An artist’s concept of two colliding black holes, in the process of merging. Credit: NASA / CXC / A. Hobart. (Phys.org)—PKS 1302-102 is one of the few known quasars with a pair of black holes within its accretion disc. It is also a curious case for astronomers as it will produce a powerful explosion when …
Doomed quasar is heading for a powerful explosion Read More »
The chemical makeup of these ancient stars points to huge explosions called hypernovae. Credit: ESO November 11, 2015 An international team of astronomers, led researchers from the University of Cambridge and the Australian National University, have identified some of the oldest stars in our galaxy, which could contain vital clues about the early Universe, including …
This cartoon shows the transiting planet GJ 1132b to scale against its host star GJ 1132. Credit: Zach Berta-Thompson Scientists have discovered a new exoplanet that, in the language of “Star Wars,” would be the polar opposite of frigid Hoth, and even more inhospitable than the deserts of Tatooine. But instead of residing in a …
Venus’ twin? Earth-sized rocky planet orbiting a nearby star Read More »
The partial solar eclipse taking place on Sunday 13 September will be visible from southern Africa (southwards from southern Angola, Zambia, Malawi, southern Mocambique and southern Madagascar), the southern Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and Antarctica. As it will be easier to observe the eclipse the closer to the South Pole one is, the far south …
One of my favorite planetary nebulae in the sky, Sh2-68, aka The Flaming Skull Nebula. Photo by T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage) and H. Schweiker (WIYN and NOAO/AURA/NSF) I’ll be honest: Every episode of Crash Course Astronomy has been fun to write, edit, and shoot. They all really have. But the past few episodes, …
Crash Course Astronomy: White Dwarfs and Planetary Nebulae Read More »
