Close, But No FRB

There was a report about a month ago that a Fast Radio Burst (FRB) produced a repeating signal.  This is big news because we really don’t know what causes FRBs, and once they have ended it can be difficult to trace their source.  But a repeating signal means we can pinpoint their origin and potentially figure out their root cause.  It’s no wonder the astronomical community was excited…and skeptical. Most of the FRBs that have been discovered were in archival data – data from past surveys that were given a closer look.  Only a few have been seen in real-time, so when...

Perihelion Passage Captured by Rosetta

Rosetta captured comet 67P in all its glory this past week, as it reached perihelion, its closest approach to the Sun.  This marks the point where the comet feels the most solar energy, resulting in streams of gas and dust shooting from the nucleus.  Rosetta captured a series of images to show the brilliance of the comet. It’s been just over a year since Rosetta first injected itself into orbit around 67P on August 6th, 2014, and it has been hitching a ride around the Sun with the comet ever since, collecting amazing science data and observing the comet through its...