How Could We Destroy the Moon?
Nothing wrecks a beautiful night sky like that hideous, pockmarked skylight. What would it take to destroy our moon, and eliminate the enemy of stellar astronomy for all time? Top image: Using imagery collected by its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, NASA created this video of the Moon rotating 360° about its axis. Click on the photo…
No, We Aren’t Heading Into a “Mini Ice Age”
Recent headlines are warning that the Earth will enter into a “mini ice age” in about 20 years because the sun is heading towards a period of very low output. Here’s why this scenario is extremely unlikely. Wouldn’t it be great if scientists could make their minds up? One minute they’re telling us our planet…
These Astronauts Will be the First to Launch With SpaceX and Boeing
NASA Thursday named the first four astronauts who will fly on the first U.S. commercial spaceflights in private crew transportation vehicles being built by Boeing and SpaceX – marking a major milestone towards restoring American human launches to U.S. soil as soon as mid-2017, if all goes well. The four astronauts chosen are all veterans…
The Supermassive Black Hole That’s Growing Impossibly Fast
“Here be dragons” was a phrase once used on ancient maps, often accompanied by mythical sketches, to highlight an unexplored or potentially dangerous area. Astronomers might want to borrow this warning to label the centre of galaxies, which contain supermassive black holes. There’s a lot we don’t know about these monsters – and scientists have…