Breaking News, Latest Philippines Headlines, World, Entertainment, Politics, Weather & Video News
by Ayee Macaraig Agence France Presse LIGAO, Philippines (AFP) — Filipinos sheltering from the erupting Mayon volcano gasped in delight as an orange full-moon eclipse shone above the mountain’s smouldering crater Wednesday in what was both a once-in-a-lifetime double spectacle and a rare moment of relief. Mount Mayon — the country’s most active volcano — has been spewing spectacular but potentially lethal ash and lava for the last fortnight, forcing some 90,000 people into cramped […]
by Kerry SHERIDAN Agence France Presse MIAMI, United States (AFP) — A cosmic event not seen in 36 years — a rare “super blood blue moon” — may be glimpsed January 31 in parts of western North America, Asia, the Middle East, Russia and Australia. The event is causing a buzz because it combines three unusual lunar events — an extra big super moon, a blue moon and a total lunar eclipse. “It’s an astronomical […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Astronomers have edged closer to solving the mystery of distant cosmic radio bursts according to a study Wednesday that offers insights into the blasts which emit more energy in a single millisecond than our sun does all day. International astronomers have spotted a few dozen fast radio bursts (FRBs) — and as many as 10,000 may occur daily — but only one has repeated sporadically, known as FRB 121102, allowing […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — A thin, waning moon should allow for uninterrupted views Wednesday night of the annual Geminid shooting star show, set to be “spectacular” this year, astronomers say. At its height, the meteor shower should yield a shooting star every minute, offering plenty of opportunity for wish-making, they said. Peaking on Wednesday night, it will be “particularly rich in bright meteors, or fireballs,” the Irish Astronomical Association (IAA) said. “There will be no […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft — cruising interstellar space billions of miles from Earth — was back on the right track Friday thanks to thrusters that were fired up for the first time in 37 years. The unmanned spaceship was launched along with its twin, Voyager 2, more than 40 years ago to explore the outer planets of our solar system, traveling further than any human-made object in history. But after […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — A new extrasolar system planet can be added to a handful of fellow exoplanets which could theoretically support life, the European Southern Observatory said Wednesday. The ESO said it had discovered the planet, Ross 128b, orbiting a star within the constellation of Virgo and it is comparatively ‘close’ at just 11 light years outside the Solar System. One light year is equivalent to 9.46 trillion kilometers (5.85 trillion miles). But in […]
by Julie Carnis Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Since early September, the denizens of this normally hushed burg in central France have been serenaded by an industrial drill poking holes around town and pulling up cylinders of rock. That’s because Rochechouart, population 3,800, and its medieval castle are built on top of an astrobleme. “An astrobleme — which literally means ‘star scar’ — is the name given to traces left by a major […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — A “monster” planet, which should in theory not exist, has been discovered orbiting a faint dwarf star far, far away, surprised astronomers said Tuesday. The existence of the gassy giant challenges long-standing theories that such a big planet — about the size of Jupiter — cannot be formed around a star so small. The star has a radius and mass about half that of the sun. Theory had predicted that small […]
by Mariëtte Le Roux Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — For the first time, scientists have witnessed the cataclysmic crash of two ultra-dense neutron stars in a galaxy far away, and concluded that such impacts forged at least half the gold in the Universe. Shockwaves and light flashes from the collision travelled some 130 million light-years to be captured by Earthly detectors on August 17, excited teams revealed at press conferences held around the […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — Move over Saturn! Scientists have found a ring around an unassuming mini-planet in our Solar System to debunk the theory that only giant planets can be so adorned. The planet, dubbed Haumea, orbits the Sun far beyond Neptune — the eighth and furthest recognized “full” planet in our star system since Pluto was downgraded to dwarf status in 2006. About eight billion kilometers (five billion miles) from the Sun, Haumea spins […]
by Sébastien VUAGNAT / with Kerry SHERIDAN in Charleston Agence France-Presse MADRAS, United States – Emotional sky-gazers on the US West Coast cheered and applauded Monday as the Sun briefly vanished behind the Moon — a rare total solar eclipse that will stretch across North America for the first time in nearly a century. Eclipse chasers and amateur star watchers alike converged in cities along the path of totality, a 70-mile (113-kilometer) wide path running through 14 […]
MIAMI, United States (AFP) — It’s a pop culture moment for the ages: crooner Bonnie Tyler will sing her mega-hit “Total Eclipse of the Heart” — on a cruise ship — before an actual total eclipse of the sun. “It’s perfect,” proclaimed a headline on BuzzFeed. The 66-year-old British singer will perform her iconic 1983 power ballad on the Royal Caribbean ship Oasis of the Seas prior to Monday’s eclipse, which will be visible across […]
