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    Category Astronomy/Space

    Webb finds Water Vapor, but is it from a Rocky Planet or its Star?

    May 3, 2023, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Graph showing the transmission spectrum of exoplanet GJ486b. The X-axis shows amount of light blocked, and the Y-axis shows wavelength of light. An orange wave begins at the upper left and a blue at the lower left. White dots show Webb data.
    This graphic shows the transmission spectrum obtained by Webb observations of rocky exoplanet GJ 486 b. The science team’s analysis shows hints of water vapor; however, computer models show that the signal could be from a water-rich planetary atmosphere (indicated by the blue line) or from starspots from the red dwarf host star (indicated by the yellow line). The two models diverge noticeably at shorter infrared wavelengths, indicating that additional observations with other Webb instruments will be needed to constrain the source of the water signal.
    Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)

    GJ486b is about 30% larger than the Earth and three times as massive, which means it is a rocky world with stronger gravity than Earth. It orbits a red dwarf star in just under 1...

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    Superflare with Massive, High-Velocity Prominence Eruption

    May 1, 2023, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Artist’s impression of the superflare observed on one of the stars in the V1355 Orionis binary star system. The binary companion star is visible in the background on the right. (Credit: NAOJ) 

    A team of Japanese astronomers used simultaneous ground-based and space-based observations to capture a more complete picture of a superflare on a star. The observed flare started with a very massive, high-velocity prominence eruption. These results give us a better idea of how superflares and stellar prominence eruptions occur.

    Some stars have been seen releasing superflares over 10 times larger than the largest solar flare ever seen on the Sun. The hot ionized gas released by solar flares can influence the environment around the Earth, referred to as space weather...

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    Medium-sized Black Holes Eat Stars like Messy Toddlers

    May 1, 2023, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Wayward star meets black hole

    Elusive intermediate-mass black holes take a few bites, then eject the leftovers

    In new 3D computer simulations, astrophysicists modeled black holes of varying masses and then hurled stars (about the size of our sun) past them to see what might happen. If they exist, intermediate-mass black holes likely devour wayward stars like a messy toddler — taking a few bites and then flinging the remains across the galaxy.

    When a star approaches an intermediate-mass black hole, it initially gets caught in the black hole’s orbit, the researchers discovered. After that, the black hole begins its lengthy and violent meal. Every time the star makes a lap, the black hole takes a bite — further cannibalizing the star with each passage...

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    Asteroid’s Comet-like Tail Is Not made of Dust, solar observatories reveal

    April 26, 2023, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    The Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) imaged asteroid Phaethon through different filters as the asteroid passed near the Sun in May 2022. On the left, the sodium-sensitive orange filter shows the asteroid with a surrounding cloud and small tail, suggesting that sodium atoms from the asteroid’s surface are glowing in response to sunlight. On the right, the dust-sensitive blue filter shows no sign of Phaethon, indicating that the asteroid is not producing any detectable dust.
    Credits: ESA/NASA/Qicheng Zhang

    A weird asteroid has just gotten a little weirder.

    We have known for a while that asteroid 3200 Phaethon acts like a comet...

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