What's Up? The Space Place

 HEY, SPACE PLACERS! An artist’s impression of the UK-led CosmoCube spacecraft. Credit: Nicolo Bernardini (SSTL Ltd) & Kaan Artuc (University of Cambridge) VIA COSMOS From COSMOS : Astronomers are planning to launch a tiny spacecraft to the far side of the Moon to listen out for “ancient whispers” in a quest to uncover the secrets of the early universe. The mission will focus on understanding the ‘Cosmic Dawn’, a period in the early stages of the universe after the Big Bang but before the first stars and galaxies appeared. One of the difficulties in studying this period of the universe is that silence is essential. With all the electronics and interference in our atmosphere, Earth becomes too loud, making it unsuitable for this kind of research. “It’s like trying to hear that whisper while a loud concert is playing next door,” says Dr Eloy de Lera Acedo, who presented the proposal earlier this week to the  Royal Astronomical Society’s National Astronomy Meeting 2025 , in D...

 Hey,Space Placers! Read all about it! https://r.smartbrief.com/resp/tWATCKoPAnDGbXeACifPauBWcNZNQW?format=multipart Sky Guy in CA

 Hey, Pace Placers! Be sure to see this beautiful celestial sight  https://wtop.com/science/the-space-place/ Sky Guy in CA

 Hey, Space Placers! If we are located in a region with below-average density such as the green dot, then matter would flow away from us due to stronger gravity from the surrounding denser regions, as shown by the red arrows. Credit Moritz Haslbauer and Zarija Lukic via RAS Today we have a very intriguing announcement from the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS)   that suggests our planet is located in a huge void in space .  As explained in this excellent article : "Earth and our entire Milky Way galaxy may sit inside a mysterious giant hole which makes the cosmos expand faster here than in neighbouring regions of the universe, astronomers say." "Their theory is a potential solution to the 'Hubble tension' and could help confirm the true age of our universe, which is estimated to be around 13.8 billion years old." "The latest research – shared at the Royal Astronomical Society’s National Astronomy Meeting (NAM) in Durham – shows that sound waves from the ...

Hey, Space Placers! ESA observations of 3I/ATLAS on July 2.  (Image credit: ESA) FROM   UPDATE ARTICLE : Named 3I/ATLAS, where 3I stands for "third interstellar", and designated C/2025 N1 (ATLAS), the object was first spotted on July 1, 2025, by the Deep Random Survey remote telescope in Chile, part of the ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) project. Initially referred to by the temporary designation A11pl3Z, 3I/ATLAS drew immediate attention from astronomers because of its peculiar motion. Rapid follow-up observations and reanalysis of previous data led to the preliminary conclusion that the object was not bound by the sun's gravity. That makes it an interstellar object — only the third ever seen after 1I'Oumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019. "If confirmed, it will be the third known interstellar object from outside our solar system that we have discovered, providing more evidence that such interstellar wanderers are relatively common in our...

 Hey, Space Placers! An artist’s impression shows an eclipsing binary star system. As the two stars orbit each other, they pass in front of one another and their combined brightness, seen from a distance, decreases. (European Southern Observatory) VIA Washington Post Here is another "good news" story on how citizen scientists are making discoveries that help astronomers- and NASA - understand our Universe. As I have blogged before citizen scientists have successfully contributed to research efforts. Two major venues to do so are ZOONIVERSE ,  which only requires a computer and Internet access to participate, and UNISTELLAR , which requires use of a telescope. If you have the time, desire and necessary tools to participate, check it out. I myself have participated in observing projects through the decades and one with UNISTELLAR supporting NASA in the tracking of JWST out to L2. Sky Guy in VA