Our very quiet Sun, that is casually wandering through the current solar minimum, had a sunspot visible today, which was all very exciting so we took a couple of photos.
Recent research suggests there may be a link between a supernova about 2.6 million years ago and the extinction of a large number of marine megafauna on the Earth at the time.
A light hearted look at how you might make a blackhole if you happen to have a large star handy.
It’s not easy to make a star, you need a lot of cold space and a huge amount of hydrogen. But if you manage to do that then you can have your very own Sun sized star to keep you warm in winter.
Aside from the Big Bang, Gamma Ray Bursts are the most powerful releases of energy in the universe, sometimes releasing over 100 times the entire energy of the Sun over it’s 10 billion year lifespan.
The amount of interstellar particles being detected by Voyager 2 may indicate that the spacecraft is about to pass through the heliopause into interstellar space.
Quasars are the brightest objects in the universe and are amazingly powerful. They are caused by Super Massive Black Holes.
The night sky is full of stars and some of the very brightest we see have some very interesting characteristics. Next time you’re looking at Sirius or Canopus you’ll be able to appreciate just how big they are compared to our very own star – the Sun.
When observing the planets in astronomy it can be quite surprising to see the different sizes that appear in the eyepiece and how this can change over time.
Hayabusa2 is about to have a close up and personal experience with the asteroid Ryugu. In this mission the spacecraft will collect a bit of the asteroid and return to Earth.
New Horizons will make its next encounter on 1 January next year as it approaches the Kuiper Belt Object Ultima Thule, formerly known as 2014 MU69.
Stellar evolution is a fascinating topic and what happens in the last phases of a star’s life is mind boggling. Some stars are so big that their collapsing core turns straight into a black hole that suppresses the supernova.
Supernovae are quite amazing but there are even bigger and weirder events in the universe that occur when neutron stars and black holes get a bit too close for comfort.
In the 1960s and 1970s the Soviet Union and the United States launched a number of spacecraft to Venus that greatly increased our understanding of Earth’s twin.
Supernovae cause the biggest explosions in the universe, often out shining their host galaxies. There’s plenty of flavours of supernova and they aren’t all just big stars blowing up.
Just like “Open sesame”, “Open April” is a pleonasm but we might have forgotten it is because the word April was invented long ago and far, far away, all the way to the other side of the world in Ancient Rome.
We often give the Moon magical properties it simply does not have. The amount of illumination it provides changes and that’s about it.
Happy Birthday Leaplings! As they are affectionately known, leaplings navigate a world where their official birthdays come only once every four years. Why did this happen and whose fault is it?
Images of objects in space are often coloured to help astronomers work out what’s going on. This post looks at what we can work out.
Milky-Way.Kiwi is a social enterprise for quality and affordable access to the night sky run by professional space science communicators. We provide educational services for teachers and schools – Spaceward Bound NZ, stargazing and astronomy and space courses and programmes for the public – Star Safari and we write about space and astronomy with a New Zealand perspective.
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