx-4-fireworks-galaxy…
Fomalhaut: The loneliest star
It’s also sometimes called the autumn star for us in the Northern Hemisphere. In its large dark patch of sky, only Fomalhaut shines brightly. Here’s how to see it. Source: https://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/solitary-fomalhaut-guards-the-southern-sky…
A distant galaxy’s black hole seen to flare unexpectedly
Astronomers have a new name for these sorts of flares from supermassive black holes in distant galaxies: they’re calling them quasi-periodic eruptions. “Giant black holes regularly flicker like a candle but the rapid, repeating changes seen in GSN 069 from December onwards are something completely new,” said one scientist. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/unexpected-periodic-flares-from-distant-galaxys-black-hole…
How Samsung Fixed the Galaxy Fold
Samsung’s $2,000 foldable smartphone was scheduled to launch earlier this year, but was delayed after several major U.S. tech journalists experienced device-breaking display failures with their review units. This caused Samsung to push back the launch date and go back to the drawing board to try and fix these issues. At IFA in Berlin this week, Samsung brought an updated version…
22 Million Pounds of Plastics Enter the Great Lakes Each Year
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Chicago Tribune: Plastic debris makes up about 80% of the litter on Great Lakes shorelines. Nearly 22 million pounds enter the Great Lakes each year — more than half of which pours into Lake Michigan, according to estimates calculated by the Rochester Institute of Technology. Regardless of size, as plastics linger in the water,…
Whoa. It’s been 30 years since our 1st and last visit to Neptune
On today’s date – August 25, 1989 – Voyager 2 passed only 4,950 kilometers (3,000 miles) above Neptune’s north pole. It was its closest approach to any planet in its Grand Tour of the outer solar system. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/voyager-2-neptune-flyby-august-25-1989…
35 Million-Year-Old Asteroid Left a Trail of Destruction Across the Eastern US
schwit1 shares a report from Space.com: About 35 million years ago, an asteroid traveling nearly 144,000 mph (231,000 km/h) smashed into the Atlantic Ocean near the modern-day town of Cape Charles, Virginia. The space rock vaporized instantly, but its impact triggered a gargantuan tsunami, cast up a monsoon of shattered rocks and molten glass that spanned hundreds of miles and carved…
It’s raining plastic in the Rocky Mountains
A USGS study identified plastic in more than 90% of rainwater samples taken from across Colorado. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/rain-microplastic-rocky-mountains-colorado…
Image: Small object spotted orbiting 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Last week marked five years since ESA’s Rosetta probe arrived at its target, a comet named 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (or 67P/C-G). Tomorrow, 13 August, it will be four years since the comet, escorted by Rosetta, reached its perihelion—the closest point to the sun along its orbit. This image, gathered by Rosetta a couple of months after perihelion, when the comet activity was still…