One of the largest structures in the Milky Way galaxy, the North Polar Spur, was discovered at radio and X-ray wavelengths. The Spur is a giant ridge of bright emission that rises roughly perpendicularly out of the plane of the galaxy starting roughly in the constellation of Sagittarius and then curves upward, stretching across the sky for over thirty degrees (the…
Tag: The Distance
What is a quasar?
A quasar is an extremely bright and distant point-like source visible to radio telescopes. The source is a so-called Active Galactic Nucleus, fueled by a supermassive black hole. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/definition-what-is-a-quasar…
Perseverance saw its own descent stage crash
The Mars rover images a plume of debris from the impact of the descent stage that helped the spacecraft land safely on the red planet. Source: https://earthsky.org/todays-image/photo-mars-perseverance-descent-stage-smoke-plume…
Aptera Promises The World’s First Mass-Produced Solar Car This Year
California-based Aptera Motors “is rolling out the first mass-produced solar car this year,” reports the Washington Post, after successfully crowdfunding a restart of their development effort: It’s a three-wheel, ultra-aerodynamic electric vehicle covered in 34 square feet of solar cells. The car is so efficient that, on a clear day, those cells alone could provide enough energy to drive about 40…
Water worlds may be abundant in our galaxy
A new study suggests that our Milky Way galaxy is filled with planets like Earth, containing continents and oceans. If so, life might be common in the Mlilky Way. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/water-common-on-planets-pebble-accretion-milky-way…
Nearby black hole Cyg X-1 more massive than thought
New research suggests that the famous black hole Cygnus X-1 – first black hole ever detected and one of the closest to Earth – is farther away and much more massive than previously believed. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/cygnus-x-1-black-hole-more-massive-farther…
3D map of a million binary stars
A new atlas of nearby binary stars plots more than a million pairs and reveals a profusion of identical twins. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/3d-map-million-binary-stars…
Images of shadows cast by jet contrails
Jet contrail shadows may appear to be cast by a low-altitude bright light shining upwards. In fact, this shadow is normally cast on clouds below the jet and its contrail. Source: https://earthsky.org/todays-image/jet-contrail-casts-a-shadow…
The First Black Hole Ever Discovered is More Massive Than We Thought
Neel V. Patel, writing at MIT Technology Review: Einstein first predicted the existence of black holes when he published his theory of general relativity in 1916, describing how gravity shapes the fabric of spacetime. But astronomers didn’t spot one until 1964, some 6,070 light-years away in the Cygnus constellation. Geiger counters launched into space detected cosmic x-rays coming from a region…
Farthest known object in the solar system identified
Astronomers have confirmed that an object with the nickname of Farfarout is, to date, the farthest object we’ve seen in the solar system. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/farthest-known-object-solar-system-farfarout…