Exciting news! NASA’s planet-hunter TESS Space Telescope (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) has discovered its first Earth-sized exoplanet in its star’s habitable zone. The discovery was announced by NASA on January 7, 2020. The planet is named “TOI 700 d”. Using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers confirmed the discovery and have modeled the planet’s potential environments […]
Category Archives: Astronomy
Top 20 Exciting Advances in Space Science in the 2010s
Today is the last day of the 2010s – and what a decade it has been for space science and space exploration! Here is a timeline of the top 20 major (and exciting!) advances in space science in the 2010s.
Planetary confusion: why astronomers keep changing what it means to be a planet
Christopher Palma, Pennsylvania State University As an astronomer, the question I hear the most is why isn’t Pluto a planet anymore? More than 10 years ago, astronomers famously voted to change Pluto’s classification. But the question still comes up.
Relative rotation speeds of the planets
NASA Goddard Planetary Scientist Dr. James O’Donoghue (@physicsJ) created another beautiful video showing the relative rotation speeds of Solar System planets.
Sunrise, Sunset, Clouds, and Milky Way – Amazing Time-lapse from Mount Pilatus
This incredible 4k time-lapse, published by Oliver Schmid shows sunrises, sunsets, clouds, and the Milky Way from the Mount Pilatus, Switzerland. A breathtaking video that reminds how amazing place our planet is. Enjoy!
How Space Exploration Has Changed from 2000 to 2020
From an all-female spacewalk to the first image of a black hole, a lot has changed in the last twenty years of space exploration.
NASA’s Solar System and Beyond Poster Set – You can download and print for free!
You can download and print NASA’s “Solar System and Beyond” Poster Set for free. The posters are best printed on 11”x17” paper.
Habitable Zone explained by astrophysicist
Elizabeth Tasker (@girlandkat on Twitter), the UK astrophysicist working at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the author of the popular science book “The Planet Factory” Notes 1 says “the habitable zone is the worst name ever in the history of naming anything” in her perfect doodly she published on Twitter.
The best view yet of 2I/Borisov, the first confirmed interstellar comet by the Hubble Space Telescope
On October 12, 2019, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope provided astronomers with their best look yet at the first confirmed interstellar comet – the 2I/Borisov (originally designated C/2019 Q4).
10 lesser-known space facts
Did you know that the Moon and space itself have a smell? Space has a lot of surprises. Here are the 10 lesser-known space facts.
