Astronomy

THE first-ever detailed photo of the black hole at the heart of our galaxy has been revealed. The black hole is called Sagittarius A* and it has never been photographed until now. The glowing orb you're seeing is actually plasma around the edge of the black hole. Scientists just revealed the impressive image at a press conference today. The National Science Foundation called the event "groundbreaking". The image was taken by the Event Horizon Telescope project. Read more on space OUT OF THIS WORLD NASA shares image of a galaxy captured by James Webb Space Telescope SUN DAMAGE Solar flare slams into Earth causing radio blackout around Atlantic Ocean The project involved several telescopes to image the black hole and then scientists pieced these images together. It took several years to get the final result. The first-ever photo of a black hole was taken back in 2019 . That black hole was called M87* … [Read more...] about First EVER photo of Milky Way’s black hole revealed after groundbreaking Sagittarius A* mission

AN ASTEROID bigger than the Empire State Building is predicted to glide by Earth on Sunday. The US space agency Nasa expects Asteroid 388945 (2008 TZ3) to pass Earth at around 5.18pm ET and 9.18pm GMT. The giant space rock is predicted to be up to 1,608 feet wide . By comparison, New York's Empire State Building stands at 1,454 feet tall. Although Asteroid 388945 should pass us from a distance of about 3.5million miles away, it is still considered a possible threat. If an asteroid comes within 4.65million miles of our planet and is over a certain size, it's considered " potentially hazardous " by cautious space agencies. Read our Asteroid 388945 2008 TZ3 live blog for the latest news and updates… Josephine Fuller just now Difference between asteroids, meteors, and comets, part three Like asteroids, a comet orbits the Sun. However, rather than being made mostly of rock, a comet contains lots of ice and gas, which can result in amazing … [Read more...] about Asteroid 388945 2008 TZ3 LIVE — ‘Potentially hazardous asteroid bigger than Empire State Building’ to approach on Sunday

Mike “Lofty” Carr, who has died aged 101, was one of the top navigators in the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG); he worked with the SAS on navigation and took part in many raids in North Africa deep behind enemy lines. On the night of September 15 1942 Carr, equipped with a Vickers K machine gun, navigated a mixed force of LRDG and a detachment of the Sudan Defence Force (SDF) towards the Italian-held fort at Jalo. Jalo was a desert oasis about 250 miles south of the Mediterranean port of Benghazi on the Libyan coast. In the build-up to General Montgomery’s major offensive at El Alamein, capture of the fort would provide the SAS with a strategic base from which to launch hit-and-run raids on the enemy lines of communication. Four miles from the village, the force dismounted from their vehicles and formed three columns. Carr led them forward for more than an hour in pitch darkness. They had just skirted a minefield when they were challenged by an Italian sentry. Carr grabbed his … [Read more...] about Lofty Carr, brilliant navigator who had a string of adventures with the celebrated Long Range Desert Group – obituary

Tech & Science Stars Outer space On November 18, 2001, astronomy student Lena Okajima was braving frigid temperatures in the mountains close to Tokyo. It was her first time witnessing the annual Leonid meteor shower, and what she saw that night—thousands of shooting stars streaking across the clear winter sky—captivated her, charting her path for the next decade. In 2011, she founded Ale Co., which is dedicated to bringing artificial shooting stars to the masses. "There are a lot of people who enjoy seeing shooting stars, but often you have to go up in the mountains and freeze yourself to actually see anything," says Rie Yamamoto, Ale's global strategy director. "With our stars, you'll be able to go to a restaurant or rooftop bar and enjoy it with a beer in hand." "We want to create a new culture of enjoying shooting stars," says Okajima, who through her ambitious Sky Canvas Project aims to hold the world's first artificial meteor show, in early 2019. The "stars" … [Read more...] about A Japanese startup is creating on-demand artificial shooting stars

Il mondo ha potuto ammirare giovedì la prima immagine, enorme seppur molto sfocata, del buco nero supermassiccio che si trova al centro della Via Lattea. Gli astronomi ritengono che quasi tutte le galassie, compresa la nostra, abbiano al loro centro uno di questi giganteschi buchi neri, ai quali la luce e la materia non possono sfuggire, il che rende estremamente difficile catturarne delle immagini: la luce, infatti, viene caoticamente piegata e attorcigliata dalla gravità, mentre finisce risucchiata nell'abisso insieme a gas e polveri surriscaldate. L'immagine a colori presentata giovedì proviene dal consorzio internazionale dell' Event Horizon Telescope , un insieme di otto radiotelescopi sincronizzati in tutto il mondo. A causa delle eccessive perturbazioni di luce e materia connaturati all'oggetto, i precedenti tentativi di ottenere una buona immagine erano sempre falliti. Alla buona riuscita dell'impresa ha collaborato anche l'Italia, che a questa … [Read more...] about La prima immagine di Sagittarius A, il gigantesco buco nero al centro della Via lattea

OUR Milky Way galaxy is going to collide with another galaxy in a few billion years – here's what you need to know. In around 4.5 billion years, the Milky Way is predicted to merge with Andromeda – our galaxy's closest neighbor. Andromeda is a barrelled spiral galaxy that is located about 2.5 million light-years away from Earth . Currently, our neighbor is racing towards the Milky Way at a rate of around 70 miles (113 km) per second. And a recent 2020 study published in the Astrophysical Journal confirmed that the collision between the two galaxies is already underway. Using the Hubble Space Telescope , scientists were able to observe the Andromeda galaxy – which like our Milky Way and other galaxies, sits within a large envelope called a galactic halo. What is a galactic halo? Basically, halos are an extended, spherical component of a galaxy that goes beyond the main, visible component. They are made of three distinct components: the stellar halo, … [Read more...] about The Milky Way is MERGING with another galaxy and it will throw our planets and stars out of orbit

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has captured many stunning images over its lifetime – here are five of the most mind-blowing. First conceived in the 1940s, the Hubble Space Telescope (or just Hubble for short) was launched by the US space agency on April 24, 1990. Named after astronomer Edwin Powell Hubble (1889–1953), the instrument currently hovers about 340 miles (547 km) above Earth's surface and completes 15 orbits a day. It is one of Nasa's four great observatories, along with the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the Spitzer Space Telescope. Numerous scientific observations that have furthered man's understanding of the universe are can be credited to Hubble. And while the telescope's list of achievements is long, some of its most notable feats include helping astronomers determine the age of the universe and observing the rate at which it is expanding. Read more on Hubble STAR BURST Nasa reveals stunning … [Read more...] about Five MIND-BLOWING Hubble Space Telescope images from the past decade

NASA has big plans to put humans back on the Moon in 2025 and will be testing out its new Space Launch System (SLS) later this year. The US space agency's SLS rocket is the most powerful ever built and the plan is to send it hurtling around the Moon this summer. Nasa's Artemis Moon mission involves three different stages each costing around $4billion (£3.3billion). When you take into account all the new equipment and the many years that have and will go into Artemis, the whole mission is estimated to cost $93 billion (£76billion). Artemis 1 The first part of the mission to put humans back on the Moon is called Artemis 1 and it's been pushed back several times already. Read more on space STORMY SKIES Solar flare predicted to ‘side-swipe’ Earth TODAY sparking magnetic storm HOLEY MOLEY First EVER photo of Milky Way black hole revealed after Sagittarius A* mission Rumors now suggest Artemis 1 could be blasted … [Read more...] about Inside $93BILLION Nasa plan to put humans on Moon AGAIN in 2025 – with first test this year

CONCERNS that UFOs have never-before-seen capabilities that can outmaneuver and outperform the US's most advanced military technology prompted Congress to call a historic UFO hearing. Congressman Andre Carson, who will head the May 17 public hearing, promised to dive into the national security risks posed by UFOs' potential presence. "Americans need to know more about these unexplained occurrences," Carson said in a tweet. This is the first time Congress will get together in more than 50 years to discuss UFOs and extraterrestrial life, which expert Jeremy Corbell said is a "big f******g deal." "This is what the people and #UFOTwitter have been asking for: uniform transparency," Corbell told The Sun in an exclusive interview. "This hearing will kick in the doors and is more proof that UFOs are real and prove that they have advanced tech that we cannot identify. SPACE-RELATED STORIES WHAT LURKS BENEATH Inside the hunt for alien life on … [Read more...] about Inside UFO secrets that could be revealed at bombshell hearing probing whether aliens pose national security threat

Stargazers and night owls, we’ve got blooming good news for you – it’s almost time for the Super Flower Blood Moon. A lunar eclipse happens when the moon’s orbit moves in front of the Earth’s shadow, preventing the sun’s light from reaching it. Known as a Blood Moon , this lunar eclipse will see the full Flower Moon temporarily turn red overnight. The full moon is at its perigee (the closest approach to Earth of the month, in its orbit), so expect to see a slightly larger moon experience the Super Flower Blood Moon eclipse. The moon has no light source of its own and simply reflects the light of the sun, so when Earth blocks this out, it won’t shine. Here’s how to catch a glimpse of the eerie moon. Why does the moon turn red? Although no sunlight is falling directly on the moon, light from the Earth’s sunrises and sunsets does illuminate it, giving it its ‘blood’ red appearance . The hue and depth of the red colour is dependent on a number of factors, like … [Read more...] about When and where to see the Super Flower Blood Moon lunar eclipse