Venus’ clouds could soon be brought to Earth

View larger. | Japan’s Akatsuki orbiter took this stunning ultraviolet image of Venus on December 23, 2016. And China is preparing to launch a mission to Venus in the early 2030s to sample Venus’ clouds and bring those samples to Earth. One of the mission’s goals would be to search for possible microscopic life in the clouds. Image via JAXA/ ISAS/ DARTS/ Kevin M. Gill/ Flickr. Used with permission.

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• Venus is completely enveloped by a thick layer of clouds that hide the surface from human eyes.
• China is planning to send a sample-return mission to Venus in the early 2030s, which would bring samples of Venus’ clouds.
• One of the most exciting objectives is to search for possible evidence of microbial life in Venus’ atmosphere.

Space agencies have sent numerous missions to Venus, including landers, orbiters and flyby spacecraft. And now, China wants to do something never attempted before: bring samples of Venus’ clouds and atmosphere to Earth. Chinese officials recently gave a presentation on the early plans for this mission, which is currently scheduled for 2033. The researchers involved say that the major goals include studying the unusual ultraviolet (UV) absorbers in the atmosphere and searching for possible microscopic life in the clouds.

Bringing samples of Venus’ clouds back to Earth

There’s been a lot of debate recently about NASA’s sample-return plans for Mars, which are now in danger of being canceled altogether. Venus is a lot closer to Earth than Mars, but a Venus sample-return mission will still be difficult. Temperatures and pressures in the middle layers of the atmosphere are similar to Earth, but the clouds are heavily laced with droplets of corrosive sulfuric acid.

The probe will have to enter the atmosphere and collect the samples, before a separate ascent rocket brings them to another orbiting spacecraft. That spacecraft will then return them to Earth.

The mission’s primary goals are to study the evolution of Venus’ atmosphere over time, explain the atmosphere’s unusual UV absorbers – dark patches that absorb ultraviolet light – and find out if microbes could actually exist in Venus’ clouds. Some scientists have speculated that the UV-absorbing patches themselves could even be composed of microbes.

The mission is part of a long-term roadmap that China presented to the public last fall. The Venus mission would be in the second half of that roadmap, from 2028-2035.

Surviving the corrosive atmosphere and other challenges

Needless to say, an atmosphere dripping in sulfuric acid poses a challenge. Although few details are known, the Chinese mission plans depict a winged vehicle for entering the atmosphere and collecting the samples.

An earlier NASA sample-return mission proposal in 2022 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) called for a balloon coated in teflon. The teflon would help protect the balloon from corrosion. That mission was never funded, however.

Venus’ atmosphere is also highly dense, with clouds and haze completely obscuring the surface below. This poses a challenge for any atmospheric mission. Rachana Agrawal at MIT said:

On Venus, we don’t have GPS in the clouds. The rocket cannot see the stars or the surface, and Venus doesn’t have a magnetic field.

A separate ascent vehicle will also be needed to bring the samples from the atmospheric vehicle to the orbiter. As Agrawal noted:

We don’t know much about the atmosphere, so we don’t know what the local conditions are. So it could be a very dynamic environment that the rocket has to launch from.

All of these challenges will need to be addressed before the mission can proceed.

View larger. | Artist’s concept of phosphine molecules in Venus’ atmosphere. One of the main objectives of the Venus sample-return mission will be to try to find possible evidence of microbial life in Venus’ middle atmosphere, where temperatures and pressures are similar to those on Earth. Image via ESO/ M. Kornmesser/ L. Calçada/ NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Physicist Sara Seager at MIT was involved with the earlier proposed sample-return mission to Venus in 2022. Image via MIT.

The search for life

One of the most exciting aspects of the mission is the search for life in Venus’ clouds. Scientists have long postulated that microbes could survive in the middle layers of the atmosphere where temperatures and pressures are much more Earth-like than on the surface.

Indeed, when scientists announced in late 2020 that they had detected phosphine – a gas with strong links to life on Earth – in Venus’ atmosphere, the news was met with both excitement and skepticism. The debate has continued since then, with conflicting assessments as to how much phosphine there is, or if it’s even there at all.

In July last year, two teams of researchers said they re-detected the phosphine and possibly ammonia as well, which is another potential biosignature. They also reported finding phosphine deeper in the atmosphere than previously thought.

Another study last year showed that amino acids – the building blocks of proteins – could remain stable in Venus’ atmosphere, even within droplets of sulfuric acid.

Physicist Sara Seager at MIT was part of the team that worked on the sample-return proposal in 2022. She said:

Although our DNA cannot survive, we have started to show that [a] growing number of organic molecules, biomolecules, are stable. And so we’re envisioning there could be life on Venus.

I’m superexcited about this. Even if there’s no life, we know there’s interesting organic chemistry, for sure. And it would be amazing to get samples in hand to really solve some of the big mysteries on Venus.

Bottom line: China wants to bring samples of Venus’ clouds to Earth by 2033. The mission would study the atmosphere and would search for possible microbial life.

Via IEEE Spectrum

Read more: Amino acids on Venus? New study says it’s possible

Read more: Active Venus volcanoes revealed again in Magellan data

The post Venus’ clouds could soon be brought to Earth first appeared on EarthSky.

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View larger. | Japan’s Akatsuki orbiter took this stunning ultraviolet image of Venus on December 23, 2016. And China is preparing to launch a mission to Venus in the early 2030s to sample Venus’ clouds and bring those samples to Earth. One of the mission’s goals would be to search for possible microscopic life in the clouds. Image via JAXA/ ISAS/ DARTS/ Kevin M. Gill/ Flickr. Used with permission.

Looking up has never felt more important. Please donate to help EarthSky keep bringing the sky to your screen.

• Venus is completely enveloped by a thick layer of clouds that hide the surface from human eyes.
• China is planning to send a sample-return mission to Venus in the early 2030s, which would bring samples of Venus’ clouds.
• One of the most exciting objectives is to search for possible evidence of microbial life in Venus’ atmosphere.

Space agencies have sent numerous missions to Venus, including landers, orbiters and flyby spacecraft. And now, China wants to do something never attempted before: bring samples of Venus’ clouds and atmosphere to Earth. Chinese officials recently gave a presentation on the early plans for this mission, which is currently scheduled for 2033. The researchers involved say that the major goals include studying the unusual ultraviolet (UV) absorbers in the atmosphere and searching for possible microscopic life in the clouds.

Bringing samples of Venus’ clouds back to Earth

There’s been a lot of debate recently about NASA’s sample-return plans for Mars, which are now in danger of being canceled altogether. Venus is a lot closer to Earth than Mars, but a Venus sample-return mission will still be difficult. Temperatures and pressures in the middle layers of the atmosphere are similar to Earth, but the clouds are heavily laced with droplets of corrosive sulfuric acid.

The probe will have to enter the atmosphere and collect the samples, before a separate ascent rocket brings them to another orbiting spacecraft. That spacecraft will then return them to Earth.

The mission’s primary goals are to study the evolution of Venus’ atmosphere over time, explain the atmosphere’s unusual UV absorbers – dark patches that absorb ultraviolet light – and find out if microbes could actually exist in Venus’ clouds. Some scientists have speculated that the UV-absorbing patches themselves could even be composed of microbes.

The mission is part of a long-term roadmap that China presented to the public last fall. The Venus mission would be in the second half of that roadmap, from 2028-2035.

Surviving the corrosive atmosphere and other challenges

Needless to say, an atmosphere dripping in sulfuric acid poses a challenge. Although few details are known, the Chinese mission plans depict a winged vehicle for entering the atmosphere and collecting the samples.

An earlier NASA sample-return mission proposal in 2022 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) called for a balloon coated in teflon. The teflon would help protect the balloon from corrosion. That mission was never funded, however.

Venus’ atmosphere is also highly dense, with clouds and haze completely obscuring the surface below. This poses a challenge for any atmospheric mission. Rachana Agrawal at MIT said:

On Venus, we don’t have GPS in the clouds. The rocket cannot see the stars or the surface, and Venus doesn’t have a magnetic field.

A separate ascent vehicle will also be needed to bring the samples from the atmospheric vehicle to the orbiter. As Agrawal noted:

We don’t know much about the atmosphere, so we don’t know what the local conditions are. So it could be a very dynamic environment that the rocket has to launch from.

All of these challenges will need to be addressed before the mission can proceed.

View larger. | Artist’s concept of phosphine molecules in Venus’ atmosphere. One of the main objectives of the Venus sample-return mission will be to try to find possible evidence of microbial life in Venus’ middle atmosphere, where temperatures and pressures are similar to those on Earth. Image via ESO/ M. Kornmesser/ L. Calçada/ NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Physicist Sara Seager at MIT was involved with the earlier proposed sample-return mission to Venus in 2022. Image via MIT.

The search for life

One of the most exciting aspects of the mission is the search for life in Venus’ clouds. Scientists have long postulated that microbes could survive in the middle layers of the atmosphere where temperatures and pressures are much more Earth-like than on the surface.

Indeed, when scientists announced in late 2020 that they had detected phosphine – a gas with strong links to life on Earth – in Venus’ atmosphere, the news was met with both excitement and skepticism. The debate has continued since then, with conflicting assessments as to how much phosphine there is, or if it’s even there at all.

In July last year, two teams of researchers said they re-detected the phosphine and possibly ammonia as well, which is another potential biosignature. They also reported finding phosphine deeper in the atmosphere than previously thought.

Another study last year showed that amino acids – the building blocks of proteins – could remain stable in Venus’ atmosphere, even within droplets of sulfuric acid.

Physicist Sara Seager at MIT was part of the team that worked on the sample-return proposal in 2022. She said:

Although our DNA cannot survive, we have started to show that [a] growing number of organic molecules, biomolecules, are stable. And so we’re envisioning there could be life on Venus.

I’m superexcited about this. Even if there’s no life, we know there’s interesting organic chemistry, for sure. And it would be amazing to get samples in hand to really solve some of the big mysteries on Venus.

Bottom line: China wants to bring samples of Venus’ clouds to Earth by 2033. The mission would study the atmosphere and would search for possible microbial life.

Via IEEE Spectrum

Read more: Amino acids on Venus? New study says it’s possible

Read more: Active Venus volcanoes revealed again in Magellan data

The post Venus’ clouds could soon be brought to Earth first appeared on EarthSky.

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Arcturus, the brightest star of the northern sky

The star Arcturus is easy to identify. Use the Big Dipper to follow the arc to Arcturus and then speed on to Spica.

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Arcturus is a red giant star located only 36.7 light-years away. It’s the 4th-brightest star in the sky and the brightest one in the northern half of the sky. Look for it on spring evenings in the Northern Hemisphere by arcing to Arcturus from the Big Dipper‘s handle.

Arcturus is the alpha star of a cone-shaped constellation called Boötes the Herdsman. It’s far enough north on the sky’s dome that – for Northern Hemisphere observers – it’s visible during some part of the night throughout most of the year. There’s an easy mnemonic for identifying this brilliant orange star. Just remember the phrase follow the arc to Arcturus and then speed on to Spica.

First, locate the Big Dipper in the northern sky. Notice that the handle of the Big Dipper is a curve or arc. Extend this curve past the end of the Big Dipper’s handle, and you’ll reach Arcturus.

A lonely bright star

You might notice sparkling orange Arcturus passing high overhead on late spring evenings. In summer, it is high in the sky shortly after dark. Autumn observers need to look early because it sets by mid-evening. In winter, the best time to observe it is in the wee hours before dawn.

Unlike most of the bright stars in the nighttime sky, Arcturus has no bright neighbors. It commands the sky in the springtime and reigns the heavens until the Summer Triangle takes over the eastern sky.

Our chart below shows the constellation Boötes as you stand facing east on spring evenings. Seeing a Herdsman in these stars might be difficult, but the constellation is easy to imagine as a kite.

Arcturus is in the constellation Boötes the Herdsman. Boötes has the shape of a kite, and Arcturus is at the point where you’d attach a tail. You can see it on spring evenings in the Northern Hemisphere.

Arcturus is the brightest star north of the celestial equator

What does that mean? Imagine that Earth’s equator projected onto the sky. This line above Earth’s equator is the celestial equator. It divides the sky into northern and southern hemispheres, just as Earth’s equator does for Earth. The three brightest stars of the sky – Sirius, Canopus and Alpha Centauri – are south of the celestial equator.

Meanwhile, Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern part of the sky. It is only marginally brighter than the Northern Hemisphere’s second-brightest star, Vega. Some people believe that Polaris, the North Star, is the brightest star in the sky because it is famous. But it’s quite faint, only about the 50th brightest star.

Visible during daytime

In 1635, less than three decades after the invention of the telescope, Jean-Baptiste Morin of France observed Arcturus in the daytime with the telescope. This was the first time that any star, besides the sun and a rare supernova, had been seen telescopically during daylight hours. You can go one step further and observe Arcturus with the unaided eye during the daytime. Here is an account from 1911 of how you can do this.

History and mythology of Arcturus

Arcturus’ constellation Boötes the Herdsman is sometimes pictured as guarding the Great Bear, or Ursa Major, which contains the Big Dipper asterism. We sometimes hear Arcturus called the Bear Guard.

In China, Arcturus’ constellation is also called the Dragon. In some classical Greek stories, Boötes was Icarus, who flew too close to the sun. Passing directly over the Hawaiian islands, the star was a particularly important navigational star to the islands’ indigenous inhabitants and other Polynesians.

The translation may be questioned, but Arcturus is among the few stars mentioned in the Bible. (“Which maketh Arcturus, Orion and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south” – Job 9:9, KJV, and “Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?” – Job 38:32, KJV.)

1933 Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago

One interesting story about Arcturus relates to the 1933 Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago. Its promoters wanted a flashy way to open the show, so they decided to have the light from Arcturus start the show. At 9:15 pm on May 27, 1933, four telescopes located in different observatories captured the light from the star and focused it into photoelectric cells. The photocells in turn worked as the switch that turned on the main spotlights to open the exhibition. It’s a good thing it wasn’t cloudy!

There had also been a World’s Fair in Chicago in 1893, 40 years before the 1933 show. At the time, astronomers thought that Arcturus was 40 light-years away. If so, that light left Arcturus at the end of the 1893 fair and traveled for 40 years through space like an Olympic torch bearer, to open the 1933 show.

The promoters of Chicago’s World’s Fair had a great idea, but today’s astronomers place the distance to Arcturus at just less than 37 light-years. Maybe it should have been used for the groundbreaking ceremony!

The red giant Arcturus is roughly 25 times the diameter of our sun. It’s not the largest of the red giants, however, as this diagram shows. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Arcturus is large and old

Arcturus is most likely considerably older than our sun. When the sun evolves to become a red giant, it will be a star much like Arcturus is now.

Arcturus’ diameter is roughly 25 times greater than our sun. Because of its larger size, it radiates more than 100 times the light of our sun, in visible light. If you consider infrared and other frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum, Arcturus is about 200 times more powerful than the sun. Its mass is slightly greater than that of our sun.

The reddish or orange color of Arcturus signifies its temperature, which is about 7,300 degrees Fahrenheit (around 4,000 degrees Celsius). That makes it several thousand degrees cooler than the surface of the sun.

Flying south to the winter sky

The bright orange star Arcturus is especially noteworthy for its large proper motion, or sideways motion, on the dome of Earth’s sky. Only Alpha Centauri – our sun’s nearest neighbor among the stars – has a higher proper motion among the 1st-magnitude, or bright, stars in our stellar neighborhood. And of course, the large proper motion of Alpha Centauri stems from the fact that it’s so close to us.

In the meantime, what does the proper motion of Arcturus tell us?

It tells us that it is moving at a tremendous speed (122 km/s or 76 miles/s) relative to our solar system. Arcturus is thought to be an old star. It appears to be moving with a group of at least 52 other such stars, known as the Arcturus stream or Arcturus moving group. Scientists believe these stars were not originally part of the Milky Way but came from a dwarf satellite galaxy whose stars have now become assimilated into the Milky Way.

Gone in 150,000 years!

From the vantage point of Earth, Arcturus is rapidly moving in a southerly direction at a rate of 3.9 arcminutes per century. It’s now at about its closest point to Earth. As it moves away it will vanish from visibility to the unaided eye when it reaches the Carina-Vela border in about 150,000 years.

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The position of Arcturus is RA: 14h 15 m 39.7s, dec: +19° 10′ 56″

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Cecille Kennedy captured this image on May 1 2025, from Oregon and wrote: “The Big Dipper, Arcturus and Polaris, the North Star, shine brightly with the other stars in the still of the blue midnight. The two front stars of the Big Dipper are called Pointers because they point to Polaris, the North Star. Polaris, is the brightest star in the Little Dipper and the closest bright star to the north celestial pole. When you are looking at Polaris, you are facing north. Arcturus is a first magnitude star and stands right behind the Big Dipper. Arcturus is the brightest star of the constellation Boötes the Herdsman.” Thank you, Cecille!

Bottom line: The 4th-brightest star in all the sky is Arcturus, a brilliant orangish star that’s easy to find in the Northern Hemisphere spring skies with the aid of the Big Dipper.

The post Arcturus, the brightest star of the northern sky first appeared on EarthSky.

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The star Arcturus is easy to identify. Use the Big Dipper to follow the arc to Arcturus and then speed on to Spica.

Help! EarthSky needs your support to continue. Our yearly crowd-funding campaign is going on now. Donate here.

Arcturus is a red giant star located only 36.7 light-years away. It’s the 4th-brightest star in the sky and the brightest one in the northern half of the sky. Look for it on spring evenings in the Northern Hemisphere by arcing to Arcturus from the Big Dipper‘s handle.

Arcturus is the alpha star of a cone-shaped constellation called Boötes the Herdsman. It’s far enough north on the sky’s dome that – for Northern Hemisphere observers – it’s visible during some part of the night throughout most of the year. There’s an easy mnemonic for identifying this brilliant orange star. Just remember the phrase follow the arc to Arcturus and then speed on to Spica.

First, locate the Big Dipper in the northern sky. Notice that the handle of the Big Dipper is a curve or arc. Extend this curve past the end of the Big Dipper’s handle, and you’ll reach Arcturus.

A lonely bright star

You might notice sparkling orange Arcturus passing high overhead on late spring evenings. In summer, it is high in the sky shortly after dark. Autumn observers need to look early because it sets by mid-evening. In winter, the best time to observe it is in the wee hours before dawn.

Unlike most of the bright stars in the nighttime sky, Arcturus has no bright neighbors. It commands the sky in the springtime and reigns the heavens until the Summer Triangle takes over the eastern sky.

Our chart below shows the constellation Boötes as you stand facing east on spring evenings. Seeing a Herdsman in these stars might be difficult, but the constellation is easy to imagine as a kite.

Arcturus is in the constellation Boötes the Herdsman. Boötes has the shape of a kite, and Arcturus is at the point where you’d attach a tail. You can see it on spring evenings in the Northern Hemisphere.

Arcturus is the brightest star north of the celestial equator

What does that mean? Imagine that Earth’s equator projected onto the sky. This line above Earth’s equator is the celestial equator. It divides the sky into northern and southern hemispheres, just as Earth’s equator does for Earth. The three brightest stars of the sky – Sirius, Canopus and Alpha Centauri – are south of the celestial equator.

Meanwhile, Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern part of the sky. It is only marginally brighter than the Northern Hemisphere’s second-brightest star, Vega. Some people believe that Polaris, the North Star, is the brightest star in the sky because it is famous. But it’s quite faint, only about the 50th brightest star.

Visible during daytime

In 1635, less than three decades after the invention of the telescope, Jean-Baptiste Morin of France observed Arcturus in the daytime with the telescope. This was the first time that any star, besides the sun and a rare supernova, had been seen telescopically during daylight hours. You can go one step further and observe Arcturus with the unaided eye during the daytime. Here is an account from 1911 of how you can do this.

History and mythology of Arcturus

Arcturus’ constellation Boötes the Herdsman is sometimes pictured as guarding the Great Bear, or Ursa Major, which contains the Big Dipper asterism. We sometimes hear Arcturus called the Bear Guard.

In China, Arcturus’ constellation is also called the Dragon. In some classical Greek stories, Boötes was Icarus, who flew too close to the sun. Passing directly over the Hawaiian islands, the star was a particularly important navigational star to the islands’ indigenous inhabitants and other Polynesians.

The translation may be questioned, but Arcturus is among the few stars mentioned in the Bible. (“Which maketh Arcturus, Orion and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south” – Job 9:9, KJV, and “Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?” – Job 38:32, KJV.)

1933 Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago

One interesting story about Arcturus relates to the 1933 Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago. Its promoters wanted a flashy way to open the show, so they decided to have the light from Arcturus start the show. At 9:15 pm on May 27, 1933, four telescopes located in different observatories captured the light from the star and focused it into photoelectric cells. The photocells in turn worked as the switch that turned on the main spotlights to open the exhibition. It’s a good thing it wasn’t cloudy!

There had also been a World’s Fair in Chicago in 1893, 40 years before the 1933 show. At the time, astronomers thought that Arcturus was 40 light-years away. If so, that light left Arcturus at the end of the 1893 fair and traveled for 40 years through space like an Olympic torch bearer, to open the 1933 show.

The promoters of Chicago’s World’s Fair had a great idea, but today’s astronomers place the distance to Arcturus at just less than 37 light-years. Maybe it should have been used for the groundbreaking ceremony!

The red giant Arcturus is roughly 25 times the diameter of our sun. It’s not the largest of the red giants, however, as this diagram shows. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Arcturus is large and old

Arcturus is most likely considerably older than our sun. When the sun evolves to become a red giant, it will be a star much like Arcturus is now.

Arcturus’ diameter is roughly 25 times greater than our sun. Because of its larger size, it radiates more than 100 times the light of our sun, in visible light. If you consider infrared and other frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum, Arcturus is about 200 times more powerful than the sun. Its mass is slightly greater than that of our sun.

The reddish or orange color of Arcturus signifies its temperature, which is about 7,300 degrees Fahrenheit (around 4,000 degrees Celsius). That makes it several thousand degrees cooler than the surface of the sun.

Flying south to the winter sky

The bright orange star Arcturus is especially noteworthy for its large proper motion, or sideways motion, on the dome of Earth’s sky. Only Alpha Centauri – our sun’s nearest neighbor among the stars – has a higher proper motion among the 1st-magnitude, or bright, stars in our stellar neighborhood. And of course, the large proper motion of Alpha Centauri stems from the fact that it’s so close to us.

In the meantime, what does the proper motion of Arcturus tell us?

It tells us that it is moving at a tremendous speed (122 km/s or 76 miles/s) relative to our solar system. Arcturus is thought to be an old star. It appears to be moving with a group of at least 52 other such stars, known as the Arcturus stream or Arcturus moving group. Scientists believe these stars were not originally part of the Milky Way but came from a dwarf satellite galaxy whose stars have now become assimilated into the Milky Way.

Gone in 150,000 years!

From the vantage point of Earth, Arcturus is rapidly moving in a southerly direction at a rate of 3.9 arcminutes per century. It’s now at about its closest point to Earth. As it moves away it will vanish from visibility to the unaided eye when it reaches the Carina-Vela border in about 150,000 years.

Enjoying EarthSky so far? Sign up for our free daily newsletter today!

The position of Arcturus is RA: 14h 15 m 39.7s, dec: +19° 10′ 56″

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Cecille Kennedy captured this image on May 1 2025, from Oregon and wrote: “The Big Dipper, Arcturus and Polaris, the North Star, shine brightly with the other stars in the still of the blue midnight. The two front stars of the Big Dipper are called Pointers because they point to Polaris, the North Star. Polaris, is the brightest star in the Little Dipper and the closest bright star to the north celestial pole. When you are looking at Polaris, you are facing north. Arcturus is a first magnitude star and stands right behind the Big Dipper. Arcturus is the brightest star of the constellation Boötes the Herdsman.” Thank you, Cecille!

Bottom line: The 4th-brightest star in all the sky is Arcturus, a brilliant orangish star that’s easy to find in the Northern Hemisphere spring skies with the aid of the Big Dipper.

The post Arcturus, the brightest star of the northern sky first appeared on EarthSky.

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Monk parakeets: the more social, the richer their language

Monk parakeets are sociable and talkative. Image via Hongbin/ Unsplash.

Monk parakeets are known for their talkative nature and their ability to imitate sounds, including the human voice. A team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior observed 337 monk parakeets for two years in Spain. The researchers said on May 7, 2025, that this species of parrot is not only capable of imitation, but monk parakeets also acquire richer vocal diversity the more they socialize with others. It appears they even try to modify their vocalizations to differentiate themselves from other members of the group.

The team of scientists published its study on May 7, 2025, in the peer-reviewed journal The Royal Society.

Monk parakeets in Europe

Although monk parakeets are native to South America, they are quite common in Europe. In fact, they live by the thousands in Spain. According to the latest national census of the monk parakeet, which SEO/BirdLife published in 2015, the count totaled more than 7,000 nests and a population of between 16,000 and 20,000 individuals. The most of them live in major cities such as Madrid, Barcelona and Malaga.

These bright green birds are abundant in urban parks. And that gives scientists an opportunity to study them and their group behavior. According to the scientists, social networks shape the vocal diversity of monk parakeets.

Indeed, monk parakeets are sociable and talkative animals. Interestingly, in Spain, this species is known as cotorras argentinas. The word cotorra refers to a person who never stops talking!

The new study focused on monk parakeets living is Spain, where you can find them by the thousands. Image via Aliaksei Lepik/ Unsplash.

The advantages of living in groups

Social animals enjoy certain advantages by living in groups. Among other things, animals with more complex social lives tend to have more sophisticated forms of communication. For example, dolphins and bonobos have rich communication systems. And humans also learn new words and expressions when they hear other people speak.

The new study on wild parrots, specifically the monk parakeet, shows a similarly rich language. These birds thrive in large colonies where they communicate with each other through numerous distinctive sounds. These communities gave scientists a chance to understand the interplay of individual social relationships with vocal variety.

The scientists observed 337 monk parakeets for several months over two years, documenting their social life and recording all their screeches, squawks and whistles. They obtained a total of 5,599 vocalizations. The team examined these calls in terms of repertoire diversity (how many different sounds a bird can make) and contact-call diversity (how much this specific type of call differs).

They also mapped the birds’ social networks, analyzing everything from the frequency with which they interacted with others to the strength of their relationships. From this information, the team concluded that parakeets living in larger groups produced a wider variety sounds.

Researchers observed monk parakeets that thrive in large colonies to better understand how they communicate in groups. Image via Vito Giaccari/ Pexels.

Other interesting discoveries from the study

The scientists also made another finding. They discovered that, interestingly, females had a more diverse repertoire than males. Lead author Simeon Smeele said this is unusual for birds:

This research is a really important first step. It really looks like there are some call types that are used uniquely in social situations. And it’s really interesting to see that females appear to produce more of these, suggesting they are the more social sex.

Another interesting finding is that parrots in more central positions in the social structure (those that were more influential in the group and interacted with more individuals) tended to have more diverse vocal repertoires. That is, the most sociable individuals seemed to have a larger vocabulary than the less sociable ones. Smeele adds:

What I find really exciting is that we were able to link what individuals say to very specific levels of sociality. For example, close friends that allowed each other to approach within pecking distance sounded less like each other, as if they were trying to sound unique in their little gang.

Although monk parakeets are great imitators, they possess a rich vocalization system. In fact, the more sociable they are, the more variety of sounds they can produce. Image via Cassiano Psomas/ Pexels.

Why is this study about monk parakeets important?

By comparing these social animals with ourselves, we can learn a lot. After all, we also enrich our vocabulary by listening to and speaking with other people. And at the same time, we acquire a unique way of expressing ourselves that distinguishes us from others.

These results shed light on how sociability might have driven the evolution of complex communication and, ultimately, human language. Previous research has linked sociability to a more diverse repertoire in species ranging from Carolina chickadees to marmosets. Smeele said:

The next big step is to better understand what each of the sounds mean, a real mammoth task, since most of the social squawking happens in large groups with many individuals talking at the same time!

These little, sociable communicators can serve as an example on how sociability is linked to a more diverse communication in animals that live in groups. Image via Debbie/ Pixabay.

Bottom line: A new study found that the more sociable monk parakeets are, the more vocal diversity they gain. More about the talkative monk parakeet here.

Source: The effect of social structure on vocal flexibility in monk parakeets

Via the Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior

Read more: Bonobo chatter shares a unique feature with human speech

Read more: Will humpback whales train us to communicate with aliens?

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Monk parakeets are sociable and talkative. Image via Hongbin/ Unsplash.

Monk parakeets are known for their talkative nature and their ability to imitate sounds, including the human voice. A team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior observed 337 monk parakeets for two years in Spain. The researchers said on May 7, 2025, that this species of parrot is not only capable of imitation, but monk parakeets also acquire richer vocal diversity the more they socialize with others. It appears they even try to modify their vocalizations to differentiate themselves from other members of the group.

The team of scientists published its study on May 7, 2025, in the peer-reviewed journal The Royal Society.

Monk parakeets in Europe

Although monk parakeets are native to South America, they are quite common in Europe. In fact, they live by the thousands in Spain. According to the latest national census of the monk parakeet, which SEO/BirdLife published in 2015, the count totaled more than 7,000 nests and a population of between 16,000 and 20,000 individuals. The most of them live in major cities such as Madrid, Barcelona and Malaga.

These bright green birds are abundant in urban parks. And that gives scientists an opportunity to study them and their group behavior. According to the scientists, social networks shape the vocal diversity of monk parakeets.

Indeed, monk parakeets are sociable and talkative animals. Interestingly, in Spain, this species is known as cotorras argentinas. The word cotorra refers to a person who never stops talking!

The new study focused on monk parakeets living is Spain, where you can find them by the thousands. Image via Aliaksei Lepik/ Unsplash.

The advantages of living in groups

Social animals enjoy certain advantages by living in groups. Among other things, animals with more complex social lives tend to have more sophisticated forms of communication. For example, dolphins and bonobos have rich communication systems. And humans also learn new words and expressions when they hear other people speak.

The new study on wild parrots, specifically the monk parakeet, shows a similarly rich language. These birds thrive in large colonies where they communicate with each other through numerous distinctive sounds. These communities gave scientists a chance to understand the interplay of individual social relationships with vocal variety.

The scientists observed 337 monk parakeets for several months over two years, documenting their social life and recording all their screeches, squawks and whistles. They obtained a total of 5,599 vocalizations. The team examined these calls in terms of repertoire diversity (how many different sounds a bird can make) and contact-call diversity (how much this specific type of call differs).

They also mapped the birds’ social networks, analyzing everything from the frequency with which they interacted with others to the strength of their relationships. From this information, the team concluded that parakeets living in larger groups produced a wider variety sounds.

Researchers observed monk parakeets that thrive in large colonies to better understand how they communicate in groups. Image via Vito Giaccari/ Pexels.

Other interesting discoveries from the study

The scientists also made another finding. They discovered that, interestingly, females had a more diverse repertoire than males. Lead author Simeon Smeele said this is unusual for birds:

This research is a really important first step. It really looks like there are some call types that are used uniquely in social situations. And it’s really interesting to see that females appear to produce more of these, suggesting they are the more social sex.

Another interesting finding is that parrots in more central positions in the social structure (those that were more influential in the group and interacted with more individuals) tended to have more diverse vocal repertoires. That is, the most sociable individuals seemed to have a larger vocabulary than the less sociable ones. Smeele adds:

What I find really exciting is that we were able to link what individuals say to very specific levels of sociality. For example, close friends that allowed each other to approach within pecking distance sounded less like each other, as if they were trying to sound unique in their little gang.

Although monk parakeets are great imitators, they possess a rich vocalization system. In fact, the more sociable they are, the more variety of sounds they can produce. Image via Cassiano Psomas/ Pexels.

Why is this study about monk parakeets important?

By comparing these social animals with ourselves, we can learn a lot. After all, we also enrich our vocabulary by listening to and speaking with other people. And at the same time, we acquire a unique way of expressing ourselves that distinguishes us from others.

These results shed light on how sociability might have driven the evolution of complex communication and, ultimately, human language. Previous research has linked sociability to a more diverse repertoire in species ranging from Carolina chickadees to marmosets. Smeele said:

The next big step is to better understand what each of the sounds mean, a real mammoth task, since most of the social squawking happens in large groups with many individuals talking at the same time!

These little, sociable communicators can serve as an example on how sociability is linked to a more diverse communication in animals that live in groups. Image via Debbie/ Pixabay.

Bottom line: A new study found that the more sociable monk parakeets are, the more vocal diversity they gain. More about the talkative monk parakeet here.

Source: The effect of social structure on vocal flexibility in monk parakeets

Via the Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior

Read more: Bonobo chatter shares a unique feature with human speech

Read more: Will humpback whales train us to communicate with aliens?

The post Monk parakeets: the more social, the richer their language first appeared on EarthSky.

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Nearby star’s music sparks a surprising discovery

Artist’s concept of the HD 219134 system. Sound waves propagating through the stellar interior – the nearby star’s music as it were – were used to measure its age and size and characterize the planets orbiting the star. Video via openAI/ Gabriel Perez Diaz/ Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias/ W. M. Keck Observatory.

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• HD 219134 is an orange star cooler than our sun about 21 light-years away from Earth. It has a family of five known planets.
• Astronomers listened to the “music” – subtle internal vibrations – of the star, using the Keck Observatory in Hawaii. They found the star is slightly smaller than previously thought.
• The findings also provide more clues about how stars slow down in their rotation as they get older. And they help astronomers measure the sizes and densities of its five planets.

Listening to a nearby star’s music

You might have heard of the music of the spheres or musica universalis. It was an ancient Greek philosophical concept that regarded proportions in the movements of celestial bodies as a form of music. Now, on May 6, 2025, an international team of astronomers using the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii said it has listened to the “music” of a nearby star. The researchers said the subtle stellar vibrations revealed the star is smaller than previously thought, challenging scientists’ understanding of stars’ interiors and how they slow down as they age.

It also helped to better measure the sizes and densities of the star’s five known planets.

Of course, stars don’t actually play music, but they do emit sound waves – subtle vibrations or oscillations – that astronomers can study. Astronomers can “hear” these natural frequencies using the right instruments. And that’s what the team of astronomers did with the nearby star HD 219134, 21 light-years away. They used the Keck Planet Finder (KPF) at the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii to listen to the star. Scientists call this technique of listening to stars’ sound waves asteroseismology.

The vibrations can provide clues about the interiors of stars and other data. Lead author Yaguang Li at the University of Hawaii at Manoa said:

The vibrations of a star are like its unique song. By listening to those oscillations, we can precisely determine how massive a star is, how large it is, and how old it is.

The researchers published their peer-reviewed findings in The Astrophysical Journal on May 6, 2025.

Yaguang Li at the University of Hawaii is the lead author of the new study about the music of the stars. Image via Yaguang Li.

Stellar songs from hot and cool stars

HD 219134 is an orange star, cooler than our sun. It’s been easier to detect such stellar vibrations from hotter stars. With HD 219134, the stellar songs are much more subtle and harder to detect with most telescopes.

But the Keck Planet Finder is ideally suited for this task. It can precisely measure the motion of a star’s surface toward and away from the observer. Overall, the astronomers listened to the star for four consecutive nights and collected over 2,000 velocity measurements. Those measurements were extremely precise. Li said:

KPF’s fast readout mode makes it perfectly suited for detecting oscillations in cool stars, and it is the only spectrograph on Mauna Kea currently capable of making this type of discovery.

Artist’s concept of HD 219134, with 1 of its 5 known confirmed planets in the foreground. Image via W. M. Keck Observatory.

Measuring the ages of stars

The oscillations inside stars can also provide clues about their ages and what happens as they get older. Young stars rotate rapidly, but then slow down as they age. The researchers determined that HD 219134 is more than twice the age of our sun, about 10.2 billion years old. The sun and solar system are about 4.6 billion years old. So its rotation is a lot slower now than when it was younger.

But the new analysis of HD 219134 can also help scientists understand another peculiarity. The slowing rotation, or spin-down, of stars similar to HD 219134 tends to eventually come to a halt. The asteroseismic data enables scientists to anchor stellar models at the oldest end of a star’s lifetime. This, in turn, helps astronomers determine the ages of stars more precisely. As Li noted:

This is like finding a long-lost tuning fork for stellar clocks. It gives us a reference point to calibrate how stars spin down over billions of years.

Smaller than expected

The new asteroseismic measurements revealed another surprise, too. HD 219134 is slightly smaller than astronomers thought it was. It’s about 4% smaller than previous studies had suggested. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but it poses challenges for current stellar models, especially for stars like HD 219134.

Why the discrepancy? The researchers said it could be due atmospheric effects in Earth’s atmosphere, magnetic fields or even issues with the stellar models themselves.

A family of planets and extraterrestrial life

Like many – or even most – stars, HD 219134 has at least five known confirmed planets, and possibly more, including two super-Earths. Super-Earths are rocky and larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune. Being able to better refine the size of the star also helped the researchers measure the sizes and densities of its family of planets as well.

Keck Planet Finder and similar instruments will also be able to assist in the search for life on exoplanets. Knowing how old the stars and planets are more accurately will help astronomers estimate how old life is on a planet, if it is found. Co-author Daniel Huber said:

When we find life on another planet, we will want to know how old that life is. Listening to the sounds of its star will tell us the answer.

Bottom line: Astronomers have listened to a nearby star’s music – subtle interior vibrations – to learn more about how stars’ rotation speed slows down as they age.

Source: K Dwarf Radius Inflation and a 10 Gyr Spin-down Clock Unveiled through Asteroseismology of HD 219134 from the Keck Planet Finder

Via W. M. Keck Observatory

Read more: Cool! A Hubble photo translated to music

Read more: Listen to space with these new sonification videos

The post Nearby star’s music sparks a surprising discovery first appeared on EarthSky.

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Artist’s concept of the HD 219134 system. Sound waves propagating through the stellar interior – the nearby star’s music as it were – were used to measure its age and size and characterize the planets orbiting the star. Video via openAI/ Gabriel Perez Diaz/ Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias/ W. M. Keck Observatory.

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• HD 219134 is an orange star cooler than our sun about 21 light-years away from Earth. It has a family of five known planets.
• Astronomers listened to the “music” – subtle internal vibrations – of the star, using the Keck Observatory in Hawaii. They found the star is slightly smaller than previously thought.
• The findings also provide more clues about how stars slow down in their rotation as they get older. And they help astronomers measure the sizes and densities of its five planets.

Listening to a nearby star’s music

You might have heard of the music of the spheres or musica universalis. It was an ancient Greek philosophical concept that regarded proportions in the movements of celestial bodies as a form of music. Now, on May 6, 2025, an international team of astronomers using the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii said it has listened to the “music” of a nearby star. The researchers said the subtle stellar vibrations revealed the star is smaller than previously thought, challenging scientists’ understanding of stars’ interiors and how they slow down as they age.

It also helped to better measure the sizes and densities of the star’s five known planets.

Of course, stars don’t actually play music, but they do emit sound waves – subtle vibrations or oscillations – that astronomers can study. Astronomers can “hear” these natural frequencies using the right instruments. And that’s what the team of astronomers did with the nearby star HD 219134, 21 light-years away. They used the Keck Planet Finder (KPF) at the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii to listen to the star. Scientists call this technique of listening to stars’ sound waves asteroseismology.

The vibrations can provide clues about the interiors of stars and other data. Lead author Yaguang Li at the University of Hawaii at Manoa said:

The vibrations of a star are like its unique song. By listening to those oscillations, we can precisely determine how massive a star is, how large it is, and how old it is.

The researchers published their peer-reviewed findings in The Astrophysical Journal on May 6, 2025.

Yaguang Li at the University of Hawaii is the lead author of the new study about the music of the stars. Image via Yaguang Li.

Stellar songs from hot and cool stars

HD 219134 is an orange star, cooler than our sun. It’s been easier to detect such stellar vibrations from hotter stars. With HD 219134, the stellar songs are much more subtle and harder to detect with most telescopes.

But the Keck Planet Finder is ideally suited for this task. It can precisely measure the motion of a star’s surface toward and away from the observer. Overall, the astronomers listened to the star for four consecutive nights and collected over 2,000 velocity measurements. Those measurements were extremely precise. Li said:

KPF’s fast readout mode makes it perfectly suited for detecting oscillations in cool stars, and it is the only spectrograph on Mauna Kea currently capable of making this type of discovery.

Artist’s concept of HD 219134, with 1 of its 5 known confirmed planets in the foreground. Image via W. M. Keck Observatory.

Measuring the ages of stars

The oscillations inside stars can also provide clues about their ages and what happens as they get older. Young stars rotate rapidly, but then slow down as they age. The researchers determined that HD 219134 is more than twice the age of our sun, about 10.2 billion years old. The sun and solar system are about 4.6 billion years old. So its rotation is a lot slower now than when it was younger.

But the new analysis of HD 219134 can also help scientists understand another peculiarity. The slowing rotation, or spin-down, of stars similar to HD 219134 tends to eventually come to a halt. The asteroseismic data enables scientists to anchor stellar models at the oldest end of a star’s lifetime. This, in turn, helps astronomers determine the ages of stars more precisely. As Li noted:

This is like finding a long-lost tuning fork for stellar clocks. It gives us a reference point to calibrate how stars spin down over billions of years.

Smaller than expected

The new asteroseismic measurements revealed another surprise, too. HD 219134 is slightly smaller than astronomers thought it was. It’s about 4% smaller than previous studies had suggested. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but it poses challenges for current stellar models, especially for stars like HD 219134.

Why the discrepancy? The researchers said it could be due atmospheric effects in Earth’s atmosphere, magnetic fields or even issues with the stellar models themselves.

A family of planets and extraterrestrial life

Like many – or even most – stars, HD 219134 has at least five known confirmed planets, and possibly more, including two super-Earths. Super-Earths are rocky and larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune. Being able to better refine the size of the star also helped the researchers measure the sizes and densities of its family of planets as well.

Keck Planet Finder and similar instruments will also be able to assist in the search for life on exoplanets. Knowing how old the stars and planets are more accurately will help astronomers estimate how old life is on a planet, if it is found. Co-author Daniel Huber said:

When we find life on another planet, we will want to know how old that life is. Listening to the sounds of its star will tell us the answer.

Bottom line: Astronomers have listened to a nearby star’s music – subtle interior vibrations – to learn more about how stars’ rotation speed slows down as they age.

Source: K Dwarf Radius Inflation and a 10 Gyr Spin-down Clock Unveiled through Asteroseismology of HD 219134 from the Keck Planet Finder

Via W. M. Keck Observatory

Read more: Cool! A Hubble photo translated to music

Read more: Listen to space with these new sonification videos

The post Nearby star’s music sparks a surprising discovery first appeared on EarthSky.

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Supermassive black hole roaming the darkness between stars

Scientists have made the first-ever identification of a supermassive black hole roaming the darkness between stars instead of in a galaxy’s core. This artist’s concept shows the glowing remnants of a star eaten by the supermassive black hole. Image via NASA/ ESA/ STScI/ Ralf Crawford (STScI).

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Supermassive black hole roaming in the darkness

We know of supermassive black holes as the beasts that lie at the cores of galaxies. But NASA said on May 8, 2025, that scientists have found a wandering supermassive black hole, offset from the center of its galaxy. This supermassive black hole is about 1 million times the mass of our sun. Scientists spotted it when it ate a nearby star, ripping it to shreds and releasing a burst of energy in the process.

The scientists will publish their paper in an upcoming edition of The Astrophysical Journal Letters. A preprint of the paper is available on arXiv.

How did astronomers spot it?

Black holes are, by their nature, dark. So how did astronomers find this supermassive black hole from 600 million light-years away? It lit up with a burst of energy as it ate a nearby star in what astronomers call a tidal disruption event. Astronomers named this particular tidal disruption event AT2024tvd. So far, astronomers have spotted about 100 tidal disruption events, which signal the presence of supermassive black holes. But this is the first time they’ve spotted one that wasn’t at the center of its galaxy.

Lead author Yuhan Yao of the University of California at Berkeley said:

AT2024tvd is the first offset tidal disruption event captured by optical sky surveys, and it opens up the entire possibility of uncovering this elusive population of wandering black holes with future sky surveys. Right now, theorists haven’t given much attention to offset tidal disruption events. I think this discovery will motivate scientists to look for more examples of this type of event.

Artist’s concept of how a tidal disruption event revealed an offset supermassive black hole. 1) We see a supermassive black hole drifting between stars thanks to gravitational lensing. 2) The supermassive black hole pulls in a nearby star. 3) Spaghettification! The supermassive black hole rips the star to shreds as it encounters the black hole’s intense gravity field. 4) Star debris forms a disk around the black hole. 5) A burst of energy results in an outpouring of radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum, from X-rays to radio wavelengths. 6) We see the telltale flash of energy in the distant galaxy just outside the galactic core. Image via NASA/ ESA/ STScI Ralf Crawford (STScI).

More than 1 supermassive black hole in a galaxy

This galaxy has another supermassive black hole, and this one is at the core of the galaxy, where we would expect it to be. The supermassive black hole at the galactic core has 100 million times the mass of our sun, making it much bigger than the newly discovered offset black hole. The two black holes are about 2,600 light-years apart.

So how did astronomers know the bright flare was from a supermassive black hole and not a supernova? The Zwicky Transient Facility in California saw the hot flare in its sky survey with broad emission lines of hydrogen, helium, carbon, nitrogen and silicon. As soon as researchers saw this, they requested observation time on NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Very Large Array and the Hubble Space Telescope. These observations all pointed to a tidal disruption event from a supermassive black hole. Yao said:

Supernovae cool down after they peak, and their color becomes redder. Tidal disruption events remain hot for months or years and have consistently blue colors throughout their evolution.

Scientists combined images from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory to show the bright light from the feeding supermassive black hole offset from the center of its galaxy. Image via NASA/ ESA/ STScI/ Yuhan Yao (UC Berkeley); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI).

How did the supermassive black hole get there?

There are a couple of theories for the origin of the offset supermassive black hole. One possibility is that the smaller black hole was at the center of the galaxy with the larger black hole, but interactions between them and a 3rd black hole kicked the smaller-mass object out. Yao said:

If the black hole went through a triple interaction with two other black holes in the galaxy’s core, it can still remain bound to the galaxy, orbiting around the central region.

Another possibility is that the supermassive black hole was once the core of another galaxy that merged with the present galaxy astronomers discovered it in. If so, this black hole may eventually fall toward the center of the galaxy and merge with the larger black hole.

Yuhan Yao of UC Berkeley was the lead author of the new paper. Image via Yuhan Yao.

Bottom line: For the first time, astronomers have discovered a supermassive black hole roaming in the darkness between stars, away from the center of a galaxy.

Source: A Massive Black Hole 0.8 kpc from the Host Nucleus Revealed by the Offset Tidal Disruption Event AT2024tvd

Via NASA

Via UC Berkeley

The post Supermassive black hole roaming the darkness between stars first appeared on EarthSky.

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Scientists have made the first-ever identification of a supermassive black hole roaming the darkness between stars instead of in a galaxy’s core. This artist’s concept shows the glowing remnants of a star eaten by the supermassive black hole. Image via NASA/ ESA/ STScI/ Ralf Crawford (STScI).

Science matters. Wonder matters. You matter. Join our 2025 Donation Campaign today.

Supermassive black hole roaming in the darkness

We know of supermassive black holes as the beasts that lie at the cores of galaxies. But NASA said on May 8, 2025, that scientists have found a wandering supermassive black hole, offset from the center of its galaxy. This supermassive black hole is about 1 million times the mass of our sun. Scientists spotted it when it ate a nearby star, ripping it to shreds and releasing a burst of energy in the process.

The scientists will publish their paper in an upcoming edition of The Astrophysical Journal Letters. A preprint of the paper is available on arXiv.

How did astronomers spot it?

Black holes are, by their nature, dark. So how did astronomers find this supermassive black hole from 600 million light-years away? It lit up with a burst of energy as it ate a nearby star in what astronomers call a tidal disruption event. Astronomers named this particular tidal disruption event AT2024tvd. So far, astronomers have spotted about 100 tidal disruption events, which signal the presence of supermassive black holes. But this is the first time they’ve spotted one that wasn’t at the center of its galaxy.

Lead author Yuhan Yao of the University of California at Berkeley said:

AT2024tvd is the first offset tidal disruption event captured by optical sky surveys, and it opens up the entire possibility of uncovering this elusive population of wandering black holes with future sky surveys. Right now, theorists haven’t given much attention to offset tidal disruption events. I think this discovery will motivate scientists to look for more examples of this type of event.

Artist’s concept of how a tidal disruption event revealed an offset supermassive black hole. 1) We see a supermassive black hole drifting between stars thanks to gravitational lensing. 2) The supermassive black hole pulls in a nearby star. 3) Spaghettification! The supermassive black hole rips the star to shreds as it encounters the black hole’s intense gravity field. 4) Star debris forms a disk around the black hole. 5) A burst of energy results in an outpouring of radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum, from X-rays to radio wavelengths. 6) We see the telltale flash of energy in the distant galaxy just outside the galactic core. Image via NASA/ ESA/ STScI Ralf Crawford (STScI).

More than 1 supermassive black hole in a galaxy

This galaxy has another supermassive black hole, and this one is at the core of the galaxy, where we would expect it to be. The supermassive black hole at the galactic core has 100 million times the mass of our sun, making it much bigger than the newly discovered offset black hole. The two black holes are about 2,600 light-years apart.

So how did astronomers know the bright flare was from a supermassive black hole and not a supernova? The Zwicky Transient Facility in California saw the hot flare in its sky survey with broad emission lines of hydrogen, helium, carbon, nitrogen and silicon. As soon as researchers saw this, they requested observation time on NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Very Large Array and the Hubble Space Telescope. These observations all pointed to a tidal disruption event from a supermassive black hole. Yao said:

Supernovae cool down after they peak, and their color becomes redder. Tidal disruption events remain hot for months or years and have consistently blue colors throughout their evolution.

Scientists combined images from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory to show the bright light from the feeding supermassive black hole offset from the center of its galaxy. Image via NASA/ ESA/ STScI/ Yuhan Yao (UC Berkeley); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI).

How did the supermassive black hole get there?

There are a couple of theories for the origin of the offset supermassive black hole. One possibility is that the smaller black hole was at the center of the galaxy with the larger black hole, but interactions between them and a 3rd black hole kicked the smaller-mass object out. Yao said:

If the black hole went through a triple interaction with two other black holes in the galaxy’s core, it can still remain bound to the galaxy, orbiting around the central region.

Another possibility is that the supermassive black hole was once the core of another galaxy that merged with the present galaxy astronomers discovered it in. If so, this black hole may eventually fall toward the center of the galaxy and merge with the larger black hole.

Yuhan Yao of UC Berkeley was the lead author of the new paper. Image via Yuhan Yao.

Bottom line: For the first time, astronomers have discovered a supermassive black hole roaming in the darkness between stars, away from the center of a galaxy.

Source: A Massive Black Hole 0.8 kpc from the Host Nucleus Revealed by the Offset Tidal Disruption Event AT2024tvd

Via NASA

Via UC Berkeley

The post Supermassive black hole roaming the darkness between stars first appeared on EarthSky.

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4 keys to understanding moon phases

As seen from the north side of the moon’s orbital plane, the Earth rotates or spins counterclockwise. And the moon revolves counterclockwise around Earth. The moon’s changing position with respect to the sun is what causes the moon phases we see in our sky. Not to scale. Image via NASA/ Wikimedia Commons.

Moon phases change shape every day

Why does the moon seem to change its shape every night? It’s because the moon is a world in space, just as Earth is. Like Earth, the sun always illuminates half of the moon; the round globe of the moon has a day side and a night side. And, like Earth, the moon is always moving through space. So as seen from our earthly vantage point, as the moon orbits around Earth once each month, we see varying fractions of its day and night sides: the changing phases of the moon. How can you understand moon phases? Here are four things to remember.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Meiying Lee in Taipei, Taiwan, made this composite of a full lunar cycle in October 2021 using images collected over the years. Meiying wrote: “Some people think that the moon can only be seen at night. In fact, if you look up at the sky, you will often find that not only the moon can be seen during the day […] This combined photo is the daytime moon I collected for nearly 5 years. It contains all the daytime moons of all ages. In addition to the rich and beautiful colors, the most special thing about this photo is that you can see the relationship between the moon and the sky.” Thank you, Meiying!

1. When you see the moon, think of the whereabouts of the sun.

After all, it’s the sun that’s illuminating and creating the day side of the moon.

The fact is, moon phases depend on where the moon is with respect to the sun in space.

But don’t just take our word for it. Go outside. No matter what phase of the moon you see in your sky, think about where the sun is. It’ll help you begin to understand why the moon you see is in that particular phase.

At new moon, the sun, Earth and moon are aligned in space, with the moon in the middle. And the moon’s night side – its darkened hemisphere – directly faces us and we don’t see the moon. Chart via John Jardine Goss/ EarthSky.

At full moon, the sun, Earth and moon are aligned in space, with Earth in the middle. And the moon’s day side – its fully lighted hemisphere – directly faces us. Chart via John Jardine Goss/ EarthSky.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Mandy Daniels of the UK submitted this composite image and wrote: “This collage of images of the moon has been assembled from photographs taken daily from March 29, 2025, to April 12, 2025. I decided to include the solar eclipse photo as the moon is present, even though we only see the outline of a small section of it’s perimeter where it bites into the sun. It, therefore, represents the 0% phase of our moon and allows a pleasing rectangular aspect ratio for the completed art.” Thank you, Mandy. Read more about this image here.

2. The moon rises in the east and sets in the west, every day.

It has to. The rising and setting of all celestial objects is due to Earth’s continuous daily spin beneath the sky.

So, when you see a thin crescent moon in the west after sunset, it’s not a rising moon. Instead, it’s a setting moon. In fact, it rose earlier in the morning soon after the sun rose.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Brandi Mullins in Martinsville, Virginia, shared this composite image on October 12, 2023. Brandi wrote: “Phases of the moon from all my pictures I took over the last month combined into one photograph.” Thank you, Brandi!

3. The moon takes about a month to orbit the Earth.

Although the moon rises in the east and sets in the west each day (due to Earth’s spin), it’s also moving on the sky’s dome each day due to its own motion in orbit around Earth.

This is a slower, less noticeable motion of the moon. And it’s a motion in front of the fixed stars. So, if you just glance at the moon one evening – and see it again a few hours later – you’ll notice it has moved westward. That westward motion is caused by Earth’s spin.

You can detect the moon’s own orbital motion in the course of a single night. But you have to watch the moon closely, with respect to stars in its vicinity, over several hours.

Additionally, the moon’s eastward, orbital motion is easy to notice from one day (or night) to the next. It’s as though the moon is moving on the inside of a circle of 360 degrees. The moon’s orbit carries it around Earth’s sky once a month, because the moon takes about a month to orbit Earth.

So, the moon moves – with respect to the fixed stars – by about 12 to 13 degrees each day.

4. The moon’s orbital motion is toward the east.

Each day, the moon moves another 12 to 13 degrees toward the east on the sky’s dome. Then, Earth’s rotation takes a little longer to bring you around to where the moon is in space.

So the moon rises, on average, about 50 minutes later each day.

The later and later rising times of the moon cause our companion world to appear in a different part of the sky at each nightfall for the two weeks between new and full moon.

Then, in the two weeks after full moon, you’ll find the moon rising later and later at night.

View larger. | The moon’s (and Earth’s) orbit in one lunar month (new moon to new moon) as seen from north of the ecliptic – Earth’s orbital plane. The sun is at the top, outside the illustration. New moon is at extreme right and left. Full moon is at center. View the original, larger chart with a more detailed explanation. Image via Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0).

More details on individual moon phases at the links below

Follow the links to learn more about the various phases of the moon.

New moon
Waxing crescent
First quarter
Waxing gibbous
Full moon
Waning gibbous
Last quarter
Waning crescent

Bottom line: The moon is a world in space just as Earth is and half of it is always illuminated by the sun. As the moon orbits Earth, we on Earth’s surface see varying fractions of its lighted face, or day side. These are the changing phases of the moon. Four tips to understanding moon phases, here.

Here are the names of all the full moons.

Visit Sunrise Sunset Calendars to make your custom moon phases, moonrise-moonset and sunrise-sunset calendar.

The post 4 keys to understanding moon phases first appeared on EarthSky.

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As seen from the north side of the moon’s orbital plane, the Earth rotates or spins counterclockwise. And the moon revolves counterclockwise around Earth. The moon’s changing position with respect to the sun is what causes the moon phases we see in our sky. Not to scale. Image via NASA/ Wikimedia Commons.

Moon phases change shape every day

Why does the moon seem to change its shape every night? It’s because the moon is a world in space, just as Earth is. Like Earth, the sun always illuminates half of the moon; the round globe of the moon has a day side and a night side. And, like Earth, the moon is always moving through space. So as seen from our earthly vantage point, as the moon orbits around Earth once each month, we see varying fractions of its day and night sides: the changing phases of the moon. How can you understand moon phases? Here are four things to remember.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Meiying Lee in Taipei, Taiwan, made this composite of a full lunar cycle in October 2021 using images collected over the years. Meiying wrote: “Some people think that the moon can only be seen at night. In fact, if you look up at the sky, you will often find that not only the moon can be seen during the day […] This combined photo is the daytime moon I collected for nearly 5 years. It contains all the daytime moons of all ages. In addition to the rich and beautiful colors, the most special thing about this photo is that you can see the relationship between the moon and the sky.” Thank you, Meiying!

1. When you see the moon, think of the whereabouts of the sun.

After all, it’s the sun that’s illuminating and creating the day side of the moon.

The fact is, moon phases depend on where the moon is with respect to the sun in space.

But don’t just take our word for it. Go outside. No matter what phase of the moon you see in your sky, think about where the sun is. It’ll help you begin to understand why the moon you see is in that particular phase.

At new moon, the sun, Earth and moon are aligned in space, with the moon in the middle. And the moon’s night side – its darkened hemisphere – directly faces us and we don’t see the moon. Chart via John Jardine Goss/ EarthSky.

At full moon, the sun, Earth and moon are aligned in space, with Earth in the middle. And the moon’s day side – its fully lighted hemisphere – directly faces us. Chart via John Jardine Goss/ EarthSky.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Mandy Daniels of the UK submitted this composite image and wrote: “This collage of images of the moon has been assembled from photographs taken daily from March 29, 2025, to April 12, 2025. I decided to include the solar eclipse photo as the moon is present, even though we only see the outline of a small section of it’s perimeter where it bites into the sun. It, therefore, represents the 0% phase of our moon and allows a pleasing rectangular aspect ratio for the completed art.” Thank you, Mandy. Read more about this image here.

2. The moon rises in the east and sets in the west, every day.

It has to. The rising and setting of all celestial objects is due to Earth’s continuous daily spin beneath the sky.

So, when you see a thin crescent moon in the west after sunset, it’s not a rising moon. Instead, it’s a setting moon. In fact, it rose earlier in the morning soon after the sun rose.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Brandi Mullins in Martinsville, Virginia, shared this composite image on October 12, 2023. Brandi wrote: “Phases of the moon from all my pictures I took over the last month combined into one photograph.” Thank you, Brandi!

3. The moon takes about a month to orbit the Earth.

Although the moon rises in the east and sets in the west each day (due to Earth’s spin), it’s also moving on the sky’s dome each day due to its own motion in orbit around Earth.

This is a slower, less noticeable motion of the moon. And it’s a motion in front of the fixed stars. So, if you just glance at the moon one evening – and see it again a few hours later – you’ll notice it has moved westward. That westward motion is caused by Earth’s spin.

You can detect the moon’s own orbital motion in the course of a single night. But you have to watch the moon closely, with respect to stars in its vicinity, over several hours.

Additionally, the moon’s eastward, orbital motion is easy to notice from one day (or night) to the next. It’s as though the moon is moving on the inside of a circle of 360 degrees. The moon’s orbit carries it around Earth’s sky once a month, because the moon takes about a month to orbit Earth.

So, the moon moves – with respect to the fixed stars – by about 12 to 13 degrees each day.

4. The moon’s orbital motion is toward the east.

Each day, the moon moves another 12 to 13 degrees toward the east on the sky’s dome. Then, Earth’s rotation takes a little longer to bring you around to where the moon is in space.

So the moon rises, on average, about 50 minutes later each day.

The later and later rising times of the moon cause our companion world to appear in a different part of the sky at each nightfall for the two weeks between new and full moon.

Then, in the two weeks after full moon, you’ll find the moon rising later and later at night.

View larger. | The moon’s (and Earth’s) orbit in one lunar month (new moon to new moon) as seen from north of the ecliptic – Earth’s orbital plane. The sun is at the top, outside the illustration. New moon is at extreme right and left. Full moon is at center. View the original, larger chart with a more detailed explanation. Image via Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0).

More details on individual moon phases at the links below

Follow the links to learn more about the various phases of the moon.

New moon
Waxing crescent
First quarter
Waxing gibbous
Full moon
Waning gibbous
Last quarter
Waning crescent

Bottom line: The moon is a world in space just as Earth is and half of it is always illuminated by the sun. As the moon orbits Earth, we on Earth’s surface see varying fractions of its lighted face, or day side. These are the changing phases of the moon. Four tips to understanding moon phases, here.

Here are the names of all the full moons.

Visit Sunrise Sunset Calendars to make your custom moon phases, moonrise-moonset and sunrise-sunset calendar.

The post 4 keys to understanding moon phases first appeared on EarthSky.

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Virgo the Maiden represents a harvest goddess

The constellation Virgo the Maiden is easy to find by using the handle of the Big Dipper to arc to Arcturus in Boötes, then speeding on (or spiking down) to Spica, Virgo’s brightest star. Image via EarthSky.

Millions come to EarthSky for night sky news and trusted science. Your donation keeps it free and accessible for all.

The constellation Virgo the Maiden

From the Northern Hemisphere, Virgo the Maiden appears high above the southern horizon on May evenings. And this is the best time of year to view this constellation, which is the largest constellation of the zodiac. In fact, Virgo is also the 2nd-largest constellation overall, after Hydra. Plus, thanks to its brightest star, Spica, there’s an easy trick to finding this constellation.

So, to find Virgo, remember this handy mnemonic device: Arc to Arcturus and speed on (spike) to Spica. What does that mean? Using the readily identifiable Big Dipper, you can follow the curve of its handle as you arc to a bright orangish star named Arcturus in the constellation Boötes. Then “drive a spike” (or sometimes the saying is “speed on down”) to Spica.

Spica is a blue-white 1st-magnitude star near the center of Virgo.

First, follow the curve in the Big Dipper’s handle to the bright orange star Arcturus. Then extend that line to Spica. To be sure you’ve found Spica, look for a lopsided square pattern nearby: that’s Corvus the Crow. Image via EarthSky.

The stars of the Maiden

Spica, which marks a bundle of wheat that the Maiden is holding, is the 15th brightest star in the sky. Spica is a magnitude 1.04 star that lies 250 light-years from Earth.

Then the next brightest star in Virgo is the binary star Gamma Virginis, or Porrima. Porrima is magnitude 2.74 and lies near the center of the constellation, above (northwest of) Spica. It lies 38 light-years away. Next, the 3rd brightest star is at the northern reaches of the constellation. Vindemiatrix is a magnitude 2.82 star located 109 light-years away.

Virgo the Maiden and its stars. Image via Wikipedia (CC BY 3.0).

Here’s a classical illustration of the constellation Virgo the Maiden, via Urania’s Mirror/ Wikipedia.

The Virgo Cluster

Virgo is famous for its thousands of galaxies. One grouping – the Virgo Cluster – is near the border with Coma Berenices, west of Vindemiatrix. The Virgo Cluster is the nearest large group of galaxies to the Milky Way. The Virgo Cluster lies at the center of the Local Supercluster, a massive group containing clusters of galaxies. The Local Group of galaxies, which includes the Milky Way, is also part of the Local Supercluster.

Additionally, the gravitational pull from the Virgo Cluster in the Local Supercluster is slowing the escape velocity of the Milky Way and our Local Group. So the Virgo cluster is one of the few places in the universe we are speeding toward. Therefore, the galaxies in the Virgo Cluster are some of the few we see with a blueshift instead of a redshift. One day, these many galaxies will merge into one huge conglomeration.

In fact, the galaxy with one of the highest blueshifts lies right on the border of Virgo and Coma Berenices. This galaxy, M90, is moving rapidly among the other objects in the Virgo Cluster. That’s because it’s also being stripped of gas and dust due to its close quarters with the other galaxies. At magnitude 9.5, you can see this galaxy in a telescope across the 60 million light-year span.

In addition, other galaxies between 8th and 9th magnitude in this location are M49, M58, M59, M60, M84, M86, M87, and M89. Even more galaxies come into view if you scan along the line between Virgo and Coma Berenices.

View larger. | The Virgo Cluster. Image via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).

M87, or Virgo A

M87 is a special galaxy that deserves to be singled out from the Virgo Cluster. It shines at magnitude 8.6 and is therefore easy to detect in any telescope and even in some binoculars. M87 lies about 60 million light-years away. Its potato-shaped clump of stars extends well over half a million light-years across. Additionally, it is thought to be five times the size of the Milky Way’s diameter. However, the diameter of the galaxy’s halo is about a million light-years, and while that is large, astronomers expected it to be even larger. They believe something cut the halo off early on in M87’s formation.

In fact, M87 is home to the largest known number of globular clusters. For comparison, the Milky Way has about 200 globulars, while M87 has thousands. These clusters may be dwarf galaxies that M87’s gravitation sucked in.

Another amazing feature of M87 is its jet that extends outward from the core for thousands of light-years. A monster black hole at the galaxy’s core is the source of the jet. In fact, M87’s black hole was the 1st ever imaged, in 2019. Then, recently that image was enhanced and released with more detail in April 2023. Plus, its black hole and its jet were imaged together for 1st time ever in April 2023.

View larger. | An optical light image of the jet erupting from the black hole at the core of galaxy Messier 87 (M87 or NGC 4486). The Hubble Space Telescope took this image on July 6, 2000. Image via NASA/ The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)/ Wikimedia Commons.

The Sombrero Galaxy

Not to be overlooked is another bright and notable galaxy that’s apart from the large cluster: M104, or the Sombrero Galaxy. It’s located on the southeastern border of the constellation with Corvus the Crow. Without a doubt, M104 is a stunning galaxy in photographs. Even better, at magnitude 8.3, you can see it in small telescopes. It’s an edge-on, dusty spiral galaxy with a bright core. M104 lies approximately 55 million light-years away.

M104, or the Sombrero Galaxy, lies in the constellation Virgo the Maiden. Image via ESA/ Wikimedia Commons.

Virgo in mythology

The constellation Virgo is linked to the myth of Demeter, the harvest goddess, and her daughter Persephone. According to the myth, it once was always springtime on Earth. But then the god of the underworld, Hades, kidnapped Persephone.

Demeter, overcome with grief, abandoned her role as an Earth goddess. The world’s fruitfulness and fertility suffered. So Zeus insisted that Hades return Persephone to Demeter. But Zeus set a condition. He said Persephone must not eat until she returned to her home. That’s when Hades gave Persephone a pomegranate. It’s said that Persephone ate just six seeds.

So Persephone returned to her mother. But – because of the pomegranate – she has to return to the underworld for six months every year. To this day, spring returns to the Northern Hemisphere when Persephone reunites with Demeter. Then the winter season reigns when Persephone dwells in the underworld. Considering this, from the perspective of the Northern Hemisphere, Virgo is absent from early evening sky in late autumn, winter and early spring. Virgo’s return to the sky at nightfall – in the months of April and May – coincides with the season of spring.

“The Return of Persephone” by Frederic Leighton. Image via Wikipedia.

The constellations of the zodiac

Meet Taurus the Bull in the evening sky
Gemini the Twins, home to 2 bright stars
Meet Cancer the Crab and its Beehive Cluster
Leo the Lion and its backward question mark
Virgo the Maiden in northern spring skies
Meet Libra the Scales, a zodiacal constellation
Scorpius the Scorpion is a summertime delight
Sagittarius the Archer and its famous Teapot
Capricornus the Sea-goat has an arrowhead shape
Meet Aquarius the Water Bearer and its stars
Meet Pisces the Fish, 1st constellation of the zodiac
Say hello to Aries the Ram
Is Ophiuchus the 13th constellation of the zodiac?

Bottom line: Virgo the Maiden is the largest of the zodiac constellations. A handy mnemonic device – using the Big Dipper and its bright star Spica – makes it easy to find.

The post Virgo the Maiden represents a harvest goddess first appeared on EarthSky.

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The constellation Virgo the Maiden is easy to find by using the handle of the Big Dipper to arc to Arcturus in Boötes, then speeding on (or spiking down) to Spica, Virgo’s brightest star. Image via EarthSky.

Millions come to EarthSky for night sky news and trusted science. Your donation keeps it free and accessible for all.

The constellation Virgo the Maiden

From the Northern Hemisphere, Virgo the Maiden appears high above the southern horizon on May evenings. And this is the best time of year to view this constellation, which is the largest constellation of the zodiac. In fact, Virgo is also the 2nd-largest constellation overall, after Hydra. Plus, thanks to its brightest star, Spica, there’s an easy trick to finding this constellation.

So, to find Virgo, remember this handy mnemonic device: Arc to Arcturus and speed on (spike) to Spica. What does that mean? Using the readily identifiable Big Dipper, you can follow the curve of its handle as you arc to a bright orangish star named Arcturus in the constellation Boötes. Then “drive a spike” (or sometimes the saying is “speed on down”) to Spica.

Spica is a blue-white 1st-magnitude star near the center of Virgo.

First, follow the curve in the Big Dipper’s handle to the bright orange star Arcturus. Then extend that line to Spica. To be sure you’ve found Spica, look for a lopsided square pattern nearby: that’s Corvus the Crow. Image via EarthSky.

The stars of the Maiden

Spica, which marks a bundle of wheat that the Maiden is holding, is the 15th brightest star in the sky. Spica is a magnitude 1.04 star that lies 250 light-years from Earth.

Then the next brightest star in Virgo is the binary star Gamma Virginis, or Porrima. Porrima is magnitude 2.74 and lies near the center of the constellation, above (northwest of) Spica. It lies 38 light-years away. Next, the 3rd brightest star is at the northern reaches of the constellation. Vindemiatrix is a magnitude 2.82 star located 109 light-years away.

Virgo the Maiden and its stars. Image via Wikipedia (CC BY 3.0).

Here’s a classical illustration of the constellation Virgo the Maiden, via Urania’s Mirror/ Wikipedia.

The Virgo Cluster

Virgo is famous for its thousands of galaxies. One grouping – the Virgo Cluster – is near the border with Coma Berenices, west of Vindemiatrix. The Virgo Cluster is the nearest large group of galaxies to the Milky Way. The Virgo Cluster lies at the center of the Local Supercluster, a massive group containing clusters of galaxies. The Local Group of galaxies, which includes the Milky Way, is also part of the Local Supercluster.

Additionally, the gravitational pull from the Virgo Cluster in the Local Supercluster is slowing the escape velocity of the Milky Way and our Local Group. So the Virgo cluster is one of the few places in the universe we are speeding toward. Therefore, the galaxies in the Virgo Cluster are some of the few we see with a blueshift instead of a redshift. One day, these many galaxies will merge into one huge conglomeration.

In fact, the galaxy with one of the highest blueshifts lies right on the border of Virgo and Coma Berenices. This galaxy, M90, is moving rapidly among the other objects in the Virgo Cluster. That’s because it’s also being stripped of gas and dust due to its close quarters with the other galaxies. At magnitude 9.5, you can see this galaxy in a telescope across the 60 million light-year span.

In addition, other galaxies between 8th and 9th magnitude in this location are M49, M58, M59, M60, M84, M86, M87, and M89. Even more galaxies come into view if you scan along the line between Virgo and Coma Berenices.

View larger. | The Virgo Cluster. Image via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).

M87, or Virgo A

M87 is a special galaxy that deserves to be singled out from the Virgo Cluster. It shines at magnitude 8.6 and is therefore easy to detect in any telescope and even in some binoculars. M87 lies about 60 million light-years away. Its potato-shaped clump of stars extends well over half a million light-years across. Additionally, it is thought to be five times the size of the Milky Way’s diameter. However, the diameter of the galaxy’s halo is about a million light-years, and while that is large, astronomers expected it to be even larger. They believe something cut the halo off early on in M87’s formation.

In fact, M87 is home to the largest known number of globular clusters. For comparison, the Milky Way has about 200 globulars, while M87 has thousands. These clusters may be dwarf galaxies that M87’s gravitation sucked in.

Another amazing feature of M87 is its jet that extends outward from the core for thousands of light-years. A monster black hole at the galaxy’s core is the source of the jet. In fact, M87’s black hole was the 1st ever imaged, in 2019. Then, recently that image was enhanced and released with more detail in April 2023. Plus, its black hole and its jet were imaged together for 1st time ever in April 2023.

View larger. | An optical light image of the jet erupting from the black hole at the core of galaxy Messier 87 (M87 or NGC 4486). The Hubble Space Telescope took this image on July 6, 2000. Image via NASA/ The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)/ Wikimedia Commons.

The Sombrero Galaxy

Not to be overlooked is another bright and notable galaxy that’s apart from the large cluster: M104, or the Sombrero Galaxy. It’s located on the southeastern border of the constellation with Corvus the Crow. Without a doubt, M104 is a stunning galaxy in photographs. Even better, at magnitude 8.3, you can see it in small telescopes. It’s an edge-on, dusty spiral galaxy with a bright core. M104 lies approximately 55 million light-years away.

M104, or the Sombrero Galaxy, lies in the constellation Virgo the Maiden. Image via ESA/ Wikimedia Commons.

Virgo in mythology

The constellation Virgo is linked to the myth of Demeter, the harvest goddess, and her daughter Persephone. According to the myth, it once was always springtime on Earth. But then the god of the underworld, Hades, kidnapped Persephone.

Demeter, overcome with grief, abandoned her role as an Earth goddess. The world’s fruitfulness and fertility suffered. So Zeus insisted that Hades return Persephone to Demeter. But Zeus set a condition. He said Persephone must not eat until she returned to her home. That’s when Hades gave Persephone a pomegranate. It’s said that Persephone ate just six seeds.

So Persephone returned to her mother. But – because of the pomegranate – she has to return to the underworld for six months every year. To this day, spring returns to the Northern Hemisphere when Persephone reunites with Demeter. Then the winter season reigns when Persephone dwells in the underworld. Considering this, from the perspective of the Northern Hemisphere, Virgo is absent from early evening sky in late autumn, winter and early spring. Virgo’s return to the sky at nightfall – in the months of April and May – coincides with the season of spring.

“The Return of Persephone” by Frederic Leighton. Image via Wikipedia.

The constellations of the zodiac

Meet Taurus the Bull in the evening sky
Gemini the Twins, home to 2 bright stars
Meet Cancer the Crab and its Beehive Cluster
Leo the Lion and its backward question mark
Virgo the Maiden in northern spring skies
Meet Libra the Scales, a zodiacal constellation
Scorpius the Scorpion is a summertime delight
Sagittarius the Archer and its famous Teapot
Capricornus the Sea-goat has an arrowhead shape
Meet Aquarius the Water Bearer and its stars
Meet Pisces the Fish, 1st constellation of the zodiac
Say hello to Aries the Ram
Is Ophiuchus the 13th constellation of the zodiac?

Bottom line: Virgo the Maiden is the largest of the zodiac constellations. A handy mnemonic device – using the Big Dipper and its bright star Spica – makes it easy to find.

The post Virgo the Maiden represents a harvest goddess first appeared on EarthSky.

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