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Keyword: astronomy

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  • Ancient stone carvings confirm how comet struck Earth in 10,950BC, sparking the rise of [tr]

    04/21/2017 6:08:19 AM PDT · by C19fan · 84 replies
    UK Telegraph ^ | April 21, 2017 | Sarah Knapton
    Ancient stone carvings confirm that a comet struck the Earth around 11,000BC, a devastating event which wiped out wooly mammoths and sparked the rise of civilisations. Experts at the University of Edinburgh analysed mysterious symbols carved onto stone pillars at Gobekli Tepe in southern Turkey, to find out if they could be linked to constellations. The markings suggest that a swarm of comet fragments hit Earth at the exact same time that a mini-ice age struck, changing the entire course of human history.
  • Enigmatic plumes from Saturn’s moon caused by cosmic collision

    03/27/2017 7:43:02 PM PDT · by MtnClimber · 14 replies
    New Scientist ^ | 24 Mar, 2017 | Leah Crane
    Enceladus’ south pole is wounded, bleeding heat and water. Its injury may have come from a huge rock smashing into this frigid moon of Saturn less than 100 million years ago, leaving the area riddled with leaky cracks. The region near Enceladus’ south pole marks one of the solar system’s most intriguing mysteries. It spews plumes of liquid from an interior ocean, plus an enormous amount of heat. The south pole’s heat emission is about 10 gigawatts higher than expected – equivalent to the power of 4000 wind turbines running at full capacity. The rest of the moon, though, is...
  • Putting The Pieces Together

    03/23/2017 9:37:01 AM PDT · by amessenger4god · 4 replies
    Unsealed World News ^ | 2/20/17 | Gary
    As we get nearer and nearer to the day of our redemption it seems that the big picture is coming into focus (Romans 13:11, 1 Cor. 13:12, Daniel 12:3-4, 10).  What was once blurry and far off on the horizon, is now right in front of our faces.  This post puts many of the puzzle pieces together using research from Craig Chester, Rick Larson, Scott Clarke, Michael Svigel, Scott Darby, Daniel Matson, Steven Sewell, and our own team, among others.  This is of course speculative, but I believe these are the most persuasive theories at present: The Biblical Timeline Creation:...
  • Astronomers grapple with new era of fast radio bursts

    03/02/2017 7:53:50 AM PST · by MtnClimber · 15 replies
    Nature ^ | 28 Feb, 2017 | Elizabeth Gibney
    One of the most perplexing phenomena in astronomy has come of age. The fleeting blasts of energetic cosmic radiation of unknown cause, now known as fast radio bursts (FRBs), were first detected a decade ago. At the time, many astronomers dismissed the seemingly random blasts as little more than glitches. And although key facts, such as what causes them, are still largely a mystery, FRBs are now accepted as a genuine class of celestial signal and have spawned a field of their own. The passage was marked this month by the first major meeting on FRBs, held in Aspen, Colorado,...
  • Catholic View of the Zodiac

    03/01/2017 10:57:33 PM PST · by WillOTerry · 4 replies
    FishEaters ^ | FishEaters
    A new sub-section on the FishEaters website deals with the Zodiac, a Christian way of seeing it. This sub-section consists of a number of pages, including one for each Zodiac sign, so you'll have to visit to read it. But the introduction brings up something really fascinating that St. Paul, the Apostle brings up when referencing a Psalm! Very, VERY interesting!
  • Total Solar Eclipse 2017: When, Where and How to See It (Safely)

    03/01/2017 10:24:23 AM PST · by Red Badger · 57 replies
    SPACE.com ^ | February 27, 2017 05:23pm ET | By Mike Wall, Space.com Senior Writer
    On Aug. 21, 2017, American skywatchers will be treated to a rare and spectacular celestial show — the first total solar eclipse visible from the continental United States in nearly four decades. Next year's "Great American Total Solar Eclipse" will darken skies all the way from Oregon to South Carolina, along a stretch of land about 70 miles (113 kilometers) wide. People who descend upon this "path of totality" for the big event are in for an unforgettable experience, said eclipse expert Jay Pasachoff, an astronomer at Williams College in Massachusetts. "It's a tremendous opportunity," Pasachoff told Space.com. "It's a...
  • A whopping seven Earth-size planets were just found orbiting a nearby star

    02/22/2017 11:21:30 AM PST · by C19fan · 104 replies
    Popular Science ^ | February 22, 2017 | Sarah Fecht
    Planet-hunters are always on the lookout for worlds that look like Earth—rocky planets that are not too hot and not too cold for liquid water to flow on the surface. Now scientists have hit the jackpot, discovering seven Earth-size exoplanets orbiting a single star just 39 light-years away. The star, named TRAPPIST-1, was thought to be home to three exoplanets. But with the help of a variety of observatories—including the Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope (a.k.a. TRAPPIST, the star's namesake), the Very Large Telescope in Chile, and NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope—researchers found four more planets in the system. The...
  • The Gospel In The Stars

    02/17/2017 11:29:06 AM PST · by amessenger4god · 31 replies
    Unsealed World News ^ | 2/17/17 | Gary
    While researching the astronomical alignment next September that may be the sign John saw in Revelation 12, it occurred to me to revisit the possible dates surrounding Christ's first advent and see if there were any other "signs in the sky" around that time.  I've already written extensively on possible dates for Jesus' birth (primarily based on Craig Chester and Rick Larson's research and The Bethlehem Star documentary), so I won't touch on that here, suffice to say that the argument goes Jesus was conceived on the Feast of Trumpets in 3 BC, was born in June of 2 BC,...
  • The Most Persuasive Scientific Reason to Believe?

    What scientific argument for the truth of Christianity do you find the most persuasive? As I contemplated this question, my answer was big bang cosmology. Here’s why. All big bang models include three essential features: (1) constant laws of physics throughout the universe; (2) a dynamic universe, one either expanding or contracting; and (3) a beginning to the universe. Remarkably, the biblical description matches these essential features. Constant Laws of Physics The scientific enterprise depends on a universe governed by constant laws of physics. If measurements today have no bearing on what happened yesterday or will happen tomorrow, no scientific...
  • How You Can Help Discover a New Planet From Your Couch

    02/14/2017 5:49:48 PM PST · by PROCON · 16 replies
    comettv.com ^ | Feb. 14, 2017 | KIERAN DICKSON
    The hunt for potentially habitable planets outside of our solar system is one of the most exciting frontiers of science, and you can become a part of it without ever having to leave the comfort of your own home. This week, MIT and Carnegie Science Institute released a huge dataset containing close to 61,000 measurements of over 1600 stars. These measurements contain data that could potentially identify thousands of new exoplanets, many of which might be Earth-like in their nature. Unfortunately, the MIT and Carnegie Institute team simply doesn’t have the capacity to trawl through all of this information,...
  • Stargazers' delight: Lunar eclipse, comet, and 'Snow Moon' in one incredible night

    02/10/2017 6:00:38 PM PST · by Mozilla · 13 replies
    Fox News ^ | 2/10/17 | Fox News staff
    Stargazers are in for a triple treat: Friday night will feature a type of lunar eclipse, the Full Snow Moon, and even a comet. You’ve likely heard of a “supermoon,” when the full moon appears brighter than usual because it’s closer to Earth. Friday night, something different will happen, in effect. The full moon will be darker. That’s because the Earth’s natural satellite will experience something called a penumbral eclipse. A full lunar eclipse happens when the Earth is right in between the sun and the moon, casting its shadow onto the moon. In a penumbral eclipse, it’s just the...
  • NASA's Asteroid-Hunting Spacecraft Just Got an Amazing Side-Quest

    02/04/2017 4:20:04 PM PST · by BenLurkin · 24 replies
    gizmodo ^ | 02/04/2017 | Rae Paoletta
    For 10 days this month, OSIRIS-REx will investigate whether or not Trojan asteroids exist at certain points in Earth’s orbit called Lagrange points. Though Jupiter has Trojan asteroids, it’s unclear whether or not Earth’s Lagrange points host similar objects. After all, only one Earth Trojan has ever been found. “The Earth orbits around the Sun, and the Earth has a gravitational field and the Sun has a gravitational field,” explained Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS REx’s principal investigator. “Because of that property, there are certain points in space where those two fields balance each other out, called Lagrange points.” OSIRIS-REx will be...
  • Prediction Of Merging Stars May Solve One Of Hubble's Greatest Mysteries

    01/18/2017 9:26:49 PM PST · by MtnClimber · 4 replies
    Forbes ^ | 17 Jan, 2017 | Ethan Siegel
    When you think about our Solar System, with its lone, luminous star dominating both the mass and light of our local corner of the Milky Way, you might think that this is what 'typical' looks like. In some ways, this is true, but a Solar System with multiple stars -- binaries, trinaries or more -- might be even more common. At interstellar distances, many of these binaries are too close together to resolve even with the most powerful of telescopes. Instead, it's only the variations in their light, where the stars more relative to one another, periodically eclipse (passing in...
  • Rare Astrological Event (Dawning of Age of Trumpquarius)

    01/08/2017 8:38:20 AM PST · by PJ-Comix · 27 replies
    Starting January 7th and going through February 6th, 2017, all of the major planets will be moving direct (forward). Ancients saw this as a time of great fortune and a very opportune time. Stephanie “Wave” Forest is the first known astrologer first to publish articles, teach online courses and present slide show lectures on both the occurrence and potential of All Planets in Direct Motion (APDM). Wave states: “Now, here in this moment, from our geo-centric view, our entire solar system, moving together, in the same direction, like a flowing cosmic river, all traveling towards this one direction. From the...
  • Rare Comet Visiting Inner Solar System For The First Time To Be Visible From Earth This January

    01/03/2017 8:35:33 PM PST · by BenLurkin · 46 replies
    Tech Times ^ | 3 January 2017, 5:47 am EST | Allan Adamson
    Seeing Comet C/2016 U1 NEOWISE fly by would be a rare opportunity for skygazers because the celestial body won't likely pass by Earth for the next thousands of years. Unlike short period comets such as Halley's, a comet which passes by our planet every 75 to 80 years, it would take C/2016 U1 NEOWISE far longer time before it gets to visit this region of the solar system again. ... Paul Chodas, from NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object (NEO) Studies, said that there is a good chance that the object will be visible from Earth using a good pair of...
  • Top 7 Must-See Sky Events for 2017

    01/02/2017 9:13:19 AM PST · by MtnClimber · 17 replies
    National Geographic ^ | 29 Dec, 2016 | Andrew Fazekas
    Among the many eye-catching astronomical shows coming up, 2017 may be best remembered for the much anticipated total eclipse of the sun that will cross the continental United States in August. In addition to that spectacular sight, sky-watchers will have a plethora of treats to look forward to in the coming months. To kick things off, an icy comet will swing by Earth in February, hopefully offering picturesque views. Elusive Mercury and giant Jupiter will both put their best faces forward as they appear their biggest and brightest early in the year. And in December, the annual Geminid meteor shower...
  • Conversations With An Astrophysicist - Fast Radio Bursts

    12/28/2016 6:25:39 PM PST · by Steely Tom · 54 replies
    KnowTheCosmos ^ | 13 February 2015 | Scott Lewis
    Who doesn't love a good mystery story? What happens when that story is 5 milliseconds long and comes from a place millions of light-years away? This episode of _Conversations with an Astrophysicist_ Dr. +Katie Mack and +Scott Lewis dig into the mysterious *Fast Radio Bursts* that have been observed over the past few years. Astronomers are still seeking out the source of what these seemingly random blasts of radio light, but Katie & Scott are on the case to discuss what we know, and hopefully narrow it down a bit.
  • Finding micrometeorites in city gutters

    12/18/2016 3:45:51 PM PST · by MtnClimber · 16 replies
    The Economist ^ | 17 Dec, 2017
    ABOUT 4.6bn years ago, a spinning disc of gas and dust began to coalesce into balls of matter. The largest sphere, at the disc’s centre, collapsed under its own gravity to form the sun. Other clumps of dust, scattered around its periphery, became planets and asteroids. In planets this dust has long since metamorphosed into rock. But in many asteroids it is still more or less intact. As a consequence, when asteroids collide, some of it is liberated—and a small fraction of that material eventually falls to Earth as micrometeorites. This micrometeoritic dust arrives at a rate of around six...
  • Stony meteorites reveal the timing of Jupiter’s migration

    12/14/2016 7:57:55 PM PST · by MtnClimber · 18 replies
    Astronomy Magazine ^ | 13 Dec, 2016 | K.N. Smith
    Home/News/Stony meteorites reveal the timing of Jupiter’s migration 941 Stony meteorites reveal the timing of Jupiter’s migration The gas giant caused iron-vaporizing collisions in the asteroid belt 5 million years ago. By K.N. Smith | Published: Tuesday, December 13, 2016 JUPITER_proccessed_image An artist's rendering of Jupiter WikiMedia Commons/ Ukstillalive The youngest stony meteorites in the solar system may reveal when Jupiter migrated through the asteroid belt. These meteors contain grains of metal that can only be the remnant of high-velocity collisions driven by Jupiter’s gravitational influence. New evidence comes from a rare group of meteorites called CB chondrites. Formed around...
  • Super-Galaxies Don’t Become Cannibals Until Later in Life

    12/02/2016 6:37:26 PM PST · by MtnClimber · 10 replies
    Astronomy Magazine ^ | 1 Dec, 2016 | K.N. Smith
    Before they turn to cannibalism, massive galaxies spend their infancy gobbling up recycled gas from earlier generations of star formation. The Spiderweb Galaxy is actually more of a galaxy-in-progress. One day, it will be an enormous elliptical galaxy at the heart of a galactic cluster, but at the moment – technically, at a moment ten billion years away whose light is only just reaching us on Earth – it’s a group of about a dozen small proto-galaxies, slowly falling together and merging amid a vast halo of cold gas. At the center of that spiderweb of gas and merging galaxies...