Ammonite was discovered using the Subaru Telescope in Hawaii, with follow-up confirmation from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. Its orbit and size officially qualify it as a distant dwarf planet. Estimated diameter: 220–380 km Perihelion (closest approach to the Sun): 50–75 AU (1 AU = Earth–Sun distance) Aphelion: ~252 AU Orbit is highly stable and very distant …
Astronomers discovered FFPs (free floating planets- rogue planets) more than 20 years ago, using the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope in Hawaii. Since then, observers have spotted hundreds rogue astronomical bodies. In 2023, the James Webb Space Telescope discovered dozens of seemingly physics-breaking rogue objects floating through space in pairs. James Webb Space Telescope near-infrared survey …
Survey observations using the Subaru Telescope’s ultra-widefield prime focus camera have revealed that there may be a population of small bodies further out in the Kuiper Belt waiting to be discovered. The results, which are important for understanding the formation of the Solar System, were obtained through an international collaboration between the Subaru Telescope and …
There is a new proposed definition of planet that works far better for objects in other solar systems. In our solar system, objects are close enough that we can check the orbit and see if has been cleared of other objects. This is problematic if we can only infer rough properties of what could be …
Space startup Xplore Solar Sail spacecraft design would go seven times faster than the Voyager spacecraft to enable vastly improved exploration of the solar system. The initial design would be to get to 5AU/year speeds but we need to improve it to 40 AU/year speeds. The goal would be to reach 550-650 AU where the …
Hypertelescope capable of direct high-resolution imaging with a high limiting magnitude have been built and tested on Earth. The Hypertelescope group have proposed giant telescopes 10-25 kilometers across in lunar impact craters. Many small mirrors can be dilutely arrayed in a lunar impact crater spanning 10 to 25km. The light from two Keck telescopes were …
Avi Loeb discusses his expectation that unmanned alien space probes would vastly outnumber manned alien spaceships. This is certainly the case for the human space program where we have sent out about one hundred manned missions but have sent tens of thousands of unmanned missions over seventy years. In an interview, Avi explained that it …
The James Webb Telescope found earlier giant galaxies or giant blackholes from only 500 million years after the big bang. Michio Kaku believes they could be giant early blackholes that were left over from the big bang. Brian WangBrian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per …
A new NASA NIAC phase 1 study is analyzing a 20-meter class infrared space telescope. It is currently impossible to find Earth-like planets in the habitable zones (where the temperature supports liquid water) of Sun-like stars. It is even harder to measure the composition of their atmospheres. But this is necessary if we want to …
The current Transastra Sutter ground telescope test model, comprising four telescopes, moved in early April to the Winer Observatory, where over two months it tracked multiple small, dark, fast-moving objects by collecting about 50 extended images every night built from over 6,000 exposures taken over an eight-hour period. They will launch a cubesat in 2023 …
Researchers from Australia and Singapore are working on a new quantum technique that could enhance optical VLBI. It’s known as Stimulated Raman Adiabatic Passage (STIRAP), which allows quantum information to be transferred without losses. When imprinted into a quantum error correction code, this technique could allow for VLBI observations into previously inaccessible wavelengths. Once integrated …