Who says you can’t lose your atmosphere to a nearby red dwarf and then grow a new one with the help of volcanic activity? This resilient planet, located 41 light-years from Earth, appears to be thriving again after a rough encounter with its host star.
Tag Archives: UNIVERSE
Astronomers Have Spotted a Weirdo ‘Jupiter’ With a Four-Day Year
Nearly 600 light-years from Earth, the exoplanet known as WASP-62b whips around its host star at a breakneck pace. The planet is a hot Jupiter, and despite its gassy constitution, its atmosphere is completely cloudless, according to a study published this month in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.
Astronomers just discovered a supermassive black hole from the dawn of the universe
There was a bang. A big one. It was the beginning of everything, but for several hundred million years, all was darkness. Then, lights started flickering to life, stars and gases and galaxies all coming online.
Continue reading Astronomers just discovered a supermassive black hole from the dawn of the universe
The Universe Is Flat — Now What?
Spoiler alert: The universe is flat. But there’s a lot of subtlety packed into that innocent-looking statement. What does it mean for a 3D object to be “flat”? How do we measure the shape of the universe anyway? Since the universe is flat, is that…it? Is there anything else interesting to say?
Oh yes, there is.
Watch the Cosmic Evolution of the Universe in This Stunning Short Film
In Infinitude, abstract, geometrical shapes condense into stars, which explode into supernovae, sending an asteroid careening through space towards a nascent Earth. The mixed media short film is the creation of Canadian filmmaker Scott Portingale.
Continue reading Watch the Cosmic Evolution of the Universe in This Stunning Short Film
There May Be an Earth-Like Exoplanet Less Than Five Light Years Away
Rumors are flying that astronomers at the European Southern Observatory have discovered an Earth-like exoplanet in the habitable zone of Proxima Centauri, our nearest neighboring star. If confirmed, this is undeniably one of the biggest astronomical discoveries of the century.
Continue reading There May Be an Earth-Like Exoplanet Less Than Five Light Years Away
What’s the Coldest Place in the Universe?
Despite what hipsters may tell you, Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood isn’t actually the coolest place in the universe. Rather, that honor could go to one of two spots: a nebula in space or a lab at MIT.
