astronomers

10 Stories

Astronomer's Meteor Video Was Way Too Sexy for Twitter

Mary McIntyre's account was locked for 3-plus months after automated tools flagged the clip

(Newser) - Astronomers think celestial bodies are sexy, so much so that they often post about them on social media. For one UK space scientist, however, her video of a Perseid fireball over the summer was deemed too sexy for Twitter, resulting in her getting locked out of her account for three-plus...

Black Hole Seen Swallowing Densest Object in Universe

That would be a neutron star

(Newser) - Talk about a heavy snack. For the first time, astronomers have witnessed a black hole swallowing a neutron star, the most dense object in the universe—all in a split-second gulp. Ten days later they saw the same thing, on the other side of the universe, the AP reports. In...

Newly Discovered Planet 'Is a Very Hellish World'

TOI-1431b is 3 times the size of Jupiter and hotter

(Newser) - Being 490 light-years from Earth, a newly discovered planet would be difficult to get to. That's just as well. "This is a very hellish world," an astrophysicist said. That's because, the team that pinpointed it found, TOI-1431b is inhospitably hot—hot enough to melt metal, hotter...

'Eye of Sauron' Glares at Us From Across the Universe
Astronomers
Spot 'a Very
Curious Object'
in case you missed it
May 30, 2020 1:45 PM CDT

Astronomers Spot 'a Very Curious Object'

They say it's about 11B light-years away

(Newser) - Media outlets are calling it the "Eye of Sauron" or "Ring of Fire"—scientists, "R5519." Whatever the name, it's an odd-looking galaxy that might just alter how science views the early formation of galaxies in the universe, LiveScience reports. Scientists say they spotted the...

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's a ... Giant Disco Ball in the Sky?

Rocket Lab says its 'Humanity Star' will shine in the sky for next 9 months

(Newser) - What's being described as a "giant disco ball" was launched into space last week from a New Zealand sheep and cattle farm, and astronomers are miffed, the Guardian reports. Rocket Lab, the space exploration startup responsible for hurling the "Humanity Star" skyward, says the 3-foot-wide carbon-fiber orb...

Sometimes Ordinary Sky Gazers Discover What Experts Cannot

They're calling it 'Steve,' and it is a hot ribbon of gas

(Newser) - Several avid northern lights watchers who call themselves Alberta Aurora Chasers on Facebook were sharing photographs at a talk when a professor at the University of Calgary noticed something strange. The citizen scientists were referring to a purple streak of light as a "proton arc," but no proton...

Our Days Are a Smidge Longer Than They Used to Be
Our Days 
Are a Smidge
Longer Than
They Used to Be
study says
Dec 10, 2016 8:33 AM CST

Our Days Are a Smidge Longer Than They Used to Be

Which we know thanks to some meticulous ancient astronomers

(Newser) - The meticulous work of ancient astronomers has led to a modern observation: Our days are longer than they used to be. Not that you'd notice: The new research in the Proceedings of the Royal Society A shows that it takes the Earth a tiny bit longer these days to...

NASA to Chase Asteroid That Has Slight Chance of Hitting Earth

But even if Bennu does strike in 170 years, it won't be end times

(Newser) - There's an asteroid out there that might slam into Earth in about 170 years, but contrary to some recent scary-sounding headlines, it won't wipe out Earthlings if it does, reports Space.com . "We're not talking about an asteroid that could destroy the Earth," says Dante...

Why Astronomers Hate Roomba's Lawnmower Plans

'It's telescopes vs. robots'

(Newser) - The next big thing in lawn-mowing technology could come from the makers of the Roomba—but first, they're facing a fight with astronomers. That's because iRobot's proposed device would use radio signals to keep the mowers from going rogue and moving off a user's property. Robot...

Oldest Spiral Galaxy Shocks Astronomers

'Grand-design' spiral formed only 3B years after Big Bang

(Newser) - An ancient galaxy has flabbergasted astronomers. The perfectly formed spiral galaxy was born eons ago, a mere 3 billion years after the Big Bang. But this galaxy type was considered impossible so early on, when the cosmos was too chaotic to mold a "grand-design" spiral. How did it appear?...

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