Look out – it’s the attack of the planet-eating suns! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. When two stars form at the same time, they should be chemically identical … like twins! But some pairs are more like distant cousins. And as it turns out
Continue readingTag: astronomy
Asteroid Blaster
AHHH! An asteroid is hurtling towards Earth! What to do??? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying: ready…aim…FIRE! But would that REALLY work? Let’s find out! George Flynn at State University of New York crushed up real meteorite fragments, acquired from the Vatican Observatory. Then,
Continue readingPlanetary Diet
Look out – it’s the attack of the planet-eating suns! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. When two stars form at the same time, they should be chemically identical … like twins! But some pairs are more like distant cousins. And as it turns out
Continue readingAsteroid Blaster
AHHH! An asteroid is hurtling towards Earth! What to do??? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying: ready…aim…FIRE! But would that REALLY work? Let’s find out! George Flynn at State University of New York crushed up real meteorite fragments, acquired from the Vatican Observatory. Then,
Continue readingVanishing Planets
Who can solve the Case of the Vanishing Planet…? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with The Loh Down on Science… and a cold case from outer space. In two thousand four, the Hubble Space Telescope snapped a photo of the planet Fomalhaut-b. Astronomers noticed something odd about Foh-b. It wasn’t
Continue readingCosmic Colors
Can you paint with all the colors of… the climate?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Looking for a vacation home… on another planet? Earth isn’t the only planet where life — like us — can kick back! But how can we tell if a planet
Continue readingGalaxy Roughhousing
Does our galaxy need a collision damage waiver?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with The Loh Down on Science. Scientists know that the Milky Way doesn’t have a perfect disk shape. Instead, it’s slightly bent, like a brim of a sunhat. But what’s causing this elegant curve? Enter a team
Continue readingStar in a Bottle
Catch a falling star and put it in a….bottle? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Among the stars in the sky, Tabby’s Star is a real puzzle. Since it was discovered in twenty-fifteen, astronomers have noticed that it randomly dims — by as much as
Continue readingStormy Stripes
Five hundred leagues under the WIND? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Jupiter – it’s one stylish planet! Its red, gold, and orange stripes – formed by violent winds and weather – give it an unmistakable look. For years, scientists have wondered how deep the
Continue readingStellar Visitor
Are we being watched by visitors from another galaxy? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. A couple of years ago, astronomers saw something unexpected in their telescopes. An object from another solar system! Named Oumuamua, this spinning, skyscraper shaped rock confounded the scientists. Was it
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