[ weird things ] | Ian O’Neill

it’s no teegarden party: the catch about the latest exoplanetary discovery
# space

it’s no teegarden party: the catch about the latest exoplanetary discovery

By now, you're probably used to hearing about potentially habitable worlds orbiting other stars. But that "potentially habitable" part may come with more caveats than you might think.

unmasking a monster: a “stunning confirmation” of black hole theory
# space

unmasking a monster: a “stunning confirmation” of black hole theory

The Event Horizon Telescope’s image of M87* is so good that theorists thought it was too good to be true.

home is where the mars rover is
# space

home is where the mars rover is

Now that Opportunity’s mission is complete, many wistfully lament about “bringing our robot home.” There’s just one problem: it’s already home.

oldest earth rock found in lunar exile
# space

oldest earth rock found in lunar exile

Scientists think they found a time capsule from Earth’s earliest days buried just under the Moon’s surface for the last 4.1 billion years.

this weird star system is, literally, flipping awesome
# space

this weird star system is, literally, flipping awesome

A binary system observed by ALMA isn’t wonky, it’s the first example of an anomaly we only thought was possible until we saw it with our own eyes: a polar protoplanetary disk.

wonky star systems may be born that way
# space

wonky star systems may be born that way

A nearby baby star has been discovered with a warped protoplanetary disk — a feature that may reveal the true nature of the solar system’s planetary misalignments

why black holes have magnetic storms like stars
# space

why black holes have magnetic storms like stars

New observations of the center of our galaxy have, for the first time, revealed hotspots in the disk of chaotic gas orbiting our Milky Way’s supermassive black hole.

why water could kill life on mars
# astrobiology

why water could kill life on mars

We think of water as the most essential ingredient for life, but as a recent discovery shows, it can also be toxic to living things in alien environments