In 1980, astronomer Carl Sagan stated, “We’re made of star stuff.” Around 13.8 billion years ago, the Big Bang occurred and created the “star stuff” that forms the universe we know today. However, that explosion created more than just matter; it created antimatter too. Always produced as a pair, antimatter and matter are very similar. […]
Creation and destruction: Investigating the disappearance of antimatter Read More »
On October 12, 2021, a team of Australian researchers, led by PhD student Ziteng Wang, reported the discovery of a possible new object in space. The mysterious source of energy has been labeled ASKAP J173608.2−321635. The catch? It doesn’t fit into a category of anything scientists have ever seen before. ASKAP J173608.2−321635 was first noticed
Picking up on some strange energy: The mysterious space object baffling astronomers Read More »
With a radius of over nine and a half times that of Earth’s and an atmosphere consisting of almost entirely hydrogen and helium, Saturn is a gas giant. But most notoriously, Saturn is known for the beautiful rings of ice and rock particles that orbit around its equator. However, lesser known to most is its
The hexagon: Explaining Saturn’s north pole pattern Read More »
With 79 moons and a magnetic field 20 times stronger than that of Earth, Jupiter is a unique planet in the context of our solar system. The gas giant is the fastest spinning and most massive of our planets, not to mention home to a virulent storm called the Great Red Spot that has captivated
Peculiar properties of a polar planet Read More »
Humans produce a lot of trash. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, for example, has accumulated plastic and other kinds of waste from all over the world’s oceans. While the problem of polluting the seas is fairly well known, another territory is also feeling the effects of human interference: space. It is estimated that there are
How to fix debris from taking up too much space — in space Read More »
The past ten years have seen an explosion of small-lift rocket companies. Ranging from 30 to 100 feet tall, these liquid-propellant rockets aim to launch up to two tons of payload — equivalent to the weight of a large car — into orbit. Instead of focusing on humans and large space telescopes, they’re launching smaller
A new space race is underway, and it’s explosive Read More »
It began with two members and one big dream: create a club that allows students to apply their engineering knowledge from class by building drones, planes, and rockets from scratch. Meet Northeastern’s Aerospace Club, or AeroNU. With 200 members nearly a decade later, the Redshift team at AeroNU is quite literally reaching for the sky
A turbulent flight to success: A tale of Northeastern’s very own aerospace club Read More »
Star-gazers are captivated by an astronomical phenomenon called a glitch. Glitches occur in neutron stars, which are remnants of a collapsed star and are the smallest stars in the universe. But don’t underestimate them: they are extremely dense, with just a teaspoon of their matter weighing around a hundred million tons on Earth! When neutron
Just before midnight in late July 2013, onlookers began lining the side of an interstate right outside of Chicago — many pulling out their smartphones to film. They watched as the flashing police lights leading the procession silently illuminated the suburb. The sea of reds and blues slowly faded into a sweeping gold. Following the