Planets smashed into dust near supermassive black holes
Fat doughnut-shaped dust shrouds that obscure about half of supermassive black holes could be the result of high speed crashes between planets and asteroids, according to a new theory from an international team of astronomers. The scientists, led by Dr. Sergei Nayakshin of the University of Leicester, are publishing their results in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Read more
Nearby planet-forming disk holds water
For the first time, astronomers have detected around a burgeoning solar system a sprawling cloud of water vapor that’s cold enough to form comets, which could eventually deliver oceans to dry planets. Water is an essential ingredient for life. Scientists have found thousands of Earth-oceans’ worth of it within the planet-forming disk surrounding the star TW Hydrae. TW Hydrae is 176 light years away in the constellation Hydra and is the closest solar-system-to-be. Read more
Dark matter mystery deepens
Like all galaxies, our Milky Way is home to a strange substance called dark matter. Dark matter is invisible, betraying its presence only through its gravitational pull. Without dark matter holding them together, our galaxy’s speedy stars would fly off in all directions. The nature of dark matter is a mystery — a mystery that a new study has only deepened. “After completing this study, we know less about dark matter than we did before,” said lead author Matt Walker, a Hubble Fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Read more
Celestron 21041 60mm PowerSeeker Telescope
Celestron’s value priced Powerseeker 60 telescope takes a basic “just the facts” approach to affordable entry level telescopes. The package includes an adjustable aluminum tripod with an alt-azimuth mount and stabilizer, a Kellner type K20 eyepiece, a Ramsden type SR4 eyepiece, a 3x barlow lens, and a 5 power cross-hair finder scope.
Celestron 21041 60mm PowerSeeker Telescope
The Powerseeker 60 comes disassembled in a compact box, but it won’t take long to put everything together. Go ahead and try it out in the daytime, that’s the best time to align the finder scope while looking at a distant tree or telephone pole. Read more
Scientists release most accurate simulation of the universe to date
The Bolshoi supercomputer simulation, the most accurate and detailed large cosmological simulation run to date, gives physicists and astronomers a powerful new tool for understanding such cosmic mysteries as galaxy formation, dark matter, and dark energy. The simulation traces the evolution of the large-scale structure of the universe, including the evolution and distribution of the dark matter halos in which galaxies coalesced and grew. Initial studies show good agreement between the simulation’s predictions and astronomers’ observations. Read more
Current Moon Phase
New Moon The moon is currently in Pisces The moon is 1 day old
Distance: 62 earth radii
Ecliptic latitude: 5 degrees
Ecliptic longitude: 351 degrees
