https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/star-black-hole-einstein-relativity-proof-light-a8466041.html
"Scientists have watched a star as it sped past a black hole, lighting up one of the mysteries at the heart of the universe.
The unprecedented view of the dramatic behaviour was not just an exciting peek into the universe. It also confirms for the first time that Einstein's predictions about what happens to a star when it passes near a supermassive black hole are correct.
Einstein's 100-year-old general theory of relativity predicted that light from stars would be stretched to longer wavelengths by the extreme gravitational field of a black hole, and the star would appear redder, an effect known as gravitational red shift."
RPaulB
Aug 5, 2018
https://www.space.com/41272-mars-liquid-water-below-ice-cap.html
regi-mental
Jul 25, 2018
New evidence indicates are galaxy is larger than we thought.
And it is approximately the same size as the galaxy that will collide with our galaxy in a few billion years.
ponz111
Jul 7, 2018
Well actually it's the second scientific sample return mission to an asteroid. There has only been one previous such mission (plus several to the Moon and one to a comet).
https://www.space.com/41014-japanese-hayabusa2-probe-arrives-asteroid-ryugu.html
Elroch
Jun 27, 2018
While this is not exactly an astronomy question, it is a science question. And, at least in the last few weeks, we have been getting slightly out of hand with some of our discussions, which keep returning to a difference in what we believe/know. So, I thought that it may be good to start a conversation here, where we can keep it streamlined, organized, and civil. This will also keep us from spamming the front page with our discussion.
As a note, I would like to keep this a religion-free argument, since we are trying to have a productive conversation, and do not want to offend anyone. We also do not need this to discuss this subject. So, how to we know things? How do we separate those things from what we want to believe or want to know? And what what do we need to have sufficient evidence ? I think that these are excellent places to start, establish what we agree on, and go from there.
Elroch
Jun 21, 2018
Winter in Australia and our shortest day. Cold for us here. I live in South Australia.
Kookaburrra
Jun 20, 2018
The first detected interstellar asteroid is very intriguing. It can hardly be a coincidence that the most elongated asteroid every detected - possibly by a factor of 2 - happens to be the first asteroid to have come from outside the solar system. But it is difficult to imagine natural conditions which would cause cigar shaped objects of that size to be formed.
Apparently it's a nice rusty red colour. Probably not very like the spaceship of the successful scifi comedy "Red Dwarf" though.
regi-mental
May 23, 2018
This will happen in 2020. The Mars "air" is about 1% of what we have on earth. Therefore the helicopter blades will be designed to move about tens times as fast as similar blades on earth.
[the helicopter will be very small--however it may set a record for how high it can go!]
Elroch
May 15, 2018
Fascinating objects!
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/collision-illuminates-mysterious-makeup-neutron-stars
Elroch
May 13, 2018
No kidding! [exect it is Uranus not Ur Anus]
Elroch
Apr 29, 2018
Understand there might be some things known as "white holes"?
The black holes apparently become smaller and smaller [and maybe "evaporate"] And in this process they can allow less and less matter to enter?
And when they get to a certain point--the matter cannot enter and thus they are "white holes" Something so dense that it cannot be broken? [these are questions for someone who can answer?]
and "white holes" are really the proverbial "black matter"?
Elroch
Apr 27, 2018
I thought there might be some interest in this!
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/hubble-uncovers-the-farthest-star-ever-seen
Elroch
Apr 7, 2018
Three mathematicians have pointed out that instabilities in cosmology can be predicted to cause the sort of divergence from uniform density that could explain dark energy without any new force. I think the idea is that if we are in a part of the universe that has a density that is a bit different to what is outside of that bit, the gravitational force from the stuff outside the region causes acceleration. Or maybe not, I haven't read the paper.
The good news is that this hypothesis has testable predictions, so eventually we will have an idea of whether it is true or tosh.
https://phys.org/news/2017-12-dark-energy-mathematicians-alternative-explanation.html
Elroch
Dec 24, 2017
Wouldn't it be nice?
http://www.iflscience.com/space/milky-ways-most-mysterious-star
Elroch
Oct 26, 2017
This will be amazing, if proved true.
http://www.nature.com/news/why-astronomers-reluctantly-announced-a-possible-exomoon-discovery-1.22377
Elroch
Oct 17, 2017
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/neutron-star-collision-offers-new-source-gravitational-waves/
virtuousabyss29
Oct 16, 2017
http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2017/01/the-conscious-universe-a-radical-theory-the-universe-exists-because-we-are-here-view-video.html
virtuousabyss29
Oct 16, 2017
I hear that Erik Verlinde's ideas as to how gravity and dark energy behave on large scales so as to explain galaxy dynamics without dark matter are being treated seriously. It seems to be early days yet - he has not achieved better tested results than MOND which lost credence due to the bullet cluster, but he asserts that his hypothesis, while approximating MOND in some scenarios might just behave differently enough in others to explain the appearance of dark matter moving independently of ordinary matter.
See https://www.quantamagazine.org/erik-verlindes-gravity-minus-dark-matter-20161129/
or video:
https://iai.tv/video/newtons-fall
Elroch
Aug 22, 2017
Calculations have been performed by NASA using the distance between the HST (Hubble Space Telescope) and the JWST (James Webb Space Telescope) and their resolutions. The calculations show that it would be possible to use the two telescopes together to create 3D mini movies of the outer planets, their moons, and Saturn's rings. NASA are hoping these movies will be shown in classrooms to help inspire the next generation of scientists.
Source: The Sky At Night Magazine, June 2017 edition
Elroch
Jul 28, 2017
