Planets

In astrology, a planet being in “retrograde” has become a term most feared by zodiac-lovers and astrology amateurs alike. But just because a planet has entered its retrograde phase doesn’t necessarily mean the world is about to combust. In fact, a retrograde can bring about changes in communication, romantic possibilities, and career opportunities.Here’s a breakdown of what it means when a planet is in retrograde, and how it could affect your star sign.What is ‘retrograde’?In astrology, retrograde describes the apparent backwards movement of a planet. This is because the planet isn’t actually moving backwards – it’s only an illusion.According to...

Here is your forecast across the Genesee Valley and Finger Lakes, and Lake Ontario region.

New modeling suggests large, high-speed impacts during Venus' early history could reconcile the differences between Venus and its rocky sister planet, Earth. The two planets are alike in many ways. They have similar sizes, masses and densities, and they are relatively similar distances from the Sun. Yet some key differences—such as habitability, atmospheric composition and plate tectonics—have remain unexplained.

An international team of astronomers reports the detection of four new giant alien worlds as part of the HATSouth photometric survey. The newfound exoplanets are the size of Jupiter and received designations HATS-74Ab, HATS-75b, HATS-76b and HATS-77b. The finding was detailed in a paper published December 3 on arXiv.org. HATSouth...

NASA is about to launch the world's most powerful space telescope. Webb's first year of science could rewrite the history of the universe.

Revolver has teamed with Crowbar for an exclusive colored vinyl variant of their new album, Zero and Below — limited to 300 copies. Order yours now!. Crowbar are a sludge-metal institution. The NOLA crushers — fronted by the prolific guitarist-vocalist Kirk Windstein, also of Down and Kingdom of Sorrow — formed over three decades ago and have since unloaded an impressive stack of records since their 1991 debut.

Starting on December 19 and lasting until January 29, Venus will station retrograde in the practical and ambitious sign of Capricorn. The last time Venus went retrograde, the world looked a little different. It was May of 2020 and we were in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, trying to figure out how to navigate a new world filled with mask-wearing, social distancing, and quarantining. A year and a half later, we're still figuring things out as they continue to change — but if there's one thing we know for sure, astrology remains constant.

Distant Worlds 2 comes out 10th March 2022 on PC, publisher Slitherine has announced. The 4X space strategy game is the follow-up to Code Force's 2010 real-time grand strategy wargame. The gameplay video, below, offers a lengthy deep dive into Distant Worlds 2 and what to expect. Eurogamer reviewed Distant...

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, the largest space observatory in history, will launch on an Ariane 5 rocket from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana on December 24, after 14 years of delays. The telescope has two primary missions. Its first mission is to explore the early phases...

When searching for life on another planet, we often look to Earth-like worlds that have what it takes to sustain living organisms. But some scientists are now arguing that may not always be the best place to look. A recent paper suggests that so-called “land planets” that have very little...

Small, lush planet covered with trees that was the home of the Alshain. Had not had visitors from any other planets since The Burn had happened, and relations with the Federation were strained even before then. The Alshain used the magnetic field of their planet to navigate while they flew (using the wings formed by their symbiotic butterfly-like creatures); the only problem was that the poles of the planet had shifted fourteen degrees west of where they’d been for hundreds of thousands of years, causing them to veer off-course when their planet’s geomagnetic compensator satellites ran out of dilithium to power them.

When it comes to the question of habitable celestial bodies, Earth is still the galactic ultimate. We know of no other planet that offers its potential inhabitants such a life-friendly environment.

Most exoplanets are found using a technique known as the transit method, where the exoplanet passes in front of its star, causing the star to dim slightly. It takes several transits to confirm an exoplanet, so it’s not surprising that most known exoplanets have a fairly short orbital period. Months or days rather than years. There’s also an observational bias in that most known stars are red dwarfs, so it’s usually not surprising that we’ve found yet another exoplanet closely orbiting a red dwarf star. But sometimes what we find is so extreme, it really is surprising.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope due for launch next week may usher in a new era in astronomy as it gathers information on the universe's earliest stages and whether planets beyond our solar system may be suitable for life. Lisa Bernhard produced this report.