SFN #147: Space Fan News 2015 Review

TESS First Light: The Search for Exoplanets Has Begun!

19th Sep, 2018 - 1.5k views

TESS the transiting exoplanet survey satellite, has taken its first science image. This image is the first in the first sector of the southern hemisphere and shows both LMC and SMC

The Lynx Space Telescope: A Flagship Concept to Probe the Energetic Universe

18th Sep, 2018 - 361 views

Lynx is one of four flagship concepts for the next great space telescope. NASA has funded a series of studies of four concepts that will in less than a year's time produce candidate designs for a major space observatory to begin construction later

The Square Kilometer Array: The Worlds Largest Radio Telescope

17th Sep, 2018 - 979 views

Welcome to our inaugural Telescope Talk - Professsional Version Hangout! Today we learn about the Square Kilometer array being built in South Africa and Western Australia The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project is an international effort to buil

Telescope Talk Hangout w/ Thomas Pickett

11th Sep, 2018 - 933 views

Join us for a newly revamped hangout series on all things amateur astronomy! This week, we're talking with Tom Pickett, an advanced amateur with decades of experience that has been sharing his work to all who want to enjoy. Follow Tom on Facebook

Mars: Warmer with Water - Was it once Closer to the Sun?

10th Sep, 2018 - 1k views

The study of planetary systems around other stars suggests that planets can migrate closer or farther from their parent star, not staying in the orbit where they originally formed. Traces of water on Mars suggests that it may have been wetter, and pe

Cosmic Bell Test of Entanglement Using Distant Quasars

8th Sep, 2018 - 2.6k views

In this episode, we’re going to take on the topic of quantum entanglement. That feature of quantum mechanics that Einstein called a spooky action at a distance. Well last month astronomers used very distant quasars to remove a possible bias in a

The James Webb Space Telescope: The Next Great Observatory

31st Aug, 2018 - 2.3k views

For more than two decades, the series of NASA Great Observatories may have revealed more about the secrets of the cosmos than had been accomplished in the preceding history of astronomical exploration. The next great history-making observatory, the J

Live Vlog: Where to Start Your Search for your Astronomy Career

29th Aug, 2018 - 982 views

I've been doing these posts long enough to start getting questions, today I'll take one about where to start searching. There are several good websites I'll go over in this stream: http://www.aura-astronomy.org/jobs/ https://jobregister.aas.org/ ht

The Earth As An Exoplanet

22nd Aug, 2018 - 4.9k views

What would Earth look like as an exoplanet? How would Earth appear to our space telescopes looking for worlds like ours?

Climate Change on Alien Worlds: A Possible Great Filter? (Pt 2)

21st Aug, 2018 - 1.1k views

Is climate change inevitable on worlds with technological civilizations? Is planetary feedback from such a civilization a great filter? Our guest Dr Adam Frank will discuss his paper on the effects of planetary feedback on any possible alien civiliz

A Gateway for Human Space Exploration: The Next Step After ISS

14th Aug, 2018 - 2.2k views

The International Space Station (ISS) has been the first successful step in long-duration human operations in space. If astronauts are to travel to Moon, Mars, and deep space, we need more technical capabilities like a deep space gateway.

Can We Find Exoplanets Using Gravitational Waves?

10th Aug, 2018 - 2.5k views

Is it possible to find exoplanets using their gravitational wave signatures? If the orbit of the planet is close enough and short enough to the host star, then yes it is. But boy what a system it would need to be!