Learning more and more about #dwarfplanet #Pluto. - http://clapway.com/2015/07/13/pluto-is-bigger-than-previously-thought-245/

A briefing by mission control for the New Horizons mission held on the morning of Monday, July 13th at the John Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory has stated that they are now much more confident of the diameter of Pluto. On the now dwarf planet that was stripped of its planet-hood in 2006, they are saying its size is larger than what was once thought.

Pluto’s Real Measurements

New pictures taken by NuSTAR reveal that Pluto is bigger and now measures around 1,473 miles (~ 2,370 km) in diameter with a margin error of 12.4 miles (20 km). Its previous measurements were around 1,472 miles (~ 2,368 km) in diameter with the same error accounted for. Because the margin of error is the same for both of the measurements, because the most recent one is bigger, it is a confirmation that the “dwarf planet” is bigger than what was originally calculated. Though the previous measurements were off by only about one mile (~1.61 km), the mass has stayed the same, meaning that the known density of Pluto changes dramatically.

What This Changes

As of right now, the density of Pluto changes, therefore changing the previous assumptions to permit for that loss. This means that much of the information that scientists “know” about the planet must change because it is bigger than previous estimates. One possibility that Alan Stern, the principal investigator on the matter, proposes is that there is more ice and less rock on the planet than what was assumed.

The Current Confirmations of New Horizons

At this time, with the new measurement of Pluto, the dwarf planet is confirmed to be the largest object in the Kuiper Belt, the ring of space debris at the outer edges of our solar system. Just because Pluto is bigger than any other known object in the Kuiper Belt does not mean that it’s the most massive or ‘heaviest’. That title goes to Eris, which was in fact another dwarf planet that helped strip Pluto of its status as a full-fledged planet.

Because this is man’s vicarious foray into “the final frontier”, there is no telling what could be found. Other larger objects may be found, thus taking the titles from both Pluto as well as Eris. Every new discovery that humanity makes–especially concerning space–leads it towards the future and a more definite understanding of the earth and other worlds alike.

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Pluto is Bigger Than Previously Thought

NuSTAR Telescope Takes High-Energy X-ray of Sun - http://clapway.com/2015/07/12/nustar-telescope-takes-high-energy-x-ray-of-sun-543/

NuSTAR (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array), a telescope used by NASA to spy on black holes, supernovas, and other high-energy objects in space, has captured an opportunity for astronomers to see and understand the high-energy X-rays in the Sun’s corona.

The Big Burning Ball of Yellow

Several of us know basic information about the sun thanks to grade school science classes, and we’d be able to take a general quiz – with stuff like what it’s made of and if we know whether it’s considered a star or not, etc. – and pass it. There are actually still many facts that scientists are learning about the sun. for instance, different parts of the sun rotate at different rates. Have you ever wondered how hot the Sun gets? Its core is about 27 millions degrees Fahrenheit. NASA has a plethora of information on the sun that some of us might not have known before.

The New X-Ray Image From the NuSTAR Telescope

Iain Hannah of the University of Glasgow, Scotland, presented the image Thursday to the Royal Astronomical Society’s National Astronomy Meeting in Wales, saying that the sun is “quieting down in its activity cycle, but still has a couple of years before it reaches a minimum.” You can see the image on NASA’s website.

What the NuSTAR Telescope Can Do For Science

Researchers are looking forward to using the NuSTAR telescope’s new images of the sun to approximate where the flares are released from, since the detailed locations are not exactly known. The NuSTAR telescope is extremely sensitive and cannot view the larger flares; however, it can still aid in measuring the energy of micoflares. Scientists are also interested in the fact that it can detect nanoflares, which are a type of flare that could possibly explain why the sun’s atmosphere is much hotter than expected. However, it is possible that the flares might give the same high-energy X-rays that the NuSTAR telescope is too sensitive to detect. Astronomer on the NuSTAR team, Brian Grefenstette, said, “What’s great about NuSTAR is that the telescope is so versatile that we can hunt black holes millions of light-years away and we can also learn something fundamental about the star in our own backyard.”

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NuSTAR Telescope Takes High-Energy X-ray of Sun

#NuSTAR and its quest for #blackhole info. - http://clapway.com/2015/07/12/the-most-important-things-to-know-about-black-holes-987/

Like many other forces of nature as well as mysteries humanity has yet to explain, very little is known about black holes. Among the populace, there is much speculation about these strange anomalies. Thanks to NASA’s NuSTAR, now researchers know a little bit more about black holes. In fact, NuSTAR has found five already since its launch in 2012.

What is a black hole?

A black hole is what remains after a star that is many times bigger than our sun explodes. All the pressure that builds up from that explosion causes (what some believe to be) the core of the star, to condense into the size of a large city.

Don’t be fooled by its small size, though. Even though this core is so small, its gravitational pull is so strong, NASA says that even light cannot escape its pull.

How many black holes are there?

While it is speculated and theorized that there are a significant amount of black holes in the galaxy and universe, they are actually very difficult to find. The black holes are shrouded by dust and gases that are left over from the explosion and from everything it pulls in. And with no light emitting near the hole without getting sucked in, it is incredibly hard to find black holes. Scientists generally have to look for blank spaces where there probably should be something and estimate if there should be a black hole there.

What is this NuSTAR?

NuSTAR, or the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array is essentially a giant telescope that NASA launched into space. It uses high energy X-rays to collect data. These X-rays make it significantly easier to find black holes as it can easily penetrate through the gases and dust surrounding them. As was stated before, it has already found five. While it is indeed easier to find the black holes, scientists still need to know where to look.

What is there to be learned from black holes?

Many scientists and researchers believe that black holes will help uncover the secrets of a very illusive matter: dark matter. Dark matter is a form of matter that cannot be seen or recorded with any known type of technology. Even without being able to see it, however, scientists are sure that it is there. Unsure of what exactly it is, they have labeled it ‘dark matter’.

It was stated in the Astrophysical Journal that roughly 80% of the universe is made up of this dark matter.

Scientists hope that by learning more about black holes, they will learn more about dark matter, and in doing so, learn more about the natural order of this universe.

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The Most Important Things to Know About Black Holes

Here Comes the Sun- an X-Ray Photo Extravanganza - http://clapway.com/2015/07/09/here-comes-the-sun-an-x-ray-photo-extravanganza987/

Flaring sun resembled a kaleidoscope

Once again at the National Astronomy Meeting in Llandudno, Wales, some new exciting science research and news came up. On July 7th, the NAM released a press release on the Sun with accompanying x-rays that turned into an x-ray extravaganza.

The resulting images looks like the sun turned into a quasi-kaleidoscope, with some areas of the Sun lighting up from flare activity. According to one astronomer with the University of Glasgow, Ianin Hannah, in a press release by the Royal Astronomical Society, the activity seems to be dimming down. However, the process of dimming will still be a few years coming before it reaches its minimum activity level. Perhaps a few less heat waves? Here’s to hoping.

NuSTAR captures the Sun

NuSTAR usually observes black holes and other such things, but was used to study the Sun one day. NuSTAR’s mission is to focus light on high energy x-rays, which in this case revealed areas lit up in the images to be the work of nanoflares. This tells scientists why the Sun is so much hotter on an atmospheric level, and because these nanoflares are smaller in comparison to other things that occur on the Sun, we wouldn’t normally be able to see them were it not for the x-ray images.

But because other flares occur more visibly to telescopes than the nanoflares, detecting them with the NuSTAR was difficult. However, this particular instrument finally succeeded.

Hindrance

Since the Sun is particularly active now, as evident by the solar flares hitting Earth a few weekends ago twice in one week, circumstances make it difficult to study the smaller nanoflares. This is why the dimming down in activity is a good thing. It makes for studying the nanoflares easier without the disrupting larger solar flares getting in the way. Ironically, the Sun is near the end of the quiet session in its eleven year cycle, yet still remaining really active this year.

Once the activity cools down, researchers hope to pinpoint where and how these nanoflares are produced on the Sun. Just don’t try to spot them yourself by staring at it.

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Here Comes the Sun- an X-Ray Photo Extravanganza