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Wallace the 6 inch f/2.8 telescope, building it, and hiking with it
a month ago
- The author built an ultra-wide-field telescope named 'Wallace', a 153mm f/2.8 instrument, and shares the experience of combining astronomy with hiking.
- The telescope is designed for ultra-wide deep-sky views, with technical details including a coma corrector and a unique construction featuring 3D-printed parts.
- The author enjoyed the outdoor process of observing, despite carrying extra gear, and found that documenting the hike enhanced their focus on the environment.
- Future plans include a new, lighter mirror with improved cooling and a goal of achieving a Strehl ratio above 0.95 for better optical performance.
Cosmic Fireworks by Infant Stars
23 days ago
- New James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) image shows infant stars (protostars) in FS Tau region, celebrating independence from molecular clouds.
- NASA released image commemorating U.S. 250th anniversary, depicting protostars becoming full stars via nuclear fusion of hydrogen to helium.
- Protostars form from collapsing clumps in molecular clouds, gathering material until triggering fusion, defining main-sequence stars.
- JWST's infrared power reveals FS Tau protostars in detail, 450 light-years away, aiding study of low-mass star evolution.
- Research investigates radiation and outflows from low-mass stars affecting environment, with JWST showing episodic matter accretion.
- Blue ridges in image indicate gas shunted by protostar outflows, creating dense regions reflecting light, resembling cosmic fireworks.
Large planets lighter than cotton candy
21 days ago
- Astronomers discovered two exceptionally low-density exoplanets, comparable in size to Jupiter but lighter than cotton candy.
- These 'super-puffs' orbit a star 1,110 light-years away in the Volans constellation and have densities likened to shaving foam.
- The planets are likely composed of hydrogen and helium, with potential white or blue coloration, pending confirmation by the Webb Telescope.
- Their orbits are unusually long, taking 139 and 232 days respectively, and they are rare, with fewer than 40 such planets confirmed among nearly 6,300 exoplanets.
- The discovery challenges existing models of planet formation, representing a cosmic puzzle for astronomers to solve.
Study: ultra-black coating could reduce satellite light pollution
21 days ago
- Astrophysicists at the University of Surrey propose using Vantablack® 310, an ultra-black coating, to reduce satellite brightness and light pollution.
- The coating reflects only about 2% of light, distributing it diffusely to minimize bright streaks and flares that interfere with astronomical observations.
- Simulations show the coating can make satellites significantly fainter, nearly meeting International Astronomical Union brightness limits for protecting the night sky.
- The research is part of the Light Pollution and Sustainable Space initiative, which won a sustainability award and includes an upcoming in-orbit demonstration on the Jovian-1 CubeSat mission.
- The findings have been presented internationally, including at a UN workshop and a TEDx talk, highlighting the need to address satellite light pollution.
NASA's Hubble Discovers First of Star Cluster's Missing Black Holes
13 days ago
- Astronomers used Hubble and Webb data to find the first stellar-mass black hole in Omega Centauri, named oMEGACat BH-2.
- The black hole has a mass of 4.46 solar masses, lower than expected, and orbits a visible star every 94 years, the longest orbital period known for such a binary.
- This discovery helps refine black hole formation theories and suggests the binary was dynamically formed within the cluster.
- Finding more black holes in globular clusters like Omega Centauri is crucial for understanding gravitational wave events.
- Future telescopes like NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope may help locate similar black hole binary systems.
Astronomers Have Found a Sugar Molecule in Deep Space for the First Time Ever
10 days ago
- Astronomers detected erythrulose, a four-carbon sugar molecule, in interstellar space for the first time.
- The molecule was found in molecular cloud G+0.693−0.027 near the Milky Way's center, a region rich in complex organic molecules.
- Sugars like erythrulose are essential for life, fueling cells and forming part of RNA and DNA, but their origin on early Earth is unclear.
- The discovery supports the idea that some sugars may have originated in space and reached Earth via meteorites, similar to ribose found on asteroid Bennu.
- Data from radio telescopes in Spain enabled the identification, marking a major advance in understanding prebiotic chemistry in space, though it does not prove extraterrestrial life.
The Dark Energy Camera's New Image Is Reminiscent of van Gogh
6 days ago
- The Dark Energy Camera captured a new image of the Corona Australis molecular cloud, featuring gas swirls reminiscent of Van Gogh's 'The Starry Night'.
- Corona Australis is a dark nebula about 425 light years away, one of the closest star-forming regions to Earth.
- The binary star R Coronae Australis illuminates a nearby orange cloud and creates reflection and emission nebulae like NGC 6729.
- Newborn stars light up gas, turning it blue, while reflection nebulae NGC 6726, NGC 6727, and IC 4812 appear in beige and yellow.
- NGC 6723 (Chandelier Cluster) is about 29,000 light years away and contains hundreds of thousands of stars.
- Research shows Corona Australis is dynamic: a 2023 paper found it accelerating away from the Galactic plane due to two supernova explosions.
- A 2025 paper divided the complex into two subregions (CrA-Main and CrA-North) moving apart from each other.
- Herbig-Haro objects like HH100 are transient, lasting only tens of thousands of years.
Neo Radar: A browser-based orbital mechanics engine with 41k real asteroids
4 days ago
- NEO Radar is a real orbital-mechanics engine for tracking Near-Earth Objects, integrating 47 high-fidelity objects with full RK4 N-body dynamics and 41,812 MPC catalog asteroids, simulating all 8 planets.
- Every trajectory is derived from JPL Horizons ephemeris with full gravitational perturbation from outer planets, providing mission-planning accuracy.
- Uses Newton-Raphson method to convert mean anomaly to eccentric anomaly, converging to 1×10⁻¹² within four iterations even for high-eccentricity orbits.
- Allows toggling outer-planet gravity, revealing uncertainty cones that widen on Jupiter-flyby trajectories (the keyhole problem).
- Benchmarked against JPL Horizons over a 50-year window: simplified two-body models drift by tens of thousands of kilometers, while NEO Radar stays within the actual uncertainty cone.
We're Thinking About Darkness All Wrong
6 hours ago
- Haleakalā National Park offers one of the darkest skies on Earth, ideal for astronomy tours led by Serena Wurmser, who emphasizes the stars as a universal connection.
- Light pollution affects 99% of Americans, causing the sky to brighten 10% annually, with artificial light reaching even remote natural areas like Death Valley and Haleakalā.
- Health consequences of light pollution include sleep disturbances, depression, obesity, diabetes, and a 14% increased breast cancer risk as shown in a Harvard study.
- Artificial light at night (ALAN) creates 'evolutionary traps' for animals like sea turtles mistaking hotel lights for the moon, leading to fatal collisions with cars.
- Dung beetles lose navigational ability under light pollution, causing collisions and fights, contributing to insect decline and 'temporal disorientation.'
- Light pollution is often driven by unplanned, excessive outdoor lighting (e.g., unshielded bulbs, 'glare bombs'), far outpacing population growth.
- Solutions include DarkSky's five principles: useful, targeted, low-level, controlled, and warm-colored lighting, plus municipal adoption of maximum brightness standards.
- Fear of the dark is primal, but lighting does not necessarily reduce crime; criminals can benefit from light, and studies show no causal link between lighting and crime decrease.
- Dark sky advocates are working to restore natural darkness through education, astrotourism, and policy changes, highlighting the beauty and cultural value of the night sky.

astronomy

Wallace the 6 inch f/2.8 telescope, building it, and hiking with it

Cosmic Fireworks by Infant Stars

Large planets lighter than cotton candy

Study: ultra-black coating could reduce satellite light pollution

NASA's Hubble Discovers First of Star Cluster's Missing Black Holes

Astronomers Have Found a Sugar Molecule in Deep Space for the First Time Ever

The Dark Energy Camera's New Image Is Reminiscent of van Gogh

Neo Radar: A browser-based orbital mechanics engine with 41k real asteroids

We're Thinking About Darkness All Wrong