Astronomy

Embark on an astronomical journey. Explore the cosmos, study celestial objects, and unravel the mysteries of the universe through astronomy's fascinating realm.

  • Jupiter Voyager 1. Courtesy of NASA.
    Astronomy

    Astronomy Picture of the Week – Jupiter from Voyager

    This photo of Jupiter featuring the Great Red Spot was taken by the Voyager 1 spacecraft as it flew-by the planet in 1979. The Great Red Spot is a giant hurricane-like storm rotating in the planet's atmosphere. It is so large that three Earth's would fit inside. It is still unclear as to how old this storm is, since it was first recorded by astronomers over 300 years ago, suggesting that it could be much older than that. How it managed to remain active for that long still remains a mystery.

  • Astronomy

    Astronomy Picture of the Week – Distant Nebula

    This nebula, designated as N 49 or DEM L 190, looks like puffs of smoke or sparks from a fireworks display. It is one of the most distant nebulae ever observed, located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy orbiting the Milky Way. The nebula is the result of a large supernova, whose light should have reached Earth a few thousand years ago.

  • Astronomy

    Astronomy Picture of the Week – M27 Or Dumbbell Nebula

    This greenish nebula was discovered by Charles Messier, a French astronomer of the 18th century. Originally he did not know what the object was, except that it was neither a star nor a comet. Now we know that it is a planetary nebula. It was formed by the explosion of a sun-like star (nova). It is officially designated as Messier 27 (M27, or NGC 6853), while it is commonly known as the Dumbbell Nebula. This beautiful nebula is located over 1,200 light-years away in the Vulpecula constellation. Image Credits: ESO, the European Southern Observatory.

  • Astronomy

    Astronomy Picture of the Week – Nebula NGC 7009

    This odd greenish nebula, called NGC 7009 or the Saturn Nebula, is the result of a star similar to our sun going nova. Since then, a bright new star was born from the gases of its predecessor. It can be seen in the center of the nebula, inside the bluish sphere of gas. The nebula is located 1,400 light-years away in the constellation of Aquarius. The picture was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. Image Credits: NASA and Hubble Space Telescope

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    Astronomy Picture of the Week – The Rings of Saturn

    This picture of Saturn’s rings in its natural colors has been taken by the Cassini probe from an angle impossible to get from Earth. We can see a huge gap in Saturn’s rings. This is caused by the planet obscuring the Sun’s light. Since the rings do not emit light on their own, a lack of sunlight would mean no reflected light, and thus they would remain dark. The rings are also projecting a shade on the planet near the equator for similar reasons, except here the roles are reversed. Saturn’s Rings by Cassini. Image credits: NASA/ESA

  • Meteorite from Mars with biological fossils in it
    Astronomy

    Possibilities for Life on Mars

    An article was recently published by Scientific American, a very reputable science magazine, stating that evidence was found that life existed on Mars and was brought to Earth on a meteorite. The meteorite in question is called "Allan Hills 84001". It was blasted from Mars by a huge meteorite impact 16 million years ago and crashed on Earth 13,000 years ago.

  • Astronomy

    Did you know? The Moon has an Atmosphere

    It is a common misconception that the Moon’s surface is a perfect vacuum. It is not! The Moon indeed has an atmosphere, a very tenuous one however. If you could capture the Moon’s entire atmosphere, it would weigh about 10,000 kg. In other words, it would weigh less than a large truck. Sources of the lunar atmosphere There are two main sources of the lunar atmosphere. One of them is outgassing, which is the release of gasses that originate from radioactive decay processes deep inside the crust and mantle of the Moon. The second source is through a process known as sputtering: atoms are ejected from solid materials on the…