What's Up? The Space Place

Hey Space Placers! A VERY interesting paper came out recently that proposed that the theoretical Planet Nine   may in fact be a primordial black hole lurking in our solar system.   These types of black holes were formed early in the Universe and are thought to be quite numerous and have masses on the scale of our planet. The paper postulates that the Planet Nine black hole would be about five Earth masses and provides an actual to scale diagram (Figure 1 in the paper) of the size of such a body: Figure 1 What if Planet 9 is a Primordial Black Hole?  Jakub Scholtz 1  and James Unwin 2 This is an intriguing possibility that could be detected. The hunt is currently on for Planet Nine so time and observations will tell what is really "out there". Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Today we are leaving the solar system WAY behind and heading out into the Universe because of BIG NEWS from the world of gravitational waves - see my previous blogs. On April 1, 2019 the newly upgraded  Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO)  LIGO and Virgo Observatory in Italy went back on line. And shortly thereafter new discoveries followed. A second neutron star merger was discovered and maybe, just maybe, the first ever merger of a black hole and neutron star. Scientific simulation of a black hole consuming a neutron star. Credit: A. Tonita, L. Rezzolla, F. Pannarale The astronomical jury is compiling more data to try and see if this really was observed. It is a detection event that is eagerly anticipated. The other big news is that with this upgrade it is predicted that a new black hole merger will be detected EVERY WEEK with a merger of neutron stars EVERY MONTH!   WOW!!! Get more information here . Sky Guy i...

Hey Space Placers! Been a LOT of astronomical news coming out of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) meeting in Seattle this week. Read this amazing story about a supermassive black hole in the Cygnus A Galaxy that has a  ricocheting jet blasting from a giant black hole has been captured by   NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory . We are living in a golden age of discovery about our Universe, galaxy and solar system. With more spacecraft missions to the Moon and solar system, space based telescopes, and monster ground based telescopes it is only going to get better. Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Are you curious about black holes and gravitational waves? I have blogged about them often and now I have a real treat for you. Got about an hour? Well, a shade under 51 minutes actually. Sit back and tune in to this video about "Black Holes Last Tango in Space: LIGO and the Dawn of Gravitational-Wave Astronomy". It is an excellent talk given by a human that would know about the subject as he is Dr.  David Reitze,  Executive Director, LIGO Laboratory,  from the California Institute of Technology. There will be much more to learn about the Universe and black holes from gravitational wave astronomy. Stay tuned. Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! If you are a fan of the movie "Interstellar" and black holes, then this is YOUR link .  Watch the video and you can read the submitted science paper as well. Thought I would also share my photo of the Omega Centauri Globular Cluster I took last night: Getting ready for FRIGID TEMPS in VA. Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Been busy spending time with my family and taking pictures with the Slooh telescopes (more about that later. Astronomers are zeroing in on trying to actually capture images of a black hole.    I hope they are successful in zeroing in on the 4 million solar mass black hole that resides at the center of our Milky Way Galaxy. This indeed would be the image of the century and FINALLY prove the existence of black holes beyond a doubt. Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Be sure to get out and watch tonight's Full Moon rise at sunset - should be a beautiful sight indeed. This month's Full Moon is known as the Beaver or Snow Moon......no snow and I am sure the beavers are busy~ A great story on the youngest black hole or neutron star ever discovered - a mere 30 years old! - can be seen at http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/14nov_babyblackhole/ A black hole or neutron star is the end state for a super-massive star that ends its life as a supernova. Black holes are objects where gravity is so powerful that nothing, not even light, can escape. Neutron stars are objects the size of a city that pack the mass of our whole Sun in such a small space. Both are fascinating and exotic objects. More observations with NASA's Chandra mission should resolve this question. Sky Guy in VA