Caltech – Page 4 – Astronomy Now

The Science of Interstellar

5 May 2015 Keith Cooper

It is not often that a major Hollywood science fiction film uses hard science as one of its primary drivers. In Interstellar, this is thanks primarily to the involvement of Professor Kip Thorne of Caltech, writes reviewer Keith Cooper.

Wandering Jupiter swept away super-Earths, creating our unusual Solar System

25 March 2015 Astronomy Now

Researchers from Caltech and UC Santa Cruz say that Earth belongs to a second generation of planets in our Solar System after Jupiter swept clear the first, resulting in the formation of a planetary system unlike any other astronomers have yet found.

Active asteroid spun so fast that it exploded

23 March 2015 Astronomy Now

Astronomers used the 10-metre Keck II telescope in Hawaii to examine a so-called active asteroid, P/2012 F5, that mimics a comet with a tail, but ejects dust like a shot without an obvious reason. The researchers found that it had a very fast spin rate and probably fragmented.

Enormous planet found to be in a quadruple star system

7 March 2015 Astronomy Now

Astronomers have discovered the second known case of a four-star planetary system. The planet was known before and has a mass ten times that of Jupiter, but was thought to have only three parent stars, not four. The findings help researchers understand how multiple star systems can influence the development and fate of planets.

‘Interstellar’ technology throws light on spinning black holes

14 February 2015 Astronomy Now

The team responsible for the Oscar-nominated visual effects at the centre of Christopher Nolan’s epic, Interstellar, have turned science fiction into science fact by providing new insights into the powerful effects of black holes.