astronomy
Celestial objects and the phenomena that surrounds them. What lies above the earth forever out of reach. From moons, to stars, galaxies, and beyond.
The Mysteries Surrounding Black Holes
Black holes are probably the strangest thing in existence. For many reasons, they don't seem to really make sense at all. Black holes are formed when a star stars, which in their core contains nuclear fusion crushing hydrogen atoms into helium, producing a mighty amount of energy. This energy pushes against gravity, maintaining a delicate balance between gravity and radiation. For stars much larger than our own sun, the heat and pressure at the core allows them to fuse heavier elements until eventually, they reach iron. Iron then builds up at the core until breaking the delicate balance, leading to the core callusing in on itself leading to a supernova explosion - resulting in a neutron star or if the star is gargantuan enough, a black hole.
By Sarah McDaniel9 years ago in Futurism
Quantum Stills of a Thin-Spun Life - Part 6
The once secret Augur Chamber echoed with many awed and exclamatory voices as the Masters, Elders and senior Journeymen looked about and studied the strange objects. It was the first time any of them had entered the room, but for this meeting of the Advisory Council, Naera thought it best to convene where she could offer answers to some of the questions she knew were coming. That she had her own misgivings about both the immediate and ongoing future was something she couldn’t allow them to see.
By Theresa McGarry9 years ago in Futurism
Aliens or Comets? Has the 'Wow!' Signal Mystery Finally Been Solved?
The search for evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence is one of the most exciting pursuits in astronomy today. Needless to say, there is a lot of controversy and debate surrounding the topic, partly due to an event which happened in 1977 - the famous "Wow!" signal. The brief but unusual radio transmission was detected only once, and the debate over its origin has continued to this day. Now, a group of astronomers are claiming to have finally solved the mystery. According to their new study just published, the signal came not from aliens, but comets.
By Paul Scott Anderson9 years ago in Futurism
NASA: Juno Delivers First Jupiter Data
Jupiter, it turns out, is even more wonderfully complicated than earth's scientists had previously imagined. NASA's Juno Mission has resulted in the first flurry of research papers that look to find clues to the beginnings of our galaxy in a better understanding of the solar system's largest planet.
By Anya Wassenberg9 years ago in Futurism
The Woodstock of UFOs, and You Missed It
Joshua Tree, California - Last weekend, among the ancient and gnarled joshua trees and placed gently under the firmament of the Milky Way galaxy, was an event that you probably missed. It's been touted as "The Woodstock of UFOs" and indeed you should be bummed you missed it this year, but not for the reasons you think.
By Jeremy Kenyon Lockyer Corbell9 years ago in Futurism
Bizarre Boyajian’s Star (‘Alien Megastructure’ Star) is Dipping Again!
The weird star called Boyajian's Star (aka Tabby's Star or KIC 8462852) has been fascinating astronomers and people in general because of its weird behaviour of experiencing sudden, unusual dips in brightness which all current theories have so far had difficulty explaining. Now, the star has started dipping again after a long period of "normal" activity.
By Paul Scott Anderson9 years ago in Futurism
Quantum Stills of a Thin-Spun Life-Part 5
Zennor strode through the doorway into the Command Center and found Algon at the Astrogator’s post. He slowed his steps as he approached her. But his concern for her was momentarily startled away when he saw all the active screens; panels dancing with energy pulses. “What’s all this?”
By Theresa McGarry9 years ago in Futurism
I'm Surrounded. Mayday!
It was the morning of May 3rd, 1975. Upon returning from a routine flight from Zihuatanejo to Mexico City, twenty-three-year-old pilot, Carlos de Santos, prepared his Piper PA-24 plane and was soon in the skies, heading for the Benito Juárez International Airport.
By Ryan Sprague9 years ago in Futurism
Symbiote Chapter 3
The office of the Minister of War was spartan and utilitarian, as was befitting a high level Bruish bureaucrat. Though they felt no need for any kind of decoration, visiting dignitaries of other species were more comfortable when there was at least a wall pick. Since they could care less either way, there were some picks. All the wall displays were neutral nature scenes from their home world: a jungle moon orbiting a gas supergiant in a binary star system, with one spectral “M” red giant and one “F” type main sequence. Though the scenes were as varied as jungles could be, there were no depictions of animals. The few furnishings in the barren, sad, cold, space, were cold metal and near unbreakable glass.
By daniel morris9 years ago in Futurism
A Primer for Dark System
Astronomy tells us that planets orbit stars, stars hang out in clusters and these clusters orbit the supermassive black hole in the center of the galaxy, and the galaxy is zooming away from some center, some big bang. These same astronomers say that, at times, planets are kicked out of their family systems to travel the dark alone. What if some of these outcasts formed their own system? These dark systems would be near impossible to detect with our current tech, but we couldn’t travel there anyway…
By daniel morris9 years ago in Futurism
