Explore Astronomy

Two asteroids circling one another make up 2008 BT18.

The Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) project scans the skies for asteroids in an attempt to find 90% of all the asteroids larger than 0.6 mile (1 km) in diameter by the end of 2008. In January 2008, LINEAR found an object now called Asteroid 2008 BT18. Original calculations suggested the asteroid was going to pass nearby the earth. Asteroid orbits can be altered by the Earth’s gravity, so the trajectory was uncertain. Luckily the object passed almost six times the distance between the Earth and Moon. But astronomers got a good look at the object, which turned out to be a lot more interesting than originally thought — it’s a binary asteroid.

• Space.com discusses the asteroid.

A cluster of stars boasts no less than three different ages. Open clusters of stars are usually easy to date, but this one is confusing scientists with mixed messages.
Scientists have new information about the bars of stars that develop in the centers of galaxies. Barred spiral galaxies are common in today’s cosmos, but were scarce in the universe’s early history.

• What's My Age? Mystery Star Cluster Has Three Different Birthday
• Barred Spiral Galaxies are Latecomers to the Universe

An early asteroid impact left this gaping hole in the Moon's surface.

A new, Earth-based radar has examined material ejected from a massive impact on the Moon. The impact early in the Moon’s history, by an asteroid 20-40 miles in diameter, created the crater known as Mare Orientale, a huge basin 600 miles across. Its study may help us better understand the early impact history of both Moon and Earth, and the role these impacts played in our planet’s evolution.

• Space.com on the study.
• Topographical map showing Mare Orientale.
• Basics about Mare Orientale.

A black hole of 70 million solar masses lives inside the M81 galaxy.

Black holes incredibly dense objects that can form at the end of a massive star’s life. Scientists thought that because black holes range in size from several times to several billion times the size of the Sun, their behavior would differ as well. But multiple observations of the black hole at the center of the galaxy M81 prove otherwise.

• The Chandra observatory Web site describes black hole feeding habits.

An artist's depiction of GLAST in orbit.

The Gamma Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) launched on June 11. This observatory will scan the universe for the most powerful form of radiation known, possibly shedding light on dark matter, microscopic black holes and other cosmic mysteries. Gamma rays have the most energy of any type of light, and are created by some of the most violent events in universe.

• The GLAST Web site.
• NASA's GLAST page.
• Science@NASA explains gamma radiation.

A boot print in the Moon's dust.

Astronauts who have visited the Moon quickly discovered that they would get covered with Moon dust whenever they left their spacecraft. NASA is putting together a team to look at the dust and figure out how it could affect a return to the Moon. NASA is concerned that the dust could pose health problems or clog machinery.

• Science@NASA on astronaut experiences with Moon dust.
• Science@NASA on Moon dust research.
• Wired Magazine on the problems of Moon dust.

Researchers are testing the ways living beings would react to a Martian trip.

A Russian institute is selecting macaques that may eventually fly to Mars before humans do. Twelve monkeys have flown in Russian and Soviet spaceflights, some for around two weeks. The monkey experiment is happening at same time as one simulating conditions of interplanetary flight for humans here on the ground.

• Universe Today on the monkey experiment.
• BBC news reports on the monkey tests.

A third red spot has appeared on the surface of Jupiter, heralding the creation of a new, violent storm. Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is a storm that’s been whirling away through the planet’s atmosphere for perhaps hundreds of years. These new storms may indicate changing weather on the gas giant. A white dwarf star is missing from the center of the nebula that should house it, according to a Hubble scientist working with a team on ground-based telescopes.

• New Red Spot Appears on Jupiter
• White Dwarf Lost in Planetary Nebula