Ken Croswell

4 weeks ago | snexplores.org | Ken Croswell

annual: Adjective for something that happens every year. asteroid: A rocky object in orbit around the sun. Most asteroids orbit in a region that falls between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Astronomers refer to this region as the asteroid belt. astronomer: A scientist who works in the field of research that deals with celestial objects, space and the physical universe. atmosphere: The envelope of gases surrounding Earth, another planet or a moon.

1 month ago | sciencenews.org | Ken Croswell

Bad news, earthlings. Computer simulations of the solar system’s future reveal a new risk facing us all: The gravitational tug of a passing star could either cause another planet to smack into Earth or else fling our planet into the sun or far away from it, where any inhabitants would freeze. Blame Mercury. Astronomers have long known that the innermost planet’s orbit, which is fairly oval-shaped, can become even more elliptical due to gravitational jiggles from Jupiter.

2 months ago | sciencenews.org | Ken Croswell |Liz Kruesi

For the first time, astronomers have confirmed the existence of a lone black hole — one with no star orbiting it. It’s “the only one so far,” says Kailash Sahu, an astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. In 2022, Sahu and his colleagues discovered the dark object coursing through the constellation Sagittarius. A second team disputed the claim, saying the body might instead be a neutron star.

Mar 11, 2025 | sciencenews.org | Ken Croswell

Uranus emits more energy than it gets from the sun, two new studies report — a discovery that contradicts findings from the venerable Voyager spacecraft. When Voyager 2 sped past Uranus on January 24, 1986, the spacecraft detected no significant excess heat from the planet, making it seemingly unique among the sun’s giant worlds.

Feb 28, 2025 | sciencenews.org | Ken Croswell

Alpha Centauri, the nearest star system to the sun, is probably shedding comets and asteroids into our solar system — and even producing a few meteors in our sky. Located just 4.3 light-years from Earth, Alpha Centauri consists of three stars that revolve around one another.