Ultraviolet light from giant stellar flares can destroy a planet’s habitability. New research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will help astrobiologists understand how much radiation planets experience during super flares and whether life could exist on worlds beyond our solar system. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-10-explores-super-flares-affect-planets.html…
Tag: ultraviolet light
Cool new Hubble portrait of Jupiter’s storms
A beautiful new image of Jupiter from the Hubble Space Telescope – captured in August 2020 – shows the planet’s icy moon Europa as well as several famous storms in Jupiter’s atmosphere. Source: https://earthsky.org/todays-image/hubble-jupiter-europa-famous-jovian-storms…
What are white dwarf stars?
White dwarfs are dead stars. A single white dwarf contains roughly the mass of our sun in a volume no bigger than our planet. Our sun will become a white dwarf someday. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/white-dwarfs-are-the-cores-of-dead-stars…
Has microbial life been found on Venus?
Is there microbial life in the atmosphere of Earth’s closest neighbor, Venus? An international team of astronomers has found tentative but highly compelling evidence. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/life-on-venus-phosphine-biosignatures…
Nearby red dwarf star not so quiet and life-friendly after all
Astronomers say the nearby red dwarf star Gliese 887 appears to have more dangerous flare activity than first believed. This could make life tough – but maybe not impossible – on its family of super-Earth planets. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/red-dwarf-gliese-887-flares-in-ultraviolet-light…
At the edge of the blast
Read more: Hubble Space Telescope Sees Outer Edge of Cygnus Loop Bottom line: A detailed look at a small portion of the Cygnus Loop Nebula – a supernova remnant – followed by two images that show the nebula from more and more distant perspectives. Via Hubble Space Telescope Source: https://earthsky.org/todays-image/hubble-image-detailed-section-cygnus-loop…
Mysterious dimming of Betelgeuse explained?
Observations with the Hubble Space Telescope revealed a large amount of dense hot gas moving outwards through Betelgeuse’s extended atmosphere. This gas might have cooled and formed a dust cloud that partially blocked the star’s light as seen from Earth, earlier this year. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/betelgeuses-early-2020-dimming-explained…
Images show Martian night sky pulsing with ultraviolet light
Vast areas of Mars’ nightside atmosphere glow and pulsate with ultraviolet light, according to images from NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/mars-night-sky-ultraviolet-light-images…
A deep, giant cloud disruption found on Venus
Researchers have discovered a giant atmospheric wave-like phenomenon in Venus’ lower atmosphere, unlike anything else seen in the solar system. Evidence shows it has existed since at least 1983, but went completely undetected until now. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/a-deep-giant-cloud-disruption-found-on-venus…