New Top Contenders for Human Colonization Discovered Just 12.5 Light Years Away
Scientists have announced the discovery of two new Earth-like planets within our own galaxy so similar to our own that they’ve already shot up into the top 20 contenders for future human colonization. The planets orbit a neighboring star, Teegarden, just 12.5 light years away in the Aries constellation. Teegarden is an ultra-cool dwarf star 10 times lighter than our … Continue reading
Earth Heading Towards the Meteor Swarm Scientists Think Caused the 1908 Tunguska Event
Over the next several weeks, our planet will have a close encounter with the Taurid meteor swarm. It will be the closest that we have been to the center of the meteor swarm since 1975, and we won’t have an encounter this close again until 2032. So for astronomers, this is a really big deal. And hopefully there will be … Continue reading
‘Superflares’ Strike Could Spell Disaster on Earth
Astronomers probing the edges of the Milky Way have in recent years observed some of the most brilliant pyrotechnic displays in the galaxy: superflares. These events occur when stars, for reasons that scientists still don’t understand, eject huge bursts of energy that can be seen from hundreds of light years away. Until recently, researchers assumed that such explosions occurred mostly … Continue reading
Large, Anomalous Mass Found Embedded Deep Beneath the Moon’s Largest Crater
A large mass of unknown material has been discovered on the largest crater on the Moon and scientists aren’t sure what it is. According to an April 2019 study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, the researchers believe the mass could contain metal from an asteroid that crashed into the celestial satellite, which resulted in the aforementioned crater, known … Continue reading
Rogue Fireball Near Miss Hints of Potential Impact Risk from Taurid Meteor Swarm this Summer
A new study from Western University posits proof to the possibility that an oncoming swarm of meteors – likened to the Loch Ness Monster and Big Foot by some extraterrestrial experts – may indeed pose an existential risk for Earth and its inhabitants. (That’s us.) When considering catalysts for catastrophic collision, there are two main sources Near Earth Objects (NEOs) … Continue reading
Collision with a Dwarf Planet May Explain Why Our Moon is So Strange Looking
The far side of the moon is weirder than we previously thought and new research indicates that, in the distant past, the moon could have faced off against an unknown object in a massive collision that changed its face. On the near side that faces Earth, we can see large dark areas of volcanic basalt dotting the lunar landscape. Meanwhile, … Continue reading
Liquid Ocean Discovered on Pluto
The enigmatic dwarf planet has been throwing up no shortage of surprises over the last few years. When NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft performed a flyby of Pluto on July 14, 2015, it found, not a barren wasteland, but a world filled with a bewildering array of complex and varied surface features. Now scientists in Japan have determined that Sputnik Planitia … Continue reading
Mars Was Once Blue and a “Water World” Like Earth, Claims Professor
The red planet is considered by the collaborating authors as the likeliest place for life to have evolved, as they claim in their book, called Planets, coming out next week. A new BBC2 series to be screened at the end of this month is set to reveal claims by Professor Brian Cox that the Earth could once have had three … Continue reading
Astronomers Have Found a Test to Narrow Down What Existed Before The Big Bang
Today our middle-aged Universe looks eerily smooth. Too smooth, in fact. While a rapid growth spurt in space-time would explain what we see, science needs more than nice ideas. It needs evidence that whittles away contending arguments. We might finally know where to look for some. A team of physicists from the Centre for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA) … Continue reading
Simulation Shows Terrifying Effects of Large Asteroid Impact
Terrifying video shows a simulation of an asteroid of 500 km diameter colliding with Earth! Earth was born as a result of repeated asteroid collisions, the moon was created by a single giant impact event. Then, Earth’s size attracted huge meteorites, which slammed into it, causing super-high-temperature rock vapour to cover the entire surface and evaporate all ocean water. The … Continue reading
