Chris Impey, The Conversation, Author at Astronomy.com

How we might look for life in the universe — even if we can’t recognize it

Chris Impey, The Conversation — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 20:00:00 +0000

We have only one example of biology forming in the universe – life on Earth. But what if life can form in other ways? How do you look for alien life when you don’t know what alien life might look like? These questions are preoccupying astrobiologists, who are scientists who look for life beyond Earth. Astrobiologists haveContinue reading "How we might look for life in the universe — even if we can’t recognize it"

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Upcoming Polaris Dawn spacewalk will push the envelope

Chris Impey, The Conversation — Wed, 11 Sep 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Space is an unnatural environment for humans. We can’t survive unprotected in a pure vacuum for more than two minutes. Getting to space involves being strapped to a barely contained chemical explosion. Since 1961, fewer than 700 people have been into space. Private space companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin hope to boost that number to many thousands, and SpaceX is already taking bookings forContinue reading "Upcoming Polaris Dawn spacewalk will push the envelope"

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Yes, an exploding star close to Earth would make for a very bad day

Chris Impey, The Conversation — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 13:40:11 +0000

Stars like the Sun are remarkably constant. They vary in brightness by only 0.1% over years and decades, thanks to the fusion of hydrogen into helium that powers them. This process will keep the Sun shining steadily for about 5 billion more years, but when stars exhaust their nuclear fuel, their deaths can lead to pyrotechnics. The SunContinue reading "Yes, an exploding star close to Earth would make for a very bad day"

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The beautifully harmonic patterns in space, explained by an astronomer

Chris Impey, The Conversation — Fri, 02 Feb 2024 16:02:37 +0000

Planets orbit their parent stars while separated by enormous distances – in our solar system, planets are like grains of sand in a region the size of a football field. The time that planets take to orbit their suns have no specific relationship to each other. But sometimes, their orbits display striking patterns. For example, astronomers studying sixContinue reading "The beautifully harmonic patterns in space, explained by an astronomer"

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Is there any sound in space? An astronomer explains

Chris Impey, The Conversation — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 14:10:40 +0000

How far can sound travel through space, since it’s so empty? Is there an echo in space? – Jasmine, age 14, Everson, Washington In space, no one can hear you scream. You may have heard this saying. It’s the tagline from the famous 1979 science fiction movie “Alien.” It’s a scary thought, but is itContinue reading "Is there any sound in space? An astronomer explains"

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The most expensive materials used in science

Chris Impey, The Conversation — Tue, 24 Oct 2023 16:43:22 +0000

After a journey of seven years and nearly 4 billion miles, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft landed gently in the Utah desert on the morning of Sept. 24, 2023, with a precious payload. The spacecraft brought back a sample from the asteroid Bennu. Roughly half a pound of material collected from the 85 million-ton asteroid (77.6 billionContinue reading "The most expensive materials used in science"

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