Using ground-based facilities and space telescopes, an international team of astronomers has conducted multiwavelength observations of a galaxy cluster known as CLJ1449+0856. The observational campaign detected multiple faint radio-jets, what could shed more light on the nature of this cluster. The finding is reported in a paper published February 23 on the arXiv pre-print server. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-03-astronomers-faint-radio-jets-galaxy-cluster.html…
Tag: space telescopes
James Webb Space Telescope – Hubble’s successor – to launch in October
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s most complex infrared telescope, built for a wide range of research projects. NASA is now targeting October 31 for its launch on an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/james-webb-telescope-hubble-successor-to-launch…
Meet the hell planet with a magma ocean and rocky rain
Exoplanet K2-141b is fiery hot world that circles so close to its star that 1 side of the planet features a deep ocean of molten lava. Meanwhile, the other side is freezing cold. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/k2-141b-lava-planet-with-magma-ocean-rocky-rain-supersonic-winds-super-earth…
New study details atmosphere on ‘hot Neptune’ 260 light years away that ‘shouldn’t exist’
A team led by an astronomer from the University of Kansas has crunched data from NASA’s TESS and Spitzer space telescopes to portray for the first time the atmosphere of a highly unusual kind of exoplanet dubbed a “hot Neptune.” Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-10-atmosphere-hot-neptune-years-shouldnt.html…
Astronomers identify 24 possible superhabitable worlds
Are there worlds out there – orbiting distant stars – even better suited for life than Earth? Might they be older, larger, warmer, wetter and with longer-living stars? Now astronomers have identified 24 possible superhabitable worlds. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/superhabitable-exoplanets-better-suited-for-life-than-earth…
James Webb Space Telescope passes environmental testing
The James Webb Space Telescope – successor to the Hubble – just passed a series of environmental testing trials, designed to simulate the rigors of its anticipated launch in 2021. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/james-webb-space-telescope-passes-environmental-testing…
Looking for Life? Researchers Identify 24 Exoplanets Even More Habitable Than Earth
“Astrobiologists have identified 24 exoplanets that aren’t just potentially habitable, they’re potentially superhabitable, exhibiting an array of conditions more suitable to life than what’s seen on Earth…” reports Gizmodo: For exoplanets to be superhabitable, they should be older, larger, heavier, warmer, and wetter compared to Earth, and ideally located around stars with longer lifespans than our own. So yeah, not only…
Miniature telescope demonstration focuses on sharpening view of distant objects in space
A recently deployed DARPA CubeSat seeks to demonstrate technology that could improve imaging of distant objects in space and allow powerful space telescopes to fit into small satellites. DARPA’s Deformable Mirror (DeMi) CubeSat deployed from the International Space Station July 13, beginning the technology demonstration of a miniature space telescope with a small deformable mirror called a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) mirror….
James Webb Space Telescope launch date delayed
NASA is delaying the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope for another 7 months, from March 2021 to October 31, 2021 due to, among other factors, work stoppages during the coronavirus pandemic. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/james-webb-space-telescope-launch-date-delayed-oct2021…
Emission from the blazar 1ES 1218+304 explored with NASA space telescopes
Using three NASA space observatories, astronomers have conducted a multiwavelength study of emission from a blazar known as 1ES 1218+304. Results of the investigation, presented in a paper published June 29 on arXiv.org, deliver more insights into the properties of this high-energy source. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-07-emission-blazar-1es-explored-nasa.html…