Published inViewing the lights of “downtown milky way” reveals a previously-unknown source of X-ray radiation near the center of our galaxy.loaked in an enveloping haze of gas and dust, the center of the Milky Way remains an elusive target for astronomers. Hidden near the center of our family of stars, a supermassive black hole sits, pulling gas and dust near the tenebrous void.Exploring the wonders of the Cosmos, one mystery at a timeininWriting about space since I was 10, still not Carl Sagan. Weekly video show, podcast, comics, more:…Published inViewing the lights of “downtown milky way” reveals a previously-unknown source of X-ray radiation near the center of our galaxy.loaked in an enveloping haze of gas and dust, the center of the Milky Way remains an elusive target for astronomers. Hidden near the center of our family of stars, a supermassive black hole sits, pulling gas and dust near the tenebrous void.Exploring the wonders of the Cosmos, one mystery at a timeininWriting about space since I was 10, still not Carl Sagan. Weekly video show, podcast, comics, more:WW…

This article was published on April 1, 2021In the nearly galaxy M87, more than 50 million light years from Earth, a supermassive black hole feeds on vast clouds of gas and dust. Jets, more than 5,000 light years long, erupt from this enigmatic body six billion times more massive than the Sun.In 2019, the first detailed images ever recorded of the region around a black hole were released, showing a bright ring-like structure surrounding a dark void.A new study of this data uncovered secrets of the magnetic fields of , showing the region around the supermassive black hole in M87 in...…This article was published on April 1, 2021In the nearly galaxy M87, more than 50 million light years from Earth, a supermassive black hole feeds on vast clouds of gas and dust. Jets, more than 5,000 light years long, erupt from this enigmatic body six billion times more massive than the Sun.In 2019, the first detailed images ever recorded of the region around a black hole were released, showing a bright ring-like structure surrounding a dark void.A new study of this data uncovered secrets of the magnetic fields of , showing the region around the supermassive black hole in M87 in...WW…

Ten times longer than the Grand Canyon, and three times as deep, the Valles Marineris (The Mariner Valley) cuts through the surface of Mars. This grandest canyon in the Solar System stretches 4,000 km (2,500 miles) across the Red Planet — nearly covering a quarter of the circumference of that ruddy world.Now, images released on Christmas Day, utilizing the HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, show this mighty rift in stunning detail.More than five million years ago, the Grand Canyon in Arizona was slowly carved out by the flow of water...…Ten times longer than the Grand Canyon, and three times as deep, the Valles Marineris (The Mariner Valley) cuts through the surface of Mars. This grandest canyon in the Solar System stretches 4,000 km (2,500 miles) across the Red Planet — nearly covering a quarter of the circumference of that ruddy world.Now, images released on Christmas Day, utilizing the HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, show this mighty rift in stunning detail.More than five million years ago, the Grand Canyon in Arizona was slowly carved out by the flow of water...WW…

This article was published on January 9, 2021As astronomers look deep into space, they also see far back in time. Now, astronomers at the University of Tokyo may have found the oldest, most distant galaxy ever seen. These observations come close to revealing conditions in the Universe when the first observable light spread throughout the Cosmos.The ancient galaxy GN-z11 likely formed just 420 million years after the Big Bang, when the Universe was just 3% as old as it is today. Such an age would place this family of stars near the edge of the observable Universe. This galaxy formed at the...…This article was published on January 9, 2021As astronomers look deep into space, they also see far back in time. Now, astronomers at the University of Tokyo may have found the oldest, most distant galaxy ever seen. These observations come close to revealing conditions in the Universe when the first observable light spread throughout the Cosmos.The ancient galaxy GN-z11 likely formed just 420 million years after the Big Bang, when the Universe was just 3% as old as it is today. Such an age would place this family of stars near the edge of the observable Universe. This galaxy formed at the...WW…

This article was published on January 7, 2021Researchers at NASA and in Japan have found HMT — a key ingredient for life — trapped inside an asteroid. This chemical is used in building other, including some of the molecules which drive the mechanisms of life.Life on Earth is based on organic materials, built on carbon and hydrogen. These chemicals often also contain oxygen, nitrogen, and other elements.Three different carbon-rich meteorites were found to contain a prebiotic organic molecule called hexamethylenetetramine (also called hexamine, or HMT). This chemical, used to treat urinary...…This article was published on January 7, 2021Researchers at NASA and in Japan have found HMT — a key ingredient for life — trapped inside an asteroid. This chemical is used in building other, including some of the molecules which drive the mechanisms of life.Life on Earth is based on organic materials, built on carbon and hydrogen. These chemicals often also contain oxygen, nitrogen, and other elements.Three different carbon-rich meteorites were found to contain a prebiotic organic molecule called hexamethylenetetramine (also called hexamine, or HMT). This chemical, used to treat urinary...WW…

![CDATA[YII-BLOCK-HEAD]]>This article was published on March 31, 2020Quasar tsunamis discovered by astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope erupt in the most energetic outflows of material ever seen. This outpouring of energy wrecks havoc with galaxies in which these enigmatic objects reside, altering the evolution of these families of stars.Quasars are energetic cores of galaxies, composed of supermassive black holes fed by vast quantities of gas, stars, and planets. These bodies are capable of emitting a thousand times as much energy as the entire galaxies which host the...…![CDATA[YII-BLOCK-HEAD]]>This article was published on March 31, 2020Quasar tsunamis discovered by astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope erupt in the most energetic outflows of material ever seen. This outpouring of energy wrecks havoc with galaxies in which these enigmatic objects reside, altering the evolution of these families of stars.Quasars are energetic cores of galaxies, composed of supermassive black holes fed by vast quantities of gas, stars, and planets. These bodies are capable of emitting a thousand times as much energy as the entire galaxies which host the...WW…