Perpetual Learning
We know our solar system has eight planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. But what if I told you there might be a ninth one, hiding in the distant, icy realm of the Kuiper Belt? Today is September 17, 2025, and the idea of a hidden planet isn’t just science fiction … Read more
It’s a question I hear a lot, especially from folks who fell in love with the stars later in life, perhaps after exploring other fields. “Is it too late for me to switch gears and dive into astronomy?” they ask, often worried about age and their academic background. Let’s talk about this. The universe is … Read more
Did you know that we have visitors from beyond our solar system? It sounds like science fiction, but it’s a reality! Recently, the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS has been putting on a show, and scientists are particularly intrigued by its unusual color. Normally, comets appear with a tail of dust and gas, often with a white … Read more
Did you know that astronomers are getting closer than ever to understanding if we’re alone in the universe? Today, September 9, 2025, is a big day because NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is turning its powerful gaze toward TRAPPIST-1 e. This exoplanet is about the same size as Earth and orbits within the ‘habitable … Read more
It’s September 9th, 2025, and today I want to take you on a journey, not across continents, but across the vast expanse of our universe. Specifically, we’re heading to the Cygnus Region, a part of the sky that astrophotographers and astronomers alike find endlessly fascinating. If you’ve ever been captivated by stunning images of nebulae … Read more
It’s wonderful to hear from a student in India with such a bright passion for the cosmos! You want to pursue astronomy, planetary science, and cosmology, and you’re even considering astrobiology. That’s a fantastic mix of fields, and it shows you’re thinking broadly about the universe and our place in it. As someone who works … Read more
A Cosmic Giant Challenges Our Galactic Origin Story Did you know that the universe, in its infancy, might have been a lot more crowded with massive galaxies than we ever imagined? For years, astronomers have relied on established models to understand how the first galaxies formed and evolved after the Big Bang. These models generally … Read more
Today, I want to dive into something truly fascinating: how the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) finds distant planets using a powerful mathematical tool called Fourier analysis. It’s a bit like listening to a symphony in a noisy concert hall and picking out the solo violin. Even with all the cosmic interference, JWST can detect … Read more
Have you ever looked up at the night sky and wondered what holds it all together? For decades, scientists have been grappling with a mysterious force called dark energy. It’s this invisible ‘something’ that’s pushing the universe apart at an accelerating rate. Think of it as the engine driving cosmic expansion. But what if that … Read more
Did you know that the universe might be hiding some of its oldest secrets in plain sight? The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is constantly giving us breathtaking views of the cosmos, pushing the boundaries of what we thought we knew. Recently, it’s offered us a tantalizing glimpse into the universe’s very beginning, potentially spotting … Read more