Universe Today – Page 4 – astroengine.com

The Sinister Side of the Cosmos: Killer Galaxies, Cosmic Forensic Science and Deadly Radiation

It’s been a busy day with a range of topics posted on the Universe Today, but all have a common thread: the universe is a deadly place for man and galaxy. For starters, research into the radiation mankind will face when settling on Mars and the Moon could prove to be one of our main challenges in space. The threat of a massive dose of radiation from a solar flare is bad enough, but the gradual damage to our cells and increased risk of cancer is a problem we need to solve, or at least manage. But that’s nothing compared with what dwarf galaxies have to put up with; their larger spiral cousins like to eat them for dinner, leaving behind galactic ghosts of the dwarfs that were…
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Human Space Exploration: Essential for our Survival

So what is the point of exploring space anyway? We have famine, disease and disaster here down on Earth, why the hell should we direct funds toward manned exploration of the Solar System and beyond? The answer is far from simple, but my personal answer is: to explore the undiscovered…
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Daily Roundup: Space Station Dumps its Refuse and Three Black Holes Collide

In a quiet event, with no ceremony or sending off party, the Russian Progress 28 supply module was released from the International Space Station on Monday to fall to Earth as a fireball. On board, all the waste and unwanted equipment from the stations astronauts. The Progress module was launched in January to deliver food, water and other supplies, and with its usefulness at an end, the charred remains of the spaceship now sit at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean… Such a sad story for poor old Progress 28…
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How Big is the Biggest Star in the Universe?

So how big is it? According to Fraser at the Universe Today, the largest known star is VY Canis Majoris. This is a massive star, otherwise known as a red hypergiant star and this one sits in the constellation Canis Major, about 5000 light years from Earth. Apparently it is more than 2100 times the size of our Sun, a monster! This star is so big that light takes more than eight hours to cross its circumference. In fact, this star, if placed in the centre of the Solar System, it would reach as far as the orbit of Saturn.

Although VY Canis Majoris is big, it isn’t as big as the biggest star could be. If it was cooler, a similar star could reach over 2600 times the size of our Sun…

Astroengine.com Roundup and Opinion

It’s been a while since I last posted as I’ve been flying from the US to the UK and have only just gotten my office up and running. That’s not to say I haven’t been writing. On the Universe Today, I’ve posted quite a few articles ranging from quite an elaborate April Fools story (but not quite as elaborate as Virgin and Google’s Virgle prank), to a black hole hiding in the middle of Omega Centauri, to rocks rolling around on Mars… here’s a round up of the most interesting…
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Daily Roundup: SpaceShipTwo, A Guy Tries to Sue the LHC and Orbs Falling to Earth

In a quick roundup of today’s articles on the Universe Today, I’ve covered the three articles (I got a special chuckle out of the LHC post):

I found the first article especially interesting – two identical orbs falling to Earth in Australia and Brazil? Check it out.

Also, an earlier article “13.73 Billion Years – The Most Precise Measurement of the Age of the Universe Yet“, has totally surprised me and hit the front page of Digg.com with 700+ Diggs so far (as of Saturday). Plus it’s had about 11,000 hits so far, so I’m really chuffed with that one.

More are on the way…

Building a Base on the Moon

So mankind is beginning to reach into space. In the past, our efforts beyond the Earth’s atmosphere have been purely strategic and political. Now, scientific advancement is becoming a priority for government agencies and business opportunities are beginning to show themselves for private enterprise. So what’s the next step? If we are to make the ultimate push into space and actually live out there, we must use any natural resource to our advantage. Strategically speaking, the Moon is an ideal stepping stone for mankind to spread our influence beyond Earth. So where do we start?

Having just completed my “Building a Base on the Moon” series on the Universe Today, it is evident that we are gradually developing the right technology and moving in the right direction. But we have a long way to go before we accomplish the ultimate lunar habitat…
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Daily Roundup: The Mars Curse and the Biggest Explosion in the Universe!

This week has been an exciting week for astronomers. The largest explosion ever seen in the Universe was observed on Wednesday. This gamma ray burst, produced when a star collapses in on itself to create a black hole, is a record breaker. Not only is it the biggest explosion mankind has seen since records began, it is also the furthest and oldest “thing” we have ever observed…
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Daily Roundup: Astrium Spacecraft Mass Production, Saturn’s Rings and Quantum Communications

It looks like things are really beginning to develop for the space tourism era. European rocket manufacturer Astrium has announced plans to develop the next generation of small space planes capable of sending 5 people into space. This design is different from the rest as it will take-off and land conventionally and will use jets for atmospheric flight but blast into space with a powerful oxygen-methane rocket. The promo video is also pretty exciting, documenting the two hour flight by means of a simulation…
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When a Moon Makes a World of a Difference

The Earth’s Van Allen belts are the location for some of the most fearsome particles in space. Highly energetic particles from the Sun get trapped in the layers of the magnetosphere, setting them up for an injection of waves causing acceleration and heating. This naturally causes concern for astronauts and spacecraft passing out of the atmosphere and into this bubble of radiation only 200 miles above the surface. But spare a thought for any spacecraft passing through Jupiter’s magnetic field. The energetic particles there are far more powerful, plus one of the Jovian moons has a huge part to play, generating the plasma waves accelerating the particles even more…
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