On August 23, 2017, astronomers have unveiled a photo which is the most detailed ever image of a star other than our Sun. The image of the red “supergiant” Antares has been constructed using the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) on Cerro Paranal (a mountain in the Atacama Desert of northern […]
Category Archives: Astronomy
Humans walking on two legs because of exploding stars, new study says
Walking on two legs is an evolutionary leap that led humans to conquer the world. But, why humans are walking on two legs? It’s still unclear. Now, according to a new study published on the University of Chicago’s Journal of Geology, the reason might be exploding stars a few million years ago.
8 Things that make Life on Earth Possible
Earth, our blue planet is an oasis in the vast, cold, and dark space. It is the only planet we know of that can support life. The fossil record tells us that life on Earth has lasted at least 3.5 billion years (the Earth is about 4.54 billion years old), with the oldest physical traces […]
Watch: How far are the nearest stars?
Another “putting things into perspective” video which I liked, showing how big space is, and actually how far the nearest stars from us.
88 Constellations and Their Brightest Stars
The International Astronomical Union recognizes 88 official constellations in contemporary astronomy. 42 depict animals, 29 depict inanimate objects, and 17 depict human beings or mythological characters.
Two neutron stars collided near the solar system 4.6 billion years ago
According to a new study published in the May 2, 2019 issue of Nature, 4.6 billion years ago, two neutron stars collided near the early Solar System (actually about 1000 light years from the gas cloud that eventually formed the Solar System). This violent collision has created heavy elements like silver, gold, platinum, cesium, and […]
Timelapse of the future: an amazing video
Melodysheep published an amazing video titled “Timelapse of the future: a journey to the end of time”. This experience takes us on a journey to the end of time, trillions of trillions of years into the future, to discover what the fate of our planet, our sun, and our universe may ultimately be. If this […]
What high-speed astronomy can tell us about the galactic zoo
For most of human history, the distant ‘celestial sphere’ was regarded as perfect and unchanging. Stars remained in place, planets moved predictably, and the few rogue comets were viewed as atmospheric phenomena. This began to change with the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe’s observation of the supernova of 1572 – apparently, a new star – and […]
First-ever image of a Black Hole
This is the first image ever of a black hole. The EHT (Event Horizon Telescope) captured an image of the nearby elliptical galaxy Messier 87’s (M87’s) supermassive black hole in the center of the Virgo galaxy cluster, 53 million light-years away. It was revealed today (April 10, Wednesday) in multiple press conferences around the world, […]
25 Amazing Astronomy Facts
As early as prehistoric times, humankind was fascinated by the night sky and all of its beauty. For centuries, philosophers and scholars would attribute magical properties to the bright stars and the Milky Way. In more recent times, we understand better what these mysterious objects are, and we can observe far more than our ancestors […]
