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Topic Review
(594913) 2020 AV2
(594913) 2020 AV2, provisionally designated: 2020 AV2, is a large near-Earth asteroid discovered by the Zwicky Transient Facility on 4 January 2020. It is the first asteroid discovered to have an orbit completely within Venus's orbit, and is thus the first and only known member of the inner-Venusian provisionally-named Vatira population of Atira-class asteroids. 2020 AV2 has the smallest known aphelion and third-smallest known semi-major axis among all asteroids. With an absolute magnitude approximately 16.2, the asteroid is expected to be larger than 1 km in diameter.
  • 967
  • 21 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Zeta Ursae Majoris
Mizar is a 2nd magnitude star in the handle of the Big Dipper asterism in the constellation of Ursa Major. It has the Bayer designation ζ Ursae Majoris (Latinised as Zeta Ursae Majoris). It forms a well-known naked eye double star with the fainter star Alcor, and is itself a quadruple star system. The whole system lies about 83 light-years away from the Sun, as measured by the Hipparcos astrometry satellite, and is part of the Ursa Major Moving Group.
  • 963
  • 29 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Stellar Constellations in Fiction
Some stellar constellations have been featured in fictional works.
  • 958
  • 31 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Former Constellation
Former constellations are old historical Western constellations that for various reasons are no longer widely recognised or are not officially recognised by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Prior to 1930, many of these defunct constellations were traditional in one or more countries or cultures. Some only lasted decades but others were referred to over many centuries. All are now recognised only for having classical or historical value. Many former constellations had complex Latinised names after objects, people, or mythological or zoological creatures. Others with unwieldy names were shortened for convenience. For example, Scutum Sobiescianum was reduced to Scutum, Mons Mensae to Mensa, and Apparatus Sculptoris to Sculptor. Some of the Northern Sky's former constellations were placed in the less populated regions between the traditional brighter constellations just to fill gaps. In the Southern Sky, new constellations were often created from about the 15th century by voyagers who began journeying south of the Equator. European countries like England, France, the Netherlands, German or Italian states, etc., often supported and popularised their own constellation outlines. In some cases, different constellations occupied overlapping areas and included the same stars. These former constellations are often found in older books, star charts, or star catalogues. The 88 modern constellation names and boundaries were standardised by Eugene Delporte for the IAU in 1930, under an international agreement, removing any possible astronomical ambiguities between astronomers from different countries. Nearly all former or defunct constellations differ in their designated boundaries in as much as they have outlines that do not follow the exact lines of right ascension and declination.
  • 934
  • 05 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Hercules
Hercules is a prominent constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere, named after the legendary hero from Greek mythology known for his incredible strength and courage. It is the fifth-largest of the 88 modern constellations.
  • 931
  • 15 Mar 2024
Biography
Yuri N. Gnedin
Prof. Dr. Yuri N. Gnedin was an outstanding astrophysicist whose scientific interests and expertise were extraordinarily wide. He was an expert in theoretical investigation of the polarized radiation transfer, generation of high-energy radiation in close binary star systems and galactic nuclei, and cyclotron lines in spectra of accreting neutron stars. Prof. Dr. Yuri N. Gnedin developed the pion
  • 922
  • 20 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Alpha Crucis
Alpha Crucis (α Crucis, abbreviated Alpha Cru, α Cru) is a multiple star system 321 light-years from the Sun in the constellation of Crux and part of the asterism known as the Southern Cross. With a combined visual magnitude of 0.76, it is the brightest star in Crux and the 13th brightest star in the night sky. It is the southernmost first-magnitude star, 2.3 degrees more southerly than Alpha Centauri. To the naked eye Alpha Crucis appears as a single star, but it is actually a multiple star system. Two components are visually distinguishable: α1 Crucis and α2 Crucis; alternatively designated α Crucis A and α Crucis B. Both are B-type stars, and are many times more massive and luminous than the Sun. α1 Crucis is itself a spectroscopic binary with components designated α Crucis Aa (also named Acrux) and α Crucis Ab. Its two component stars orbit every 76 days at a separation of about 1 astronomical unit (au).
  • 907
  • 08 Oct 2022
Topic Review
CFBDSIR 1458+10
CFBDSIR J145829+101343 (Coordinates: 14h 58m 29.0s, +10° 13′ 43″, designation abbreviated to CFBDSIR 1458+10, or CFBDSIR J1458+1013) is a binary system of two brown dwarfs of spectral classes T9 + Y0 orbiting each other, located in constellation Boötes about 104 light-years away from Earth. The smaller companion, CFBDSIR 1458+10B, has a surface temperature of approx 370 K (≈100 °C) and used to be known as the coolest known brown dwarf until the discovery of WISE 1828+2650 in August 2011.
  • 901
  • 09 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Origin of ICL
Not all the light in galaxy groups and clusters comes from stars that are bound to galaxies. A significant fraction of it constitutes the so-called intracluster or diffuse light (ICL), a low surface brightness component of groups/clusters generally found in the surroundings of the brightest cluster galaxies and intermediate/massive satellites
  • 897
  • 13 Sep 2021
Biography
Don L. Lind
Don Leslie Lind, Ph.D. (born May 18, 1930), (Cmdr, USNR, Ret.), is an American scientist and a former naval officer and aviator, and NASA astronaut. He graduated from the University of Utah with an undergraduate degree in physics in 1953. Following his military service obligation, he earned a Ph.D. in high-energy nuclear physics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1964. Lind was a na
  • 892
  • 30 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Solar System Model
Solar System models, especially mechanical models, called orreries, that illustrate the relative positions and motions of the planets and moons in the Solar System have been built for centuries. While they often showed relative sizes, these models were usually not built to scale. The enormous ratio of interplanetary distances to planetary diameters makes constructing a scale model of the Solar System a challenging task. As one example of the difficulty, the distance between the Earth and the Sun is almost 12,000 times the diameter of the Earth. If the smaller planets are to be easily visible to the naked eye, large outdoor spaces are generally necessary, as is some means for highlighting objects that might otherwise not be noticed from a distance. The Boston Museum of Science has placed bronze models of the planets in major public buildings, all on similar stands with interpretive labels. For example, the model of Jupiter is located in the cavernous South Station waiting area. The properly-scaled, basket-ball-sized model is 1.3 miles (2.14 km) from the model Sun which is located at the museum, graphically illustrating the immense empty space in the Solar System. The objects in such large models do not move. Traditional orreries often did move, and some used clockworks to display the relative speeds of objects accurately. These can be thought of as being correctly scaled in time, instead of distance.
  • 874
  • 01 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Volcanology of Mars
Volcanic activity, or volcanism, has played a significant role in the geologic evolution of Mars. Scientists have known since the Mariner 9 mission in 1972 that volcanic features cover large portions of the Martian surface. These features include extensive lava flows, vast lava plains, and the largest known volcanoes in the Solar System. Martian volcanic features range in age from Noachian (>3.7 billion years) to late Amazonian (< 500 million years), indicating that the planet has been volcanically active throughout its history, and some speculate it probably still is so today. Both Earth and Mars are large, differentiated planets built from similar chondritic materials. Many of the same magmatic processes that occur on Earth also occurred on Mars, and both planets are similar enough compositionally that the same names can be applied to their igneous rocks and minerals. Volcanism is a process in which magma from a planet's interior rises through the crust and erupts on the surface. The erupted materials consist of molten rock (lava), hot fragmental debris (tephra or ash), and gases. Volcanism is a principal way that planets release their internal heat. Volcanic eruptions produce distinctive landforms, rock types, and terrains that provide a window on the chemical composition, thermal state, and history of a planet's interior. Magma is a complex, high-temperature mixture of molten silicates, suspended crystals, and dissolved gases. Magma on Mars likely ascends in a similar manner to that on Earth. It rises through the lower crust in diapiric bodies that are less dense than the surrounding material. As the magma rises, it eventually reaches regions of lower density. When the magma density matches that of the host rock, buoyancy is neutralized and the magma body stalls. At this point, it may form a magma chamber and spread out laterally into a network of dikes and sills. Subsequently, the magma may cool and solidify to form intrusive igneous bodies (plutons). Geologists estimate that about 80% of the magma generated on Earth stalls in the crust and never reaches the surface. As magma rises and cools, it undergoes many complex and dynamic compositional changes. Heavier minerals may crystallize and settle to the bottom of the magma chamber. The magma may also assimilate portions of host rock or mix with other batches of magma. These processes alter the composition of the remaining melt, so that any magma reaching the surface may be chemically quite different from its parent melt. Magmas that have been so altered are said to be "evolved" to distinguish them from "primitive" magmas that more closely resemble the composition of their mantle source. (See igneous differentiation and fractional crystallization.) More highly evolved magmas are usually felsic, that is enriched in silica, volatiles, and other light elements compared to iron- and magnesium-rich (mafic) primitive magmas. The degree and extent to which magmas evolve over time is an indication of a planet's level of internal heat and tectonic activity. The Earth's continental crust is made up of evolved granitic rocks that developed through many episodes of magmatic reprocessing. Evolved igneous rocks are much less common on cold, dead bodies such as the Moon. Mars, being intermediate in size between the Earth and the Moon, is thought to be intermediate in its level of magmatic activity. At shallower depths in the crust, the lithostatic pressure on the magma body decreases. The reduced pressure can cause gases (volatiles), such as carbon dioxide and water vapor, to exsolve from the melt into a froth of gas bubbles. The nucleation of bubbles causes a rapid expansion and cooling of the surrounding melt, producing glassy shards that may erupt explosively as tephra (also called pyroclastics). Fine-grained tephra is commonly referred to as volcanic ash. Whether a volcano erupts explosively or effusively as fluid lava depends on the composition of the melt. Felsic magmas of andesitic and rhyolitic composition tend to erupt explosively. They are very viscous (thick and sticky) and rich in dissolved gases. Mafic magmas, on the other hand, are low in volatiles and commonly erupt effusively as basaltic lava flows. However, these are only generalizations. For example, magma that comes into sudden contact with groundwater or surface water may erupt violently in steam explosions called hydromagmatic (phreatomagmatic or phreatic) eruptions. Erupting magmas may also behave differently on planets with different interior compositions, atmospheres, and gravitational fields.
  • 872
  • 23 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Yajnavalkya's 95 Years Cycle of Synchronisation
Yajnavalkya's 95 Years Cycle of Synchronisation is the model proposed by the great Indian philosopher Yajnavalkya which explains the mathematical concept of the synchronisation of the motions of the Sun and the Moon. Yajnavalkya invented the 95 years of the periodic cycle, when the solar and lunar motions get synchronised. This 95 years of the periodic cycle is also known as Yajnavalkya Cycle. 
  • 870
  • 25 Dec 2023
Topic Review
«Hadron-M» Complex Installation
“Hadron-M complex installation”, which included an ionization-neutron calorimeter with an area of 55 m2 and an absorber thickness of 1244 g/cm2 (out of eight rows of ionization chambers), one row of neutron detectors and two shower systems of scintillation detectors. The effective area of the “Hadron-M” complex installation was about 30,000 m2.
  • 869
  • 27 Feb 2023
Topic Review
International Space Station Maintenance
Since construction started, the International Space Station (ISS) programme has had to deal with several maintenance issues, unexpected problems and failures. These incidents have affected the assembly timeline, led to periods of reduced capabilities of the station and in some cases could have forced the crew to abandon the space station for safety reasons, had these problems not been resolved.
  • 852
  • 02 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Mars Helicopter Ingenuity
Ingenuity (also known as the Mars Helicopter) is a robotic helicopter that is planned to be used to test the technology to scout interesting targets on Mars, and help plan the best driving route for future Mars rovers. The small drone helicopter is planned for deployment in 2021 from the Perseverance rover as part of the Mars 2020 mission. It is expected to fly up to five times during its 30-day test campaign, early in the rover's mission, as it is primarily a technology demonstration. Each flight is planned to take no more than three minutes, at altitudes ranging from 3 to 10 m above the ground. It could potentially cover a distance of up to 300 metres (980 ft) per flight. It can use autonomous control and communicate with the Perseverance rover directly after each landing. If it works as expected, NASA could build on the design for future Mars aerial missions. MiMi Aung is the project lead. Other contributors include AeroVironment Inc., NASA Ames Research Center, and NASA Langley Research Center.
  • 845
  • 01 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Astrophysics Data System
The SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS) is an online database of over 16 million astronomy and physics papers from both peer reviewed and non-peer reviewed sources. Abstracts are available free online for almost all articles, and full scanned articles are available in Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) and Portable Document Format (PDF) for older articles. It was developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and is managed by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. ADS is a powerful research tool and has had a significant impact on the efficiency of astronomical research since it was launched in 1992. Literature searches that previously would have taken days or weeks can now be carried out in seconds via the ADS search engine, which is custom-built for astronomical needs. Studies have found that the benefit to astronomy of the ADS is equivalent to several hundred million US dollars annually, and the system is estimated to have tripled the readership of astronomical journals. Use of ADS is almost universal among astronomers worldwide, and therefore ADS usage statistics can be used to analyze global trends in astronomical research. These studies have revealed that the amount of research an astronomer carries out is related to the per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of the country in which he/she is based, and that the number of astronomers in a country is proportional to the GDP of that country, so the total amount of research done in a country is proportional to the square of its GDP divided by its population.
  • 833
  • 28 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Timeline of Telescope Technology
The following timeline lists the significant events in the invention and development of the telescope.
  • 833
  • 18 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Planetary Geology
Planetary geology, alternatively known as astrogeology or exogeology, is a planetary science discipline concerned with the geology of the celestial bodies such as the planets and their moons, asteroids, comets, and meteorites. Although the geo- prefix typically indicates topics of or relating to Earth, planetary geology is named as such for historical and convenience reasons; due to the types of investigations involved, it is closely linked with Earth-based geology. These investigations are centered around the composition, structure, processes, and history of a planet. Planetary geology includes such topics as determining the internal structure of the terrestrial planets, and also looks at planetary volcanism and surface processes such as impact craters, fluvial and aeolian processes. The structures and compositions of the giant planets and their moons are also examined, as is the make-up of the minor bodies of the Solar System, such as asteroids, the Kuiper Belt, and comets. Planetary geology includes applications derived from other closely related fields within in the geological sciences, such as geophysics and geochemistry.
  • 824
  • 18 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Soyuz 1
Soyuz 1 (Russian: Союз 1, Union 1) was a crewed spaceflight of the Soviet space program. Launched into orbit on 23 April 1967 carrying cosmonaut colonel Vladimir Komarov, Soyuz 1 was the first crewed flight of the Soyuz spacecraft. The flight was plagued with technical issues, and Komarov was killed when the descent module crashed into the ground due to a parachute failure. This was the first in-flight fatality in the history of spaceflight. The original mission plan was complex, involving a rendezvous with Soyuz 2 and an exchange of crew members before returning to Earth. However, the launch of Soyuz 2 was called off due to thunderstorms.
  • 815
  • 22 Nov 2022
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