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See the little dot? New studies of that blue flash from the distant universe (a "Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transient") indicate it was caused by a black hole swallowing an entire star. For a moment, it blazed as bright as 100 billion Suns.
https://public.nrao.edu/news/radio-telescopes-uncover-invisible-gas-around-record-shattering-cosmic-explosion/ #space #science
A hellish world: Planet TOI-561 b, slightly larger than Earth, orbits an ancient, sunlike star so closely that a "year" lasts just 11 hours and its surface is lava. Yet somehow it has a thick atmosphere, hinting at how old, battered planets might rejuvenate themselves.
https://eos.org/articles/a-lava-world-unexpectedly-hosts-an-atmosphere #science #nature #astronomy
In happier news, it's been a great week for learning strange new things about the universe. A few highlights:
The Rubin Observatory opened its eyes & immediately discovered 1900 asteroids, including the fastest-spinning large asteroid (once every 1.88 minutes!).
https://noirlab.edu/public/news/noirlab2601/ #science #nature #space
So cool. If you zoom in on the upper right, you see a little crescent. That's the Martian moon Phobos.
Zoom in again and you'll see a star next to Phobos. That's Earth! That's home.
Seen from Mars by NASA's Curiosity rover.
https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/curiosity-views-earth-setting-phobos-rising/ #science #space #astronomy
I find this remarkable:
The Dresden Codex, one of the few surviving Mayan manuscripts, contains tables that give highly accurate timings of solar eclipses over more than 700 years, from 350 CE to the 12 century.
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adt9039 #history #science #astronomy