Lifeboat Foundation

June 6 (UPI) — Our galaxy and its neighbors exist in a sort of cosmic void, research suggests. The latest analysis supports the conclusion of a 2013 study which showed the Milky Way exists in a region of the universe sparsely populated by galaxies, stars and planets.

The new research — presented this week at the annual American Astronomical Society meeting — also helps bridge the divide between astronomers torn by competing measurements of the Hubble Constant, the rate at which the universe is expanding.

Different groups of astronomers have developed different techniques for measuring the Hubble Constant, with each method yielding different numbers.

Continue reading “Our galaxy exists in a cosmic void, study shows” »

What’s wrong with this illustration of the planets in our solar system? »

For one thing, it suggests that the planets line up for photos on the same solar ray, just like baby ducks in a row. That’s a pretty rare occurrence—perhaps once in several billion years. In fact, Pluto doesn’t even orbit on the same plane as the planets. Its orbit is tilted 17 degrees. So, forget it lining up with anything, except on rare occasions, when it crosses the equatorial plane. On that day, you might get it to line up with one or two planets.

But what about scale? Space is so vast. Perhaps our solar system looks like this ↓

No such luck! Stars and planets do not fill a significant volume of the void. They are lonely specs in the great enveloping cosmic dark.* Space is mostly filled with—well—space! Lots and lots of it. In fact, if Pluto and our own moon were represented by just a single pixel on your computer screen, you wouldn’t see anything around it. Even if you daisy chain a few hundred computer screens, you will not discern the outer planets. They are just too far away.

Continue reading “Solar System Map: Surprisingly deceptive” »

Watch the moment India’s space program made a massive breakthrough.

Researchers have discovered an exoplanet that burns at a temperature of several thousand degrees.

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From the archives.

Solar rotation rates. Credit: NASA

Most Astronomy 101 courses continually pound the idea that our own star is almost boringly average. After all, it’s only one of billions of G-spectral type, solar-like stars in the galaxy.

Continue reading “Sun’s Peculiar Rotation Key To Complex Life, New Data Suggests” »

You can watch the entire 24-hour broadcast right here: http://asteroidday.org/live | View the full schedule, here.

Asteroid Day LIVE Speakers from Luxembourg

Time is running fast! There’s officially only one month left until Asteroid Day 2017 and our live broadcast programme is taking clear forms. The schedule is set, the outline drafted, a studio set being built and most of the speakers confirmed. Here’s our rundown of whom you can expect during the 6 hours live from Luxembourg on June 30th from 12 – 6 PM (Berlin time / UTC+2). This line-up in addition to the many guests and speakers over the course of the 24-hour-live-broadcast during the other programme slots by our partners at ESA, JAXA, NASA, the University of Arizona and many others.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=ePJGYNCvzqU

Astrophysicist Paul Sutter details how galaxies collide, merge, and rip each other apart.

The mission is named after Eugene Parker, whose work has revolutionized scientists’ understanding of the sun.