Universe

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Physical Realm
Universe Astronomical Instrument
Galaxy Milky Way, Andromeda
Planetary System Star, Brown Dwarf, Planet, Moon

Solar System Sun
Terrestrial Planet Mercury, Venus, Earth (Moon), Mars
Asteroid Belt Ceres, Vesta
Jovian Planet Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Trans-Neptunian Object
Kuiper Belt Pluto, Haumea, Makemake
Scattered Disc Eris, Sedna, Planet X
Oort Cloud Etc. Scholz’s Star
Small Body Comet, Centaur, Asteroid

Posts

  • Milky Way Lost & Found (8/15/2018) - Have you seen the Milky Way? You may think that you have, but are you sure? Unless you live in an extremely remote area, or you’ve visited one, then you probably haven’t seen our own galaxy, the Milky Way, very well, or at all. Worse yet, you may not even realize that it’s missing. The … Continue reading Milky Way Lost & Found

Resources

These are organized by a classification scheme developed exclusively for Cosma. More…

General

Dictionary

universe : a distinct field or province of thought or reality that forms a closed system or self-inclusive and independent organization — Webster

OneLook, Free Dictionary, Wiktionary, Urban Dictionary

space : a boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction — Webster

OneLook, Free Dictionary, Wiktionary, Urban Dictionary

Thesaurus

Roget’s II (Thesaurus.com), Merriam-Webster Thesaurus, Visuwords

Encyclopedia

Universe The Universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. While the spatial size of the entire Universe is still unknown, it is possible to measure the observable universe. — Wikipedia

Encyclopædia Britannica

Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum known as spacetime. The concept of space is considered to be of fundamental importance to an understanding of the physical universe. However, disagreement continues between philosophers over whether it is itself an entity, a relationship between entities, or part of a conceptual framework. — Wikipedia

Encyclopædia Britannica

Cosmos: SAO Encyclopedia of Astronomy (Swinburne Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing)
Encyclopedia of Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy (Eric Weisstein’s World of Astronomy, Wolfram Research)
Astrophysics (Eric Weisstein’s World of Physics, Wolfram Research)

Introduction


Portal

Astronomy Guide (Library of Congress)
Astronomy Selected Internet Resources (Library of Congress)
Astronomy and Astrophysics Science Tracer Bullet (Library of Congress)
Archaeoastronomy Science Tracer Bullet (Library of Congress)
Astronomy Subject Primer (National Network of Libraries of Medicine)
Astrophysics, Astronomy, Astrochemistry, Astrobiology & Cosmology Center (Martindale’s Reference Desk)
Space Portal (Wikipedia)
Astronomy Portal (Wikipedia)

Search

Space & Astronomy (Wolfram Alpha)
Astronomy (Wolfram Alpha)
Astrophysics (Wolfram Alpha)

Science


Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It applies mathematics, physics, and chemistry, in an effort to explain the origin of those objects and phenomena and their evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, galaxies, and comets; the phenomena include supernova explosions, gamma ray bursts, and cosmic microwave background radiation. More generally, all phenomena that originate outside Earth’s atmosphere are within the purview of astronomy.

Astronomy is one of the oldest of the natural sciences. The early civilizations in recorded history, such as the Babylonians, Greeks, Indians, Egyptians, Nubians, Iranians, Chinese, Maya, and many ancient indigenous peoples of the Americas performed methodical observations of the night sky. Historically, astronomy has included disciplines as diverse as astrometry, celestial navigation, observational astronomy, and the making of calendars, but professional astronomy is now often considered to be synonymous with astrophysics. — Wikipedia

Encyclopædia Britannica

Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that employs the principles of physics and chemistry to ascertain the nature of the astronomical objects, rather than their positions or motions in space. Among the objects studied are the Sun, other stars, galaxies, extrasolar planets, the interstellar medium and the cosmic microwave background. Their emissions are examined across all parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, and the properties examined include luminosity, density, temperature, and chemical composition. Because astrophysics is a very broad subject, astrophysicists typically apply many disciplines of physics, including mechanics, electromagnetism, statistical mechanics, thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, relativity, nuclear and particle physics, and atomic and molecular physics. — Wikipedia

Britannica

Outline

Outline of Space sciences (Wikipedia)

Preservation

History

History of Astronomy (Ask an Astronomer, Cornell University)

Quotation

Quotations Page Bartlett’s

Museum

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (YouTube Channel)

Library

WorldCat, Library of Congress, UPenn Online Books, Open Library

Participation

Education



SciShow Astronomy, Astrophysics and Space (YouTube Channel)
SciShow Space (YouTube Channel)

Teaching Astronomy Internet Resources (Library of Congress)
Educator Resources (Smithsonian Air & Space Museum)
AstroEdu (International Astronomical Union)

Universe (Space Place, NASA)
What’s in Space (Space Place, NASA)
The Universe (Cosmos4Kids)

Course



Crash Course Astronomy (YouTube)

Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (MIT Open Courseware)
Physics and Astronomy (Coursera)
OER Commons: Open Educational Resources

Community

Occupation


Careers in Astronomy (Ask an Astronomer, Cornell University)
The Universe (Ask an Astronomer, Cornell University)

Organization

International Astronomical Union (IAU)
American Astronomical Society (AAS)

Blog

The Science Geek : Astronomy, space and space travel for the non scientist
Astronomy Café

News

Space & Planetary Science EurekaAlert (American Association for the Advancement of Science)
Sky & Telescope Astronomy News
Space.com
Phys.org
ScienceDaily
Scientific American
Smithsonian Magazine

Government

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (California Institute of Technology)
International Space Agencies (NASA)

Document

USA.gov

Expression



What Space Smells Like (Megan Garber, The Atlantic)

Fun


Humor

How To Go To Space (with XKCD!)

Arts

Astronomy in the Arts (Ask an Astronomer, Cornell University)

Poem

OEDILF: The Omnificent English Dictionary In Limerick Form

Music


Song Lyrics

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Cosma Posts

  • Dark, Deep & Spooky… (8/8/2017) - Today’s physics is “probably” not the kind of thing that you, or at least your parents and grandparents, learned about in school (unless you happen to be a Physicist). Even the most casual science buff knows that today it’s all about exotic stuff like dark matter (NASA), ghost particles (FermiLab) and “spooky action at a … Continue reading Dark, Deep & Spooky…
  • Enterprise (1/22/2017) - Star Trek fans, take notice. Here’s a cool new 360° video that takes you where you’ve never gone before… or well, at least not outside of a 2D screen. It’s a grand up-close tour of the Enterprise, and it was posted by CBS to promote the series. Check it out! (This is a 360° YouTube … Continue reading Enterprise
  • ExoMars (10/19/2016) - Oct. 21 Update: Unfortunately, the ExoMars mission’s Schiaparelli lander did not make a successful landing due to technical difficulties, and the crash site has been found. Happily, the mother ship did successfully enter orbit. Why Schiaparelli Probe’s Mars ‘Crash Land’ Is No Failure (Mason Peck, Newsweek) Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter views Schiaparelli landing site (ESA) Here’s … Continue reading ExoMars
  • Exoplanet Junket (6/2/2018) - I’m on a vacation of sorts, so it’s no surprise that stories about travel tend to catch my eye. However, it is surprising if the story happens to be about something that NASA’s done. This week NASA released a new project that they’ve dubbed the Exoplanet Travel Bureau. The core of the project consists of … Continue reading Exoplanet Junket
  • Get Lost in Space! (9/14/2018) - Way back in August, in anticipation of the start of a new school year, I set out to update the pages on this site related to space. Those pages tend to be popular among the teachers and students who use Cosma, and I happen to enjoy updating them, too. It sounded like a short, fun … Continue reading Get Lost in Space!
  • Great Views of Earth (4/22/2018) - April 22nd is Earth Day! In honor of that, here are some great ways to see the honoree. First, you can get a nice view from this neat 360° Video from Seeker. It essentially shows you what it would feel like if you could just fly straight up and see the Earth from space. National … Continue reading Great Views of Earth
  • Mars 3D (11/16/2016) - Mars is getting even more attention than usual this week, and that is “mostly” because National Geographic began airing their special six part Mars series on Monday nights (9/8c). Here’s a trailer and links about it… Virtual Trip to Mars Offers Ultimate Preview to Crewed Mission (Nadia Drake, National Geographic) Inside Nat Geo’s Incredible Documentary … Continue reading Mars 3D
  • Mars is hard! (11/25/2018) - Update 8:30 PM November 26, 2018 (EST) Touchdown! Mars InSight lander reaches red planet (Alexandra Witze, Nature) NASA’s InSight Mission Triumphantly Touches Down on Mars (Ian O’Neill, Scientific American) InSight has landed with Updates (Emily Lakdawalla, Planetary Society) Landing Replay (SciNews) Original Post If you hear a phrase like “six and a half minutes of … Continue reading Mars is hard!
  • Milky Way Lost & Found (8/15/2018) - Have you seen the Milky Way? You may think that you have, but are you sure? Unless you live in an extremely remote area, or you’ve visited one, then you probably haven’t seen our own galaxy, the Milky Way, very well, or at all. Worse yet, you may not even realize that it’s missing. The … Continue reading Milky Way Lost & Found
  • Moon+H2O=Moonbase? (7/25/2017) - One of the big science stories in the news right now is that Earth’s Moon has more water than scientists expected. This Newsy video is just one of the hundreds of stories flooding news feeds. This round of stories has been inspired by this article in Nature Geoscience. Remote detection of widespread indigenous water in … Continue reading Moon+H2O=Moonbase?
  • Octopuses from Space! (5/20/2018) - Did you hear the one about the octopuses from space? It sounds like the title of a cheesy sci-fi movie, doesn’t it? But it isn’t, this time, or at least, yet. Instead, it’s actually an oddball theory that’s been put forth in a recently published “scientific” article that’s getting quite a lot of buzz in … Continue reading Octopuses from Space!
  • Perspectives on Earth (11/23/2017) - Last week NASA released this fascinating video entitled Our Living Planet based upon 20 years of data from satellites that observe all plant life at the surface of the land and ocean. You can find out more about the video from this article. The Changing Colors of our Living Planet (NASA) Of course, releasing fantastic … Continue reading Perspectives on Earth
  • RIP Rossetta! (10/1/2016) - The “Little Mission that Could” has come to an end, but what a mission it was to watch! Rosetta Concludes Mission with a Crash (Megan Gannon, Scientific American) Rosetta Mission Ends With Spacecraft’s Dive Into Comet (Kenneth Chang, New York Times) It was such a joy to watch each historic milestone the mission passed over … Continue reading RIP Rossetta!
  • Space Rocks! (1/4/2019) - It was a fantastic holiday season for space fans! In fact, there was so much going on, it was almost impossible to keep up with it all. According to your news sources and interests, you have probably heard about at least some of the amazing things that happened, but chances are you haven’t heard about … Continue reading Space Rocks!
  • Strange Things (11/12/2016) - There’s been a ton of cool stuff going on in the 3D/360°/AR/VR hardware and software universe lately, and there’s about to be even more (more on that soon). On the other hand, the 3D/360°/AR/VR content front has been “relatively” static (unless you love Halloween’esque horror, of course). When I went looking for something interesting to … Continue reading Strange Things
  • Super Bowl of Astronomy (1/15/2018) - The annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society, a.k.a. the “Super Bowl of Astronomy” was held in Washington DC last week. While it might not have as much cachet as the Consumer Electronics Show, great tidbits from the conference do slip into the mainstream media from time to time. For example, Phys.org did a nice … Continue reading Super Bowl of Astronomy
  • The waves won! (10/4/2017) - Gravitational waves that is! It has been announced that Rainer Weiss (MIT), Barry Barish (Caltech) and Kip Thorne (Caltech) have won the 2017 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics for their decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the first observation of gravitational waves in 2015. Here’s a quick one minute video from Newsy and a … Continue reading The waves won!
  • To touch the Sun (6/1/2017) - The big “space” news this week is that NASA has announced that they renamed the Solar Probe Plus spacecraft the “Parker Solar Probe” in honor of Eugene N. Parker, the astrophysicist from the University of Chicago who predicted the solar wind. The probe is scheduled to launch next summer and become the first mission to … Continue reading To touch the Sun
  • TRAPPIST-1 (2/23/2017) - You’ve probably heard that NASA has found a trove of “Earth-like” planets circling the TRAPPIST-1 system roughly 40 light years away, but just in case you haven’t, here’s a short 2 minute AP video about the discovery. Here’s another video from NASA/JPL with more explanation. Most entertainingly, here’s a 360° YouTube Video published by NASA/JPL … Continue reading TRAPPIST-1
  • Umbraphiles (8/20/2017) - umbraphile : One who loves eclipses, often travelling to see them. — Wiktionary Yes, this is that obligatory post about “The Solar Eclipse” (NASA, Wikipedia). Of course, there had to be one — eclipses really are just too cool to ignore. You’ve already been bombarded with explanations of the science and history of eclipses, but … Continue reading Umbraphiles
  • Visioning Spacesteads (8/8/2018) - Space, the final frontier… Humans have been imagining what it would be like to setup homesteads and live in space for about as long as they’ve been imagining how to get there, but the process didn’t really take off until after we actually got there. Back in the 1970’s NASA dedicated some resources to the … Continue reading Visioning Spacesteads

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EurekAlert! - Space and Planetary Science The premier online source for science news since 1996. A service of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  • Massive Martian ice discovery opens a window into...
    on May 22, 2019 at 4:00 am

    (University of Texas at Austin) Newly discovered layers of ice buried a mile beneath Mars' north pole are the remnants of ancient polar ice sheets and could be one of the largest water reservoirs on the planet, according to scientists at The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Arizona. The layers of ice are a record of past climate on Mars in much the same way tree rings are a record of climate on Earth. […]

  • Neptune's moon Triton fosters rare icy union
    on May 22, 2019 at 4:00 am

    (Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA)) Astronomers using the Gemini Observatory explore Neptune's largest moon Triton and observe, for the first time beyond the lab, an extraordinary union between carbon monoxide and nitrogen ices. The discovery offers insights into how this volatile mixture can transport material across the moon's surface via geysers, trigger seasonal atmospheric changes, and provide a context for conditions on other distant, icy worlds. […]

  • Subtropical Storm Andrea gone girl
    on May 22, 2019 at 4:00 am

    (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) Subtropical Storm Andrea was gone before the storm could even reach Tropical Storm status. The last advisory for this storm was issued at 5:00pm AST/EDT on May 21, 2019. […]

  • Detecting bacteria in space
    on May 22, 2019 at 4:00 am

    (University of Montreal) A new genomic approach provides a glimpse into the diverse bacterial ecosystem on the International Space Station. […]

  • Strange Martian mineral deposit likely sourced...
    on May 22, 2019 at 4:00 am

    (Brown University) In a finding that is soon to be ground-truthed by NASA's next Mars rover, Brown University researchers show that a Martian mineral deposit was likely formed by ashfall from ancient volcanic explosions. […]


Astronomy News – Sky & Telescope The essential guide to astronomy / All Sky & Telescope (www.skyandtelescope.com) content is copyrighted. Please contact us for reuse permissions.

  • NASA’s Budget Gets a Boost for the Artemis Moon...
    by David Dickinson on May 22, 2019 at 4:46 pm

    As the White House requests an extra $1.6 billion for NASA's Artemis project, the agency moves forward with commercial partnerships. The post NASA’s Budget Gets a Boost for the Artemis Moon Initiative appeared first on Sky & Telescope. […]

  • Jupiter’s Great Red Spot Unfurls
    by Sean Walker on May 22, 2019 at 2:59 pm

    Jupiter's South Equatorial Belt appears to be pulling material from the Great Red Spot in an event that's visible from small scopes. The post Jupiter’s Great Red Spot Unfurls appeared first on Sky & Telescope. […]

  • Our Quiet Galaxy Used to Burst with Stars
    by Monica Young on May 17, 2019 at 4:08 pm

    New research shows that our quiet, middle-aged galaxy used to be quite the firecracker — a couple billion years ago it was exploding with new stars. The post Our Quiet Galaxy Used to Burst with Stars appeared first on Sky & Telescope. […]

  • Watch International Space Station Flybys All...
    by Bob King on May 15, 2019 at 2:45 pm

    The annual International Space Station marathon viewing season begins later this week, when skywatchers in the Northern Hemisphere can watch up to five successive ISS passes in one night. The post Watch International Space Station Flybys All Night Long appeared first on Sky & Telescope. […]

  • Solar System “Twin” Is Missing Its Baby...
    by Steve Murray on May 15, 2019 at 1:47 am

    Exceptional new images of the LkCa 15 system, a young, Sun-like star thought to host infant gas giant planets, shows those planets don't exist. The post Solar System “Twin” Is Missing Its Baby Jupiters appeared first on Sky & Telescope. […]


Space.com Get the latest space exploration, innovation and astronomy news. Space.com celebrates humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier.


Space News - Space, Astronomy, Space Exploration Phys.org provides the latest news on astronomy and space exploration.

  • Strange Martian mineral deposit likely sourced...
    on May 22, 2019 at 7:59 pm

    Ashfall from ancient volcanic explosions is the likely source of a strange mineral deposit near the landing site for NASA's next Mars rover, a new study finds. The research, published in the journal Geology, could help scientists assemble a timeline of volcanic activity and environmental conditions on early Mars. […]

  • Neptune's moon Triton fosters rare icy union
    on May 22, 2019 at 6:00 pm

    Astronomers using the Gemini Observatory explore Neptune's largest moon Triton and observe, for the first time beyond the lab, an extraordinary union between carbon monoxide and nitrogen ices. The discovery offers insights into how this volatile mixture can transport material across the moon's surface via geysers, trigger seasonal atmospheric changes, and provide a context for conditions on other distant, icy worlds. […]

  • Eighteen Earth-sized exoplanets discovered
    on May 22, 2019 at 4:51 pm

    Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS), the Georg August University of Göttingen, and the Sonneberg Observatory have discovered 18 Earth-sized planets beyond the solar system. The worlds are so small that previous surveys had overlooked them. One of them is one of the smallest known so far; another one could offer conditions friendly to life. The researchers re-analyzed a part of the data from NASA's Kepler Space Telescope with a new and more sensitive […]

  • Massive Martian ice discovery opens a window into...
    on May 22, 2019 at 4:39 pm

    Newly discovered layers of ice buried a mile beneath Mars' north pole are the remnants of ancient polar ice sheets and could be one of the largest water reservoirs on the planet, according to scientists at The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Arizona. […]

  • Three exocomets discovered around the star Beta...
    on May 22, 2019 at 2:40 pm

    Just about a year after the launch of the NASA mission TESS, the first three comets orbiting the nearby star Beta Pictoris outside our solar system were discovered with data from the space telescope. The main goal of TESS is to search for exoplanets—planets orbiting other stars. The recognition of signals from much smaller exocomets compared to planets requires the analysis of a precise light curve, which can now be obtained using the technical sophistication of the new space telescope. […]


Astronomy News -- ScienceDaily Astronomy news. New! Earth-like extrasolar planet found; double helix nebula; supermassive black holes, astronomy articles, astronomy pictures. Updated daily.

  • Massive Martian ice discovery opens a window into...
    on May 22, 2019 at 6:17 pm

    Newly discovered layers of ice buried a mile beneath Mars' north pole are the remnants of ancient polar ice sheets and could be one of the largest water reservoirs on the planet, according to scientists. The layers of ice are a record of past climate on Mars in much the same way tree rings are a record of climate on Earth. […]

  • Three exocomets discovered around the star Beta...
    on May 22, 2019 at 4:05 pm

    Three extrasolar comets have been discovered around the star Beta Pictoris, 63 light years away. Analysis of data from the current NASA mission TESS has revealed the objects for the first time using TESS data. […]

  • 18 Earth-sized exoplanets discovered
    on May 22, 2019 at 4:05 pm

    Scientists have discovered 18 Earth-sized planets beyond the solar system. The worlds are so small that previous surveys had overlooked them. One of them is one of the smallest known so far; another one could offer conditions friendly to life. The researchers re-analyzed a part of the data from NASA's Kepler Space Telescope with a new and more sensitive method. […]

  • Stellar waltz with dramatic ending
    on May 21, 2019 at 4:45 pm

    Astronomers have identified an unusual celestial object. It is most likely the product of the fusion of two stars that died a long time ago. After billions of years circling around each other these so-called white dwarfs merged and rose from the dead. In the near future, their lives could finally end -- with a huge bang. […]

  • Formation of the moon brought water to Earth
    on May 21, 2019 at 2:15 pm

    Earth has a large amount of water and a relatively large moon, which stabilizes Earth's axis. Both are essential for life to develop on our planet. Scientists have now been able to show that water came to Earth with the formation of the moon. […]