Asronomy
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Carl Sagan
Astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy
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Nearby supernovas may aid in understanding of star lifecycles
University Park, Pa. — According to a wealth of new data from NASA's X-ray Observatory , what scientists are calling a "supernova factory" has come to life in the Carnia Nebula, located a mere 7,500 light years from Earth. This discovery may help astronomers to better understand how some of the Milky Way Galaxy's heaviest and youngest stars race through their lives and release newly-forged elements into their surroundings. "The Carina Nebula is one of the best places we know about to study how young massive stars live and die," said Leisa Townsley of Penn State, who led the large Chandra campaign to observe Carina.
Last modified September 2008 by rwo Text copyright © 1998-2008 Robert W. O'Connell. All rights reserved.
ASTR 1230, Whittle [Fall 2009]. Lecture Notes
Scientists have found the biggest and oldest reservoir of water ever--so large and so old, it’s almost impossible to describe. The water is out in space, a place we used to think of as desolate and desert dry, but it's turning out to be pretty lush. Researchers found a lake of water so large that it could provide each person on Earth an entire planet’s worth of water--20,000 times over. Yes, so much water out there in space that it could supply each one of us all the water on Earth--Niagara Falls, the Pacific Ocean, the polar ice caps, the puddle in the bottom of the canoe you forgot to flip over--20,000 times over.
Scientists Discover The Oldest, Largest Body Of Water In Existence--In Space
Ten things you don’t know about black holes
Well, they’re black, and they’re like bottomless holes. What would you call them? -Me, when a friend asked me why they’re named what they are
Gliese 581d is the outlying planet in the Gliese 581 system, and orbits its parent star every 66.8 days. It may be covered by a large and deep ocean and is the first serious 'waterworld' candidate discovered beyond our Solar System. Credit: ESO/L. Calçada PARIS: A rocky world orbiting a nearby star was confirmed as the first planet outside our Solar System to meet key requirements for sustaining life.
First 'habitable' exoplanet confirmed
The terahertz Universe Terahertz Techniques, a textbook that deals with all aspects of terahertz technology, is now available. Heinz-Wilhelm Hübers is head of the Department of Experimental Planetary Physics at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) Institute of Planetary Research and a professor at the Technische Universität Berlin. Together with Erik Bründermann from the Ruhr University Bochum and Maurice Fitzgerald Kimmitt from the University of Essex, he is one of the three authors of the book published by Springer Verlag.
German Aerospace Center
This is the direction of a celestial object, measured clockwise around the observer's horizon from north. So an object due north has an azimuth of 0°, one due east 90°, south 180° and west 270°. Azimuth and altitude are usually used together to give the direction of an object in the topocentric coordinate system. Sometimes, south is used as the starting point for azimuth angles instead of north, but on the Heavens-Above web site, north is always the origin. We sometimes include the nearest compass direction as an abbreviation to help clarify the azimuth angles value in degrees.
Definition of "azimuth"
Scientists have long believed that, without our moon, the tilt of the Earth would shift greatly over time, from zero degrees, where the Sun remains over the equator, to 85 degrees, where the Sun shines almost directly above one of the poles. A planet's stability has an effect on the development of life . A planet see-sawing back and forth on its axis as it orbits the sun would experience wide fluctuations in climate, which then could potentially affect the evolution of complex life.