“SpaceX’s attempt to reduce the reflectivity of Starlink satellites is working, but not to the degree required by astronomers,” reports Gizmodo:
Starlink satellites with an anti-reflective coating are half as bright as the standard version, according to research published in The Astrophysical Journal. It’s an improvement, but still not good enough, according to the team, led by astronomer Takashi Horiuchi from the…
Tag: Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
A Dead Soviet Satellite and An Old Rocket Booster Could Collide In Space Tonight
Space traffic experts are tracking two pieces of orbital garbage that appear to be careening toward each other: A defunct Soviet satellite and a discarded Chinese rocket booster that are expected to nearly miss each other — with a slight chance of colliding — Thursday evening. CNN reports: No one knows for sure if the objects will collide, and near-misses happen…
Astronomers see a star ‘spaghettified’ by a black hole
Astronomers have spotted a rare blast of light from a star being ripped apart by a supermassive black hole. The phenomenon – known as a tidal disruption event – is the closest such flare recorded to date at just over 215 million light-years from Earth. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/star-spaghettified-by-black-hole-at2019qiz…
X-ray data reveal 1st-ever planet orbiting stars in another galaxy
While extragalactic “rogue” planets – not orbiting any star – have been reported before, the new exoplanet is the first to be detected orbiting stars in another galaxy. And not just any galaxy … but M51, the beautiful Whirlpool, 23 million light-years away. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/1st-exoplanet-in-another-galaxy-whirlpool-m51-uls-1b…
Scientists probe dark matter in a virtual universe
The new work reveals dark matter haloes as active regions of the sky, teeming with not only galaxies, but also radiation-emitting collisions that could make it possible to find dark matter haloes in the real sky. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/supercomputer-study-zoom-in-dark-matter-haloes…
The launch and landing of China’s reusable spacecraft
Although few details are known, and no images have been released, the Chinese did apparently launch a reusable spacecraft on September 4, 2020. It appears to have deployed a satellite to orbit and then returned to Earth safely 2 days later. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/china-reusable-spacecraft-mission-sept-2020…
Large Chunks of a Chinese Rocket Missed NYC By About 15 Minutes
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: A week ago, China launched the newest version of its largest rocket, the Long March 5B, from its southernmost spaceport. The launch proceeded normally and represented another success for China as it seeks to build a robust human spaceflight program. Over the next few years, this rocket will launch components of a…
Supernova remnant N132D investigated in detail
Researchers from Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) have conducted detailed spectroscopy of N132D—an X-ray bright supernova remnant (SNR) in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Results of the study, presented in a paper published April 15 on the arXiv pre-print server, provide important information about the chemical composition of this SNR and shed more light on its origin. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-04-supernova-remnant-n132d.html…
Black Hole Photo May Also Have Captured Light From Around the Universe
“When you point a telescope at a black hole, it turns out you don’t just see the swirling sizzling doughnut of doom formed by matter falling in,” reports the New York Times. “You can also see the whole universe.” Light from an infinite array of distant stars and galaxies can wrap around the black hole like ribbons around a maypole, again…
Does SpaceX’s Starlink Project Pose an Existential Threat to Astronomy?
Earlier this week Forbes reported on two Chilean astronomers “expecting to see images of distant stars and galaxies. Instead, they saw a train of SpaceX satellites crossing the night sky, a worrying sign of what might be to come for astronomy.” Now Digital Trends decries SpaceX’s “proposed launch of tens of thousands of satellites into low-Earth orbit where they will form…