Most exoplanets orbiting close to their stars don’t have atmospheres. But Gliese 486b – orbiting a red dwarf star only 24 light-years away – does. It’s close enough to see well. Astronomers will be watching it! Source: https://earthsky.org/space/gliese-486b-hot-super-earth-with-atmosphere…
Tag: luck
Observer’s challenge: Moon and morning planets on February 8, 9 and 10
Before sunrise on February 8, 9 and 10, 2021, the old moon might guide you to 3 morning planets: Venus, Jupiter and Saturn. Fair warning. It won’t be easy to spot the planets so near the sunrise glare! Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/moon-morning-planets-feb-8-9-10-2021…
Moon and Antares before dawn February 6
Let the moon show you Antares, the red supergiant star, on the morning of February 6, 2021 Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/moon-antares-scorpius-feb-before-dawn…
How to see Sirius B
Sirius is a binary star, with a small white dwarf called the Pup orbiting the large primary star. It’s not easy to observe, but it is possible. Here’s how. Source: https://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/how-to-observe-sirius-b…
Was it just luck that our species survived and the Denisovans didn’t?
For millennia, our species advanced in lockstep with the Denisovans and it is hard to work out from archaeological finds why they disappeared from the planet while we now dominate it Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24933192-700-was-it-just-luck-that-our-species-survived-and-the-denisovans-didnt/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Jamie Zawinski Calls Cinnamon Screensaver Lock-Bypass Bug ‘Unconscionable’
Legendary programmer Jamie Zawinski has worked on everything from the earliest releases of the Netscape Navigator browser to XEmacs, Mozilla, and, of course, the XScreenSaver project. Now Slashdot reader e432776 writes: JWZ continues to track issues with screensavers on Linux (since 2004!), and discusses a new bug in cinnamon-screensaver. Long-standing topics like X11, developer interaction, and code licensing all feature. Solutions…
Young moon and Mercury in mid-January 2021
These next several days – January 14, 15 and 16, 2021 – you can spot the waxing crescent moon and innermost planet Mercury, near the sunset point. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/young-moon-and-mercury-in-mid-january…
New and rare direct image of a brown dwarf
Astronomers have obtained one of the best images yet of a brown dwarf, an object in a mass range midway between stars and planets. This brown dwarf – called HD 33632 Ab – lies 86 light-years from our sun. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/new-brown-dwarf-direct-image-hd-33632-ab…
Why have so few Milky Way supernovae been observed over the last millennium?
Our galaxy hosts supernovae explosions a few times every century, and yet it’s been hundreds of years since the last observable one. New research explains why: It’s a combination of dust, distance and dumb luck. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-01-milky-supernovae-millennium.html…
Bitcoin Miners in Nordic Region Get a Boost From Cheap Power
The Nordic region once again has become a lucrative place to mine crypto-currencies, thanks to a plunge in electricity prices. From a report: The wettest weather in at least 20 years boosted production from hydro-electric plants, leaving Sweden and Norway with some of the lowest power prices in the world. The resulting glut in the most important raw material for making…