Astronomy

On Columbus Day, remember Abraham Zacuto, the Jewish astronomer history forgot - opinion

In 1935, the International Astronomical Union formally adopted the name Zagut for a lunar crater honoring Abraham ben Shmuel Zacuto. Modern astronomy has, literally, written his name on the Moon.

|ByRABBI SHLOMO PEREIRA/JTA
Portrait of Abraham Zacuto, by Eulogia Merle (2011).
Stargazing in the Negev Mountains

The Perseid meteor shower is back: All the best places to watch shooting stars in Israel

One of the most impressive celestial shows of the year reaches its peak on August 12. But here’s a tip: Shooting stars can also be seen in the days before and after the peak.

|ByZIV REINSTEIN
The Indian, Kachchhi/Gujarati, document.

Researchers decode 200-year-old Red Sea navigational chart, revealing lost seafaring secrets

The document, dated to the late 18th or early 19th century, is illustrated with images of ships and religious buildings. It depicts more than 180 islands, along with reefs, landmarks and flags. 

|ByMIRIAM SELA-EITAM
Earendil-1

Selling light after dark: Satellite designed to reflect sunlight to Earth approved by FCC

The Earendil-1 satellite, created by startup Reflect Orbital, contains a thin-film reflector that can direct “abundant sunlight” to specific locations at specific times, including night time

|ByDANYA SAPERSTEIN

Webb reveals a galaxy sparkling with the universe’s oldest star clusters

The Milky Way, our galaxy, has about 150 globular clusters. Their history is not yet well understood by astronomers, and measuring their age can be extremely difficult. 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2022ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Webb’s First Deep Field. Thousands of galaxies flood this near-infrared, high-resolution image of galaxy cluster SMACS 0723.

Fuel leak could delay first launch of NASA's Artemis moon rocket until October

The previous launch bid on Monday was halted by engineering snags. NASA says technicians have since remedied the issues.

SEPTEMBER 3, 2022ByREUTERS
NASA's next-generation moon rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS) with the Orion crew capsule perched on top, stands on launch complex 39B as rain clouds move into the area before its rescheduled debut test launch for the Artemis 1 mission at Cape Canaveral, Florida, US September 2, 2022.

NASA James Webb Telescope captures stunning photos of Jupiter

The two images were taken by the observatory's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), which uses three infrared filters to capture hidden details of the planet.

AUGUST 23, 2022ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Webb NIRCam composite image from two filters – F212N (orange) and F335M (cyan) – of Jupiter system, labeled.

Scientists find the most massive neutron star close to the black hole limit - study

PSR J0952–0607 is a neutron star 2.3 times as massive as the Sun but around just 20 kilometers wide. It is the closest pulsar known to the limit to forming a black hole.

JULY 31, 2022ByAARON REICH
An example of a pulsar, a neutron star emitting beams of electromagnetic radiation (Illustrative).

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin's Apollo 11 flight jacket fetches $2.8 million

Neil Armstrong and Aldrin were the first humans to walk on the moon. Aldrin, who is now 92, is the only surviving member of the mission's three-man crew.

JULY 27, 2022ByREUTERS
A view of a detail of Buzz Aldrin's flown inflight coverall jacket, worn by him on his mission to the Moon and back during Apollo 11, that was sold for $2,772,500 at Sotheby's, in New York City, U.S. July 21, 2022 in this screengrab from a video.

Black hole debunker team finds dormant black hole near Milky Way

A dormant black hole is a black hole that doesn't emit the X-ray radiation that makes other black holes easy to spot.

JULY 22, 2022ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
A simulated image of a black hole.

Unique radio signal detected billions of light-years from Earth

A strong burst of radio waves detected in a different galaxy is the longest-lasting of its kind and may help astronomers measure universe expansion.

JULY 14, 2022ByARIELLA MARSDEN
Artist's impression of a magnetar.