Pink Super Moon

30th April

By: Haris Ahmad

The Full Moon of April 2021, called the Super Pink Moon attracted many Astronomy enthusiasts as it shined brightly in the night sky. Many Astrophotographers captured this beautiful Astronomical event. This Moon was one of the two Super Moons of 2021. 

Super Moons occur when the Moon comes the closest to Earth in its elliptical orbit. This makes the Moon up to 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than it is when it's the farthest from Earth in its elliptical orbit cycle. 

I myself captured this beautiful event in Pakistan. Although the city I live in has an urban night sky; the Moon was still clearly visible. Luckily, on the night of this event, the sky was clear and there were no clouds that blocked the Moon. 

Here is the picture that I captured :

If you missed this Astronomical event, then don't worry, because on 26th May, there is another Astronomical event. The Blood Moon. 

Be on the lookout for the Moon in the sky on 26th May, You surely don't want to miss this pleasing event.

 

The Blue Moon

31st October 2020

By: Haris Ahmad

Tonight, a blue moon will appear for all time zones on Earth. This astronomical event has last happened for all time zones in 1944 and won’t happen again until the year 2039 for all time zones.

https://www.universetoday.com/20321/blue-moon/

It sure will be a spooky one taking into account that Halloween is right around the corner. Blue moons are rare since they appear once every 2.5 years on average. The last seen blue moon for a specific time zone was in March 2018.

The moon will ‘not’ turn blue itself. The blue color can be seen due to t the scattering of the light coming from the moon by smoke or dust particles in our planet’s atmosphere. Such effects are not at all related to the moon’s phases.

Moreover, this moon also qualifies for the title of a ‘mini-moon’ since it will occur when the moon is approximately at the farthest point from Earth in its orbit. The mon will be approximately 406,394 km away from Earth which is significantly farther away than its average distance of about 384,400 km.

https://slate.com/technology/2014/05/close-encounter-what-if-the-moon-orbited-much-closer-to-earth.html

Nebulae – The Most Beautiful Places in the Universe’

25th October 2020

By: Haris Ahmad

Nebulae are giant clouds of gas and dust in space. Some of them may have formed due to the explosion of stars into supernovae. Nebulae are places where stars form and the Sun also formed from the elementary particles in a Nebula. In our universe, there are countless Nebulae with some visible to the naked eye in a clear night sky as well.  

This is the third blog of my ‘Nebulae – The Most Beautiful Places in the Universe’ series. In this blog, I will highlight the Helix Nebula.

 

The Helix Nebula is located 650 light-years away from Earth in the Aquarius Constellation. Similar to the Dumbbell Nebula in my previous blog, this Nebula is also a planetary Nebula and is cataloged as NGC 7293.

Credits: NASA

This Nebula resulted in an old Sun-like star that shed its outer layers in a supernova explosion. The same may happen to our Sun in 5 billion years too.

 

The structure of this Nebula resembles the eye of Sauron from the Lord of the Rings which many of you may have noticed too. The bright purple circle in the center of the Nebula is the ultraviolet and infrared glow of the disk of dust that orbits the white dwarf that is present at the very center of the Nebula.

 

Before the star exploded into a Supernova, its comets and maybe planets would have orbited the star in a normal way but when the star ran out of Hydrogen and Helium to burn for Thermo-Nuclear fusion, it blew its outer layers off and the celestial bodies that orbited the star would have been tossed away and into each other. The inner planets of the star system would have probably either burned up due to the heat oof would have been swallowed completely by the expanding star.

Nebulae – The Most Beautiful Places in the Universe

18th October 2020

By: Haris Ahmad

Nebulae are giant clouds of gas and dust in space. Some of them may have formed due to the explosion of stars into supernovae. Nebulae are places where stars form and the Sun also formed from the elementary particles in a Nebula. In our universe, there are countless Nebulae with some visible to the naked eye in a clear night sky as well.  

This is the second blog of my ‘Nebulae – The Most Beautiful Places in the Universe’ series. In this blog, I will highlight one of my favorite Nebula, The Dumbbell Nebula.

 

The Dumbbell Nebula was discovered by Charles Messier in 1746. It resides approximately 1200 light-years away from Earth in the Vulpecula Constellation.

Credits: NASA/ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

This Nebula is also known as M27 and was the first planetary Nebula that we ever discovered. It isn’t a planetary Nebula because it hosts planets but it is classified as a planetary Nebula because of its planet-like appearance when viewed by smaller telescopes. Just like the Crab Nebula, this Nebula is also the result of an old star that sheds its layers in a Supernova explosion.

 

This Nebula hosts many layers of gas and dust as we can see in the image. Some point at the stars inside the range of the Nebula whilst some remain as isolated clouds. The sizes of the clouds of gases in the Dumbbell Nebula range from 17 billion to 56 billion km. The shapes and sizes of these clouds change as the Nebula expands due to inertia from the explosion. Moreover, such clouds have been discovered in other nearby Nebulae as well which suggests that it’s a universal evolutionary scheme.

 

 

Mars At Its Brightest

September 11th, 2020

By: Haris Ahmad

Currently, the red planet Mars is at its brightest and biggest in the night-sky as it has lined up with Earth on the same side of the Sun. This phenomenon occurs every 26 months on average and hence, Earth and Mars get the closest to themselves in orbit. This is also the best time for missions to take on a trip to Mars due to the closer distance.  

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2020/10/10/mars-at-its-brightest-since-2003-as-moon-visits-venus-what-you-can-see-in-the-night-sky-this-week/#2e2838c92d13

On the night of Tuesday, 13th October, the ‘opposition’ will take place and Earth Mars and the Sun will align in a straight-line making Mars the brightest till 2035 when it will take place once again. None of us should miss this event because it may be the last time for some people to see it. Regardless of that, no astronomy enthusiast shall miss this beautiful event.  

Moreover, Astrophotographers in the Northern Hemisphere will be overwhelmed due to the fact that on this occasion, the elevation of the red planet in the sky is higher than normal which means that telescopes will not need to look through the Earth’s disturbing atmosphere which can lead to distortion in images. 

Alan MacRobert, a senior editor of Sky & Telescope magazine says, "Just look southeast after the end of twilight, and you can't miss it. Mars looks almost scary now, compared to how it normally looks in the sky."

 

Supermassive Black Hole Supports General Relativity

October 4, 2020

By: Haris Ahmad

Einstein’s general theory of relativity has remained at the brink edge of being proved for decades now. It still remains as a theory due to the fact that we don’t know yet, how the general theory of relativity can be reconciled with quantum physics. However, there are still countless phenomena that prove this theory. The best of them is the total Solar Eclipse that took place in 1919.

The experiment conducted on the event of this eclipse proved that light from distant objects is bent by the gravity of massive objects which in this experiment was our very own parent star, the Sun; whereby the blocking of the Sun's light allowed us to directly observe the light from the star that was behind the Sun which appeared to be in a different location than it normally is. 

However, recently researchers at the University of Arizona have found that a 'shadow' cast by the supermassive black hole that is known as M87 at the center of the Messier 87 galaxy proves that Einstein was correct. 

https://www.cbs46.com/first-photo-of-a-black-hole-supports-einsteins-theory-of-relativity/article_e97bcb42-45e3-5c3f-b07f-9df771c4fbc2.html

The team has found that the intense gravity of the Black Hole bent the fabric of Space-time which acted as a magnifying glass which caused the shadow of the black hole to appear larger than it normally should be.  

When measurements were taken, the researchers found that the size of the black hole shadow was close enough to the size predicted by the mathematics behind general relativity.  

This black hole is located 53.49 million light-years away but thanks to modern technology, scientists could uncover it and study it. This is the same black hole that the researchers studied using the Event Horizon Telescope in 2019.  

 

https://alkhaleejtoday.co/international/5059618/The-first-image-of-a-black-hole-supports-Einstein%E2%80%99s-theory-of.html

Michael Kramer, director of the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy and EHT collaboration member said, “Blackhole images provide a completely new angle for testing Einstein's theory of general relativity”. 

With such successful studies and discoveries, the theory of general relativity may soon become a law that would give us an extremely enhanced view of the universe. 

The Discovery Of Life On Venus

September 27th, 2020

By: Haris Ahmad

Venus was named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty. It doesn’t have any natural satellites/Moons and is a rocky planet. The close distance to the Sun coupled with the thick atmosphere of Venus makes it trap an insane amount of heat and hence, Venus is known to be the hottest planet in the Solar System. The temperatures on this planet can reach up to a blazing 462 degrees Celsius. This is enough to kill you and turn you into ashes in less than 2 seconds. Furthermore, it rains Sulphuric acid on this planet which is a highly corrosive acid and will burn you in the matter of seconds. This deadly rain is caused due to the composition of its atmosphere. If you want to see a place similar to hell in this life, then go to Venus and you’ll have an idea.

https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/09/16/1008478/venus-soon-as-possible-phosphine-clouds-astrobiology-life-veritas-davinci/

According to some theories, Venus was very similar to Earth millions of years ago; however, something went terribly wrong and unimaginable amounts of gases such as Cabon dioxide were released. Scientists still aren't sure about what exactly happened but whatever happened, it wasn't normal. This gives birth to many questions such as, was Venus once habitable, if yes then what lived on it, where did the inhabitants go or what happened to them, and so on. Whatever the changes may be in favor of life being on Venus, it is a general conception that in the current conditions, Venus cannot be home to any kind of living organism in any way, taking into account its conditions. However, you would be shocked to hear that scientists have recently discovered signs of life in Venus's atmosphere.  

Even though the surface of Venus may not be welcoming, the atmosphere may be the place where we should look for life in the form of microorganisms. There is a region of Venus's atmosphere that isn't too hot or too cold and may be suitable for life to exist in.  

Hence, Scientists have detected the presence of Phosphine gas in the same ideal region of the atmosphere of Venus. Phosphine is a deadly molecule to humans and was also used in the first World War as a weapon in chemical warfare. The reason behind Phosphine being so toxic to humans is that it reacts very easily with the oxygen that our body needs to respire and survive. However, Phosphine is not toxic to the forms of life which do not require oxygen to survive. In fact, some also produce phosphine. This gas is often found in oxygen-free environments on our planet and is produced by the waste of some microbial organisms. Therefore, if some kinds of microbes produce phosphine on Earth, there could also be some organisms on Venus that can produce Phosphine.  

The deep story behind this discovery is that one of the astronomers operating the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope at Hawaii known as Jane Greeves detected a hint of Phosphine gas in the atmosphere of Venus but that sign was confirmed by a more powerful telescope ALMA or Atacama Large Millimeter Array telescope located in Chile. 

After observing Venus again, scientists were assured that it was indeed, Phosphine. After countless experiments and simulations of trying to create Phosphine without life, the scientists failed and hence, it was sure now that according to the laws of modern science, Phosphine can only be produced by microbial life.  

There are two plausible explanations for the Phosphine in Venus’s atmosphere. Either the production of Phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus is the result of some reactions that are unknown to modern science. Or, there is microbial life in the atmosphere of Venus which is producing the Phosphine gas.  

Venus has now become the top priority for Scientists and they are planning to send missions there to search for life. This would happen soon because Venus isn't very distant from us being a planetary neighbor.  

Nebulae - The Most Beautiful Places in the Universe

September 20, 2020

By: Haris Ahmad

Nebulae are giant clouds of gas and dust in space. Some of them may have formed due to the explosion of stars into supernovae. Nebulae are the regions where stars form and the Sun is also formed from the elementary particles in a Nebula.  

In this series, I will highlight some of the most beautiful and attractive Nebulae. There are countless Nebulae in the universe with some visible to the naked eye in a clear night sky as well.  

The first Nebula I’ll talk about is one which you may have seen or heard about before. This Nebula is known as the Crab Nebula. It is also known as Messier 1.

https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso9948f/

It is an expanding remnant of a Supernova that has a Pulsar at its center. I have explained what a Pulsar is in one of my previous blogs. The Crab Nebula is located in the northern region of constellation Taurus. It is approximately 6500 light-years away from us. This Nebula is more than 75,000 times luminous than our Sun. The Supernova explosion that resulted in the creation of the Crab Nebula is known as SN 1054 since it was observed by Chinese Astronomers in 1054 A.D. The diameter of this beautiful Nebula is approximately 11 light-years across and is expanding at the speed of 1500 km per second.  

The Pulsar at the center on the Crab Nebula is known as the Crab Pulsar which is approximately 20 to 30 km across. It is a rapidly rotating neutron star that spins at a rate of almost 30 times per second.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crab_Pulsar

The explosion of the star that formed the Nebula has produced a large shell of elements that still exist in the Nebula. However, this Nebula will eventually disappear and the fragments will be dispersed into space nearby.  

This Nebula was discovered in 1731 by an Astronomer named John Bewis. However, later, Astronomer Charles Messier discovered it independently in 1758 while looking for Halley’s Comet, which was predicted to return that year.  

Imagination

September 13, 2020

By: Haris Ahmad

Humans are the supreme inhabitants of Planet Earth and have been dominating it for thousands of years. In the current era, humans have developed to such an extent in astronomy that they can observe celestial bodies that are millions of light-years away. However, we cannot travel to these places as we haven’t discovered the technology to travel such distances in our lifetimes. Therefore, we are limited in power and technology. But we have an ability that makes us superior over any other known organisms and that ability is imagination. Imagination has no boundaries and it can take us anywhere at any time. It is our imagination and curiosity that has brought us to this point in scientific development.  

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2095042-nasa-approves-five-more-years-for-hubble-space-telescope/

Moreover, imagination is the key with which many known scientists have unlocked the secrets of the universe. If Einstein hadn’t imagined riding a beam of light, he may have not published theories like the general relativity which lays a basis in astronomical discoveries and the forces that govern the universe. Hence, with imagination, we can simulate any scenario for reasons such as discovering something or imagining of something that one cannot afford to experience. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein

Einstein once said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution."  

Furthermore, another great scientist with exceptional imagination was Nikola Tesla who had developed the ability to visualize his work and this allowed him to save a great deal of time, money, and effort in building and testing his machines. Therefore, he discovered the secrets of the universe in terms of energy and frequency and is to this day, well known for his work like Einstein.

Even I sometimes imagine traveling to my favorite celestial bodies such as Pulsars, Nebulae, and Black Holes though I cannot go there physically. I can imagine falling into a Black Hole and experiencing what's within. 

A Salty Underworld Below Martian Surface

September 6, 2020

By: Haris Ahmad

In July 2018, data from the European Space Agency's Mars Express successfully found traces of a possible water lake below the icy surface on that exists on the south pole of Mars. 

However, two years later, they found fresh evidence supporting the existence of liquid water on Mars. Scientists examined radar images of Mars that were collected over a period of over 10 years and found evidence of not only one but several pools of water below the Martian surface. 

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/mars-lake-south-pole-ice-surrounded-pools-water

In detail, 100 radar images that were captured by the Mars Express spacecraft from 2010 till 2019, scientists behind this discovery found evidence of several liquid bodies below glaciers. These liquid bodies varied in sizes. The largest of which is 19 km m across and the smallest is nearly 5 km across.  

Taking into account, the average temperature on Mars is around -80 degrees Celsius, which is too cold to sustain any liquid water at the surface. 

However, researchers believe that these lakes maintain their liquid state thanks to their high concentrations of salt. Basically, Saltworks to get down the freezing point of water so the water can become colder than zero degrees Celsius before it turns to solid ice. In addition, water that contains salt can reach temperatures of nearly minus –21 degrees Celsius. 

Many scientists believe Mars was once a hospitable planet like Earth and might even have hosted life forms millions of years ago. However, the atmosphere of the planet was ripped away because the planet lacked a strong magnetic field like Earth's, allowing solar wind to deprive it of a thick atmosphere.  

https://astronomy.wonderhowto.com/how-to/old-are-you-mars-and-venus-learn-convert-earth-years-across-our-solar-system-0132937/

Though, we shouldn’t lose hope because discoveries like these suggest that some parts of the red planet can be welcoming to life, and could even contain some form of microbial life that survived the calamities.