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Sun, 19 Apr 2026 11:39:12 +0000 https://www.sott.net/images/sottlogo_rss.jpg SOTT.net https://www.sott.net https://www.sott.net/article/505687-Multicolored-clouds-shimmered-across-the-sky-in-China-on-March-29-and-April-6 Multicolored clouds shimmered across the sky in Yunnan, China, as sunlight refracted through ice crystals, creating a vivid display of shifting colors. https://www.sott.net/article/505687-Multicolored-clouds-shimmered-across-the-sky-in-China-on-March-29-and-April-6 Sun, 12 Apr 2026 11:05:13 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505438-White-dwarf-discovered-gobbling-material-from-gamma-Cassiopeia Powerful X-rays from the nearby naked-eye star Gamma Cas mystified astronomers for decades. Now, a new observatory reveals that they come from its white dwarf companion. Some 550 light-years away, a bright star called Gamma Cassiopeiae is belching out bursts of X-rays. Now, astronomers have discovered that the radiation is actually coming from the star's invisible companion, which lights up in X-rays as it gobbles up material from the star. Gamma Cassiopeiae (Gamma Cas for short) is visible to the naked eye at 2nd magnitude, making up the center of the Cassiopeia constellation's distinctive "W" in northern skies. It's a variable star that's exhausting its supply of hydrogen, but it hasn't run out just yet. Unlike other stars like it, it emits X-rays. The star is surrounded by a gaseous disk, and for years, astronomers theorized that the emission was being produced either from the star's magnetic fields interacting with the disk, or perhaps from disk material falling onto an unseen... https://www.sott.net/article/505438-White-dwarf-discovered-gobbling-material-from-gamma-Cassiopeia Mon, 30 Mar 2026 16:26:22 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505403-Is-Disclosure-Day-a-preview-of-a-forthcoming-NWO-staged-event Disclosure Day is an upcoming blockbuster science fiction movie about an alien invasion. Very little information has been released in relation to the actual content of the film. However, well ahead of its release on June 12th, the movie has a lavish promotional website and has enjoyed plenty of advanced publicity - both in the media and more widely. This promotion campaign has included a half time showing of the promotional trailer in the January 2026 US Superbowl. Aside from plenty of symbolism, this publicity drive has revealed very little by way of narrative and storyline, although the tagline promises that: 'the truth belongs to seven billion people. We are coming close to...Disclosure Day'. With a background of official promises to release a backlog of files on the existence of UFO activity, the movie will allegedly be 'a fictional account of the release of government material long shrouded in secrecy'. As the awakening souls on the planet slowly realise that many of the... https://www.sott.net/article/505403-Is-Disclosure-Day-a-preview-of-a-forthcoming-NWO-staged-event Sat, 28 Mar 2026 18:12:00 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/505288-Auroras-blaze-as-solar-winds-pour-in Auroras danced across northern skies overnight as Earth's magnetic field underwent G3 (strong) geomagnetic storming. The culprit: a potent one-two punch of recent coronal mass ejection (CME) arrivals plus the onset of a fast solar wind stream soaring toward Earth from a large coronal hole. As charged particles poured into Earth's upper atmosphere, vivid auroral displays became visible from mid-latitude locations as far south as New York, London and northern France. The storm is now easing, but forecasters still expect periods of G1 - G2 (minor - moderate) storming through today, keeping aurora watchers busy for at least another night. https://www.sott.net/article/505288-Auroras-blaze-as-solar-winds-pour-in Mon, 23 Mar 2026 20:14:47 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/504951-Chinas-satellites-over-West-Asia-A-silent-shield-for-Iran Beijing's expanding satellite network now hangs over the region as an unmistakable warning to Washington and Tel Aviv: their every deployment is visible. When MizarVision began publishing satellite images of the US force buildup in the Persian Gulf and Jordan ahead of the US-Israel war on Iran that began on 28 February 2026, the internet reacted instantly. The photographs circulated widely because they revealed something western providers had carefully avoided showing. For years, companies such as Planet Labs and Maxar filtered or withheld imagery deemed sensitive to US and Israeli interests. The public rarely gained access to unvarnished visuals of American deployments in West Asia. MizarVision disrupted that pattern and forced those deployments into the open. Obvious questions followed: Why would a Chinese firm release material that western corporations consistently suppress? Who is behind MizarVision? Why is this Chinese company publishing sensitive images that the public has... https://www.sott.net/article/504951-Chinas-satellites-over-West-Asia-A-silent-shield-for-Iran Tue, 03 Mar 2026 17:36:56 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/504414-Around-the-world-bikepacker-killed-by-suspected-lightning-strike-in-Andes A German cyclist riding solo around the world to highlight "the existential danger of climate change" has been killed by a suspected lightning strike. A cyclist was killed by lightning while biking around the world to combat climate change. Florian Berg had spent over a year peddling across the globe. The latest stretch of his journey took him to South America. But the German climate activist died while cycling through the mountains of Peru. The 29-year-old was caught in a torrential storm in the Andes on Saturday (17 Jan) evening. Earlier that day, he'd set off from Huaraz City to reach the Pastoruri Glacier in the mountain range. Florian sought shelter in his tent, before being zapped by lightning. In his final moments, he had apparently called for help. https://www.sott.net/article/504414-Around-the-world-bikepacker-killed-by-suspected-lightning-strike-in-Andes Mon, 02 Feb 2026 22:08:06 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/504365-Astronomers-spot-time-warped-supernovas-whose-light-both-has-and-hasnt-reached-Earth Will two rare supernovas finally tell us how fast the universe is expanding? Perhaps, but we'll have to wait for it for them to 'reappear'. Two incredibly rare supernovas that erupted billions of years ago provide a unique opportunity to explain cosmology's biggest mystery — How fast is the universe expanding? But there's a twist: Even though astronomers have already observed these exploding stars, we will have to wait up to 60 years for their light to reach us again. A phenomenon called gravitational lensing has split the light from these obliterated stars into multiple images, each of which travels a different path through space-time to reach us. As a result, researchers will one day be able to measure the delay between these ghostly images to offer an unprecedented constraint on the expansion rate of the universe — a problem that has long bedeviled scientists, as the universe appears to be expanding at different rates depending on where they look. Conor Larison, a postdoctoral... https://www.sott.net/article/504365-Astronomers-spot-time-warped-supernovas-whose-light-both-has-and-hasnt-reached-Earth Sat, 31 Jan 2026 16:27:52 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/504175-Aurora-australis-seen-across-Australia-as-geomagnetic-storms-deliver-spectacular-light-show An impressive aurora australis has been seen in many parts of Australia, reportedly reaching as far north as Hamilton Island in Queensland. Tuesday night's light show was caused by a severe solar storm hitting the Earth. People have reported the phenomenon across Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. Photographs and videos show shimmering and pulsating pastel-coloured lights, through to bright pinks and purples filling the sky. Dr Rebecca Allen, co-director of the Space Technology and Industry Institute at Swinburne University of Technology, told ABC News Radio there had been more of the events in recent times. https://www.sott.net/article/504175-Aurora-australis-seen-across-Australia-as-geomagnetic-storms-deliver-spectacular-light-show Wed, 21 Jan 2026 13:55:55 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/504156-Northern-lights-dazzle-US-Europe-amid-intense-solar-storm An intense geomagnetic storm triggered the possibility of northern lights being sighted across Canada and the northern half of the United States on Monday night, along with parts of Europe, including Germany, Switzerland and Ukraine. 'Rare' geostorm showers Earth The solar storm—which is the largest in over two decades—is the outcome of a mass eruption of charged particles that left the sun on Sunday and are forecasted to arrive Monday and Tuesday, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). A geomagnetic storm is a major disturbance in Earth's magnetic field due to a solar storm. Monday night's storm was "very rare," NOAA said. The geostorm acquired G4 conditions at 7:38 pm GMT (8:38 pm CET) on Monday, putting it in the second-highest category, the agency added. Spaceweather, an astronomy platform, reported that the ejection cloud covered the distance from the sun to the earth in nearly 25 hours. Usually, a similar cloud would take three to four... https://www.sott.net/article/504156-Northern-lights-dazzle-US-Europe-amid-intense-solar-storm Tue, 20 Jan 2026 11:05:14 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/503479-Strange-7-hour-explosion-from-deep-space-is-unlike-anything-scientists-have-seen Astronomers used major telescopes across the world to probe a cosmic explosion 8 billion light-years from the solar system. A gamma-ray burst (GRB) — the most energetic type of explosion in the universe since the Big Bang — is detected once every day, on average. But what happened on July 2, 2025, was highly unusual: NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, which has been orbiting Earth since 2008, recorded an unusually long-lived GRB that continued emitting in bursts for more than seven hours. Astronomers leaped into action, using the world's telescopes to detect the explosion's afterglow and discover where it came from. The event, called GRB 250702B, was the longest-duration gamma-ray burst ever recorded. Astronomers now think it came from a previously unobserved or rare type of explosion that launched a narrow jet of material in the direction of the solar system, traveling at least 99% the speed of light. https://www.sott.net/article/503479-Strange-7-hour-explosion-from-deep-space-is-unlike-anything-scientists-have-seen Sun, 14 Dec 2025 16:09:02 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/503262-How-solar-flares-could-have-corrupted-an-Airbus-plane Airbus recalled thousands of aircraft over the weekend. Aircraft maker Airbus recalled thousands of its A320 family aircraft over the weekend for a software fix, in what has been described as one of the largest directives ever for the company. In an odd twist, radiation from the sun appears to play a central role in these events. The A320 recently surpassed the Boeing 737 to become the most delivered jetliner in history, and the recall caused havoc to varying degrees for airlines all around the world. Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said that the recalls were "causing significant logistical challenges and delays." Colombian airline Avianca said that the issue had affected more than 70% of its fleet and that it had to close ticket sales for flights through December 8. The impact of the recall was less severe stateside. Delta and United reported limited impact on its operations while American Airlines said that all 209 of its aircraft that were impacted had been issued the software fix.... https://www.sott.net/article/503262-How-solar-flares-could-have-corrupted-an-Airbus-plane Mon, 01 Dec 2025 13:44:59 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/503050-Meet-the-Seven-Sisters-3000-lost-siblings The Pleiades star cluster is part of a much larger complex that stretches across the entire sky, a new study shows. Of all star clusters, the Pleiades are the most famous: Their brightest members, known as the Seven Sisters, are a delight to the naked eye. Look at them tonight, one hour after dark, right above the eastern horizon — but be aware that what you're seeing (and what early humans have painted on cave walls and mysterious Bronze Age disks) is just the tip of the iceberg: By combining data from different observatories, a team of astronomers has managed to identify more than 3,000 stars that formed together with the Pleiades but are now spread across nearly 2,000 light-years. They sprinkle the entire sky, with a notable concentration along the galactic plane. "We are calling this the Greater Pleiades Complex," says Luke Bouma (Carnegie Institution for Science), who together with team lead Andrew Boyle and Andrew Mann (both University of North Carolina) published their... https://www.sott.net/article/503050-Meet-the-Seven-Sisters-3000-lost-siblings Thu, 20 Nov 2025 17:01:24 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/502925-Aurora-australis-southern-lights-seen-across-Australia-amid-severe-solar-storm Skywatchers were treated to a celestial delight on Wednesday evening, with a severe solar storm making it possible to view the southern lights across large parts of Australia and New Zealand. A severe solar storm had paved the way for the spectacular display of aurora australis, particularly in Victoria, and as far north as the Blue Mountains where there were reports of the lights over the Three Sisters near Katoomba. Displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, were visible in the northern hemisphere overnight on Tuesday. "Given the strength of this storm, there's a chance people farther north than typically expected in the southern hemisphere might be able to see it," astronomer Dr Laura Driessen, from the Sydney Institute for Astronomy, said on Wednesday, adding it could be visible to people in Sydney and Perth. "Tasmania and New Zealand should get a decent view," she said. Wednesday night was "the best chance for people to go outside and try catch a glimpse... https://www.sott.net/article/502925-Aurora-australis-southern-lights-seen-across-Australia-amid-severe-solar-storm Wed, 12 Nov 2025 20:11:51 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/502910-The-US-saw-vivid-northern-lights-as-far-south-as-Florida-on-November-11-second-Aurora-Borealis-event-in-5-days-and-more-could-be-coming Geomagnetic storms brought the northern lights to much of the U.S. on Tuesday night, painting the sky in vibrant hues of green and pink. The Aurora Borealis was spotted in a large swath of states, including Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Washington state. Northern lights were visible as far south as parts of Florida and Alabama, a relatively rare occurrence that highlights the severity of this week's storms. "Well, we had activity tonight — a lot of geomagnetic storm activity," Shawn Dahl, service coordinator at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center, said in a video on X. A geomagnetic storm happens when charged particles from the sun's atmosphere interact with the Earth's magnetic field. In addition to creating dazzling displays of color, such storms can disrupt technology on Earth, from satellites and GPS to radio communications and the power grid. https://www.sott.net/article/502910-The-US-saw-vivid-northern-lights-as-far-south-as-Florida-on-November-11-second-Aurora-Borealis-event-in-5-days-and-more-could-be-coming Wed, 12 Nov 2025 15:40:05 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/502877-Chandra-spies-a-supernova-shock-front-speeding-along Beautiful bubbles of hot ionized gas, supernova remnants trace the dying days of massive stars. A recent study uses the Chandra X-ray Observatory to detail the motion and understand the origins of one supernova remnant. Retracing Supernova Remnants Massive stars, about 8 solar masses or larger, will end their short lives in violent core-collapse supernovae. These explosions barrel into any surrounding interstellar medium, carving out low-density cavities and blowing material outward. Appearing as a bubble or shell of hot gas, a supernova remnant carries the signatures of the type of star that produced it and the ways that star shaped its environment throughout its life. Nearby, in the Large Magellanic Cloud, is the 2,500-year-old supernova remnant N132D — the most X-ray luminous supernova remnant within the Local Group. Though N132D's size, likely progenitor mass, and chemical composition are well constrained, astronomers have yet to nail down the velocity of the X-ray shock front... https://www.sott.net/article/502877-Chandra-spies-a-supernova-shock-front-speeding-along Mon, 10 Nov 2025 16:34:49 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/502837-Powerful-geomagnetic-storm-sparks-stunning-northern-lights-across-North-America A surprise strong (G3) geomagnetic storm lit up skies across the Northern Hemisphere overnight (Nov. 5-6), treating skywatchers to dazzling auroras from Canada to northern North America. Geomagnetic conditions have remained unsettled through Nov. 8, meaning aurora activity could continue as additional solar material sweeps past Earth. Photographers across North America were treated to stunning displays of green, pink, and purple auroras rippling across the sky. We've rounded up some of the best views here. A G3 geomagnetic storm watch remains in effect through Nov. 8, according to NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center. Aurora chasers keep those camera batteries charged and those eyes on the skies, as we could be in for more treats this weekend. https://www.sott.net/article/502837-Powerful-geomagnetic-storm-sparks-stunning-northern-lights-across-North-America Sat, 08 Nov 2025 11:42:22 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/502491-Something-from-space-slams-into-cockpit-of-United-Airlines-flight-from-Denver-to-LA United Airlines Flight 1093 was flying from Denver to Los Angeles when the captain reported hitting space debris at 36,000 feet, forcing a diversion to Salt Lake City. The Boeing 737, carrying 140 passengers, landed safely on Thursday following visible damage to the cockpit windshield and a minor injury to the pilot's arm. Photos shared online show cracks across the cockpit glass and small fragments scattered inside the flight deck. Aviation social media account JonNYC was the first to report the pilot's theory that orbital debris was responsible. https://www.sott.net/article/502491-Something-from-space-slams-into-cockpit-of-United-Airlines-flight-from-Denver-to-LA Mon, 20 Oct 2025 22:22:46 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/502371-Arab-scholars-may-have-noted-the-supernovae-of-1006-and-1181 A new study finds possible references to two classic supernovae in ancient texts. It's great to see old astronomical observations come to light. Not only can these confirm or refute what's known about historic astronomical events, but they can describe what early observers actually saw. A recent study cites two Arabic texts that may refer to accounts of two well-known supernovae seen in our galaxy: one in 1006 AD and another in 1181 AD. Like Far Eastern observers, Arab astronomers were astute observers of the night sky, and patiently noted what they saw, including changes in the familiar constellation patterns such as novae and supernovae. While we often see supernovae out across the Universe in distant galaxies, galactic supernovae are a rarity. The last prominent one, Kepler's Star in 1604 occurred just before the telescope came into general use. Here we are, over four centuries later, still waiting for the next one. The two historic supernovae in 1006 and 1181 were prominent in... https://www.sott.net/article/502371-Arab-scholars-may-have-noted-the-supernovae-of-1006-and-1181 Tue, 14 Oct 2025 17:56:42 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/502339-X-ray-study-reveals-new-details-about-Betelgeuses-elusive-companion-star Astronomers have long suspected that Betelgeuse — the bright red star blazing in Orion's shoulder — wasn't alone. Now, thanks to a fleeting cosmic window and swift action by Carnegie Mellon University researchers, the true nature of its elusive companion has been illuminated. In a race against time, the CMU researchers secured Director's Discretionary Time on both NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope to investigate the long-predicted — but never detected — companion star to Betelgeuse. The timing was critical: around Dec. 6, the companion, nicknamed "Betelbuddy," reached its maximum separation from the massive red supergiant just before it would disappear behind it for two more years. "It turns out that there had never been a good observation where Betelbuddy wasn't behind Betelgeuse," said Anna O'Grady, a McWilliams Postdoctoral Fellow at Carnegie Mellon's McWilliams Center for Cosmology and Astrophysics. "This represents the deepest X-ray observations... https://www.sott.net/article/502339-X-ray-study-reveals-new-details-about-Betelgeuses-elusive-companion-star Sun, 12 Oct 2025 23:23:51 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/502217-Brightening-Comet-Lemmon With so much attention on interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS, it is easy to forget a local comet brightening so rapidly that ordinary sky watchers will soon be able to see it with their own eyes: Comet Lemmon (C/2025 A6). It is falling toward the sun for a close encounter near the orbit of Mercury on Nov. 8th. "This comet is developing very nicely and it is already an impressive object, well-placed for observation in the morning sky," says Nick James of the British Astronomical Association. "It is definitely worth getting up for!" The light curve of Comet Lemmon shows that it is about to cross the threshold (m=+6) of naked-eye visibility: "I think we can now be reasonably confident that this will be a very nice evening object when it is at its brightest around New Moon in late October," says James. https://www.sott.net/article/502217-Brightening-Comet-Lemmon Mon, 06 Oct 2025 17:52:27 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/502125-A-Great-Wave-is-rippling-through-our-galaxy-pushing-thousands-of-stars-out-of-place A giant 'wave' is rippling through the Milky Way, pushing thousands of stars across the galaxy, and scientists don't know what triggered it. A huge "wave" is rippling through our galaxy, pushing billions of stars in its wake, a new study reveals. The Milky Way's galactic wave was spotted in mapping data from the European Space Agency's (ESA) Gaia space telescope, which charted the positions and movement patterns of millions of stars with high accuracy before retiring earlier this year. Like ripples in a pond, the wave has a very large influence: It affects stars between 30,000 and 65,000 light-years away from the galaxy's center, ESA officials said in a statement. That's a large percentage of the Milky Way, which is roughly 100,000 light-years across. Astronomers still don't know what started the motion. It could have been a past collision with a smaller, dwarf galaxy that caused the large shake, ESA officials said, but more investigation is required to answer that question. The... https://www.sott.net/article/502125-A-Great-Wave-is-rippling-through-our-galaxy-pushing-thousands-of-stars-out-of-place Thu, 02 Oct 2025 06:34:26 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/502119-Amateur-discovers-supernova-in-remote-galaxy One dedicated amateur shows what can be done with remote telescope access, knowledge and a little patience. Astronomy is increasingly becoming an online affair. Recent discoveries of interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS and R2 SWAN highlighted this fact, when both were first discussed on message boards and verified via remote telescopes before confirmation. Another recent find also shows what's possible, as devoted amateur astronomer Filipp Romanov accomplished an amazing feat, and discovered a supernova in a remote galaxy. "I managed to discover a supernova using the remote telescope T59 of iTelescope.net and it was confirmed by spectrum," Filipp told Universe Today. The discovery is designated AT 2025umq (PSN J00481888+0759006) in the galaxy SDSS J004819.14+075856.8. The phone number-esque names denote the galaxy's position in the constellation Pisces the Fishes. The discovery was made thanks to a keen process of deduction and perseverance on Filipp's behalf. "I made calculations of the... https://www.sott.net/article/502119-Amateur-discovers-supernova-in-remote-galaxy Wed, 01 Oct 2025 21:00:54 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/501871-Rare-upside-down-lightning-seen-in-Puerto-Rican-sky A photographer in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, recorded what he described as an "amazing" lightning event during a storm in the early hours of September 17. Frankie Lucena's video shows what NASA classifies as a rare kind of "Transient Luminous Event," or TLE — a "gigantic jet." "Gigantic jets are powerful electrical discharges that erupt from the top of a thunderstorm and travel upward into the upper atmosphere," NASA says. Credit: Frankie Lucena via Storyful https://www.sott.net/article/501871-Rare-upside-down-lightning-seen-in-Puerto-Rican-sky Thu, 18 Sep 2025 10:21:43 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/501830-Major-solar-storm-Northern-lights-visible-in-northern-US-power-and-communication-at-risk Earth is currently undergoing multiple solar storms that potentially have the capability to interrupt power grids, satellite communications, and internet connectivity. These storms happen when bursts of plasma emerge from the Sun's outer layer, temporarily disturbing the planet's magnetic field. According to Daily Mail, the recent geomagnetic activity started with a G3 storm late Sunday evening, followed by a G2 event on Monday. While G1 and G2 storms generally produce minor disturbances, G3 storms are stronger and can trigger significant fluctuations in power systems, temporary radio outages, and intermittent satellite interruptions. Impacts on Technology and Infrastructure One of the most major impacts has been found with Starlink satellites, the internet service operated by Elon Musk. The company reported over 50,000 complaints from subscribers across different states such as California, Missouri, and New York. The largest solar burst on Sunday caused a total internet outage... https://www.sott.net/article/501830-Major-solar-storm-Northern-lights-visible-in-northern-US-power-and-communication-at-risk Mon, 15 Sep 2025 20:42:49 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/501779-Bright-comet-surprises-astronomers A bright comet has emerged from behind the sun, surprising astronomers. Introducing, Comet SWAN25B; "The comet is magnitude 7.5, bright enough to see with backyard telescopes," reports Ernesto Guido. "This is our confirmation image taken just a couple hours ago via the Spaceflux network." The comet is named after the SWAN camera onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). Amateur astronomer Vladimir Bezugly noticed the comet in online images. SWAN is a special camera that maps hydrogen in the solar wind, which suggests this comet may be rich in the element. https://www.sott.net/article/501779-Bright-comet-surprises-astronomers Fri, 12 Sep 2025 22:14:00 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/501611-Meet-2025-PN7-Earths-newfound-quasi-moon Just discovered, it's been orbiting the Sun alongside Earth for decades, and will continue to do so for decades more. Our home planet just got a new companion — or at least, a newfound one. We know the Earth only has one true Moon. But we've also known for a while that our planet is currently accompanied by seven other small asteroids that seem to circle around us, even though they don't really orbit Earth as a true moon would. These objects, known as quasi-moons, tend only to inhabit Earth-accompanying orbits for short periods — years or decades, sometimes centuries. Now, it turns out, there's a new quasi-moon in town. Just discovered on August 29th by the Pan-STARRS observatory on Haleakala, Hawai'i, asteroid 2025 PN7 was quickly confirmed by other observatories. Earlier images of the object extend back to 2014. It now appears to have been on a quasi-moon orbit for about 60 years, and it will remain so for about 60 more. Eventually, though, it will revert to a horseshoe orbit,... https://www.sott.net/article/501611-Meet-2025-PN7-Earths-newfound-quasi-moon Wed, 03 Sep 2025 15:22:14 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/501248-Never-before-seen-kind-of-supernova-spotted-after-using-AI-to-scan-the-skies With help from AI, astronomers have spotted a never-before-seen kind of supernova that seems to have been blowing up just as it was trying to gobble down a black hole. Scientists may have spotted a never-before-seen kind of supernova, after using a Spotify-like artificial intelligence (AI) to scan the skies for strange activity. The AI unearthed signs of what could have been a huge star blowing up just as it was attempting to gulp down a nearby black hole. The stellar explosion, dubbed SN 2023zkd, was spotted in July 2023 with the Zwicky Transient Facility, a full-sky astronomical survey based at the Palomar Observatory in California. But Zwicky didn't find the explosion through happenstance. Rather, it was guided to the right spot using an algorithm optimized to find weird night-sky activity. Spotting the signs of a supernova early is key to catching how supernovas start, evolve and then fade away — providing insight into how these explosions work. In this case, the AI found... https://www.sott.net/article/501248-Never-before-seen-kind-of-supernova-spotted-after-using-AI-to-scan-the-skies Thu, 14 Aug 2025 22:43:17 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/500713-Orion-Nebula-Pleiades-and-Hyades-share-a-common-origin-says-new-study The trio of star clusters Orion Nebula, Pleiades and Hyades do not just randomly lie in the same region of space. Orion Nebula, Pleiades and Hyades: The latest research results indicate that these famous star clusters represent the different phases of life of one and the same star system. A team of astrophysicists at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences in Zanjan, Iran, and the University of Bonn have found evidence that these three star systems are not just located in roughly the same region of space but also developed in the same way. These results were recently published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. When the stars twinkle in the night sky, you can see the Seven Sisters (Pleiades) and Hyades right next to one another with the naked eye, not far from the central "star" in Orion's Sword. It isn't really one star but rather the Orion Nebula Cluster - and thus the third of a group of star clusters. However, the clusters in this... https://www.sott.net/article/500713-Orion-Nebula-Pleiades-and-Hyades-share-a-common-origin-says-new-study Fri, 18 Jul 2025 16:02:53 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/500700-For-the-first-time-astronomers-witness-the-dawn-of-a-new-solar-system International researchers have, for the first time, pinpointed the moment when planets began to form around a star beyond the Sun. Using the ALMA telescope, in which the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is a partner, and the James Webb Space Telescope, they have observed the creation of the first specks of planet-forming material — hot minerals just beginning to solidify. This finding marks the first time a planetary system has been identified at such an early stage in its formation and opens a window to the past of our own Solar System. "For the first time, we have identified the earliest moment when planet formation is initiated around a star other than our Sun," says Melissa McClure, a professor at Leiden University in the Netherlands and lead author of the new study, published today in Nature. Co-author Merel van 't Hoff, a professor at Purdue University, USA, compares their findings to "a picture of the baby Solar System", saying that "we're seeing a system that looks like... https://www.sott.net/article/500700-For-the-first-time-astronomers-witness-the-dawn-of-a-new-solar-system Thu, 17 Jul 2025 18:24:25 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/500630-Prehistoric-star-map-carved-in-stone-discovered-in-Bulgaria A recently uncovered archaeological site in the Rhodope Mountains of southern Bulgaria is now entering the scientific spotlight. In a statement shared directly with us by researcher Georgi Georgiev, one of the site's discoverers, the carved rock near the village of Skobelevo is believed to represent a prehistoric star map — possibly one of the earliest known attempts to depict the night sky in stone. The find promises to redefine our understanding of ancient astronomy and the spiritual life of early civilizations in the Balkans. This unique find not only adds a significant piece to the puzzle of human history but also opens new avenues in the field of archaeoastronomy. An Accidental Discovery with Historic Significance The star-studded rock was discovered on May 20, 2013, by researchers Georgi Georgiev and Ivelina Georgieva during a field expedition near an ancient Thracian necropolis. Measuring approximately 2×3 meters, the rock lies deep in the forest, oriented along an east-west... https://www.sott.net/article/500630-Prehistoric-star-map-carved-in-stone-discovered-in-Bulgaria Mon, 14 Jul 2025 03:55:43 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/500371-Another-naked-eye-Nova-this-time-in-constellation-Vela A star exploded June 25th in the southern constellation Vela, and it is already visible to the unaided eye (magnitude +4.8). Eliot Herman photographed V572 Velorum using a robotic telescope in the Rio Hurtado Valley of Chile: "After a long drought, this is the second bright nova discovered this month," says Herman. This appears to be a "classical nova." First documented by Chinese astronomers some 2000 years ago, these explosions occur in binary star systems. White dwarf stars steal gas from a bloated partner until the stolen fuel ignites in a sudden thermonuclear blast. Novas that you can see with your unaided eye magnitude are uncommon. Typically, they appear no more than about once a year. However, in June 2025 there have been two such novas in quick succession : First V462 Lupi and now V572 Velorum. Southern sky watchers, submit your photos here. https://www.sott.net/article/500371-Another-naked-eye-Nova-this-time-in-constellation-Vela Sun, 29 Jun 2025 17:18:26 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/500156-Bright-nova-lights-up-Lupus-Constellation A newly-discovered nova in Lupus is on the rise and approaching naked-eye visibility. Here's how to see it. Exciting news! On June 12th (June 12.9 UT), the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN) discovered a new 8.7-magnitude stellar object in Lupus. Not long after, Yusuke Tampo, with the South African Astronomical Observatory (University of Cape Town), obtained a spectrum of the "new star" and identified it as a classical nova based on its spectral features and dramatic increase in brightness. The nova went through a slew of temporary names — AT 2025nlr, ASASSN-25cm, and N Lup 2025 — until receiving its official designation V462 Lupi on June 16th. Since discovery, the nova has brightened rapidly. As of 8 p.m. Eastern Time June 16th, it's at magnitude 6.4 and flirting with naked-eye visibility. The magnitude rise has been phenomenal when you consider that prior to the explosion, the progenitor star was approximately magnitude 22.3 (in the blue band) according to American... https://www.sott.net/article/500156-Bright-nova-lights-up-Lupus-Constellation Tue, 17 Jun 2025 16:30:59 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/499986-Meteor-fireball-flashes-through-skies-in-Sydney-as-Aurora-Australis-seen-across-southern-New-South-Wales-Australia-on-June-1 A bright flash of light that briefly lit up the Sydney sky on Sunday night was not a rogue Vivid installation but is believed to have been a meteor. Sydney resident Tom McCallister said he was waiting at traffic lights about 6pm when he saw the light appear in the sky. "It travelled right across in front of us and glowed a bright green before it broke up and faded," Mr McCallister said. "I was luckily on the ball and had my phone to hand to quickly capture the last few seconds of its flight." A meteor differs from space debris, and is described by the Bureau of Meteorology as a phenomenon occurring when rocks enter Earth's atmosphere and the high friction causes a streak of light to appear in the sky. In a video taken in Mount Riverview by resident Karisha Davies, the object can be seen flashing green before breaking into smaller pieces. https://www.sott.net/article/499986-Meteor-fireball-flashes-through-skies-in-Sydney-as-Aurora-Australis-seen-across-southern-New-South-Wales-Australia-on-June-1 Sat, 07 Jun 2025 19:36:30 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/499984-Meteor-fireball-streaks-through-aurora-filled-skies-over-Canada-on-June-3 Spectators were already out capturing the stunning aurora display when a blazing meteor sped past. What is it? At 5:57 a.m. local time skywatchers around Montréal, Canada and parts of the northeastern U.S. found themselves watching the brilliant streak of a bright meteor, also called a fireball, zoom across the sky. The aurora borealis, or "the northern lights" happen when charged particles ejected from the sun interact with Earth's atmosphere. These particles are shuttled to our planet's north and south poles by Earth's magnetic field. There, the particles excite gas and molecules in Earth's atmosphere, creating various colors depending on which gas is in the atmosphere. https://www.sott.net/article/499984-Meteor-fireball-streaks-through-aurora-filled-skies-over-Canada-on-June-3 Sat, 07 Jun 2025 19:19:08 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/499977-Northern-lights-on-display-for-23-states-after-geomagnetic-storm The northern lights were visible for 23 states after experts say a geomagnetic storm helped push the patterns farther south than usual. https://www.sott.net/article/499977-Northern-lights-on-display-for-23-states-after-geomagnetic-storm Fri, 06 Jun 2025 21:57:51 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/499860-A-rogue-star-could-hurl-Earth-into-deep-space-study-warns Mars is not safe either. Billions of years from now, the Sun will swell into a red giant, swallowing Mercury, Venus, and Earth. But that's not the only way our planet could meet its demise. A new simulation points to the menacing threat of a passing field star that could cause the planets in the solar system to collide or fling Earth far from the Sun. When attempting to model the evolution of the solar system, astronomers have often treated our host star and its orbiting planets as an isolated system. In reality, however, the Milky Way is teeming with stars that may get too close and threaten the stability of the solar system. A new study, published in the journal Icarus, suggests that stars passing close to the solar system will likely influence the orbits of the planets, causing another planet to smack into Earth or send our home planet flying. In most cases, passing stars are inconsequential, but one could trigger chaos in the solar system — mainly because of a single planet.... https://www.sott.net/article/499860-A-rogue-star-could-hurl-Earth-into-deep-space-study-warns Sat, 31 May 2025 17:57:45 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/499815-Astronomers-discover-mysterious-object-firing-strange-signals-at-Earth-every-44-minutes ASKAP J1832-0911, which is periodically throwing out pulses of radio waves and X-rays, could be a brand-new cosmic object. Astronomers have discovered a mysterious object flashing strange signals from deep space, and they have no idea what it is. The object, named ASKAP J1832-0911, spits out pulses of radio waves and X-rays for two minutes straight, once every 44 minutes. Detected by Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) and NASA's Chandra X-ray observatory, the strange repeating signals are currently unexplained — and unravelling this cosmic mystery could reveal new physics, according to the researchers who discovered it. The team published their findings May 28 in the journal Nature. "This object is unlike anything we have seen before," lead study author Andy Wang, an astronomer at Curtin University in Perth, Australia, said in a statement. "ASKAP J1831-0911 could be a magnetar (the core of a dead star with powerful magnetic fields), or it could be a pair of stars... https://www.sott.net/article/499815-Astronomers-discover-mysterious-object-firing-strange-signals-at-Earth-every-44-minutes Wed, 28 May 2025 17:28:16 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/499727-Possible-dwarf-planet-discovered-at-solar-systems-edge A small team led by Sihao Cheng, Martin A. and Helen Chooljian Member in the Institute for Advanced Study's School of Natural Sciences, has discovered an extraordinary trans-Neptunian object (TNO), named 2017 OF201, at the edge of our solar system. The TNO is potentially large enough to qualify as a dwarf planet, the same category as the much more well-known Pluto. The new object is one of the most distant visible objects in our solar system and, significantly, suggests that the empty section of space thought to exist beyond Neptune in the Kuiper Belt is not, in fact, empty at all. Cheng made the discovery alongside colleagues Jiaxuan Li and Eritas Yang from Princeton University, using advanced computational methods to identify the object's distinctive trajectory pattern on the sky. The new object was officially announced by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center on May 21, 2025, and in an arXiv pre-print shared today. Trans-Neptunian objects are minor planets... https://www.sott.net/article/499727-Possible-dwarf-planet-discovered-at-solar-systems-edge Fri, 23 May 2025 16:37:06 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/499693-Perfectly-spherical-supernova-is-weirding-us-out Dubbed Teleios, the unusually symmetrical space object is puzzling astronomers with its near-perfect shape and mysterious origin. The universe is a chaotic place filled with exploding stars, material falling into black holes, and rogue planets wandering off on their own. All that chaos makes astronomers suspicious when they glimpse a hint of perfection in the cosmos, like a bubble of material left over from the death of a star that appears to be in perfectly symmetrical shape. Astronomers recently discovered the remnant of a galactic supernova with a remarkable circular symmetry, making it stand out as one of the most perfectly spherical objects detected in the universe. Perfection is not always a bad problem to have, but it does prompt certain questions regarding how the object came to be this way. The discovery, submitted to the Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia and made available on the preprint website arXiv, was spotted in images collected by the Australian... https://www.sott.net/article/499693-Perfectly-spherical-supernova-is-weirding-us-out Thu, 22 May 2025 00:11:18 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/499590-Worlds-oldest-star-chart-may-be-2300-years-old-and-from-China-but-not-everyone-agrees Is the Star Manual of Master Shi the oldest known astronomical catalog? Experts are divided. The oldest star chart in the world was made in China more than 2,300 years ago, a hotly debated preprint study finds. Researchers at the Chinese National Astronomical Observatories analyzed the "Star Manual of Master Shi," the oldest surviving star catalog in China, using a novel digital image processing technique. The method, called Generalized Hough Transform, uses a type of artificial intelligence known as computer vision to find and mitigate significant errors between similar images. They found that the ancient star chart actually dates to 355 B.C. — 250 years earlier than previously thought — and that it was later updated around A.D. 125. This would make it the oldest-known star catalog of its kind in the world, predating a star chart by ancient Greek astronomer Hipparchus by more than 200 years. "I think this is pretty definitive,"said David Pankenier, a professor emeritus of Chinese... https://www.sott.net/article/499590-Worlds-oldest-star-chart-may-be-2300-years-old-and-from-China-but-not-everyone-agrees Fri, 16 May 2025 18:13:22 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/499249-Monster-tornado-on-the-Sun On Earth, the most dangerous tornadoes are rated F5. On the sun, they can be hundreds of times worse. David Wilson photographed this twister, big enough to swallow our entire planet, from his backyard observatory in Inverness, Scotland: "I was recording this monster all day on April 24th when I noticed the central stem grow brighter until it let go at about 1300UT," says Wilson. "It looked like a huge swirl of plasma went round the stem and flew into space." https://www.sott.net/article/499249-Monster-tornado-on-the-Sun Sat, 26 Apr 2025 20:32:52 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/499009-Massive-black-hole-waking-up-in-Virgo-constellation A massive black hole at the heart of a galaxy in the Virgo constellation is waking up, shooting out intense X-ray flares at regular intervals that have puzzled scientists, a study said Friday. Astronomers previously had little reason to pay any attention to galaxy SDSS1335+0728, which is 300 million light years from Earth. But in 2019, the galaxy suddenly started shining with a brightness that turned some telescopes its way. Then in February last year, Chilean astronomers started noticing regular bursts of X-rays coming from the galaxy. This was a sign that the galaxy's sleeping black hole was waking from its slumber, according to the study published in the journal Nature Astronomy. Most galaxies, including our home Milky Way, have a supermassive black hole squatting at their heart, like a spider in a web. These invisible monsters gobble up everything that comes their way — not even light can escape their almighty suck. If an unlucky star swings too close, it gets torn apart. The... https://www.sott.net/article/499009-Massive-black-hole-waking-up-in-Virgo-constellation Sun, 13 Apr 2025 23:45:20 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/498865-New-nova-in-the-Teapot A new nova for early risers plus three fun observing projects for the week ahead. We have a new "star" in the night sky. In truth, it's been there for billions of years, but it only first revealed itself a little more than a week ago. Nova Sagittarii 2025 no. 3 was independently discovered on March 23-24 by the Russian New Milky Way (NMW) Survey and Japanese amateur Tadashi Kojima at a right ascension of 18h 02′ and declination of -33° 11′. Both parties caught the star around magnitude 13; two days later it had brightened to 10.5. Despite its southerly declination, the nova stands more than 10° above the horizon before the start of dawn, making it an attainable target even for observers in the northern U.S. Clouds have thwarted my attempts to see it, but most estimates posted to the AAVSO peg it at magnitude 10.7 on April 1st. Not long after its discovery, the star received the official designation V7993 Sagittarii, making it the 7,993rd variable star to be discovered in... https://www.sott.net/article/498865-New-nova-in-the-Teapot Sun, 06 Apr 2025 20:54:58 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/498499-Can-any-nearby-supernova-cause-a-mass-extinction The most dangerous parts of a supernova explosion are the outputs like X-rays and gamma rays. Even though they only share a small fraction of a supernova's power, they are extremely dangerous. But they're not going to disintegrate the Earth. We are simply too far away from any potential supernova for that to ever be a problem. What can happen is that these forms of radiation pack enough energetic punch that they can tear apart molecules. Elements like nitrogen and oxygen prefer to float around as molecules in our atmosphere. But then once they get hit by x rays, gamma rays, and cosmic rays, they get broken apart. And then they recombine in interesting and fascinating ways like various nitrogen oxides, including everybody's favorite nitrous oxide AKA laughing gas. And while everyone's laughing and having a good time, our ozone layer gets stripped away. That's the danger of a too-close supernova: it breaks up our ozone layer. And without an ozone layer, it means the Earth is... https://www.sott.net/article/498499-Can-any-nearby-supernova-cause-a-mass-extinction Wed, 19 Mar 2025 03:46:26 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/498383-128-new-Saturn-moons-just-announced The race between Jupiter and Saturn for the most moons in the Solar System may have just finally come screeching to a halt. A team of scientists has found a whopping 128 previously unknown moons hanging around Saturn, in a discovery officially recognized by the International Astronomical Union. This brings the planet's total number of known moons to 274, leaving Jupiter, with its mere 95 moons, in the dust. The first hint that there were more moons awaiting discovery came between 2019 and 2021, when 62 such objects were identified. Other small objects were also spotted at the time that couldn't yet be designated. "With the knowledge that these were probably moons, and that there were likely even more waiting to be discovered, we revisited the same sky fields for three consecutive months in 2023," says astronomer Edward Ashton of Academia Sincia in Taiwan. "Sure enough, we found 128 new moons. Based on our projections, I don't think Jupiter will ever catch up." https://www.sott.net/article/498383-128-new-Saturn-moons-just-announced Thu, 13 Mar 2025 01:57:02 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/497797-Astronomers-investigate-the-evolution-of-a-newly-detected-supernova An international team of astronomers has investigated a newly detected Type II supernova designated SN 2024jlf. The new study, detailed in a paper published Jan. 30 on the arXiv pre-print server, yields important information regarding the evolution of this supernova and the nature of its progenitor. Type II supernovae (SNe) are the results of rapid collapse and violent explosion of massive stars (with masses above 8.0 solar masses). They are distinguished from other SNe by the presence of hydrogen in their spectra. Based on the shape of their light curves, they are usually divided into Type IIL and Type IIP. Type IIL SNe show a steady (linear) decline after the explosion, while Type IIP exhibit a period of slower decline (a plateau) that is followed by a normal decay. SN 2024jlf was first spotted on May 28, 2024 using the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), with a brightness of 15.88 mag. The supernova occurred in NGC 5690 — an edge-on spiral galaxy at a redshift of 0.0058. Subsequent... https://www.sott.net/article/497797-Astronomers-investigate-the-evolution-of-a-newly-detected-supernova Tue, 11 Feb 2025 15:41:45 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/497422-Potentially-deadly-chirping-waves-detected-in-baffling-location-near-Earth-and-scientists-are-stumped Chorus waves are mysterious, chirping signals produced by spiraling plasma inside our planet's magnetic field. But a new detection suggests scientists may understand less about them than first thought. Scientists have detected strange chirping waves — which resemble the dawn chorus of birds — thousands of miles from Earth, and they could pose big problems for future spaceflight. Chorus waves, named because of their resemblance to birdsong when converted to audio signals, are perturbations in Earth's electromagnetic field capable of accelerating particles to potentially deadly speeds for spacecraft and astronauts. Yet while these mysterious waves have been spotted coming from Earth and other planets since the 1960s, scientists previously assumed they only occurred nearby. Now, in a discovery that challenges existing theories, a new team of researchers has spotted the waves at a distance of 100,000 miles (165,000 kilometers) from Earth, roughly three times further than they were... https://www.sott.net/article/497422-Potentially-deadly-chirping-waves-detected-in-baffling-location-near-Earth-and-scientists-are-stumped Thu, 23 Jan 2025 20:51:42 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/497421-Astronomers-thought-they-understood-fast-radio-bursts-A-recent-one-calls-that-into-question The new ability to pinpoint sources of fast radio bursts places one recent burst in a surprising location. Astronomer Calvin Leung was excited last summer to crunch data from a newly commissioned radio telescope to precisely pinpoint the origin of repeated bursts of intense radio waves — so-called fast radio bursts (FRBs) — emanating from somewhere in the northern constellation Ursa Minor. Leung, a Miller Postdoctoral Fellowship recipient at the University of California, Berkeley, hopes eventually to understand the origins of these mysterious bursts and use them as probes to trace the large-scale structure of the universe, a key to its origin and evolution. He had written most of the computer code that allowed him and his colleagues to combine data from several telescopes to triangulate the position of a burst to within a hair's width at arm's length. The excitement turned to perplexity when his collaborators on the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) turned... https://www.sott.net/article/497421-Astronomers-thought-they-understood-fast-radio-bursts-A-recent-one-calls-that-into-question Thu, 23 Jan 2025 20:46:14 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/497012-Hubble-captures-a-pale-blue-supernova-in-galaxy-LEDA-22057 This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope Picture of the Week features the galaxy LEDA 22057, which is located about 650 million light-years away in the constellation Gemini. Like the subject of a previous Picture of the Week, LEDA 22057 is the site of a supernova explosion. This particular supernova, named SN 2024PI, was discovered by an automated survey in January 2024. The survey covers the entire northern half of the night sky every two days and has cataloged more than 10,000 supernovae. The supernova is visible in the image: Located just down and to the right of the galactic nucleus, the pale blue dot of SN 2024PI stands out against the galaxy's ghostly spiral arms. This image was taken about a month and a half after the supernova was discovered, so the supernova is seen here many times fainter than its maximum brilliance. https://www.sott.net/article/497012-Hubble-captures-a-pale-blue-supernova-in-galaxy-LEDA-22057 Fri, 03 Jan 2025 17:48:25 +0000 https://www.sott.net/article/496621-M87s-powerful-jet-unleashes-rare-gamma-ray-outburst Also known as Virgo A or NGC 4486, M87 is the brightest object in the Virgo cluster of galaxies, the largest gravitationally bound type of structure in the universe. It came to fame in April 2019 after scientists from EHT released the first image of a black hole in its center. Led by the EHT multi wavelength working group, a study published in Astronomy and Astrophysics Journal presents the data from the second EHT observational campaign conducted in April 2018, involving over 25 terrestrial and orbital telescopes. The authors report the first observation of a high-energy gamma-ray flare in over a decade from the supermassive black hole M87, based on nearly simultaneous spectra of the galaxy spanning the broadest wavelength range ever collected. "We were lucky to detect a gamma-ray flare from M87 during this Event Horizon Telescope's multi-wavelength campaign. This marks the first gamma-ray flaring event observed in this source in over a decade, allowing us to precisely constrain... https://www.sott.net/article/496621-M87s-powerful-jet-unleashes-rare-gamma-ray-outburst Fri, 13 Dec 2024 17:11:00 +0000