Astronomy

Saturn’s iconic rings are set to seemingly vanish from view this weekend as they align edge-on with Earth for the first time since 2009. This rare phenomenon, known as the “ring plane crossing”, will occur on Sunday, March 23, at 12:04 p.m. EDT (1604 GMT), as Earth passes directly through Saturn’s ring plane, according to In-the-Sky.org. Saturn passing through ‘ring plane crossing’. Why Do Saturn’s Rings Disappear? Every 13 to 15 years, Saturn’s rings align perfectly with our line of sight, making them appear nearly invisible from Earth. The planet’s rings are incredibly thin relative to their vast diameter — stretching 170,000 miles (273,600 kilometers) across but only about 30 feet (10 meters) thick. When they tilt edge-on to Earth, they reflect very little light, causing them to nearly...

The vast, magnificent universe of stars, galaxies, and time itself has an expiration date—and it may come far sooner than once thought. A team of Dutch researchers from Radboud University has proposed that the universe could decay in roughly 10⁷⁸ years, compared to the previously believed 10¹⁰⁰ years. Their conclusion stems from a bold reinterpretation of Hawking radiation. The vast Universe, stretching 13.8 billion light years in all directions Originally, Hawking radiation described black holes emitting faint energy due to quantum fluctuations, suggesting they could slowly evaporate. But physicists Heino Falcke, Michael Vendrell, and Walter van Suijlekom have expanded this idea. They suggest Hawking-like radiation applies not only to black holes but to any massive object with a gravitat...

Another month down, and we’re officially into April! With it, we’re welcoming brighter mornings and brighter evenings – thank you, daylight savings! We’re getting closer to retiring the winter coats and swapping hot drinks for iced ones. Spring is here! Pink Moon Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech The ‘Pink Moon’ will be the full moon of April and you will be able to see this on Sunday 12th at 8:22pm. The name ‘Pink Moon’ actually comes from a pink wildflower that grows in spring, not because the moon will actually appear pink, sadly. I would love to live in a world where we have a pink moon! This year’s Pink Moon will also be known as a micromoon, this means the moon will be at its farthest point from Earth. Therefore the moon will appear smaller and dimmer – opposite to a supermoon. Lyrids M...