astronomer

13 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...

SpaceX's Latest 60 Satellites Have Dark Coating

Astronomers complained about Starlink fleet

(Newser) - SpaceX launched 60 more mini Internet satellites late Monday, this time testing a dark coating to appease stargazers. It's a "first step" compromise between SpaceX and astronomers fearful of having dark skies spoiled by hundreds and, eventually, thousands of bright satellites circling overhead. The Falcon 9 rocket blasted...

Famed Astronomer's Remains Have High Levels of ... Gold?

Famously wealthy, eccentric scientist appears to have been surrounded by gold

(Newser) - Tycho Brahe was an unusual man. The Danish astronomer from the late 1500s who laid the foundation for modern astronomy was extremely wealthy, had a pet moose, and according to a new analysis of his hair and bones, was also—literally—full of gold, reports the University of South Denmark...

'Doomsday' Comet Passing by Earth

Online theorists saw armageddon

(Newser) - A comet touted as the bringer of Armageddon will fly past Earth tomorrow night in a knot of icy fragments, Space.com reports. At least one astronomer, however, does not foresee earthquakes and tsunamis. The so-called "doomsday comet," Elenin, "was a second-rate, wimpy little comet that never...

'Sky Halo' Spotted Over Hawaii
 'Sky Halo' Spotted Over Hawaii 
Jun 30, 2011 4:21 AM CDT

'Sky Halo' Spotted Over Hawaii

Missile launch stumped astronomers

(Newser) - A strange expanding halo of light captured by a webcam outside an observatory in Hawaii left puzzled astronomers turning to "Citizen Science" for help. Users of the Starship Asterisk determined that a Minuteman III missile had been launched from California the same night and was almost certainly responsible for...

Astronomers Searching 86 Planets for Aliens

SETI project collecting data on planets likeliest to harbor life

(Newser) - American astronomers are searching for signs of alien life on 86 possible Earth-like planets deemed the likeliest to harbor life. The massive Green Bank radio telescope in rural West Virginia will home in on each of the 86—chosen from 1,235 possible planets located by NASA's Kepler telescope—...

In the Stars, Astronomers Find Music

By measuring minute changes in light, researchers can 'hear' the stars

(Newser) - The ancients believed in the "music of the spheres"—that the planets and stars moved through the heavens in harmonic ratios. Today's astronomers are also "listening" to the stars, using the powerful Kepler telescope to measure their internal vibrations, a technique they call "astroseismology." So...

Danes Dig Up 16th-Century Astronomer

Scientists aim to lay Tycho Brahe murder mystery to rest

(Newser) - Danish scientists seeking to solve a 400-year-old mystery have exhumed one of the country's most celebrated astronomers for the second time. Tycho Brahe—who cataloged more than 1,000 new stars and whose observations laid the foundations for modern astronomy—died in 1601, and some suspect he was murdered, the...

Planet-Hunters Make Biggest Find Yet: Vast New Solar System

Up to 7 planets spotted orbiting distant star

(Newser) - Astronomers have discovered the most planet-rich solar system outside our own ever discovered. At least five, and possibly seven, planets orbit a star 127 light years away called HD 10180. Researchers say they have clearly detected five Neptune-like planets and signs of two smaller ones. One is just 1.4...

End of the World Looms in Space
 End of the World 
 Looms in Space 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jun 19, 2010 6:07 AM CDT

End of the World Looms in Space

Time to look for other real estate

(Newser) - People should stop worrying about destruction by earthlings and worry instead about the end of the world that's developing in outer space even as you read this. That's the chilling warning from a top astronomer who is convinced the world won't end with a whimper but with a very big...

Galileo's Missing Fingers Found

Jar of astronomer's digits donated to Italian museum

(Newser) - Two fingers and a tooth removed from Galileo's corpse by the astronomer's 18th-century admirers have resurfaced for the first time in a century. The digits, preserved in an unmarked glass jar, were bought at auction by a man who realized who they belonged to; he donated them to Museum of...

Scientists Spot Galaxy 'Cannibalism'

Andromeda is consuming other galaxies and the Milky Way's on the menu

(Newser) - The vast Andromeda galaxy has been growing by gobbling up neighboring galaxies, reports the BBC. Astronomers mapping the galaxy—at 2.5 million light years away, the Milky Way's closest neighbor—discovered stars within that they believe to be the remnants of dwarf galaxies consumed by Andromeda. The galaxy is...

Jupiter Slammed by Mystery Object

(Newser) - A massive mysterious object scientists believe may be a comet slammed into Jupiter yesterday, AP reports. The Earth-size impact "scar" left by the object was caught on NASA's powerful infrared telescope in Hawaii. The agency was alerted to the new mark on the planet by an amateur astronomer in...

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