Astronomy and Planetary Science Thread

Some dark matter haloes could roll through the universe like hollow cosmic Easter Eggs

For some time, scientists have pondered a peculiar question: Can galaxies exist without an outer halo of dark matter? But new research flips this question around, investigating whether some dark matter haloes could exist without galaxies in their centers — like hollow Easter Eggs roaming the cosmos.
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www.space.com

Some dark matter haloes could roll through the universe like hollow cosmic Easter Eggs

"A starless or 'dark' dark matter halo would have no galaxy at its center."
www.space.com www.space.com
 
That would throw a a new question about the whole future of Dark Matter Flyaway, it would possibly mean a whole new direction for cosmology if the theory is true.
 
Crystal clues on Mars point to watery and possibly life-supporting past

A QUT-led study analysing data from NASA’s Perseverance rover has uncovered compelling evidence of multiple mineral-forming events just beneath the Martian surface – findings that bring scientists one step closer to answering the profound question: did life ever exist on Mars?

The QUT research team led by Dr Michael Jones, from the Central Analytical Research Facility and the School of Chemistry and Physics, includes Associate Professor David Flannery, Associate Professor Christoph Schrank, Brendan Orenstein and Peter Nemere, together with researchers from North America and Europe.

The findings were published in the prestigious journal Science Advances.

“Sulphate minerals exist with different amounts of water in most regions on Mars and allow us to understand how water moved around the planet, which is key to understanding its past habitability,” Dr Jones said.

“However, we don’t yet fully understand how or when these minerals formed. Our team found a way to measure the internal crystal structure of these minerals directly in the rock, which had thought to be impossible on the surface of Mars.”
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Related paper:

 
Is the Universe spinning? From Anton Petrov:


Hello and welcome! My name is Anton and in this video, we will talk about the study that explains Hubble tension with the idea of rotating universe
Links:
https://academic.oup.com/mnras/articl...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev.../538/4/3038/8090496?login=false&v=-lLZSsrRAXk
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...edia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6del_metric&v=-lLZSsrRAXk
https://arxiv.org/pdf/astro-ph/0502237https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev.../arxiv.org/pdf/astro-ph/0502237&v=-lLZSsrRAXk
Related videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmdrfKETKAE
• Bizarre Discovery Suggests Galaxies S... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmdrfKETKAE
#universe #rotating #hubbletension
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0:00 Rotating universe?
0:40 Facts: universe is expanding and many objects too spin
2:20 Why would it be spinning?
3:00 Evidence so far
3:40 Axis of evil mystery
5:00 Godel model and the problems with rotating universe
7:45 All of the evidence points at this being incorrect
8:20 New study: Hubble tension solution
10:20 Conclusions
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Astronomers claim strongest evidence of alien life yet

Astronomers claim to have seen the strongest evidence so far for life on another planet. But other astronomers have urged caution until the findings can be verified by other groups and alternative, non-biological explanations can be ruled out.

“These are the first hints we are seeing of an alien world that is possibly inhabited,” Nikku Madhusudhan at the University of Cambridge told a press conference on 15 March.
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…

In 2023, Madhusudhan and his colleagues used the instruments on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to look at K2-18b’s atmosphere in near-infrared light, and again found evidence of water vapour, as well as carbon dioxide and methane. But they also found a tantalising hint of dimethyl sulphide (DMS), a molecule that, on Earth, is produced only by living organisms, mainly marine phytoplankton. The signs for DMS were extremely weak, however, and many astronomers argued that we would need much stronger evidence to be certain about the molecule’s presence.

Now, Madhusudhan and his colleagues have used a different instrument from JWST, the mid-infrared camera, to observe K2-18b. They found a much stronger signal for DMS, as well as a possible related molecule called dimethyl disulphide (DMDS), which is also produced on Earth only by life.
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…

The team claims that the detection of DMS and DMDS is at the three-sigma level of statistical significance, which is equivalent to a 3-in-1000 chance that a pattern of data like this ends up being a fluke. In physics, the standard threshold for accepting something as a true discovery is five sigma, which equates to a 1-in-3.5 million chance that the data is a chance occurrence.

Nicholas Wogan at the NASA Ames Research Center in California says the evidence is more convincing than the 2023 results, but it still needs to be verified by other groups. Once the data is made public next week, other researchers can start to confirm the findings, but this could take weeks or months due to the difficulty of interpreting JWST data. “It’s not just like you download the data and you see if there’s DMS – it’s this super complicated process,” says Wogan.

Other scientists are more sceptical about the findings. “These new JWST observations do not offer convincing evidence that DMS or DMDS are present in K2-18b’s atmosphere,” says Ryan MacDonald at the University of Michigan. “We have a boy-who-cried-wolf situation for K2-18b, where multiple previous three-sigma detections have completely vanished when subject to closer scrutiny. Any claim of life beyond Earth needs to be rigorously checked by other scientists, and unfortunately many previous exciting claims for K2-18b haven’t withstood these independent checks.”
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…

Madhusudhan and his colleagues calculate that the possible concentrations of DMS and DMDS on K2-18b appear to be over 10 parts per million, thousands of times greater than the concentrations in Earth’s atmosphere. This could indicate a far greater amount of biological activity than on Earth, if the signal proves to be correct, but establishing that the chemicals have a biological origin will take more work, he says.

“We have to be extremely careful,” said Madhusudhan. “We cannot, at this stage, make the claim that, even if we detect DMS and DMDS, that it is due to life. Let me be very clear about that. But if you take published studies so far, then there is no mechanism that can explain what we are seeing without life.”

Ruling out alternative mechanisms could take some time, says Wogan. “Something like this hasn’t really been studied. DMS in a hydrogen-rich atmosphere, we don’t know a tonne about it. There would have to be a lot of work.”
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www.newscientist.com

Astronomers claim strongest evidence of alien life yet

On a faraway planet, James Webb Space Telescope has picked up signs of molecules that, on Earth, are produced only by living organisms – but researchers say we must interpret the results cautiously
www.newscientist.com www.newscientist.com
 
Some more news from Dr. Becky:


Hello and welcome to this episode of Night Sky News for April 2025 with me, astrophysicist Dr Becky Smethurst. This is the show where we chat about what you should look out for in the night sky in the next month, and what’s been happening in space news in the past month. In this episode we’re chatting about all things James Webb Space Telescope, from the announcement of the observations JWST will be making in the next year, to how its spotted Neptune’s aurora for the first time, to the images it captured of the no longer hazardous to Earth asteroid 2024 YR4, and JWST’s discovery of the new record holder for the most distant detection of glowing hydrogen in a galaxy.
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Successful JWST proposals for Cycle 4 - https://www.stsci.edu/jwst/science-ex...
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Melin et al. (2025) - https://www.nature.com/articles/s4155...
Witstok et al. (2025) - https://www.nature.com/articles/s4158...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...com/articles/s41586-025-08779-5&v=b7Q06j94j9U
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00:00 Introduction
01:15 Lyrids Meteor Shower
02:00 Venus, Saturn, Mercury, and the Crescent Moon
02:43 Eta-Aquarids Meteor Shower
04:31 T Coronae Borealis and your astronomy homework
07:28 Mars, Jupiter, and Orion
09:41 April Fool's Astronomy Research Papers
12:17 JWST Year 4 Observation Programs
16:08 JWST observes asteroid 2024 YR4
19:50 JWST spots Neptune's aurora for the first time
24:17 JWST spots most distant detection of glowing hydrogen
29:06 New merch!
30:45 Bloopers
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The JWST has detected the star observed eating one of its' planets, from Anton Petrov:


Hello and welcome! My name is Anton and in this video, we will talk about a confirmation of planetary destruction by a distant star
Links:
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...rticle/10.3847/1538-4357/adb429&v=tLfIx24dn-Y
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-relea...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...kalert.org/news-releases/987734&v=tLfIx24dn-Y
Additional videos:
• Giant Helium Tails Escaping Planet HA...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDbEFP-qgPI
• We May Finally Know How Hot Jupiter P...

• Unusual Findings From Disintegrating ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFnX9QcY1Yk

#jwst #jameswebbspacetelescope #exoplanet
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0:00 Star swallowed a planet and we just witnessed it
0:40 2020 detection of a strange outburst
1:55 Initial explanation
2:55 JWST discovers something else
4:30 Best explanation so far - hot jupiter destroyed
5:55 What probably happened and additional discoveries
7:35 What will happen next?
8:40 Conclusions and what about the solar system?
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PBS Space Time has put out a video about the matter/anti-matter annexation event that occurred 1mS after the Big Bang:


At one-one-thousandth of a second after the Big Bang, the great annihilation event should have wiped out all matter, leaving a universe of only radiation. Why still don't know why any matter survived. Well, a new finding from the LHC brings us one step closer to understanding why there's something rather than nothing.
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History of the Universe has a long video about what is hidden at the core of a neutron star:


00:00 Introduction
04:06 A Delicate Balance
14:40 The First Tipping Point
28:24 The Secrets Within
42:12 The Final Tipping Point
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I was thinking, @Flyaway , perhaps you should also open a thread about general space news too.
 
A new video concerning the recent news about the possible presences of life on K2-18b due to the spectroscopic signature of Dimethyl Sulphide:


Astronomers have detected the most promising signs yet of a possible biosignature outside the solar system, although they remain cautious.
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Using data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the astronomers, led by Professor Nikku Madhusudhan from the University of Cambridge, have detected the chemical fingerprints of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and/or dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), in the atmosphere of the exoplanet K2-18b, which orbits its star in the habitable zone.
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On Earth, DMS and DMDS are only produced by life, primarily microbial life such as marine phytoplankton. While an unknown chemical process may be the source of these molecules in K2-18b’s atmosphere, the results are the strongest evidence yet that life may exist on a planet outside our solar system.
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The observations have reached the ‘three-sigma’ level of statistical significance – meaning there is a 0.3% probability that they occurred by chance. To reach the accepted classification for scientific discovery, the observations would have to cross the five-sigma threshold, meaning there would be below a 0.00006% probability they occurred by chance.
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The researchers say between 16 and 24 hours of follow-up observation time with JWST may help them reach the all-important five-sigma significance. While they are not yet claiming a definitive discovery, the researchers that with powerful tools like JWST and future planned telescopes, humanity is taking new steps toward answering that most essential of questions: are we alone?
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Scientists have long puzzled over why Mars, once protected by a global magnetic field like Earth, now shows only a magnetic imprint mostly concentrated in the planet’s southern hemisphere.

A new study from the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG) offers a compelling explanation: perhaps Mars’ ancient magnetic field was one-sided from the start.

The experts present a model showing that a hemispheric, or one-sided, magnetic field could have emerged if Mars’ core had been entirely liquid during the time its magnetic field was active.
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www.earth.com

Mars once had a strong magnetic field, but now only traces remain

New research shows the liquid core of Mars may have caused the planet's magnetic field to become one-sided.
www.earth.com www.earth.com

Related paper:

 
In this episode, Dr. Nikku Madhusudhan of the University of Cambridge discusses a major breakthrough in the search for life beyond Earth. Using the James Webb Space Telescope, his team has detected the chemical fingerprints of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and dimethyl disulfide (DMDS) in the atmosphere of K2-18 b. These compounds, which on Earth are associated mostly with biological activity, suggest that this distant potential Hycean world may be one of the most promising candidates for life outside our solar system. The findings open a new chapter in the study of habitable exoplanets and the search for extraterrestrial biology.
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View: https://youtu.be/RhHd_TGIdkE?si=4yGvC2aVHpFGB7qF
 
Anton Petrov has a new video out concerning some new findings by NASA concerning Uranus:


Hello and welcome! My name is Anton and in this video, we will talk about Uranus. Yes that one
Links:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s4155...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...com/articles/s41550-025-02492-z&v=rL5M-A6Kzxc
https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...oi/full/10.1073/pnas.2403981121&v=rL5M-A6Kzxc
Previous video: • Major Discoveries From Uranus: Strang... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNLSQ3H-Bp0
#uranus #solarsystem #planetshttps://www.youtube.com/hashtag/planets
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0:00 Uranus discoveries
1:15 Day here seems to be different from what we thought
2:35 Why it has such strange magnetosphere
6:20 Huge ocean!
7:25 Hubble images reveal atmospheric changes and some mysteries
10:40 Ariel discoveries and its spreading chasms
12:45 Conclusions and what's next?
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A new machine learning model has predicted that there are 44 Earth-like planets in other star systems in the Milky Way galaxy, with researchers from Switzerland claiming that the algorithm at the core of the model is 99% accurate.
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www.forbes.com

Artificial Intelligence Just Identified 44 Earth-Like Planets — What To Know

A new AI model from the University of Bern predicts planetary systems likely to host Earth-like planets. It could boost the chances of finding life beyond Earth.
www.forbes.com www.forbes.com

Related paper:

Earth-like planet predictor: A machine learning approach | Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A)

Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A) is an international journal which publishes papers on all aspects of astronomy and astrophysics
www.aanda.org www.aanda.org
 
Apparently there are some recent discoveries about the Andromeda galaxy that pose some challenges for modern cosmology, from Anton Petrov:


Hello and welcome! My name is Anton and in this video, we will talk about the Andromeda galaxy discoveries and why some don't make sense in terms of cosmology
Links:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s4155...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...com/articles/s41550-025-02480-3&v=ePdW2fxs7PE
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...rticle/10.3847/1538-4357/adb1d5&v=ePdW2fxs7PE
Previous video: • Major Discoveries From Andromeda Gala... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8ac0CdAiCA
#andromeda #galaxy #cosmology
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0:00 Andromeda galaxy updates
1:00 Supermassive black hole discovery!
3:10 Neutrino and x-ray observations
4:30 Huge mystery about dwarf satellites - why such a strange orbit?
5:45 Asymmetry makes no sense
7:00 Possible explanations
10:00 Conclusions and what it all means
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Why does Saturn's moon, Titan, have rivers but not deltas? Scientists have an idea

The absence of deltas and presence of submerged features offer a new window into Titan’s climate and geological behavior. Birch and his colleagues have proposed several preliminary hypotheses.

Sea-level cycling, strong coastal winds, and sub-aqueous flows could all contribute to the vanishing deltas. But more data is needed to understand these interactions fully.
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www.earth.com

Why does Saturn's moon, Titan, have rivers but not deltas? Scientists have an idea

Titan’s coastlines lack river deltas, surprising scientists and raising questions about its active surface processes.
www.earth.com www.earth.com

Related paper:

 
A video concerning the "Little Red Dots" that the JWST has discovered, from Anton Petrov:


Hello and welcome! My name is Anton and in this video, we will talk about Little Red Dots
Links:
https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.16596https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...ttps://arxiv.org/abs/2503.16596&v=7CvIpTRiuJw
https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.16595https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...ttps://arxiv.org/abs/2503.16595&v=7CvIpTRiuJw
Additional videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2G5IR9gAqI
• So What Are These Strange Little Red ...

• Looks Like JWST Didn't Break Cosmolog...

• Discovery of Green Pea Galaxies by JW...

• Nobody Can Explain 1000s of Strange L... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkdAbOS9AcA
#jwst #jameswebbspacetelescope #galaxyhttps://www.youtube.com/hashtag/galaxy
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0:00 JWST mystery of Little Red Dots
1:00 What these are...we think
2:55 First clues - hot gas? and broad lines?
4:30 Black hole hints?
5:40 Green pea galaxies
6:35 New study and new explanations: cocoons?
9:05 Just a small part of galaxy - black hole star
9:40 Why this is important
11:30 Additional questions and conclusions
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Other scientists have since voiced their skepticism regarding the conclusions.

"The new JWST observations of K2-18b do not provide any real evidence that potential biosignature gases (i.e. DMS or DMDS) are present. Many exoplanet astronomers, myself included, have severe concerns about the gap between the very low statistical significance in the new study — which would be considered a non-detection for any other planet — and the definitive statements being made by the science team,” Dr. Ryan MacDonald, an astrophysicist at the University of Michigan, told The Independent.

“The previous claim of DMS in K2-18b's atmosphere in 2023 was not reproduced when that JWST data was re-analyzed by an independent team, so I wouldn't hold my breath,” he added.

“When it comes to K2-18 b, enthusiasm is outpacing evidence,” cautioned Dr. Sara Seager, a professor at MIT who was once Madhusudhan’s graduate adviser.
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…

“Right now, independent teams have completely different interpretations of what the planet even is: some propose a hycean world, others suggest a hot magma ocean — a planet with molten rock beneath a hydrogen-rich atmosphere, which is about as inhospitable as it gets — and still others see it as a mini-Neptune.”

The SETI Institute, a non-profit working to understand the origins and prevalence of life and intelligence in the universe, wrote in a release: “The claim is intriguing, as these gases can be associated with biological activity. On the other hand, the signal is modest, ambiguous, and potentially explainable as the result of noise or systematic error.”
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…

Moreover, “abiotic sources for these compounds do exist, and even if they are low-yield and short-lived, they cannot yet be ruled out. Critically, contextual data about the planet remain limited, making interpretation of atmospheric signatures highly uncertain,” the SETI statement added. Abiotic means something that is a non-living part of an ecosystem.
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…

Researchers told Nature that there are questions about whether the planet even has water, if the dimethyl sulfide is present, or if the biosignature molecules are just due to chance. The Cambridge researchers argue that there is just a 0.3 percent probability that they are chance-based.

"I think this is one of those situations where extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence," Laura Kreidberg, an astronomer at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Germany, told NPR. "I'm not sure we're at the extraordinary evidence level yet."

All of this is not to say there’s no merit in the incredibly difficult work. SETI says it helps to nail down what further research is needed to test the claims.
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www.independent.co.uk

Have signs of life been found in space? Scientists are calling that into question

Researchers says claims of promising hints of life off Earth indicate enthusiasm is ‘outpacing evidence’
www.independent.co.uk www.independent.co.uk
 
Is there really life on planet K2-18b? We can’t rule it out, but some key questions must be answered
Nathalie Cabrol

Nevertheless, this study achieves something important beyond its speculations about life. It proposes a methodology that pushes the limits of what can be done with our current technology (some will say too far) in studying exoplanets. It also helps us determine what steps we must take next to refute or validate its findings. For instance, arguments that abundance of DMS or DMDS inferred in the atmosphere by the study is difficult to sustain by non-living processes calls for developing new research that can theoretically, empirically and experimentally seek the existence of these potential nonbiological pathways. To their credit, the authors call for a “dedicated community effort”. But until we can prove the absence of abiotic sources, it is premature to suggest from these molecules that there is life on K2-18b.

While the paper repeatedly stresses the preliminary nature of the findings and the need for further data, public statements by the lead author have at times conveyed a stronger sense of confidence than the published evidence supports. When this happens, we miss the critically important opportunity to understand that science progresses carefully, incrementally, and with eyes wide open to its strengths and limitations. There is always room for extraordinary conclusions, but these must be backed by compelling evidence. We are all excited at the prospect that one day soon, we will find unambiguous evidence of life beyond Earth. We are not there yet. But we should celebrate how far we have come, and how each additional bit of knowledge takes us that much closer to a definitive answer.

Nathalie Cabrol is director of the Carl Sagan Center at the Seti Institute, and author of The Secret Life of the Universe: An Astrobiologist’s Search for the Origins and Frontiers of Life
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www.theguardian.com

Is there really life on planet K2-18b? We can’t rule it out, but some key questions must be answered | Nathalie Cabrol

A new study of a sphere orbiting a red dwarf star 124 light years from Earth is raising hopes. Here’s why the evidence is inconclusive, says astrobiologist Nathalie Cabrol
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
 
www.esa.int

Webb spots clues of black hole at heart of nearby galaxy M83

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have discovered evidence that suggests the presence of a long-sought supermassive black hole at the heart of the nearby spiral galaxy Messier 83 (M83). This surprising finding, made possible by Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI)...
www.esa.int
 
A loud bang and a bright green ball of light seen in the skies above Australia have left astronomers perplexed about the source of the strange phenomenon.

The green blob of light appeared in the skies over Queensland Monday night, coinciding with the Lyrids meteor shower as the Earth passed through streams of dust left behind by the comet Thatcher.
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…

“I can say for certain that the fireball was not part of the Lyrid meteor shower – it was much too early in the evening,” astronomer Jonti Horner from the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ) told The Independent.

Instead, he suspected the phenomenon was likely caused by space debris, like an asteroid or comet.
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www.independent.co.uk

Astronomers perplexed by green flash and loud bang over Australian skies

Astronomers are sceptical that the bright fireball was linked to the Lyrid meteor shower
www.independent.co.uk www.independent.co.uk
 

Origins Uncertain: ‘Skull Hill’ Rock​

Last week, NASA’s Mars 2020 rover continued its journey down lower ‘Witch Hazel Hill’ on the Jezero crater rim. The rover stopped along a boundary visible from orbit dividing light and dark rock outcrop (also known as a contact) at a site the team has called ‘Port Anson’. In addition to this contact, the rover has encountered a variety of neat rocks that may have originated from elsewhere and transported to their current location, also known as float.
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science.nasa.gov

Origins Uncertain: ‘Skull Hill’ Rock - NASA Science

Written by Margaret Deahn, Ph.D. Student at Purdue University
science.nasa.gov science.nasa.gov
 
Astronomers discover a planet that’s rapidly disintegrating, producing a comet-like tail

The small and rocky lava world sheds an amount of material equivalent to the mass of Mount Everest every 30.5 hours.
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news.mit.edu

Astronomers discover a planet that’s rapidly disintegrating, producing a comet-like tail

A planet 140 light-years from Earth is rapidly coming apart due to its close proximity to its star. The roasting planet is effectively evaporating away: It sheds an enormous amount of surface minerals as it whizzes around its star.
news.mit.edu news.mit.edu

Related paper:

 
'Cosmic radio' detector could discover dark matter within 15 years

Published in Nature, scientists at King's College London, Harvard University, UC Berkeley and others have shared the foundation of what they believe will be the most accurate dark matter detector to date.
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…

Axions are one of the leading candidates for dark matter. These are tiny, weakly interacting particles that could exist in the universe—responsible for gravitational effects in space which cannot yet be explained.

Axions are thought to have a frequency like a wave, but scientists do not know where they exist on the electromagnetic spectrum—though they are thought to range from kilohertz, a frequency that can be heard by humans, to the very high terahertz frequency.

In the latest study, researchers explain how a detector, which they dub a cosmic car radio, could alert scientists when it finds the frequency of the axion. Known as an Axion quasiparticle (AQ), the team believe it could help discover dark matter in 15 years.
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phys.org

'Cosmic radio' detector could discover dark matter within 15 years

Published in Nature, scientists at King's College London, Harvard University, UC Berkeley and others have shared the foundation of what they believe will be the most accurate dark matter detector to date.
phys.org phys.org

Related paper:

www.nature.com

Observation of the axion quasiparticle in 2D MnBi2Te4 - Nature

The dynamical axion quasiparticle, which is directly analogous to the hypothetical fundamental axion particle, is observed in two-dimensional MnBi2Te4, and has implications for quantum chromodynamics, cosmology and string theory.
www.nature.com www.nature.com
 
A Hidden Cosmic Collision: Astronomers Uncover the Missing Merger Companion and Dark Matter Bridge in the Perseus Cluster

An international team of astronomers has solved one of the longstanding cosmic mysteries by uncovering direct evidence of a massive, long-lost object that collided with the Perseus cluster. Using high-resolution data from the Subaru Telescope, the researchers successfully traced the remnant of this ancient merger through the dark matter distribution.
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subarutelescope.org

A Hidden Cosmic Collision: Astronomers Uncover the Missing Merger Companion and Dark Matter Bridge in the Perseus Cluster | Obsevation Results | Subaru Telescope

An international team of astronomers has solved one of the longstanding cosmic mysteries by uncovering direct evidence of a massive, long-lost object that collided with t...
subarutelescope.org

Related paper:

www.nature.com

Direct evidence of a major merger in the Perseus cluster - Nature Astronomy

The identification via weak lensing of a subcluster halo, connected to the galaxy cluster Perseus by a mass bridge, provides direct evidence of a past major merger, reshaping our understanding of Perseus’s dynamical history.
www.nature.com www.nature.com
 
A Q&A video from Fraser Cain including one on Dark Stars and one on the kilonova that seeded the solar nebula with heavy metals such as gold and uranium from which our solar-system formed from:


What makes me so pessimistic about humanity's progress? From which kilonova did our heavy elements originate? What's the situation with dark stars? And during our free Q&A+ on Patreon, is it feasible for a single nation to establish a Moon outpost? I'll address all these questions and more in this episode.
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00:00 Start
00:32 [Conspiracy_Theory_Enthusiast] Which kilonova did our heavy elements come from?
01:35 [Andy Bang] What's the deal with possible "dark stars"?
02:40 [James Leatherwood] What's the difference between 3rd and 4th generation stars?
05:33 [Snurz] Why am I so pessimistic about human progress?
13:48 [Brian B] Is Hawking radiation even testable?
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"We found a 'super Earth' -- meaning it's bigger than our home planet but smaller than Neptune -- in a place where only planets thousands or hundreds of times more massive than Earth were found before" said Weicheng Zang, a CfA Fellow. He is the lead author of a paper describing these results in the latest issue of the journal Science.

The discovery of this new, farther-out super Earth is even more significant because it is part of a larger study. By measuring the masses of many planets relative to the stars that host them, the team has discovered new information about the populations of planets across the Milky Way.
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…

The latest work from the CfA-led team shows that such super-Earth planets are also common in the outer regions of other solar systems. "This measurement of the planet population from planets somewhat larger than Earth all the way to the size of Jupiter and beyond shows us that planets, and especially super-Earths, in orbits outside the Earth's orbit are abundant in the Galaxy" said co-author Jennifer Yee of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, which is part of the CfA.

"This result suggests that in Jupiter-like orbits, most planetary systems may not mirror our Solar System," said co-author Youn Kil Jung of the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute that operates the KMTNet.

The researchers are also looking to determine how many super Earths exist versus the number of Neptune-sized planets. This study shows that there are at least as many super Earths as Neptune-size planets.
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Astronomers Find Far-flung “Super Earths” Are Not Farfetched | Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian

The same international team including astronomers from the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA) has also announced the discovery of a planet about twice the size of Earth orbiting its star farther out than Saturn is to the Sun.These results are another example of how planetary...
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