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Posts by
Paul Scott Anderson
Giant ‘survivor’ planet found orbiting dead star
For the first time, astronomers have detected a planet orbiting a white dwarf star. If further confirmed, the discovery shows that some planets could survive the destruction of their sun-like stars, and some might even remain potentially habitable.
September 18, 2020
Wow! Jupiter might have 600 moons
Astronomers in Canada say they have found evidence for 45 new tiny moons orbiting Jupiter, and that the planet may have a staggering 600 such moons in total.
September 17, 2020
Has microbial life been found on Venus?
Is there microbial life in the atmosphere of Earth's closest neighbor, Venus? An international team of astronomers has found tentative but highly compelling evidence.
September 14, 2020
Search for ETs among 10 million stars comes up empty
Astronomers used a radio telescope in Australia to search for artificial radio signals among 10 million stars. The search came up empty. But, they say, that's not bad news for those hoping to find intelligent extraterrestrials.
September 12, 2020
Nearby red dwarf star not so quiet and life-friendly after all
Astronomers say the nearby red dwarf star Gliese 887 appears to have more dangerous flare activity than first believed. This could make life tough - but maybe not impossible - on its family of super-Earth planets.
September 11, 2020
Cool! Here’s how Venus would look as a water world
A new map created by a Reddit user - based on what we know about the highs and lows on Venus' surface - shows what this neighboring, cloud-shrouded, blazing hot planet might look like with oceans. Wow!
September 6, 2020
The true polar wander of Jupiter’s moon Europa
Cracks in Europa's surface indicate the moon's outer ice shell has shifted by as much as 70 degrees over the past several million years. It's the kind of movement you'd expect from a planetary crust floating on a subsurface ocean.
September 4, 2020
Repeating fast radio burst woke up again on schedule. Now what?
FRB 121102 is one of the few known repeating fast radio bursts, and astronomers are trying to use this new period of activity to understand it better. Some predict the current active phase should end sometime between August 31 and September 9. Will it?
August 30, 2020
Are there more rogue planets than stars in our galaxy?
A new study suggests there are more rogue, free-floating planets - unconnected to any star - than stars in our Milky Way galaxy. NASA's upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is expected to begin finding hundreds of them.
August 26, 2020
95 new cool brown dwarfs in the sun’s neighborhood
A group of citizen scientists working with a NASA citizen science project called Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 has discovered 95 new brown dwarfs in the sun's nearby neighborhood.
August 23, 2020
