Tag: astronomy
Inside the Picometer Tech Built for NASA’s Next Flagship Space Telescope
BROOMFIELD, CO, August 30, 2026 — Everyone loves the razor-sharp, ultra-narrow snapshots coming out of James Webb, but deep space research actually requires massive wide-angle sweeps to make sense of cosmic evolution. NASA launched its latest flagship observatory today—the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope—off a pad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It is a […]
Scaffolding
Weak gravitational lensing: invisible dark matter revealed through coherent galaxy shapes. Based on Scognamiglio et al. (Nature Astronomy, Jan 2026), who used JWST's COSMOS-Web survey to create the most detailed dark matter map ever — 800,000 galaxies, 255 hours of observation, twice the resolution of Hubble. The galaxies aren't randomly oriented. They're all slightly stretched by the same invisible structure. That coherence is the signal.
Lensing
Gravitational microlensing: an invisible object reveals itself by bending starlight. Based on Dong et al. (Science, 2026), who measured a rogue planet's mass for the first time using stereoscopic parallax between Earth and the Gaia spacecraft. A Saturn-mass world, ejected from its birth system, wandering alone 10,000 light-years away — detected only by the light it bends.
Dolphin Astronomy
Tuesday morning, and I’m feeling the repercussions of not listening about the sunscreen. After a quick breakfast we head out to a local grocery store so I can buy some, because we will absolutely need it today.
Cosmic Mistake
Why your zodiac sign—that thing that supposedly defines your personality—is probably wrong. Sorry, Gemini.