items tagged with Astronomy

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - The U.S. satellite system that monitors Earth's environment and climate needs an urgent upgrade or scientists will lose much of their ability to predict events like hurricanes, according to a report released by the National Research Council on Monday.

Scientists have suggested that rare black "carbonado" diamonds - found only in Brazil and the Central African Republic - may have arrived on Earth aboard a kilometre-wide asteroid, New Scientist reports.

Two years ago, a small spacecraft fell through a turbulent atmosphere to land on the surface of an alien world a billion or so kilometres from Earth. Since then, the data collected during its relatively short descent has continued to delight and amaze space scientists, amateur astronomers, and anyone with a passing interest in alien worlds, so it seems churlish to let the anniversary pass unnoticed.

The famous "Pillars of Creation", the subject of the best known of Hubble's images, have already been blown apart by a supernova. We won't see their destruction here on Earth for another thousand years, but the astronomers making the claim estimate that the massive, star-forming pillars that make up the Eagle Nebula were obliterated almost 6000 years ago.