Next week’s night sky
If you have a telescope or binoculars, next week will be full of awesome things to see! Monday is the new moon, This means that the sky will be extra dark, making the stars look more luminous in the sky! Also on Monday, Saturn is at apposition! This means that it will be the brightest it will be all year. Coupled with the new moon, this should make for a spectacular sight! On Friday, from 05:20 -08:00 GMT, Europa’s shadow will pass through Jupiter’s great red spot. The exact time when the shadow will be on the red spot is 7:40 GMT. To find Saturn and Jupiter, head over to https://stellarium-web.org/, and then search for the object you want to see in the search bar on top.
Earthquakes caused by the sun
Fault lines on the earth are constantly under pressure. When one randomly slips, an earthquake is created. But what causes it to slip? New research suggests that the culprit is solar flares. Solar flares can knock out power grids, and destroy satellites with their enormous power. Earth’s magnetic field usually protects us from this effect, but it is not always foolproof. Researchers think that these solar flares could deform the earth’s crust, eventually causing earthquakes! If you want to learn more, go here: Powerful eruptions on the Sun might trigger earthquakes.
An exploded white dwarf
Nova Reticuli 2020, a white dwarf, just exploded so brightly a naked eye could see it! Researchers have determined that it is a common nova. This means that the novae did not destroy the star it came from, contrary to type la novae. If you would like to learn more about stars, click here: All about stars – The Astronomy Enthusiast.
A new Maser species
First, what is a maser species? A maser species is just another name for an emission line, which you can learn more about here: https://theastroenthusiast.com/all-about-spectroscopy/.
Why is this so important?
This can help us learn more about the kinematics, or movement of the arms of spiral galaxies. With this knowledge, we can learn more about how galaxies form, and which will give us insights about our one galaxy. Preliminary research shows that the spiral arms of a galaxy are linked to an accretion burst, meaning that these spiral arms are linked to high star birth! To learn more, go here: New maser species tracing spiral-arm accretion flows in a high-mass young stellar object.
Quenching black holes
Finally, quenching could be a result of a tug of war between the outside of a galaxy and its inner black hole. Quenching happens to a galaxy when it gets old. All quenching means is that the galaxy has stopped producing new stars. Usually, in a galaxy, there is enough dynamic between the outside and the inside that new star forming is stimulated. What this paper says is that when the galaxy reaches an equilibrium, star forming slows down. If you want to read more, go here: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1909.10817.pdf.
Do you have any cool facts about research this week? Share them in the comments below!