astrophysics
-
A Famous Supernova’s Mysteries Are Still Unravelling Hundreds Of Years Later
Image: NASA/CXC/Rutgers/J.Warren & J.Hughes et al./Wikimedia Commons Look up and you might see the bright constellation Cassiopeia trace a zig-zag across the sky as it seemingly always has. But almost 450 years ago, it was the source of surprise: A bright flash, Tycho’s supernova, or “SN 1572” as scientists call it. This was one of…
-
Hubble Telescope Observes Goth Jupiter
Over a thousand light years away, there’s a planet that isn’t conforming to your so-called rules. It isn’t one of the jocks like Earth, or one of the preps like Saturn. WASP-12b probably sits beneath the bleachers dressed in its black outfit with the checkered wristbands it bought from Hot Jupiter Topic, listening to The…
-
Astronomers Think They Discovered The Missing Link In Black Hole Evolution
Science fiction doesn’t exist to make movies about the stuff we know about — it explores the unknown physics, astronomy, biology and chemistry where real uncertainty about topics can lead to compelling, believable stories. That’s what makes black holes such a popular subject; light can’t escape them, maybe they’re portals across space and time, and…
-
This Bizarre Interstellar Observation Could Unlock The Mysteries Of Dark Matter
“I don’t know!” is among the most scientific phrases you can utter. “I don’t know” is the reason you do science, after all. “I don’t know” means more funding, more jobs, more mysteries, and ultimately, more “now I know”s. Astronomers have now uncovered an “I don’t know” that might become an important tool to study…