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Posts by
Deborah Byrd
Astronomers spy a 2nd interstellar visitor
Astronomers think the object they've labeled C/2019 Q4 - discovered August 30 - came from a place far, far away. If confirmed, it's only the 2nd interstellar object ever detected, after 'Oumuamua in 2017.
September 12, 2019
Latest Saturn portrait, from Hubble
The solar system’s most photogenic planet, captured by most earthlings' favorite space telescope.
September 12, 2019
Scientists detect towering balloon-like structure near Milky Way’s center
It's a huge bipolar gas structure, hundreds of light-years across, centered on our galaxy's center and near the galaxy's central supermassive black hole. Astronomers found it with the new, supersensitive MeerKAT telescope in South Africa.
September 11, 2019
Did underground explosions create Titan’s lakes?
The lakes on Saturn's moon Titan are filled with liquid methane, not water, and some are surrounded by steep rims. A new study suggests these features might have been caused by explosions of warming nitrogen, which created Titan's lake basins long ago.
September 11, 2019
New names for 5 Jupiter moons
The naming suggestions in a contest - which ran from last February to April - ranged from the scholarly to the silly, these scientists said. We think you'll like the winners.
September 10, 2019
What asteroid Ryugu told us
The Hayabusa2 mission has confirmed that - if asteroid Ryugu or a similar asteroid were to come dangerously close to Earth - we'd need to take care in trying to divert it, lest it break up into fragments that might then impact Earth.
September 9, 2019
Yellowstone’s Steamboat geyser breaks record
With 33 eruptions as of August 27, Steamboat geyser in Yellowstone National Park is having an exceptionally active year.
September 8, 2019
Venus returns to evening sky
If you're looking for Venus now - the brightest planet - you won't find it with the eye alone. But it's possible to catch the planet in September 2019, near the sunset, with a telescope.
September 8, 2019
India’s moon mission: “95% of mission objectives accomplished”
Saturday's heartbreaking loss of contact with the Vikram lander - part of the Chandrayaan-2 mission to the moon - hasn't changed the upbeat tone of India's space science. Here's what we know so far.
September 7, 2019
Contact with India moon lander lost, moments before touchdown
The Vikram lander was to have made India the 4th nation of Earth to soft land on the moon. Contact with it was lost just 1.3 miles (2.1 km) above the moon's surface.
September 7, 2019
