Hubble celebrates 30 years of exploring the cosmic ocean

The Hubble Space Telescope is celebrating its 30th launch anniversary with the release of a breathtakingly colorful portrait of two star forming nebulae – collectively nicknamed the “Cosmic Reef” – located in a nearby galaxy orbiting the Milky Way. Des… Continue reading Hubble celebrates 30 years of exploring the cosmic ocean

Searching for Alien Life with the Sun as Gravitational Telescope

Astronomy is undoubtedly one of the most exciting subjects in physics. Especially the search for exoplanets has been a thriving field in the last decades. While the first exoplanet was only discovered in 1992, there are now 4,144 confirmed exoplanets (as of 2nd April 2020). Naturally, we Sci-Fi lovers are …read more

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NASA farewells Spitzer Space Telescope with final mosaic image

The Spitzer Space Telescope was finally decommissioned on January 30 this year, after more than 16 years in operation. Now NASA has released the infrared observatory’s last-ever mosaic image, giving us a glimpse into how Spitzer’s vision works and reve… Continue reading NASA farewells Spitzer Space Telescope with final mosaic image

As A Matter of Fact, It’s All Dark

While the dark side of the moon wasn’t seen by humans until the middle of the 20th century, that side of the moon isn’t always dark, just hidden from view of Earth by a quirk of gravity. The more appropriate name for the other half of the moon is the …read more

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NASA funds concept for gigantic radio telescope on far side of Moon

NASA is exploring the potential of building an enormous radio telescope on the far side of the Moon in a vast, hollowed-out crater. The telescope’s reflector would be comprised of a 1-km (0.6-mile) diameter wire mesh that would be pulled into place by … Continue reading NASA funds concept for gigantic radio telescope on far side of Moon

Open Source Telescope Controller Puts Smart Features in Old Telescopes

In times like these, we all need to look beyond ourselves. This project might help: OnStep is an open-source telescope controller, a device that controls a telescope to point at something interesting in the sky. Want to take a look at M31? Use an app on a PC or smartphone, …read more

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NASA unfolds James Webb Telescope’s huge mirrors in deployment test

The James Webb Space Telescope has crossed another milestone on the path to its long-awaited launch. NASA engineers have now completed a deployment test, unfurling the telescope’s gigantic mirror into the configuration it will take in space.Continue Re… Continue reading NASA unfolds James Webb Telescope’s huge mirrors in deployment test

Habitable Exoplanets Hack Chat

Join us on Wednesday, January 15 at noon Pacific for the Habitable Exoplanets Hack Chat with Alberto Caballero!

Many of the major scientific achievements of the last 100 years or so have boiled down to problems of picking out a signal from the noise. Think about analyzing the human genome, …read more

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Starlink Satellites Posing Issues For Astronomers

Spotting satellites from the ground is a popular pastime among amateur astronomers. Typically, the ISS and Iridium satellites have been common sightings, with their orbits and design causing them to appear sufficiently bright in the sky. More recently, SpaceX’s mass launches of Starlink satellites have been drawing attention for the …read more

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