Tag Archives: astronomy

Space ‘Firsts:’ New Horizons, Chang’e-4

Posted on January 18, 2019 by Brian H. Gill

It’s been a month for space exploration ‘firsts,’ and a ‘farthest.’ Ultima Thule became the most distant object visited by a probe on January 1, with the New Horizons flyby. A few days later, China’s Chang’e-4 mission landed in the … Continue reading →

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ʻOumuamua: Data, Questions

Posted on November 10, 2018 by Brian H. Gill

ʻOumuamua, the first interstellar object observed passing through the Solar System, is in the news again. Scientists have been studying what little we know about the object. Quite a few have published their results. Two Harvard scientists looked at the … Continue reading →

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An Exomoon, Science and Truth

Posted on October 18, 2018 by Brian H. Gill

Kepler-1625b, a gas giant more massive than Jupiter, may have a moon. A big one: nearly Neptune’s size. Scientists still aren’t sure that the exomoon exists. If it does, they have another puzzle: figuring out how it formed. I started … Continue reading →

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Found: a ‘Baby Planet’

Posted on July 14, 2018 by Brian H. Gill

Pictures of PDS 70b show a planet that’s still forming. It’s the youngest planet scientists have imaged so far. They figure studying it will help them learn more about how planetary systems develop. I think they’re right. Attitudes and assumptions … Continue reading →

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