Personally, I don't think there's intelligent life on other planets. Why should other planets be any different from this one?

— Bob Monkhouse

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The largest supernova catalog ever made has some news about the dark universe

Space.com - 4 hours 56 min ago
A catalog of over 2,000 exploding white dwarf vampire stars, the largest ever gathered, has provided further evidence that dark energy is weakening.
Categories: Astronomy

The time you take an oral exam could affect whether you pass or fail

Midday seems to be the optimal time to take an oral exam at university, which could be due to students not generally being early risers
Categories: Astronomy

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APOD - 10 hours 56 min ago

Can some supernovas explode twice?


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

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APOD - 10 hours 56 min ago

Nebulas are perhaps as famous for being identified


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

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APOD - 10 hours 56 min ago

About 1,300 images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

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APOD - 10 hours 56 min ago

The sixth object in


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

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APOD - 10 hours 56 min ago


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

<p><a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod

APOD - 10 hours 56 min ago


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

<p><a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod

APOD - 10 hours 56 min ago

Have you ever seen a fireball?


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

Deep Sea Volcanic Vents Could Provide Clues About Alien Life

Universe Today - Wed, 07/23/2025 - 10:04pm

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jul 22, 2025 NASA has awarded $621,000 to University of Massachusetts Amherst microbiologist James Holden to investigate what life might look like on Europa, Jupiter's ice-covered moon. To pursue answers, Holden is focusing his research on Earth's deep-sea volcanic hydrothermal vents-environments that may closely resemble Europa's subsurface conditions. Europa, beneath its frozen exterior, is believed

Categories: Astronomy

This Trans-Neptunian Object Moves in Sync With Neptune. Was it Captured by Neptune?

Universe Today - Wed, 07/23/2025 - 10:04pm

Astronomers have detected a Trans-Neptunian Object (TNO) that's moving in rhythm with Neptune. It's called 2020 VN40 and is the first confirmed object that orbits the Sun once for every ten Neptune orbits. It could be an example of an object caught by Neptune's gravity.

Categories: Astronomy

What Surprises Will The Star-Studying CHARA Array Reveal In Its Third Decade?

Universe Today - Wed, 07/23/2025 - 10:04pm

After 20 years of observations, Georgia State University's CHARA (Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy) has proven its worth. In 2005, The Astrophysical Journal published the first results based on its observations. Since then, more than 275 papers based on CHARA observations have been published, and the facility is still going strong heading into its third decade of operations.

Categories: Astronomy

Before These Clouds Form Stars, They Form A Complex Network of Filaments

Universe Today - Wed, 07/23/2025 - 10:04pm

Researchers working with China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) have revealed some of the complexity in a type of cloud in the ISM. They've detected a network of filaments in one Very High Velocity Cloud (VHVC). The observations hint at the complexity that can evolve in these clouds, all without the influence of gravity.

Categories: Astronomy

A New Fuel for Nuclear Power Systems Could Enable Missions to Mars and Beyond

Universe Today - Wed, 07/23/2025 - 10:04pm

To explore the unknown in deep space, millions of miles away from Earth, it’s crucial for spacecraft to have ample power. NASA’s radioisotope power systems (RPS) that rely on are a viable option for these missions and have been used for over 60 years. Now, NASA is testing a new type of RPS fuel that could become an additional option for future long-duration journeys to extreme environments.

Categories: Astronomy

Earth Sized Planet Discovered with Extreme 5.4 Hour Year

Universe Today - Wed, 07/23/2025 - 10:04pm

Astronomers have discovered an extraordinary world that defies everything we thought we knew about planets. TOI-2431 b, an Earth sized planet located just 117 light years away, races around its star so fast that it experiences over 1,600 "years" in the time it takes Earth to complete just one orbit. The discovery of this extreme world, with its distorted shape and ultra dense composition, is revolutionising our understanding of planetary systems and revealing just how bizarre and diverse worlds beyond our Solar System can be.

Categories: Astronomy

JWST Finds Plenty Of Low Mass Black Holes In The Early Universe

Universe Today - Wed, 07/23/2025 - 10:04pm

Black holes played a critical role in the formation of the early universe. However, astronomers have been debating for a long time just how critical, as the information we had about early black holes, which exist at high red-shifts, was relatively limited. A new paper from a group of researchers led by Sophia Geris at the University of Cambridge combined several spectra from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to add some context to the formation of black holes early in the universe, and found that there are plenty of smaller ones lurking around, and lending credence to the idea that black holes of all sizes contributed to the formation of our modern universe.

Categories: Astronomy

Astronaut Fitness Gets a Boost with Adaptive Harness Design

Universe Today - Wed, 07/23/2025 - 10:04pm

What new exercise methods can be devised for astronauts in space under microgravity conditions? This is what a recent study conducted submitted to the 2025 Technology Collaboration Center’s (TCC) Wearables Workshop and University Challenge hopes to address as a team of Rice University engineering students developed a new type of space exercise harness that could make exercising under microgravity easier and more comfortable.

Categories: Astronomy

The JWST Might Have Found the First Direct-Collapse Black Hole

Universe Today - Wed, 07/23/2025 - 10:04pm

Stellar mass black holes are created by core-collapse supernovae. These occur when massive stars near the end of their lives collapse in on themselves and form a black hole. Supermassive black holes form through mergers with other massive black holes. But their could be a third kind, called direct-collapse black holes, and the JWST found evidence of one.

Categories: Astronomy

Do Supermassive Black Holes Play With Their Food?

Universe Today - Wed, 07/23/2025 - 10:04pm

Lightning might not strike twice, but black holes apparently do. An international group of researchers led by Tel Aviv University astronomers observed a flare caused when a star falls onto a black hole and is destroyed.

Categories: Astronomy

This Newborn Planet Is Carving Out A Home In Its Protoplanetary Disk

Universe Today - Wed, 07/23/2025 - 10:04pm

We can understand how Earth formed by watching other planets form in distant solar systems. Powerful telescopes like the VLT are making that possible. New observations show a baby planet sculpting patterns in the gas and dust around its star.

Categories: Astronomy