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Calling all armchair crime-solvers!

  • By Sara Mitchell
  • March 9, 2016
  • Comments Off on Calling all armchair crime-solvers!

Stars exploding? Who would do such a thing? Join bumbling detective Eagle Quark on his 8-bit adventures at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in our new Space Forensics game! Eagle is somewhat clueless in his hunt for suspects behind the mysterious deaths of stars in the night sky… and he … Continue Reading →


Veil Nebula

How Do We Know It: Supernova Remnant Age

  • By Maggie Masetti
  • November 20, 2015
  • Comments Off on How Do We Know It: Supernova Remnant Age

I get a lot of inspiration for blog-topics from questions I get via email. Often they don’t have easy or straightforward answers (see this question on how many stars there are in the Milky Way). I was recently asked how we arrived at an age of 8000 years for the … Continue Reading →


Cosmic Fireworks

Happy Fourth of July to those of you that celebrate it! We couldn’t let the date slip by without presenting a little display of cosmic fireworks. We think you’ll find they’re much quieter than the earthly kind. We start with this 3D visualization of the nebula Gum 29 with the … Continue Reading →


Boarding the plane for the safety walkthrough

A Ride on SOFIA

This is a guest blog by astronomer Brian Williams, who last blogged for us about the building blocks of life. A joint project between NASA and the German space agency (DLR), the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, is a bit of a departure from NASA’s traditional telescope fleet. … Continue Reading →


Special Guest Blog: Things That Go “Pop” in the Night

  • By Maggie Masetti
  • February 11, 2014
  • Comments Off on Special Guest Blog: Things That Go “Pop” in the Night

We have an extra-special guest blog today! Nick Howes, astronomer at the Kielder Observatory in the UK, collaborator on a range of NASA programs and Pro-Am Programme Manager for the Faulkes Telescope Project, explains the significance of the new supernova detected in nearby galaxy Messier 82. Stars have a life … Continue Reading →


Bringing Astrophysics to YouTube: An Interview with Jessica Few

  • By Sara Mitchell
  • November 22, 2013
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Earlier this year, Blueshift contributor Koji Mukai sent us a link to a series of astronomy videos produced by Jessica Few, a student at Durham University in the UK. We loved the videos, and knew we wanted to share them… and find out a bit more about Jessica and her … Continue Reading →


A Look into the Building Blocks of Life

Maggie’s note: Please welcome a new guest blogger, astronomer Brian Williams! Most of the stars in the universe will, like our Sun, live steadily for billions of years before ending in relative serenity. However, a select few will go out in a blaze of glory called a supernova, the explosion … Continue Reading →


Awesomeness Roundup

Awesomeness Round-Up – 1/31/2012

This is a doozy of a round-up, thanks to the American Astronomical Society meeting mid-month! Maggie already blogged about some of the interesting exoplanet news that came out at the meeting. Here, we’ll cover some of the other big astrophysics releases at AAS! But first… a gorgeous image from the … Continue Reading →


Awesomeness Roundup

Awesomeness Round-Up – 12/22/2011

  • By Maggie Masetti
  • December 22, 2011
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Credit: NASA/ESA/HubbleSite Looking for a space-themed way to say “Happy Holidays!” to your family and friends? How about some printable holiday cards with Hubble images? Every card features fabulous astronomical objects… and when you go to download a card, you’ll find links to articles about related Hubble discoveries! The ornaments … Continue Reading →


Awesomeness Roundup

Awesomeness Round-Up – 12/7/2011

  • By Sara Mitchell
  • December 6, 2011
  • Comments Off on Awesomeness Round-Up – 12/7/2011

Credit: NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech While scientists have discovered hundreds of extrasolar planets over the past decade, finding Earth’s twin (an Earth-like planet in a similar orbit to ours around a Sun-like star) has been much more difficult. But a recent discovery by the Kepler mission has brought us one step closer – … Continue Reading →


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