Black Hole Stars

"Stars near the center of our galaxy are acting kind of weird. Dark matter may be the explanation."

https://phys.org/news/2024-05-dark-galaxy-innermost-stars-immortal.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter

Eddington Limit

Did you know?

"Even if a black hole can pull matter faster than the Eddington limit, that increased accretion should produce powerful winds and outflows that drives materials away, choking off further growth. In other words if episodes of super-Eddington accretion do occur they are presumably in duration, setting yet another limit on how fast black hole can grow.

Because of these natural limits, astronomers find it difficult to explain how a black hole starting off with 100 to 200 solar masses can accrete enough material in only a few hundred million years to grow into the billion-solar-mass behemoth powering the quasars J1342 and J1007. For that, we need to seed black holes with much higher intial masses. But how are they born?"

Astronomy Magazine March 2021 "How to Grow a Giant Black Hole" pp. 16-23

Cosmic Pulsars

"The sweeping beams of cosmic lighthouses called pulsars are much more energetic than previously thought, calling into question the bulbs that power them."

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/vela-exploded-star-highest-energy-pulsar

Rocket Lab

"NASA and Rocket Lab are targeting Saturday, June 1, to launch the second CubeSat for the agency’s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) mission."

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/launch-date-set-for-nasas-second-prefire-satellite?utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nasajpl&utm_content=prefire20240529

Astronauts to Moon

"NASA is getting ready to send astronauts to explore more of the Moon as part of the Artemis program, and the agency has selected SpaceX to continue development of the first commercial human lander that will safely carry the next two American astronauts to the lunar surface."

https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/as-artemis-moves-forward-nasa-picks-spacex-to-land-next-americans-on-moon/

Ripples in Space

"The motion of black holes and other massive objects through space can create ripples in the fabric of the universe, called gravitational waves."

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/15-years-of-radio-data-reveals-evidence-of-spacetime-murmur

Mars Helicopter

"The 52nd flight of NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is now in the official mission logbook as a success."

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-ingenuity-mars-helicopter-phones-home?utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nasajpl&utm_content=ingenuity20230630

Avi Leob Alien Technology

"Harvard professor Avi Loeb believes he may have found fragments of alien technology from a meteor that landed in the waters off of Papua New Guinea in 2014."

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/boston/news/avi-loeb-harvard-professor-alien-technology-fragments/

Euclid

"A new space telescope named Euclid, an ESA (European Space Agency) mission with important contributions from NASA, is set to launch in July to explore why the universe’s expansion is speeding up."

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-roman-and-esas-euclid-will-team-up-to-investigate-dark-energy

Reflective Planet

"Astronomers have discovered the most reflective planet outside the solar system ever seen."

https://www.space.com/exoplanet-largest-mirror-metal-clouds

Mars Mission

"Europe’s upcoming Mars mission will use a pioneering nuclear-powered device that harnesses the radioactive decay of americium to keep its components warm — a first for spacecraft."

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-01487-6?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter

Jupiter

"Among the planets in our solar system, Jupiter is the eldest and largest, and it often appears as the second brightest in the night sky after Venus."

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-seven-most-amazing-discoveries-weve-made-by-exploring-jupiter-180984352/?utm_source=smithsoniandaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=editorial&spMailingID=49781215&spUserID=MTQzNjUzNTAxNTQ5OAS2&spJobID=2702464001&spReportId=MjcwMjQ2NDAwMQS2

Stunning Picture

"This stunning picture of the star-forming region closest to Earth is the latest to be released by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)."

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02289-y

Blue Origin

"Blue Origin carried out its first crewed launch since 2022 on May 19th, sending six space tourists into space for a brief period of weightlessness."

https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/19/24160127/blue-origin-ns-25-new-shepard-6th-crewed-launch

Webb

"The first anniversary image from NASA’s Webb is of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex, the closest star-forming region to Earth."

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/webb-celebrates-first-year-of-science-with-close-up-on-birth-of-sun-like-stars

Psyche

"With less than 100 days to go before its Oct. 5 launch, NASA’s Psyche spacecraft is undergoing final preparations at Cape Canaveral, Florida."

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-psyche-mission-enters-home-stretch-before-launch

Warp Drive

"Central to science fiction, and Star Trek in particular, is the ability to travel the galaxy at speeds far faster than light via a fictional technology called a “warp drive.” What is that, and will we ever have one?"

https://bigthink.com/hard-science/star-trek-warp-drive-possible/

Ancient River

"NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover sealed the tube containing its 20th rock core sample on June 23 (the 832nd Martian day, or sol, of the mission), and the mission’s science team is excited about its potential."

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/ancient-river-is-helping-nasas-perseverance-mars-rover-do-its-work

Stars

"Stars are the most widely recognized astronomical objects, and represent the most fundamental building blocks of galaxies."

https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/how-do-stars-form-and-evolve

Cotton Candy Earth

"Researchers discovered a huge planet 1,200 light years from Earth with a density comparable to that of cotton candy, scientists said Monday."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/researchers-discover-super-fluffy-planet-with-cotton-candy-like-density/?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter

Mysteries in Astrophysics

"One of the biggest mysteries in astrophysics today is that the forces in galaxies do not seem to add up."

https://theconversation.com/is-dark-matters-main-rival-theory-dead-theres-bad-news-from-the-cassini-spacecraft-and-other-recent-tests-228826?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter

September 2023

"What are some skywatching highlights in September 2023?"

https://scitechdaily.com/dont-miss-venus-harvest-moon-and-zodiacal-light/#google_vignette

Olbers’ paradox

"People have been asking why space is dark despite being filled with stars for so long that this question has a special name – Olbers’ paradox."

https://theconversation.com/why-is-space-so-dark-even-though-the-universe-is-filled-with-stars-205810

Unis

“[The king] Unis seizes the sky and splits its iron.”

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/do-hieroglyphic-texts-reveal-that-ancient-egyptians-knew-meteorites-came-from-the-sky-180983039/

Sun

"Our Sun is a huge ball of electrically-charged hot gas. "

https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/solar-cycles/en/

Atlas 5

"An Atlas 5 rocket carrying astronauts for the first time was fueled for blastoff Monday night to boost Boeing's long-delayed Starliner crew ferry ship into orbit for its first piloted test flight."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/boeing-starliner-launch-space-station-crew/?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter

Black holes

"“Detecting a population of Earth-mass primordial black holes would be an incredible step for both astronomy and particle physics because these objects can’t be formed by any known physical process,” said William DeRocco, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California Santa Cruz who led a study about how Roman could reveal them."

https://www.nasa.gov/missions/roman-space-telescope/how-nasas-roman-mission-will-hunt-for-primordial-black-holes/?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter

Planet Making

"The planets in our Solar System are spectacularly diverse, from Earth’s ocean-covered surface to mighty Jupiter’s swirling storms and Neptune’s mysterious blue hues. Some planets are more similar than others, and share common structures. When you look at what planets are made of, you get three main groups: terrestrial planets, gas giants, and ice giants."

https://www.planetary.org/articles/what-are-planets-made-of?utm_campaign=warming&utm_medium=email&utm_source=email13&s_src=warming&s_subsrc=email13

Ediacaran Period

"The Ediacaran Period, spanning from about 635 to 541 million years ago, was a pivotal time in Earth’s history."

https://scitechdaily.com/how-a-faint-magnetic-pulse-may-have-jumpstarted-evolution-600-million-years-ago/

Mars Quake

"A global team of scientists led by the University of Oxford have announced the results of an unprecedented collaboration to search for the source of the largest ever seismic event recorded on Mars."https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2023-10-17-new-study-reveals-source-largest-ever-mars-quake

National Astronaut Day

NATIONAL ASTRONAUT DAY

"National Astronaut Day on May 5th each year celebrates Astronauts as true heroes."

https://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-day/national-astronaut-day-may-5?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=9734380&hashed_email=6c23328441e0f46865e8039a24ce7ccf8880f2d7&email=yeremiah%40aol.com

New Satellite

"A new satellite image shows a seemingly vast portion of the United States shrouded in an expansive dark splotch."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/satellite-image-moon-shadow-over-us-solar-eclipse-nasa/?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email

China Robot

"Researchers in China have developed a robot chemist powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that might be able to extract oxygen from water on Mars."

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03522-4

James Webb Telescope

"James Webb continues to shed new light on the early universe."

https://interestingengineering.com/science/james-webb-space-telescope-captures-the-second-most-distant-galaxy-ever

NATIONAL SPACE DAY

"National Space Day dedicates the first Friday in May to the extraordinary achievements, benefits, and opportunities in the exploration and use of space."

https://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-day/national-space-day-first-friday-in-may?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=9714622&hashed_email=6c23328441e0f46865e8039a24ce7ccf8880f2d7&email=yeremiah%40aol.com

Mediterranean Eclipse

"In the spring of 585 B.C. in the Eastern Mediterranean, the moon came out of nowhere to hide the face of the sun, turning day into night."

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/06/science/eclipse-prediction-ancient-greece-thales.html?ugrp=m&unlocked_article_code=1.ik0.a249.zP6LIprvGWGw&smid=url-share&utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter

Solar System Future

"Scientists are following neon signs in a search for clues to one planetary system’s future and the past of another – our own solar system."

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/webb-follows-neon-signs-toward-new-thinking-on-planet-formation

Pulsar Problem

"The Milky Way has a missing pulsar problem in its core."

https://phys.org/news/2024-04-neutron-stars-capturing-primordial-black.html?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter#google_vignette