Rubin Observatory reveals breathtaking views of space
Rubin Observatory reveals breathtaking views of space
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory released its first images, showcasing millions of galaxies. The images are also expected to reveal thousands of previously unknown space objects.
01:07 - Source: CNN
Vertical Trending Now 15 videos
Rubin Observatory reveals breathtaking views of space
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory released its first images, showcasing millions of galaxies. The images are also expected to reveal thousands of previously unknown space objects.
01:07 - Source: CNN
50 years of 'Jaws' and shark attacks
As Steven Spielberg's summer blockbuster 'Jaws' turns 50, CNN's Harry Enten figures out how likely it is to be attacked by a shark and whether we should fear the waters.
01:57 - Source: CNN
Erupting volcano puts Indonesians on high alert
Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki, one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes, erupted Tuesday, sending an ash cloud high into the air. The country's volcanology agency has raised the alert level to the highest.
00:59 - Source: CNN
The NHL Stanley Cup's perfect imperfections
The Stanley Cup is one of the most iconic trophies in all of sports, but one of the reasons the NHL's championship trophy is so lionized is its perfect imperfections. CNN's Coy Wire spoke to The Keeper of the Cup Howie Borrow for a tour of some of the trophy's character-building bloopers.
01:02 - Source: CNN
Storm chaser captures 'unprecedented' view of monster hailstones falling from sky
Storm chaser and research scientist Sean Waugh has documented softball sized (or greater) hailstones in freefall with an ultra-high-tech camera mounted on a retrofitted research vehicle. The goal – to study and better understand what makes gigantic hail form, and how to better detect it and ultimately improve severe weather warnings. Sean speaks with CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam while on the road, capturing imagery of this very impactful and expensive natural phenomenon. (edited)
01:47 - Source: CNN
Flash flood destroys apartment building
An apartment building in West Virginia partially collapsed as flash floods hit the area. The governor's office said at least five people are dead and four people remain missing following the floods.
00:31 - Source: CNN
After talking to hundreds of dads, this podcaster shares his two biggest lessons
Dr. John Delony speaks to millions of listeners on his popular podcast about mental health, family and relationships. As a therapist, he's used to offering advice to struggling fathers, but we asked him about the biggest lessons he's learned as a dad.
01:32 - Source: CNN
Rare deep-sea squid filmed alive for first time
Scientists have captured the first-ever footage of the elusive Gonatus antarcticus squid alive in its deep-sea habitat. CNN's Jeremy Roth describes the rare encounter. For more on this story, visit natgeo.com.
01:12 - Source: CNN
Trump draws boos and cheers at Kennedy Center
President Donald Trump drew charged reactions of both admiration and ire at the Kennedy Center's opening night of "Les Misérables."
00:29 - Source: CNN
The many adventures of the Stanley Cup
Winner's of the NHL's Stanley Cup each get to take the cup for a day and do whatever they want with it. CNN's Coy Wire recounts some of the Cup's wildest days out.
00:43 - Source: CNN
BTS members discharged from South Korean military
One of the world's biggest boybands could soon be making a comeback with six out of seven members of K-Pop supergroup BTS now discharged from South Korea's mandatory military service. The band plans to reunite at some point later this year.
00:47 - Source: CNN
Combs requests mistrial for a second time
CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister explains that Sean "Diddy" Combs' defense team requested a mistrial for a second time, which was denied. Combs' team accused the prosecution of presenting false testimony from Bryana Bongolan, a friend of Cassie Ventura's, who testified that Combs dangled her over a balcony.
01:26 - Source: CNN
Tennessee sheriff's office airlifts escaped zebra to safety
DEK: A zebra, that escaped from its owner in Christiana, Tennessee was captured on Sunday and airlifted to safety by the local sheriff's office. The animal, named Ed, had been reported missing just a day after he was acquired by its owners in Rutherford County. They have since been reunited.
00:35 - Source: CNN
Jamie Foxx breaks down during BET Awards acceptance speech
Jamie Foxx was overcome with emotion while accepting the Ultimate Icon Award at the BET Awards. He reflected on his 2023 health scare.
00:45 - Source: CNN
See what's coming to your iPhone and other Apple devices
Apple announced major software updates at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference. Most of the new features won't reach users' devices for a few months when OS 26 releases this fall.
01:49 - Source: CNN
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Rubin Observatory releases 'sneak peek' of first images taken with world's largest camera
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has unveiled a "sneak peek" of the first images taken with its powerful astronomy camera — and the results are stunning. The exceptionally detailed images are peppered with multicolored stars and spiraling galaxies. In one photo, the observatory has captured two nebulae, filled with bright pink clouds of gas and dust. The Rubin Observatory is a next-generation telescope equipped with the world's largest digital camera. These first preview images are a major milestone for the observatory, which will become fully operational later this year. Representatives for the Rubin Observatory shared the stunning night-sky snaps on social media, ahead of an official presentation at 11 a.m. ET on Monday (June 23) via the Rubin Observatory's YouTube channel. Observatory staff didn't reveal which parts of the night sky were captured in the preview images, and instead asked social media users to guess. Some users were quick to point out that the bright pink nebulae were the Trifid and Lagoon nebulae, located in the Sagittarius constellation around 9,000 light-years from Earth. BBC News reported that one of the other images is of the Virgo cluster. This large cluster of galaxies has more than 1,000 members. In the Virgo cluster photo, two of its spiral galaxies are clearly visible as bright blue swirls. Related: James Webb telescope unveils largest-ever map of the universe, spanning over 13 billion years Researchers plan to use the Rubin Observatory's massive camera to observe the universe from Earth in never-before-seen detail. Jointly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy, the Rubin Observatory is located high in the Chilean Andes, on a mountain called Cerro Pachón. Later this year, the Rubin Observatory will begin surveying the night sky as part of a 10-year mission. By capturing images around every 40 seconds, researchers will create a time-lapse of the visible universe across space and over time. When it's finished, the Rubin Observatory will have collected the largest optical astronomy dataset in history, according to the Rubin Observatory. RELATED STORIES —'People thought this couldn't be done': Scientists observe light of 'cosmic dawn' with a telescope on Earth for the first time ever —Catastrophic collision between Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies may not happen after all, new study hints —JWST spies frigid alien world on bizarre orbit: 'One of the coldest, oldest and faintest planets that we've imaged to date' "This enormous, all-purpose dataset will bring the night sky to life, enabling scientists around the world to better understand the nature of dark matter and dark energy, create an inventory of the Solar System, map the Milky Way, explore the dynamic sky, and more," a representative from the observatory wrote on YouTube. The Rubin Observatory's next-generation camera should help spot "planet killer" asteroids hiding in the sun's glare, and may also help settle the debate as to whether there's a ninth planet hiding in the outer solar system.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
The Rubin Observatory found 2,104 asteroids in just a few days. It could soon find millions more
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. It was weirdly emotional on Monday (June 23) as several grainy white specks streaked across my computer screen while ambient rhythms buzzed in the background. Those specks were part of a film that played during the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's highly anticipated first image release conference — and they each represented an asteroid that had just been discovered. It felt like witnessing something hugely profound, and there are two reasons why. First of all, to put it simply, with just a few nights of data, the Rubin Observatory team was able to identify 2,104 never-before-seen asteroids in our solar system — seven of which are categorized as near-Earth objects. (No, none are expected to strike our planet. Don't worry). For context, there are approximately a million known asteroids in our cosmic neighborhood; over the next few years, Rubin could very well hike that figure up to five million. "This is five times more than all the astronomers in the world discovered during the last 200 years since the discovery of the first asteroid," Željko Ivezić, Deputy Director of Rubin's Legacy Survey of Space and Time, said during the conference. "We can outdo two centuries of effort in just a couple of years." This is astonishing in itself — talk about an exemplary first impression — but there's still that second thing that makes Rubin's new asteroid data incredible. They can be formatted as movies. For some context about Rubin, this observatory is our brilliant new ground-based eye on the universe, and is located at the El Peñón peak of Cerro Pachón in Chile. It has the ability to image giant swaths of the sky using the world's largest digital camera — and when I say giant, I mean giant. One of its first presented images, for instance, features a bunch of glowing, hazy galaxies of all shapes and sizes. It's difficult not to daydream when looking at a couple of lovely lavender spirals that represent realms comparable to our entire Milky Way. But what you see below in this image is only 2% of the full Rubin view: The plan is for Rubin to capture such massive, high-resolution images of the southern sky once every three nights for at least the next 10 years. You can therefore consider it to be a super-fast, super-efficient and super-thorough cosmic imager. Indeed, those qualities are perfect for spotting some of the smallest details trailing through the space around our planet: asteroids. "We make movies of the night sky to see two things: objects that move and objects that change brightness," Ivezić said. "Objects that move come in two flavors. Stars in our galaxy move, and they move slowly. Much faster objects are asteroids." Zooming into a tiny portion of one of Rubin's images, Ivezić pointed out that there are actually invisible photobombers present. He was talking about the asteroid streaks Rubin's software so kindly removed from the main attraction (I mean, look at that spiral). However, the fact that those asteroids can be removed from an image means they can be precisely isolated to begin with, making it possible to really focus on them if you want to — something that isn't always possible with zippy, fleeting space objects. In fact, it's tremendously difficult to record an asteroid at all. "Asteroids, they disappear after you get one picture of them," Ivezić said, calling Rubin's ability to image small objects orbiting the sun "unprecedented." In the Rubin image Ivezić called out to showcase the observatory's asteroid-tracking capabilities, the asteroid streaks are seen in different colors. This is because each corresponds to one exposure used to create the final image. You can think of it as different images stitched together to create a final view of the asteroids' trajectories. And to take things a step further, if you slap a few of these datasets together, you can indicate asteroid motion against the more static background of stars and galaxies — like a movie. This feature of Rubin should be huge not only because it'd allow scientists to better study asteroid movements and discover new near-Earth objects, but also for humanity's efforts in planetary defense. Over the last couple of years, scientists have really started to question how we can protect our planet if an asteroid were headed our way. NASA's wildly successful DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) mission — which sent a spacecraft on a death mission to crash into an asteroid and see if the object's trajectory can be changed — was arguably the feat that brought planetary defense to the public eye. It'd also be remiss not to mention all the recent anxiety surrounding Asteroid 2024 YR4, which was potent enough to even penetrate the jokes of a random comedy show in New York City I went to around the time it was making headlines. 2024 YR4 briefly had a head-turning likelihood of hitting our planet before that likelihood shot down to nil. There was even a hearing about asteroid safety in May, held by the U.S. House Committee on Space, Science and Technology, during which U.S. Representatives expressed their concern that asteroid defense may be impacted by President Trump's major science funding cuts. All of this is to say that I imagine a state-of-the-art asteroid detector is very welcome in the scientific community right now. To really illustrate the ultimate promise of Rubin's asteroid adventures, Ivezić brought up a simulation of all asteroids expected to orbit our sun. RELATED STORIES — Vera C Rubin Observatory reveals 1st stunning images of the cosmos. Scientists are 'beyond excited about what's coming' — Satellite streaks: Can the huge new Vera Rubin Observatory function in the megaconstellation age? — World's largest digital camera to help new Vera Rubin Observatory make a 'time-lapse record of the universe' (video) "This blue donut is a simulation of all asteroids we expect there," he said. "All of these new discoveries are found in this one narrow slice of this big donut. In two or three years, after we start LSST later this year, we will sweep around and discover all of the millions of asteroids."
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
'2nd Jupiter' exoplanet seen 60 light-years away
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Exoplanets, planets that exist beyond the reaches of our social system, are a key focus for astronomers as they can help uncover a variety of mysteries in our universe, from how the cosmos originally formed to if there's life on other worlds. Exoplanet GJ 504 b orbits the star GJ 504, similar to how Earth orbits the sun. Experts estimate its size to be three to six times more massive than Jupiter, which has caused some astronomers to refer to it as a "second Jupiter." GJ 504 b's main star is located in the constellation Virgo, which is about 60 light-years away. The distance between the exoplanet and its star, GJ 504, is 44 astronomical units (au), around the same distance between the sun and Pluto in our solar system. Experts in the the Strategic Explorations of Exoplanets and Disks with Subaru (SEEDS) project captured this image, using a special coronagraph imager, which allows cameras to see beyond the brightness of a star. The goal of the SEEDS project has been to conduct direct observations of exoplanets, like GJ 504 b, to try to explore their features. Exoplanets, including GJ 504 b, are often very faint, making them hard to photograph directly. When scientists are able to image them, they can then analyze the exoplanets and classify them more accurately. For GJ 504 b, this image helped researchers determine that GJ 504 b has a temperature of 500 Kelvin (440.33 degrees Fahrenheit or 230 degrees Celsius), which is high for humans but very low for a planet. The exoplanet also has fewer clouds in its atmosphere than other exoplanets found, according to the SEEDS project. You can read more about exoplanet tracking and GJ 504 b as the SEEDS project continues to look for more exoplanets in the far reaches of our universe.
