A team of astronomers from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and other institutes has discovered a black hole lying just 1000 light-years from Earth. The black hole is closer to our Solar System than any other found to date and forms part of a triple system that can be seen with the naked eye. The team found evidence for the invisible…
Tag: european southern observatory
Is Space-Time Quantized Or Analog?
“What are the implications if ‘space-time’ (as conceived of in the Einstein Theory of General Relativity) is quantized like all other aspects of matter and energy?” asks Slashdot reader sixoh1. Space.com reports of a new study that tried to find out: In order for the math of general relativity to work, this fabric of space-time has to be absolutely smooth at…
Astronomers might have imaged a ringed planet around Proxima Centauri
In 2016, astronomers working for the European Southern Observatory (ESO) confirmed the existence of a terrestrial planet around Earth’s closest stellar neighbor—Proxima Centauri. The discovery of this nearby extrasolar planet (Proxima b) caused no shortage of excitement because, in addition to being similar in size to Earth, it was found to orbit within the star’s habitable zone (HZ). Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-04-astronomers-imaged-planet-proxima-centauri.html…
Spica is your guide star to Omega Centauri
Omega Centauri is the largest and finest star cluster visible to the eye alone from the Northern Hemisphere. Binoculars or a telescope show even more. A dark sky is best! Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/spica-guide-to-omega-centauri…
First-ever measure of brown dwarf wind speed
Using data from both Spitzer and ground-based telescopes, scientists have been able to measure the speed of winds on a brown dwarf for the first time ever. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/brown-dwarf-wind-infrared-radio-spitzer-vla…
Moon and Venus close around February 27 and 28
These next few evenings – February 27 and 28, 2020 – watch for the crescent moon and the brilliant planet Venus to pair up on the sky’s dome. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/moon-venus-adorn-western-sky-after-sunset…
Watch for the moon and Venus this week
You might not see the moon on February 24. It might be too close to the sunset. Observers in North America, though, do have a shot at Monday evening’s moon. And every evening after that, you’ll surely see the waxing crescent moving up past bright Venus! Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/young-moon-beneath-venus-after-sunset…
VLT sees surface of dim Betelgeuse
The European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope is in northern Chile. Astronomers used it to capture the unprecedented dimming of Betelgeuse, a red supergiant star in the constellation of Orion. The new images show how the apparent shape of this star is changing. Source: https://earthsky.org/todays-image/betelgeuse-dimming-supernova-new-vlt-images…