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New observations of the Solar System’s first known interstellar asteroid, A/2017 U1, has revealed new and unusual information regarding our visitor from afar, including its size, color — and that it is shaped like a cigar.

Using the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile, astronomers have found that the asteroid, now named ‘Oumuamua, is a dark red color, much like other Kuiper belt objects that orbit on the extreme fringes of the solar system.
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A star that goes nova is only supposed to explode once… right?

That long-held assumption was upended when astronomers spotted a Type II-P supernova in progress in a star 509 million light-years away on September 8, 2014. The exploding star in question, iPTF14hls, was predicted to fade within 100 days, but its luminosity not only persisted for the next 600 days, it also flared to an even greater brightness at least five more times, implying that this single star had experienced a supernova at least six times.
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No-one could possibly accuse entrepreneurial wunderkind Elon Musk of being less than ambitious: between revolutionizing the electric car industry (Tesla), expanding the solar-electric generation industry (SolarCity), and devising new rapid mass-transit methods (Hyperloop), it’s a wonder he has time for more out-of-this world endeavors, namely his SpaceX spaceship manufacturing and transport company. And now Musk says that SpaceX’s ambitious BFR spacecraft could be used to carry passengers not only to the Moon and Mars, but also on shorter trips around the globe, including trans-Atlantic flights that could be undertaken in less than half an hour.
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In early 2016, 29 male sperm whales beached themselves along the shores of shores of France, Germany, Great Britain, and the Netherlands; with the tragic incidents occurring over a period of time totaling less than a month from January 8 to February 4. Autopsies performed on the whales found that they were all healthy, and well-nourished – offering no apparent physiological reason for the cetaceans to run themselves aground. But researchers looking into the case began to question whether or not the creatures’ navigation systems were compromised in some manner, disorienting them in a fashion that would ultimately prove to be fatal.read more