Astronomers at NASA have identified two rocky alien worlds hovering around M dwarf star called HD 260655. M stars have faint glow and they look red to our eyes with temperature ranging from 2,500 Kelvin to 3,500 Kelvin. These stars account for nearly 75% of the stars in our stellar neighborhood, which implies they can be easily observed from Earth due to its abundance. As per Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), the newly discovered exoplanets are about two times more massive than the Earth.
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Book Review: The God Equation by Dr. Michio Kaku
Dr. Michio Kaku is a well-known figure in science academia. He is a master story teller. His super power is, he can make science graspable for non-science people like myself. In The God Equation: The Quest for a Theory of Everything, Dr. Kaku talks about three things: physics from creation to present, the effort put behind in unifying all known physical forces and the theory of dimensions, string theory.
Read MoreTwo Neutron Stars could give Birth to a Third: Stellar Formation
An international team of astrophysics from Manly Astrophysics and Universidad de Murcia has proposed for a new type of exotic neutron star. According to astronomers Arthur Suvorov and Kostas Glampedakis, the novel neutron star could be the result of a super strong magnetic field that emanates during a collision between old neutron stars.
Read MoreBook Review: Parallel Worlds by Michio Kaku
Parallel Worlds: The Science of Alternative Universes and Our Future in the Cosmos by Michio Kaku is a pandora’s box of parallel worlds hovering around us all the time. This is my third read after Physics of The Future and The Future of Humanity from the same author.
Read MoreBook Review: The Emergent Multiverse by David Wallace
The Emergent Multiverse: Quantum Theory According to the Everett Interpretation is an effort on the part of David Wallace to vindicate Hugh Everett’s idea of many worlds. The concept of multiverse was initially taken seriously in philosophy than in physics. May be because in physics the idea came much later, that is, with the emergence of quantum mechanics.
Read MoreHuge Gas Planet Hidden in Plain Sight: TOI-2180 b
Hunt for a new stellar body is always on. Space is full of astronomical bodies and star gazers continuously search for new stars and planets into the known realm of humanity. In one such effort, an astronomer at University of California, Riverside in collaboration with a group of citizen scientists have spot a huge gas planet. The newly discovered body is otherwise hidden from view by typical stargazing tools.
Read MoreBook Review: Contact by Carl Sagan
Last year I saw the movie, Contact. And I found the plot very propulsive, so decided to read the book written by Carl Sagan. Like a teenager, I’m equally fascinated with the idea of space exploration and extra-terrestrial life/intelligence. And reading Contact was surely a treat.
Read MoreStellar Streams’ Trajectory Reveals the Dark Matter: Mysterious Universe
Understanding the properties of dark matter is the most important quest for astronomers. Many have dedicated their years to research just to take a sneak peek into what actually comprises of dark matter. In a recent research, astronomers have detected twelve streams of stars spiralling within the outermost region of our galaxy.
Read MoreVenus could be a Life-bearing Planet: Space Exploration
Space scientists have always looked up to our closest planet neighbour and wondered what if there is life on Venus. Sanjay Limaye, from University of Wisconsin-Madison Space Science also an expert on Venus says that in the coming decade in a collective effort, astronomers all across the globe will make case for exploring the “evening star”. With an experience of over 45 years, Limaye’s core investigation is the planet’s dense atmosphere.
Read MoreBook Review: Physics of The Future by Dr Michio Kaku
Physics of The Future is my second read from Dr. Michio Kaku, first being The Future of Humanity. For the current book, Dr. Kaku interviewed more than 300 scientists along with their research that would lead humanity to the next level in computers, medicine, nanotechnology, space exploration and energy production.
Read MoreLunar Rocks Shows Young Volcanism: Chang’e-5 mission
Lunar rocks brought back to Earth by Chinese astronomers confirmed that Moon was volcanically active more recently than previously thought. Humanity’s first mission to Moon and back in four decades was successfully completed by Chang’e-5 mission, China’s first lunar sample-return mission, since the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 in 1976.
Read MoreMagnetic Tunnel Surrounds Our Solar System: Galactic Bodies
Radio astronomy is very fascinating since it shows the “other side” of reality which we do not witness in our everyday life. Of course, due to our own limitations. Dr. Jennifer West, an astrophysicist at the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics suggests that a gigantic magnetic tunnel surrounds our solar system. This magnetic flux can be observed in radio waves.
Read MoreInterview: Dr. Kamber Schwarz, Postdoctoral Researcher at Max Planck Institute for Astronomy Heidelberg
Dr. Kamber Schwarz is a postdoc at MPIA in Heidelberg. She has been a NASA Sagan Postdoctoral Fellow in the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona. She received her PhD in Astronomy & Astrophysics from the University of Michigan in 2018. She is also the recipient of the prestigious Ralph B. Baldwin Prize in Astronomy, 2020.
Read MoreTracing the Beginnings of Planet Formation: Stellar Factory
Astronomers led by Kamber Schwarz (MPIA in Heidelberg) have successfully deduced the mass of a potential “planet factory”, the protoplanetary disk around the star GM Aurigae. With the help of radio data from the ALMA observatory and physical modelling, the astronomers were able to track the GM Aurigae system.
Read MoreBook Review: The Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Greene
The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality is the second book of theoretical physicist, mathematician, and string theorist, professor Brian Greene. However, this happens to be my third read from the author, first two were Until the End of Time and The Hidden Reality.
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