Lunation 1269 Another exoplanet next door Space & Astronomy News The Alpha Centauri system has known exoplanets around Alpha Cen C (Proxima Centauri), but Alpha Cen A might also be a planet-hosting star! The potential planet is a gas giant in the habitable zone, and orbiting a distance of 2 AU it will be, if confirmed, the closest-in orbit of any directly imaged exoplanet.NASA’s Webb Finds New Evidence for Planet Around Closest Solar Twin A new sednoid was discovered in the outer solar...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Lunation 1268 Hello, Rubin! Space & Astronomy News I have been so excited for the Rubin Observatory to start its mission (personally, I'm particularly looking forward to the huge increase in orbital data and what it will tell us about the solar system), and the first look did NOT disappoint! The Cosmic Abundance image might be one of my new favorite space photos.Ever-changing Universe Revealed in First Imagery From NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory We've gotten our third confirmed visit from...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Lunation 1267 Gravity is Wrong Space & Astronomy News A possible new dwarf planet to add to the solar system family! This one is really far out there and possibly inconsistent with the Planet Nine hypothesis, and it joins at least four other dwarf planet candidates (Gonggong, Quaoar, Sedna, and Orcus) in addition to the five recognized dwarf planets (Eris, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, and Ceres)An Extreme Cousin for Pluto? Possible Dwarf Planet Discovered at Solar System’s Edge JWST has broken...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Lunation 1266 Oh! (BAFGKM) Space & Astronomy News Did we really find aliens?! Well, no, probably not, but there is some evidence for detection of a potential biosignature gas on exoplanet K2-18 b. There's a long way to go before that could be considered a detection of life, but it's an interesting (and unsurprisingly controversial) first step.Chemical Hints on a Distant Planet Offer ‘Strongest Evidence Yet’ for Life Outside Our Solar System, Astronomers Say The rumors were terrible and cruel,...
5 months ago • 1 min read
Lunation 1265 Best Law for Last? Space & Astronomy News Is the reign of ΛCDM coming to an end? New results from the Dark Energy Spectroscopy Instrument show signs that cosmological constant might not be so constant. Really exciting to think how much more we are learning about the universe!The Standard Cosmology Model May Be Breaking The eight-day mission that became nine months has concluded for astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore (but no, they weren't stranded), as Crew-9 splashed...
6 months ago • 1 min read
Lunation 1264 To the Moon! Space & Astronomy News The first ever successful commercial moon landing was pulled off this month by Firefly Aerospace! It is carrying ten instruments and conducting roughly two weeks of science operations. Bonus: awesome pictures and video. (Intuitive Machines also landed a commercial mission on the moon this month, but alas the lander didn't make it upright. Space is hard!)Touchdown! Carrying NASA Science, Firefly’s Blue Ghost Lands on Moon NASA has avoided a...
7 months ago • 1 min read
Lunation 1263 Wanna know cubewano? Space & Astronomy News Fast radio bursts (FRBs) were first discovered in 2007 and have been puzzling astronomers ever since. And this new discovery adds a new wrinkle, finding an FRB in a new type of location.First fast radio burst traced to old, dead, elliptical galaxy The solar system has the Kuiper belt (the subject of this lunation's learn a little, in fact), and other stars have their own Kuiper belts! These exocomet belts can be seen using powerful...
8 months ago • 1 min read
Lunation 1262 Sweeping planets 🧹 Space & Astronomy News Is ΛCDM done for? It's withstood a lot of challenges, and the latest is a new statistically unfavorable comparison with the "timescape" model that argues what looked like accelerating expansion due to dark energy could be from gravity of the structure of the universe's matter. It will take more than one study to overturn an established theory, but it'll certainly be interesting to see how more observational evidence factors in!Supernovae...
9 months ago • 1 min read
Lunation 1261 The Sun burns, but it's not on fire Space & Astronomy News The Kepler-51 system is fascinating because of its three very low density planets, which are so large and inflated they are known as "super puffs" (and featured in my video on extreme exoplanets). And scientists just found a fourth planet in the system! It remains to be seen if this planet is just as puffy as the others.New planet in Kepler-51 system discovered using James Webb Space Telescope It's not exactly...
10 months ago • 1 min read