Category Astronomy/Space

Rolf Chini has been researching approximately 400 stars in the vicinity of the sun that share some of the sun’s properties for many years. In the process, he and his team have made a very interesting discovery. Credit: © RUB, Nelle

49 Lib, a relatively bright star in the southern sky, is 12 billion years old rather than just 2.3 billion. For many decades, researchers were stumped by conflicting data pertaining to this celestial body, because they had estimated it as much younger than it really is. Determining its age anew, astronomers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) have now resolved all inconsistencies. “It had previously been assumed that the star was only half as old as our sun,” says Chini. “However, our data have shown that it had been formed at the time that our galaxy was born...

Image of the HST GOODS-South field, one of the deepest images of the sky but covering just one millionth of its total area. The new estimate for the number of galaxies is ten times higher than the number seen in this image. Credit: NASA / ESA / The GOODS Team / M. Giavalisco (UMass., Amherst)

An international team of astronomers, led by Prof. Christopher Conselice, University of Nottingham, have found that the universe contains at least 2 trillion galaxies, 10X more than previously thought. Astronomers have long sought to determine how many galaxies there are in the observable universe, the part of the cosmos where light from distant objects has had time to reach us...

Artist’s rendition of the Odin spacecraft in orbit. Credit: SNSB

Completing its 16th year in orbit, a small Swedish astrophysics and aeronomy satellite named “Odin” has proven that it is still capable of carrying out important observations of space. The spacecraft has lately observed ammonia (NH3) emissions from an astronomical radio source known as Sagittarius A* (Sgr A* for short) at the center of the Milky Way galaxy.

Odin was launched on February 20, 2001 with the aim of studying the depletion of the ozone layer in the atmosphere and searching for water and oxygen in interstellar space. With a mass of about 250 kg, the spacecraft has dimensions of 2.0 x 1.1 meters (3.8 meters when fully deployed in orbit). The satellite is equipped with an advanced radiometer using a 1...

The New Aviation Horizons initiative – a plan to design, build and fly a series of experimental aircraft – was a highlight of Shin’s presentation. Credits: NASA

In the future, aircraft will consume 1/2 as much fuel compared to today, generate 1/4 the emissions they do now, fly so quietly that airport neighbors won’t hear annoying noise and fly passengers at supersonic speeds while burning biofuels. We will see advanced drones, personal air vehicles, and air taxis on demand. All of this and more offers a snapshot of a very possible future that NASA’s aeronautical innovators are making progress toward every day.

This was the picture that Jaiwon Shin, NASA’s associate administrator for aeronautics research, offered Jan...