President-elect Donald Trump has expressed that U.S. allies in the Indo–Pacific should spend more on defense.News Analysis President-elect Donald Trump’s second term in office will likely bring…

[unable to retrieve full-text content]...

NewsNation correspondent Geraldo Rivera claimed on television that he “threw up in his mouth” upon learning of President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Matt Gaetz for Attorney General. Rivera…

Another U.S. House Republican candidate clinched his election more than a week after all votes were cast, affording Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) more padding for a slim majority constantly being chipped…

The New Zealand Astrophotography Competition showcases and recognizes some of the most stunning images of the southern hemisphere’s night sky. This year, photographers from across New Zealand have captured some incredibly breathtaking skyscapes such as amazing auroras, stunning images of our Solar System, and deep-sky marvels. Universe Today was proud to be part of this year’s competition, as our own Fraser Cain was one of the judges. The overall winner in the competition is a gorgeous view of the Aurora Australis, above, by photographer Tom Rae. Rae said he captured this image during the “once in a lifetime” geomagnetic storm in May of 2024, showing the Milky Way arching over the dramatic landscape of Aoraki Mount Cook National Park. This image also won the “Aurora” category. The other categories in the competition include Deep Sky, Solar System, Dark-Sky Places, Timelapse, and new this year are Smartphone Images and a People’s Choice Award, chosen by the public. There’s also a Nightscape category, and the winner –again — for this category is Tom Rae, showing the bowed Milky Way over a sharp ridge in Aoraki Mount Cook National Park. “The Ridge” by Tom Rae, winner of the Artistic/Nightscape category of the 2024 New Zealand Astrophotography Competition. Credit and copyright: Tom Rae. “This image is one of my biggest astrophotography accomplishments to date,” Rae explained on NZ Astrophotography Competition website, “and the largest panorama I’ve ever captured, with the full resolution image containing over a billion pixels from 62 images stitched together.” Deep Sky “First Amateur Detection of Light Echoes from 19th-Century Great Eruption of Eta Carinae” by Rolf Wahl Olsen in the Deep Sky category of the 2024 New Zealand Astrophotography Competition. Credit and copyright: Rolf Wahl Olsen. NZ astrophotographer Rolf Wahl Olsen is no stranger to Universe Today readers, as we’ve featured several of his photos for years. Olsen outdid himself with this deep sky photo of Eta Carinae. “This is the first amateur image of light echoes from the 19th-century Great Eruption of Eta Carinae,” Olsen explained. “These light echoes have been detected by the Hubble Space Telescope and from large observatories such as the CTIO 4m telescope, but this is the first time that amateur images reveal these transient features. Olson said his other first amateur detection of light echoes from supernova SN1987a inspired an attempt to try looking for the fainter echoes near Eta Carinae. You can read more about this effort on the NZ Astrophotography website and also at Olsen’s website. Solar System “Solar Fury” by Navaneeth Unnikrishnan won the Solar System Category of the 2024 New Zealand Astrophotgraphy Competition. Credit and copyright: Navaneeth Unnikrishnan. Navaneeth Unnikrishnan captured this stunning view of the full disk of the Sun. Using an H-alpha filter reveals the Sun’s dynamic surface and massive prominences. “A reminder of the incredible power and beauty just beyond our skies,” said Unnikrishnan. Dark Sky “Endurance” by Abby Keith won the Dark Sky Places category of the 2024 New Zealand Astrophotgraphy Competition. Credit and copyright: Abby Keith. Abby Keith captured this stunning dark sky photo while on a five-day hike in New Zealand’s in Fiordland National Park. The view shows Lake Mackenzie, a sub-alpine lake on the Routeburn Track, which is one of New Zealand’s Great Walks.   This panoramic image consists of 16 images for the foreground and 38 images for the sky. “This image is the hardest one I’ve had to work for,” Keith explained. Carrying a 20-plus kg pack was worth it, however, as there were perfect conditions to capture this view. Smartphone “Lake Aviemore aurora” by Ian Griffin won the Smartphone category in the 2024 New Zealand Astrophotgraphy Competition. Credit and copyright: Iam Griffin. This image was was also taken during the famous geomagnetic storm of May 12, 2024. Griffin called it “one of the most epic auroral storms I have ever seen. As my main digital cameras snapped away, I decided to see what my Iphone could do; I was blown away by the results!” So are we! For more great astrophotos, check out Griffin’s website. People’s Choice “Father and Son Magic” by Grant Birley won the People’s Choice Award in the 2024 New Zealand Astrophotgraphy Competition. Credit and copyright: Grant Birley. New this year for this competition is the People’s Choice Award, where after short-list winners were announced, online voting was opened for the public to choose their favorite images. This beautiful and heartfelt image is definitely worthy of being a favorite. You can see more of Birley’s images on Instagram. Timelapse This breathtaking timelapse shows mountains rotating against the backdrop of the stars, instead of the usual view of the stars moving. This work was submitted by Last Quarter Photography on YouTube. You can see all the winners, runners-up and highly commended images and videos at the NZ Astrophotography Competition website. New Zealand Astrophotography Competition This is New Zealand’s leading annual astrophotography competition and it is run jointly by the Royal Astronomy Society of New Zealand (RASNZ) and the Auckland Astronomical Society. Along with Fraser Cain, the other judges this year were Judy Schmidt  — another name well-known to Universe Today readers for her imaging editing and cosmic creativity, and Dylan O’Donnell who operates the YouTube channel “Star Stuff.”  Below is a video of all the short-list entries from this year’s competition. The post Our Breathtaking Cosmos: New Zealand Astrophotography Winners Announced appeared first on Universe Today.

Despite the fact that our universe is old, cold, and well past its prime, it’s not done making new galaxies yet. Galaxy formation first got started when our universe was only a few hundred million years old. In those dark ages the first stars gathered enough material to trigger nuclear fusion and ignite. Slowly over time those clumps of stars found each other and began to build the first young protogalaxies.  Over time those protogalaxies accumulated more material and merged together to quickly grow to become the massive galaxies that sprinkle throughout the universe today. But galaxies are more than clumps of stars and gas. They are also deep wells of dark matter, which is the invisible substance that makes up the most of the mass of every object in the universe. To make a galaxy you really start with an accumulation of dark matter. That forms the gravitational bedrock for normal matter to gather onto and start forming stars. The accumulation of dark matter really only happened in the very early universe, and long ago shut off. But those concentrations of dark matter remain today. Evidence from simulations and observations tells us that normal matter is still finding those pockets and triggering fresh rounds of star formation. That means while the seeds of galaxies were only laid down once, new accumulations of matter are still lighting up in the present day cosmos. It is true that we are well past the peak of star formation and the heyday of galaxy assembly. That epoch came and went over 10 billion years ago. And far into the future our universe will expand so much that this process will slow down and eventually stop. But the universe isn’t done yet. For now, we can still enjoy a universe full of galaxies and knowing that new ones are still coming on the scene. The post Yes, Virginia, The Universe is Still Making Galaxies appeared first on Universe Today.

Guitarist wasn't a fan of his band's now-famous moniker. Continue reading…

New documentary debuts on Disney+ later this month. Continue reading…