The Astronomy of The ‘Star Of Bethlehem’
One of the classic images of the Christmas holiday is that of three wise men or kings traveling to Bethlehem, over which hangs a brilliant star. The Star of Bethlehem has its roots in the opening verses of the Gospel of Matthew, which states: Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, … Continue reading
“Potentially Hazardous” Asteroid To Zip Past Earth Just After Christmas
It’s a Christmas miracle – albeit potentially hazardous and slightly late. A huge asteroid is set to safely pass by Earth in the early hours of December 26, just as Santa starts clocking in for his holidays. The space rock – labeled 310442 (2000 CH59) – is expected to make its closest approach to Earth at around 07:54 UTC, according … Continue reading
Comparison of Old and New Star Catalogs Shows 100 Stars Vanished!
Headline image caption: ‘Where’d it go? An image taken in the 1950s (left) shows a large object at center that doesn’t appear in an image of the same field taken more recently. (Villarroel et al.)’ Physics in Sweden and the Institute for Astrophysics on the Canary Islands reports something strange in the current issue of The Astronomical Journal. They compared … Continue reading
A Black Hole the Gargantuan Size of LB-1 ‘Should Not Exist’ in our Galaxy
Scientists have discovered a black hole in our own galaxy that could rewrite the book on stellar evolution. Few cosmic phenomena remain as frightening and mysterious as black holes – regions of space in which the gravitational pull is so great that nothing, not even light itself, can escape. Stellar black holes (not to be confused with the supermassive black … Continue reading
There is Growing Evidence That the Universe Is Connected by Giant Structures
The Milky Way, the galaxy we live in, is one of hundreds of billions of galaxies strewn across the universe. Their variety is stunning: spirals, ring galaxies shaped like star-studded loops, and ancient galaxies that outshine virtually everything else in the universe. But despite their differences, and the mind-boggling distances between them, scientists have noticed that some galaxies move together … Continue reading
Planets Could Be Orbiting Black Holes, Calculations Show Possibility of Bizarre Worlds
Theoreticians in two fields defied the received wisdom that planets only orbit stars like the sun. They proposed the possibility of thousands of planets around a supermassive black hole. “With the right conditions, planets could be formed even in harsh environments, such as around a black hole,” says Keiichi Wada, a professor at Kagoshima University researching active galactic nuclei, luminous … Continue reading
The Universe Might Be a Giant Loop, According to Study
What shape is space? Everything we think we know about the shape of the universe could be wrong. Instead of being flat like a bedsheet, our universe may be curved, like a massive, inflated balloon, according to a new study. That’s the upshot of a new paper published today (Nov. 4) in the journal Nature Astronomy, which looks at data … Continue reading
Alien Water Discovered on Comet from Beyond Our Solar System
Water from a completely alien star system has been detected on the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov, which is currently passing through our space neighborhood. In an extraordinary breakthrough, astronomers studying Borisov believe they have detected the tell-tale signs of water on the visiting comet. Water from another planetary system has never before been spotted inside our solar system. Borisov was spotted … Continue reading
Physicists Propose Technique for Spotting ‘Wormholes’
In a theoretical study, physicists propose that perturbations in the orbit of stars near supermassive black holes could be used to detect wormholes. A new study outlines a method for detecting a speculative phenomenon that has long captured the imagination of sci-fi fans: wormholes, which form a passage between two separate regions of spacetime. Such pathways could connect one area … Continue reading
Asteroid May Hit Earth in 65 Years According to European Space Agency
The asteroid is expected to pass extremely close to the Earth in 2084, but there is a chance that gravitational interference from other planets could send it directly into our atmosphere. The European Space Agency (ESA) added a new asteroid to the so-called Risk List, saying it could hit Earth in the next 65 years, The Daily Mail reported Wednesday. … Continue reading
