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Posts by
Paul Scott Anderson
Was this mystery radio signal really from Proxima Centauri?
Astronomers with Breakthrough Listen have detected a mysterious radio signal coming from the direction of the nearest star to the sun, Proxima Centauri. But is it really an alien signal or something more terrestrial?
December 23, 2020
Space weather in Proxima’s vicinity dims hopes of habitable worlds
Astronomers used radio waves to study conditions in the vicinity of Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to our sun. The results suggest Proxima's 2 known planets are likely bathed in intense radiation from this star, casting doubt on the planets' potential for life.
December 23, 2020
Want to find life on Mars? Look deep underground
A new study from researchers at Rutgers University suggests that the best place to look for evidence of life on Mars is deep underground, where geothermal heat melted subsurface ice.
December 17, 2020
New Milky Way family tree reveals a chaotic history
Scientists in Germany have created a new family tree of our Milky Way galaxy, showing how it has grown over billions of years from chaotic mergers with smaller galaxies.
December 12, 2020
Gaia’s 3rd data release: Gazing toward the galactic anticenter
The 3rd data release from the Gaia mission will provide astronomers with a "treasure trove" of information they didn't have before. As they analyze Gaia's data in the years ahead, we're sure to learn new and surprising things about our home galaxy, the Milky Way.
December 9, 2020
2019 LD2: A very interesting orbit-hopping comet
Prior to Comet 2019 LD2, discovered last year, astronomers had never witnessed a comet in the process of orbiting from being between Jupiter and Neptune to orbiting inside Jupiter's orbit. Now ... witness the power of gravity!
December 6, 2020
Earth faster, closer to Milky Way black hole, than previously thought
A new survey of our galaxy by astronomers with VERA in Japan has shown that Earth is both moving faster and is closer to the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy than previously thought. But don't worry, our planet is safe!
December 5, 2020
Did the Wow! signal come from this star?
Where did the famous mystery Wow! signal, detected in 1977, come from? Astronomer Alberto Caballero might have pinpointed the host star. It's a sunlike star 1,800 light-years away, in the direction of the center of our Milky Way.
December 2, 2020
Curiosity rover spots signs of ancient megafloods on Mars
We already know that Gale Crater on Mars used to hold a lake or series of lakes a few billion years ago. Now, NASA's Curiosity rover has found evidence for ancient giant floods that washed through the region as well.
November 25, 2020
Active volcanoes on Mars today? If so, they may point to Mars habitability
A new study of geologically young lava flows in Elysium Planitia suggests that Mars might still have residual volcanic activity below its surface. The finding may have implications for possible martian life.
November 23, 2020
