Australian astronomers have found a galaxy close to the Milky Way with the same formation of clusters and star formations meaning there may be life in another galaxy similar to ours, according to ANU cosmologist and astrophysicist Dr Brad Tucker.
“The fact is when we look at the Milky Way, we see distinct parts of it, this is what we call thick disk and thin disk, we kind of see these groupings or bands of stars based on their age or their composition,” he told Sky News.
Dr Tucker said it was previously believed to be because of “some sort of violent merger” of galaxies colliding but the intergalactic similarities are casting doubt on this theory.
“New data led by Australian astronomers actually looked at a very nearby galaxy in almost the same level of detail as the Milky Way and saw that it is also structured like this.”
“This is actually quite important because if the formations of galaxies at least are similar, then the formations of stars in those galaxies can b
NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity has photographed “clouds of dry ice” in Mars’ carbon dioxide heavy atmosphere, according to ANU cosmologist and astrophysicist Dr Brad Tucker.
“We’ve only rarely have seen clouds on Mars, there’s not a lot of water on the surface, most of that is contained underneath, we’ve also seen it only at the poles,” he told Sky News.
“When Curiosity got ready to snap these clouds and … when they snapped it they realised it actually formed a little bit earlier.”
Dr Tucker said Mars, like Earth, has seasons but the clouds photographed by the rover were “earlier in the season” than usual and said the chemical makeup of the clouds differed from those on Earth.
“Most of the atmosphere on Mars is carbon dioxide, these are actually carbon dioxide clouds so it’s essentially clouds of dry ice which is kind of a really trippy thing to think about.”
A new NASA mission to Venus could show there is life in the planet’s atmosphere which could widen the “parameters for how extreme life can exist”, according to ANU cosmologist and astrophysicist Dr Brad Tucker.
“We found signs in the past that maybe there’s something going on in its atmosphere so if there really is potential life in its atmosphere it is going to be completely different than anything we’ve ever thought about,” he told Sky News.
Dr Tucker said the life found would be different from anything on Earth and on Mars and said Venus’ “hellish landscape” would produce durable lifeforms.
“We should never mess with it because it’s going to be a lot stronger than us and better than us but it also means for the parameters for life just how extreme life can exist.”
Blood moon provided a beautiful red view of the eclipse28/05/2021|2min
The blood moon visible in Australian skies on Wednesday night was a “beautiful red view” of the eclipse, according to ANU cosmologist and astrophysicist Dr Brad Tucker.
“It was great because I think lots of people got to see it was a great free event so to speak and one very accessible from everywhere,” he told Sky News.
Dr Tucker said those who missed the blood moon would have another chance to see it this year but it would be later at night.
“There is going to be another one on November 8 but that’s even later in the evening closer to midnight.”
New space map is trying to map the evolution of the universe 28/05/2021|6min
A new space matter map charting galaxies and voids is attempting to “map the evolution of the universe”, according to ANU cosmologist and astrophysicist Dr Brad Tucker.
“This is what we call dark matter, essentially every little dot is almost a galaxy and what you notice is there’s clumpier bits, they re what we call the voids, and so you kind of have this picture that galaxies are even throughout the universe but that’s not the case,” he told Sky News.
“What we’re trying to understand is why do the voids come to be known and exist and in fact if we look all the way back to, say, the beginnings of the universe … we actually see areas where there’s hotter temperatures and colder temperatures.”