Astronomy and Planetary Science Thread

[Flyaway]

Oxygen production from dissociation of Europa’s water-ice surface

Oxygen production from dissociation of Europa’s water-ice surface - Nature Astronomy

Water molecules in Europa’s icy surface are split into hydrogen and oxygen by charged particle bombardment. NASA’s Juno spacecraft flew near Europa and constrained the production of oxygen in Europa’s surface ice, thus providing only a narrow range to support habitability in its subsurface ocean.

www.nature.com

 

[Michel Van]

News on TRAPPIST-1 solar system.
James Webb Telescope scanned First planet in System

TRAPPIST-1b has no Atmosphere and ground temperature of +230°C (+446°F)
The System has another 6 planets JWT will scann in future

Source in Flemish

'Belgische' exoplaneet TRAPPIST-1B blijkt warmer dan een oven en is dus niet bewoonbaar

www.vrt.be

 

[publiusr]

Where will the monks go now?

How much of Venus's atmosphere is coming from volcanoes?

There's a lot we don't know about the planet nearest to us. Venus is shrouded in clouds, making speculation about what's happening on its surface a parlor game for many planetary scientists for decades. But one idea that always seems to come up in those conversations—volcanoes.

phys.org

Physicists discover elbow-like feature in mean logarithmic mass spectrum of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays

Researchers at the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) have accurately measured the cosmic ray all-particle energy spectrum and the mean logarithmic mass in the range of 0.3–30 peta-electronvolts (PeV). They have also discovered an "elbow" feature in the mean logarithmic mass...

phys.org

New tidal stellar stream discovered with Gaia

By analyzing the data from ESA's Gaia satellite, Chinese astronomers have detected a new tidal stellar stream in the northern hemisphere, which has a low metallicity and a relatively high energy. The finding was reported in a research paper published April 1 in The Astrophysical Journal.

phys.org

Beautiful nebula, violent history: Clash of stars solves stellar mystery

When astronomers looked at a stellar pair at the heart of a stunning cloud of gas and dust, they were in for a surprise. Star pairs are typically very similar, like twins, but in HD 148937, one star appears younger and, unlike the other, is magnetic.

phys.org

Astronomers detect unprecedented behavior from nearby magnetar

Researchers using Murriyang, CSIRO's Parkes radio telescope, have detected unusual radio pulses from a previously dormant star with a powerful magnetic field.

phys.org

A wobbling magnetized star challenges the origin of repeating fast radio bursts

An international research team led by Gregory Desvignes from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany, has used the Effelsberg and Jodrell Bank radio telescopes to observe the precessing magnetar XTE J1810-197—a highly magnetized and ultra-dense neutron star—shortly after...

phys.org

Exoplanets true to size: New model calculations shows impact of star's brightness and magnetic activity

In the constellation Virgo, 700 light years away from Earth, the planet WASP-39b orbits the star WASP-39. The gas giant, which takes little more than four days to complete one orbit, is one of the best-studied exoplanets. Shortly after its commissioning in July 2022, NASA's James Webb Space...

phys.org

Inexplicable cloud of magnetized plasma found in Hydra galaxy cluster

High sensitivity radio observations have discovered a cloud of magnetized plasma in the Hydra galaxy cluster. The odd location and shape of this plasma defy all conventional explanations. Dubbed the Flying Fox based on its silhouette, this plasma will remain a mystery until additional...

phys.org

Researchers enable detection of remarkable gravitational-wave signal

Researchers from the University of Portsmouth's Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation (ICG) have helped to detect a remarkable gravitational-wave signal, which could hold the key to solving a cosmic mystery.

phys.org

Earth, the sun and a bike wheel: Why your high-school textbook was wrong about the shape of Earth's orbit

If you've ever been taught about how Earth orbits around the sun, you might well think our planet travels along an oval-shaped path that brings it much closer to the sun at some times of the year than at others. You'd have a good reason to think that, too: it's how most textbooks show things.

phys.org

'Swallowed,' torn up or live on: How Earth will fare when the sun dies

Our solar system and everything within it—including the Earth—will look very different when the sun dies.

phys.org

Measuring the atmospheres of other worlds to see if there are enough nutrients for life

Life on Earth depends on six critical elements: carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorous, and sulfur. These elements are referred to as CHNOPS, and along with several trace micronutrients and liquid water, they're what life needs.

phys.org

Charting the night sky with exascale computers

Creating multiple universes to see how they run might be tempting to scientists, but it's obviously not possible. That is, as long as you need physical universes. If you can make do with virtual ones, there are far more options.

phys.org

Scientists develop composite accelerometer for extreme environments

The demand for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) resilient to harsh environments is growing. Silicon-based MEMS struggle under extreme conditions, limited by their performance at elevated temperatures. Silicon carbide (SiC) stands out as a promising solution, offering unmatched thermal...

phys.org

The universe's accelerated expansion might be slowing down

The universe is still expanding at an accelerating rate, but it may have slowed down recently compared to a few billion years ago, early results from the most precise measurement of its evolution yet suggested Thursday.

phys.org

Why is it so hard to drill off Earth?

Humans have been digging underground for millennia—on the Earth. It's where we extract some of our most valuable resources that have moved society forward. For example, there wouldn't have been a Bronze Age without tin and copper—both of which are primarily found under the ground. But when...

phys.org

New NASA strategy envisions sustainable future for space operations

To address a rapidly changing space operating environment and ensure its preservation for generations to come, NASA released the first part of its integrated Space Sustainability Strategy, on Tuesday advancing the agency's role as a global leader on this crucial issue.

phys.org

Scopes

New observatory in Chile—the highest in the world—aims to reveal origins of planets, galaxies and more

How do planets form? How do galaxies evolve? And ultimately, how did the universe itself begin? A unique astronomical observatory that researchers hope will unravel some of the biggest mysteries out there marks its opening on April 30, 2024.

phys.org

America's 'big glass' dominance hangs on the fate of two powerful new telescopes

More than 100 years ago, astronomer George Ellery Hale brought two Pasadena institutions together to build what was then the largest optical telescope in the world. The Mount Wilson Observatory changed the conception of humankind's place in the universe and revealed the mysteries of the heavens...

phys.org

Astronomers' simulations support dark matter theory

Computer simulations by astronomers support the idea that dark matter—matter that no one has yet directly detected but which many physicists think must be there to explain several aspects of the observable universe—exists, according to the researchers, who include those at the University of...

phys.org

 

[Flyaway]

Tidal locking is such a common phenomenon in the universe that we only need to look at the Moon to notice it. Our satellite only shows us its near side face as its rotation on its axis and revolution around the Earth are synchronized. Planets too can get in this state of behavior if they orbit their star too closely – and researchers believe they have confirmed the first super-Earth tidally locked to its star.

This Is The First Super-Earth That Has A Permanent Dark Side

Planet LHS 3844b likely has a side in permanent light and one in perennial night.

www.iflscience.com

Related paper:

Radware Bot Manager Captcha

A collection of stars 30,000 light-years away is the faintest and lowest-mass Milky Way satellite ever found, according to the group of scientists who recently observed it. Oh, and it may be dominated by dark matter, the unknown stuff that makes up about 27% of the universe.

Scientists found a weird little micro 'galaxy' orbiting the Milky Way

The faint star system — the tiniest Milky Way satellite ever found — could be under the influence of dark matter.

qz.com

Related paper:

Radware Bot Manager Captcha

 

[Flyaway]

The results confirm that the expansion of the universe is speeding up, they added. However, the findings have also raised the tantalising possibility that dark energy – a mysterious, repulsive force that drives the process – is not constant throughout time as has previously been suggested.

Dr Seshadri Nadathur, a co-author of the work and senior research fellow at the University of Portsmouth’s Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, said: “What we are seeing are some hints that it has actually been changing over time, which is quite exciting because it is not what the standard model of a cosmological constant dark energy would look like.”

New 3D cosmic map raises questions over future of universe, scientists say

Researchers say findings from map with three times more galaxies than previous efforts could challenge standard idea of dark energy

www.theguardian.com

Related video:

View: https://youtu.be/jRYUt9nE9b0


Related preprints:

Papers - DESI Data

data.desi.lbl.gov

 

[publiusr]

The DESI fly-by POV...high FTL speed by the looks of it...just no relativistic effects.

In space

Mapping lava tubes on the moon and Mars from space

Sometimes, all you need for a new discovery is some creative math. That was the case for a new paper by Edward Williams and Laurent Montési of the University of Maryland's Department of Geology. They released a brief paper at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC 2024) last month that...

phys.org

SLAC completes construction of the largest digital camera ever built for astronomy

After two decades of work, scientists and engineers at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and their collaborators are celebrating the completion of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) Camera.

phys.org

Observations reveal complex morphology of Big Three Dragons

Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA), an international team of astronomers has observed a merging galaxy system known as B14-65666, dubbed "Big Three Dragons." As a result, they found that the system has a complex morphology and...

phys.org

Study reports that age is the driving force in changing how stars move within galaxies

Galaxies start life with their stars rotating in an orderly pattern but in some the motion of stars is more random. Until now, scientists have been uncertain about what causes this—possibly the surrounding environment or the mass of the galaxy itself.

phys.org

Supercomputer simulations decode the mass puzzle of the first stars

Ching-Yao Tang and Dr. Ke-Jung Chen from the Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica (ASIAA) have made substantial progress in decoding the birth mass of the first stars using the powerful supercomputer at Berkeley National Lab.

phys.org

Student cleans up archival data and uncovers two stellar cocoons

While investigating 16 years of images of young stars from a retired astronomical camera, Leiden master's student Sam de Regt discovered that two of those stars were still enveloped in birth clouds that had not been seen at this level of detail before. He publishes his data-cleaning method and...

phys.org

Exploding stars are rare but emit torrents of radiation—one close enough to Earth could threaten life on the planet

Stars like the sun are remarkably constant. They vary in brightness by only 0.1% over years and decades, thanks to the fusion of hydrogen into helium that powers them. This process will keep the sun shining steadily for about 5 billion more years, but when stars exhaust their nuclear fuel, their...

phys.org

Astronomers detect potential 'glory effect' on a hellish distant world for the first time

Potential signs of the rainbow-like "glory effect" have been detected on a planet outside our solar system. Glory are colorful concentric rings of light that occur only under peculiar conditions.

phys.org

Where are all these rogue planets coming from?

There's a population of planets that drifts through space untethered to any stars. They're called rogue planets or free-floating planets (FFPs.) Some FFPs form as loners, never having enjoyed the company of a star. But most are ejected from solar systems somehow, and there are different ways...

phys.org

NASA wants to come up with a new clock for the moon, where seconds tick away faster

NASA wants to come up with an out-of-this-world way to keep track of time, putting the moon on its own souped-up clock.

phys.org

 

[Flyaway]

Today the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaboration is proud to announce GW230529, the first exceptional #GravitationalWaves event from our fourth observing run (#O4). You can learn more from
@astronerdika
's excellent infographic, or by visiting our detection page! https://ligo.org/detections/GW230529.php

https://twitter.com/x/status/1776317857871073444

View: https://twitter.com/LIGO/status/1776317857871073444

https://www.ligo.org/detections/GW230529.php

View: https://youtu.be/3PKsBwH_bJE

View: https://youtu.be/xGl5tVnjwC8

 

[Flyaway]

NASA's Parker Solar Probe makes 1st-of-its-kind observation within a coronal mass ejection

Now, NASA's Parker Solar Probe has gotten a first-ever peek inside a CME as it erupted from the sun. And what lies inside appears to be a treasure trove for solar physicists. The probe's visible-light-detecting, Wide-field Imager for Parker Solar Probe (WISPR) instrument caught clear, turbulent eddies within the CME.

The eddies are what physicists call Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities (KHI). Physicists think KHI events occur whenever one patch of fast-moving fluid interacts with another. On Earth, KHI occurs in clouds when the wind speed at one end of the cloud is different from that at the other end.

NASA's Parker Solar Probe makes 1st-of-its-kind observation within a coronal mass ejection

NASA's sun-kissing Parker Solar Probe peered into the depths of a coronal mass ejection (CME) for the first time, revealing new details within the violent solar phenomenon.

www.livescience.com

 

[Flyaway]

New research from Northwestern University investigates the consequences of these collisions. It uncovers a fascinating phenomenon: stars near the galactic center sometimes merge together or lose mass due to near misses. This dynamic process can lead to surprising changes in stars’ appearances and lifespans.

Stars orbiting Sagittarius A* appear 'rejuvenated' after devouring other stars

A supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), resides at its center, surrounded by a dense cluster of stars

www.earth.com

Related paper:

Radware Bot Manager Captcha

 

[publiusr]

Elizabeth Bathory would be proud

 

[Flyaway]

Scientists have been left perplexed by unprecedented radio signals coming from a previously dormant star.

The star, known as XTE J1810-197, is a magnetar – a type of neutron star that are also the strongest magnets in the universe. It is the closest magnetar to Earth that we know of, at a relatively close 8,000 light years away.

…

Now scientists say that it appears to be sending out radio pulses that do not fit with expectations.

”Unlike the radio signals we’ve seen from other magnetars, this one is emitting enormous amounts of rapidly changing circular polarisation. We had never seen anything like this before,” said Marcus Lower, a postdoctoral fellow at Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, who led the work.

Scientists perplexed by unprecedented radio pulses coming from space

‘We had never seen anything like this before,’ says researcher

www.independent.co.uk

Related paper:

Linear to circular conversion in the polarized radio emission of a magnetar - Nature Astronomy

Radio pulses from a rare, radio-loud magnetar, XTE J1810−197, are seen to have undergone a conversion in their polarization state. This change can be linked to the magnetar’s magnetic field geometry, and has commonalities with an effect also seen in fast radio bursts.

www.nature.com

 

[Rhinocrates]

A bit of film history.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZjO80-buUU

 

[Flyaway]

Total Solar Eclipse 2024 seen from space:

View: https://youtu.be/d69YQwwDobU?si=J9Rf6Y1VSvDcsGAS

 

[Flogger15]

 

[publiusr]

I thought that was the "off" button...

 

[Flyaway]

In October 2022, an international team of researchers, including Northwestern University astrophysicists, observed the brightest gamma-ray burst (GRB) ever recorded, GRB 221009A.

Now, a Northwestern-led team has confirmed that the phenomenon responsible for the historic burst — dubbed the B.O.A.T. (“brightest of all time”) — is the collapse and subsequent explosion of a massive star. The team discovered the explosion, or supernova, using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

Brightest gamma-ray burst of all time came from the collapse of a massive star

<p>In 2022, astronomers discovered the brightest gamma-ray burst (GRB) of all time. Now, astronomers confirm that a ‘normal’ supernova, the telltale sign of a stellar collapse, accompanied the GRB. The team also looked for signatures of heavy elements like gold and platinum in the supernova...

www.eurekalert.org

Related paper:

JWST detection of a supernova associated with GRB 221009A without an r-process signature - Nature Astronomy

JWST observations of GRB 221009A reveal the associated supernova, confirming that the GRB resulted from the collapse of a rapidly rotating massive star. The lack of r-process emission suggests that these extreme events are not key sources of the heaviest elements.

www.nature.com

 

[Michel Van]

This here is very unusual
They detected collision of two small object via Gravitational Waves,
One object was small Neutron star with 2 solar mass.
The other is 4 solar mass and also very small.

And here lies the problem
There is mass gab between Neutron stars and Black holes
were this object lies in middle, it's neither a Neutron Star not Black hole !
but what is it then ?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emFf4W3WzYI

 

[aim9xray]

Neutron Hole?

Spinning up the Pointer Sisters right now.

 

[Michel Van]

Neutron Hole?

Spinning up the Pointer Sisters right now.

This could be first evidence of Micro Black Hole also called primordial black holes.
Theories goes they were created in the high-density environment of the early Universe.

 

[Flyaway]

Record-breaking stellar black hole found nearby - ESO News:

View: https://youtu.be/DutMRUEahb8?si=v29T-qKV4wMX0ucP

 

[publiusr]

What's on the other side of this black hole...that can be imaged with the BH as a gravity lens?

Gravity glitch

A 'cosmic glitch' in gravity: New model may explain strange behavior on a cosmic scale

A group of researchers at the University of Waterloo and the University of British Columbia have discovered a potential "cosmic glitch" in the universe's gravity, explaining its strange behavior on a cosmic scale.

phys.org

New work reveals the 'quantumness' of gravity

Gravity is part of our everyday life. Still, the gravitational force remains mysterious: to this day we do not understand whether its ultimate nature is geometrical, as Einstein envisaged, or governed by the laws of quantum mechanics.

phys.org

More news on space

Study uses thermodynamics to describe expansion of the universe

The idea that the universe is expanding dates from almost a century ago. It was first put forward by Belgian cosmologist Georges Lemaître (1894–1966) in 1927 and confirmed observationally by American astronomer Edwin Hubble (1889-1953) two years later. Hubble observed that the redshift in the...

phys.org

Scientists discover new way to extract cosmological information from galaxy surveys

Scientists at the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC) and their international collaborators have recently developed a new method for efficiently extracting information from galaxy surveys. Their research results are published in the journal...

phys.org

Merging nuclear physics experiments and astronomical observations to advance equation-of-state research

For most stars, neutron stars and black holes are their final resting places. When a supergiant star runs out of fuel, it expands and then rapidly collapses on itself. This act creates a neutron star—an object denser than our sun crammed into a space 13 to 18 miles wide. In such a heavily...

phys.org

Technical trials for easing the (cosmological) tension

Thanks to the dizzying growth of cosmic observations and measurement tools and some new advancements (primarily the "discovery" of what we call dark matter and dark energy) all against the backdrop of General Relativity, the early 2000s were a time when nothing seemed capable of challenging the...

phys.org

Study suggests Io's volcanoes have been active for 4.5 billion years

A team of geologists and planetary scientists from the California Institute of Technology, the University of California Santa Cruz, New York University, and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center reports evidence that Io's volcanic activity has been ongoing since the beginning of the solar system. In...

phys.org

Hubble goes hunting for small main belt asteroids

Like boulders, rocks, and pebbles scattered across a landscape, asteroids come in a wide range of sizes. Cataloging asteroids in space is tricky because they are faint and they don't stop to be photographed as they zip along their orbits around the sun.

phys.org

NASA observations find what helps heat roots of 'moss' on sun

Did you know the sun has moss? Due to its resemblance to the earthly plants, scientists have named a small-scale, bright, patchy structure made of plasma in the solar atmosphere "moss." This moss, which was first identified in 1999 by NASA's TRACE mission, blossoms around the center of a sunspot...

phys.org

Cold Coulomb crystals, cosmic clues: Unraveling the mysteries of space chemistry

While it may not look like it, the interstellar space between stars is far from empty. Atoms, ions, molecules, and more reside in this ethereal environment known as the Interstellar Medium (ISM). The ISM has fascinated scientists for decades, as at least 200 unique molecules form in its cold...

phys.org

The history of the young cold traps of the asteroid Ceres

Ceres, the largest asteroid in our solar system, harbors a dark secret: extremely young ice deposits in permanently shadowed craters near its poles. If that sounds vaguely familiar, it's because our moon and planet Mercury also have such polar ice deposits, which have been studied for decades.

phys.org

Dating the solar system's giant planet orbital instability using enstatite meteorites

Evidence from the fragments of a destroyed asteroid suggests that the shift in the positions of the giant planets in our solar system billions of years ago happened between 60–100 million years after the solar system's formation and could have been key to the formation of our moon.

phys.org

NASA's Fermi mission sees no gamma rays from nearby supernova

A nearby supernova in 2023 offered astrophysicists an excellent opportunity to test ideas about how these types of explosions boost particles, called cosmic rays, to near light-speed. But surprisingly, NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope detected none of the high-energy gamma-ray light those...

phys.org

Astrophysicists solve mystery of heart-shaped feature on the surface of Pluto

The mystery of how Pluto got a giant heart-shaped feature on its surface has finally been solved by an international team of astrophysicists led by the University of Bern and members of the National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS. The team is the first to successfully reproduce...

phys.org

Hydrogen recombination found to be most plausible explanation for high levels of energy in stellar superflares

Although their primary purpose is to look for exoplanets, observatories like the Kepler Space Telescope and the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) have supplied a vast amount of data on stellar flares, detected with high-precision photometry by broadband filters in the visible light...

phys.org

Formation-flying spacecraft could probe the solar system for new physics

It's an exciting time for the fields of astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology. Thanks to cutting-edge observatories, instruments, and new techniques, scientists are getting closer to experimentally verifying theories that remain largely untested. These theories address some of the most pressing...

phys.org

The beginnings of modern science shaped how philosophers saw alien life—and how we understand it today

Speculation about extraterrestrials is not all that new. There was a vibrant debate in 17th-century Europe about the existence of life on other planets.

phys.org

In search for alien life, purple may be the new green

From house plants and gardens to fields and forests, green is the color we most associate with surface life on Earth, where conditions favored the evolution of organisms that perform oxygen-producing photosynthesis using the green pigment chlorophyll a.

phys.org

Researchers advance detection of gravitational waves to study collisions of neutron stars and black holes

Researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities College of Science and Engineering co-led a new study by an international team that will improve the detection of gravitational waves—ripples in space and time.

phys.org

Black hole 'traffic jams' discovered in galactic centers by astronomers

An international study, led by researchers from Monash University, has revealed crucial insights into black hole dynamics within massive disks at the centers of galaxies.

phys.org

New evidence found for Planet 9

A small team of planetary scientists from the California Institute of Technology, Université Côte d'Azur and Southwest Research Institute reports possible new evidence of Planet 9. They have published their paper on the arXiv preprint server, and it has been accepted for publication in The...

phys.org

Researchers detect a new molecule in space

New research from the group of MIT Professor Brett McGuire has revealed the presence of a previously unknown molecule in space. The team's open-access paper, "Rotational Spectrum and First Interstellar Detection of 2-Methoxyethanol Using ALMA Observations of NGC 6334I," was published in the...

phys.org

A first glimpse at our galaxy's magnetic field in 3D

Thanks to new sophisticated techniques and state-of-the-art facilities, astronomy has entered a new era in which the depth of the sky can finally be accessed. The ingredients of our cosmic home, the Milky Way galaxy—stars, gas, magnetic fields—can at long last be mapped in 3D.

phys.org

Astrophysicists work toward unification of turbulence framework—weak-to-strong transition discovered in turbulence

Turbulence is ubiquitous in nature. It exists everywhere, from our daily lives to the distant universe, while being labeled as "the last great unsolved problem of classical physics" by Richard Feynman. Prof. Dr. Huirong Yan and her group from the Institute of Physics and Astronomy at the...

phys.org

New models of Big Bang show that visible universe and invisible dark matter co-evolved

Physicists have long theorized that our universe may not be limited to what we can see. By observing gravitational forces on other galaxies, they've hypothesized the existence of "dark matter," which would be invisible to conventional forms of observation.

phys.org

Astrophysics research advances understanding of how gamma-ray bursts produce light

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are intense bursts of gamma radiation, typically generating more energy in a few seconds than the sun will produce over its ten-billion-year lifetime. These transient phenomena present one of the most challenging puzzles in astrophysics, dating back to their accidental...

phys.org

AI and physics combine to reveal the 3D structure of a flare erupting around a black hole

Scientists believe the environment immediately surrounding a black hole is tumultuous, featuring hot magnetized gas that spirals in a disk at tremendous speeds and temperatures. Astronomical observations show that within such a disk, mysterious flares occur up to several times a day, temporarily...

phys.org

Giant galactic explosion exposes galaxy pollution in action

A team of international researchers studied galaxy NGC 4383, in the nearby Virgo cluster, revealing a gas outflow so large that it would take 20,000 years for light to travel from one side to the other.

phys.org

Crucial building blocks of life on Earth can more easily form in outer space, says new research

The origin of life on Earth is still enigmatic, but we are slowly unraveling the steps involved and the necessary ingredients. Scientists believe life arose in a primordial soup of organic chemicals and biomolecules on the early Earth, eventually leading to actual organisms.

phys.org

See the Southern Ring Nebula in 3D

Planetary nebula are some of nature's most stunning visual displays. The name is confusing since they're the remains of stars, not planets. But that doesn't detract from their status as objects of captivating beauty and intense scientific study.

phys.org

Will we know if TRAPPIST-1e has life?

The search for extrasolar planets is currently undergoing a seismic shift. With the deployment of the Kepler Space Telescope and the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), scientists discovered thousands of exoplanets, most of which were detected and confirmed using indirect methods.

phys.org

Juno reveals a giant lava lake on Io

NASA's Juno spacecraft came within 1,500 km (930 miles) of the surface of Jupiter's moon Io in two recent flybys. That's close enough to reveal new details on the surface of this moon, the most volcanic object in the solar system. Not only did Juno capture volcanic activity, but scientists were...

phys.org

Revealing the origin of unexpected differences in giant binary stars

Using the Gemini South telescope a team of astronomers have confirmed for the first time that differences in binary stars' composition can originate from chemical variations in the cloud of stellar material from which they formed. The results help explain why stars born from the same molecular...

phys.org

Orion's erupting star system reveals its secrets

An unusual group of stars in the Orion constellation have revealed their secrets. FU Orionis, a double star system, first caught astronomers' attention in 1936 when the central star suddenly became 1,000 times brighter than usual. This behavior, expected from dying stars, had never been seen in...

phys.org

New study reveals mystery of decaying exoplanet orbits

A new study led by researchers at Durham University has uncovered a novel mechanism that could solve a long-standing mystery about decaying planetary orbits around stars like our sun.

phys.org

Novel calculations peg age of 'baby' asteroid

An asteroid dubbed "Lucy's baby" after a NASA spacecraft discovered it is orbiting another asteroid last November is,, in fact,, a solar system toddler—just 2–3 million years old, a Cornell-led research team estimates using novel statistical calculations.

phys.org

Probing the effects of interplanetary space on asteroid Ryugu

Analyzing samples retrieved from the asteroid Ryugu by the Japanese Space Agency's Hayabusa2 spacecraft has revealed new insights into the magnetic and physical bombardment environment of interplanetary space. The results of the study, carried out by Professor Yuki Kimura at Hokkaido University...

phys.org

Enceladus spills its guts through strike–slip motion

Over the course of its elliptical orbit, the moon Enceladus is squeezed unevenly by Saturn's gravitational pull and deforms from a spherical shape into a football shape and back again. This cyclic stress causes a phenomenon called "tidal heating" within Enceladus and dissipates enough energy to...

phys.org

What can AI learn about the universe?

Artificial intelligence and machine learning have become ubiquitous, with applications ranging from data analysis, cybersecurity, pharmaceutical development, music composition, and artistic renderings.

phys.org

Microgravity-grown crystals reveal new insights into protein structures

Biochemists have long been working around a blind spot when it comes to proteins. They know that hydrogen constitutes nearly half of the atoms in proteins, but how they contribute to protein function in these complex structures has been less clear. Hydrogen atoms are so small that traditional...

phys.org

Lunar landforms

Horizontal running could help lunar astronauts retain physical conditioning

A small team of pathophysiologists and human locomotion specialists at the University of Milan has found that it should be possible for astronauts on the moon to prevent muscle and bone deterioration by running horizontally in a cylinder. In their study, published in the journal Royal Society...

phys.org

Here's why we should put a gravitational wave observatory on the moon

Scientists detected the first long-predicted gravitational wave in 2015, and since then, researchers have been hungering for better detectors. But the Earth is warm and seismically noisy, and that will always limit the effectiveness of Earth-based detectors.

phys.org

Lunar landforms indicate geologically recent seismic activity on the moon

The moon's steadfast illumination of our night sky has been a source of wonder and inspiration for millennia. Since the first satellite images of its surface were taken in the 1960s, our understanding of Earth's companion through time has developed immeasurably. A complex interplay of cosmic...

phys.org

Computer model helps support theory of asteroid Kamo'oalewa as ejecta from the moon

A small international team of planetary scientists has found evidence supporting the theory that the near-Earth asteroid Kamo'oalewa is ejecta from the moon. In their paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy, the group describes their data-driven models and what they revealed.

phys.org

Road to space

'Tube map' around planets and moons made possible by knot theory

Just as sat-nav did away with the need to argue over the best route home, scientists from the University of Surrey have developed a new method to find the optimal routes for future space missions without the need to waste fuel. The paper is published in the journal Astrodynamics.

phys.org

Supporting the future of Mars exploration with supercomputers

You may have flown a flight simulator in a computer game or at a science museum. Landing without crashing is always the hardest part. But that's nothing compared to the challenge that engineers are facing to develop a flight simulation of the very large vehicles necessary for humans to explore...

phys.org

Space exploration: A luxury or a necessity?

"Oh, come on Daniel, space travel is so expensive, and pointless!" These were the words of my friend Max, during a Christmas party where I was discussing my thesis project: studying places on Earth where the living conditions are so extreme, they could hold lessons for future space missions.

phys.org

How logic alone may prove that time doesn't exist

Modern physics suggests time may be an illusion. Einstein's theory of relativity, for example, suggests the universe is a static, four-dimensional block that contains all of space and time simultaneously—with no special "now."

phys.org

Studying spaceflight atrophy with machine learning

Even intense exercise by astronauts cannot compensate for muscle atrophy caused by microgravity. Atrophy occurs, in part, by way of an underlying mechanism that regulates calcium uptake. Recent research has shown exposure to spaceflight alters the uptake of calcium in muscles. However, the...

phys.org

On-demand nutrient production system for long-duration space missions

When astronauts embark on long space missions, they'll need to grow their own food because pre-packaged meals from Earth lose their nutritional value over time. The BioNutrients project at Ames Research Center's Space Biosciences Division has solved this problem by using genetic engineering to...

phys.org

ion-drive

Pulsed plasma rocket (PPR): Shielded, fast transits for humans to Mars

The future of a space-faring civilization will depend on the ability to move both cargo and humans efficiently and rapidly. Due to the extremely large distances that are involved in space travel, the spacecraft must reach high velocities for reasonable mission transit times. Thus, a propulsion...

phys.org

Pushing the limits of sub-kilowatt electric propulsion technology for space mission concepts

NASA has developed an advanced propulsion technology to facilitate future planetary exploration missions using small spacecraft. Not only will this technology enable new types of planetary science missions, one of NASA's commercial partners is already preparing to use it for another purpose—to...

phys.org

the successful commercialization of this new thruster will soon provide at least one such solution to enable the next generation of small spacecraft science missions requiring up to an amazing 8 km/s of delta-v.

New Book

New book gives insider's view of cosmic search for life

Whether life exists anywhere besides Earth is a burning question that, at long last, may soon be answered.

phys.org

 

[Flyaway]

Article looking at the future of the EHT project with ngEHT, and even the proposal to put an aerial in space orbiting the Earth with BHEX. They’ve made a $88 million request to the NSF to fully fund ngEHT, with a decision NET October this year.

Our Galaxy’s Biggest Black Hole Just Got a New Close-up. What’s Next Could Be Even Wilder

As the Event Horizon Telescope pursues ambitious upgrades, the project’s latest results reveal the magnetic fields around our galaxy’s supermassive black hole

www.scientificamerican.com

 

[Flyaway]

It’s possible this Brown Dwarf has an exomoon:

However, the aurora of Jupiter and Saturn have a secondary minor driver, in the form of charged particles streaming into the gas giants as a result of their active moons spewing material into space. For instance, Jupiter's moon Io is the most volcanic body in the solar system, spewing lava dozens of miles into space, while the Saturn moon Enceladus spits geysers into space that contain water vapor and other material that simultaneously freezes and boils when it hits space.

Thus, the aurora of W1935 with no star or stellar winds indicates that the brown dwarf might be orbited by an active moon.

James Webb Space Telescope's 'shocking' discovery may hint at hidden exomoon around 'failed star'

"We were confused about what we were seeing at first, but ultimately, that transformed into pure excitement at the discovery."

www.space.com

Related paper:

Methane emission from a cool brown dwarf - Nature

Methane emission from a very cool brown dwarf, perhaps arising from an aurora, has been detected in James Webb Space Telescope observations.

www.nature.com

 

[Flyaway]

Scientists say they have found new evidence that there is a hidden planet in our solar system.

For years, some astronomers have been suggesting that unusual behaviour on the edge of our solar system is best explained by another, undiscovered planet. That helps explain the orbits of objects that lie at the very far reaches of our solar system, more than 250 times away from the Sun than we are.

Now Konstantin Bogytin, an astronomer who helped popularise the theory, says that he and his team have found yet more evidence that suggests that planet exists. The new work represents “the strongest statistical evidence yet that Planet 9 is really out there”, he said.

…

The best explanation was from the model that included Planet Nine, however, Dr Bogytin said. They noted that there were other explanations for the behaviour of those objects – including the suggestion that other planets once influenced their orbit, but have since been removed – but claim that the theory of Planet Nine remains the best explanation.

Scientists say they have found evidence of an unknown planet in our solar system

New findings represent the ‘strongest statistical evidence yet’ that Planet 9 exists, researcher says

www.independent.co.uk

Related paper:

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2404.11594.pdf

 

[Flyaway]

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson defended the agency’s plans to cut back or cancel some agency programs at a House hearing, placing much of the blame at the feet of Congress.

Those hard choices, he reminded appropriators, were the result of the budget caps enacted last year as part of the deal to raise the debt ceiling and avoid a government default. “That’s the compromise you had to do,” he said. “If I had been a member, I would have voted for that, too, to save the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.”

Nelson defends “very tough choices” in NASA’s budget proposal

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson defended the agency’s plans to cut back or cancel some agency programs at a House hearing.

spacenews.com

 

[Flyaway]

Earlier this year, researchers discovered that a vast liquid ocean lurks beneath the icy shell of Saturn's tiny moon, Mimas. Now the same team may have discovered how it was created.

New research suggests that as Mimas' orbit around Saturn became less flattened, or less "eccentric" due to the ringed planet's pull, its icy shell melted and thinned. This would have created a vast ocean somewhere between 2 million and 25 million years ago, making this subsurface sea relatively young for a solar system feature.

Saturn's 'Death Star' moon Mimas may have gotten huge buried ocean from ringed planet's powerful pull

"We may be seeing Mimas at a particularly interesting time."

www.space.com

Related paper:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0012821X24001225?dgcid=coauthor

 

[FighterJock]

Certainly is an interesting discovery about Mimas. Time for another Saturn mission that concentrates on Enceladus and Mimas, that would be worth thinking about for sometime in the future.

 

[Grey Havoc]

NASA Spacecraft Sees a Lava Lake With Islands on Jupiter's Moon Io

Plus: Why Ozempic and other new weight-loss drugs aren't likely to be a repeat of the fen-phen crisis.

gizmodo.com

 

[Flyaway]

Various tweets by Konstantin Batygin concerning his new statistical paper on Planet Nine.

In the new study, we explored the opposite end: the most unstable, long-period TNOs (perihelion <30 AU) near the solar system's plane. There are 17 such objects with a>100AU, and notably, their perihelion distribution is almost flat between ~15 to 30 AU.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1780971504454221868

View: https://twitter.com/kbatygin/status/1780971504454221868

Given their dynamic instability, only two scenarios can maintain this population of TNOs in a steady state: they're either driven inward by interplay between the Galactic tide and Neptune's scattering, or they result from dynamics induced by Planet 9 (as shown on the figure).

https://twitter.com/x/status/1780971507142762992

View: https://twitter.com/kbatygin/status/1780971507142762992

We carried out detailed calculations for both the P9 scenario and the Galactic-tide model. Results show that while Planet 9 produces a flat perihelion distribution of Neptune-crossers (mirroring observed data), the model without P9 results in a distribution peaked around 30 AU.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1780971509659349129

View: https://twitter.com/kbatygin/status/1780971509659349129

But what about observational bias? After adjusting for it, the data favor the Planet 9 model at a striking 5 sigma level. Surprisingly, this "unexotic" group of TNOs provides the strongest statistical evidence yet that Planet 9 is really out there...

https://twitter.com/x/status/1780971512163344791

View: https://twitter.com/kbatygin/status/1780971512163344791

 

[FighterJock]

So do they know what part of the sky that planet Nine is hiding in yet?

 

[Grey Havoc]

Planet Ten sir, Planet Ten!

 

[Flyaway]

In new research, scientists have modeled an impact in space that may explain half of Pluto’s iconic heart-shaped Tombaugh Regio. The Sputnik Planitia basin is shaped like an upside down pear, which the researchers say could be from an impact with a celestial object up to 400 miles in diameter. In their proposed model, an “impactor” composed of ice and rock strikes Pluto’s icy surface, travels through it, and creates a “splat” (technical term!) that lingers to this day.

Scientists Think They Know How Pluto Got Its Mysterious Heart

New research offers a chilling explanation for the dwarf planet's most famous feature.

www.popularmechanics.com

Related paper:

Sputnik Planitia as an impactor remnant indicative of an ancient rocky mascon in an oceanless Pluto - Nature Astronomy

Foreign material delivered as a giant impact can dominate large portions of icy dwarf planets, according to impact simulations. This scenario may explain the peculiar shape and location of the Sputnik Planitia region on Pluto, without the need for a present-day subsurface ocean.

www.nature.com

 

[Flyaway]

Planet Ten sir, Planet Ten!

Well some theorise that there’s a Mars size object somewhere in the Kuiper Belt.

 

[Grey Havoc]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE2Mnd9Qgjs

 

[Flyaway]

Interview with Konstantin Batygin concerning his new paper on the hunt for Planet Nine:

View: https://youtu.be/7SG90VhiYDw?si=66PWDri_VGDT_OXd

 

[Flyaway]

NASA’s planet-hunting telescope Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has discovered its first free-floating, or rogue, planet. It is a terrestrial object, likely bigger than Earth but not by too much. This candidate object was discovered within the analysis of 1.3 million light curves collected by the space observatories over its years in orbit.

Starless Rogue Planet As Heavy As 10 Earths Found By NASA Telescope

It takes a chance alignment with a distant star to spot these worlds.

www.iflscience.com

Related paper:

[2404.11666] Searching for Free-Floating Planets with TESS: I. Discovery of a First Terrestrial-Mass Candidate

 

[Flyaway]

Webb captures iconic Horsehead Nebula in unprecedented detail

Webb captures iconic Horsehead Nebula in unprecedented detail

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has captured the sharpest infrared images to date of one of the most distinctive objects in our skies, the Horsehead Nebula. These observations show a part of the iconic nebula in a whole new light, capturing its complexity with unprecedented spatial...

www.esa.int

 

[Flyaway]

However, scientists aren’t exactly sure when Earth’s magnetic field first formed, but a new study from the University of Oxford and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) details the earliest known evidence of the field’s existence embedded in well-preserved 3.7 billion-year-old iron rocks in Isua, Greenland.

…

The iron composition of these rocks is key as the element can essentially lock in magnetic field direction and strength when it crystallizes. The study, published this week in the Journal of Geophysical Research, details an Eoarchean (4 billion to 3.6 billion years ago) magnetic field strength of 15 microteslas—roughly half as strong as the magnetic field of today.

Scientists Found Evidence of the Magnetic Field in 3.7 Billion-Year-Old Rocks

It’s so much older than we thought.

www.popularmechanics.com

Related paper:

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2023JB027706

 

[Flyaway]

The Earth's magnetic field has changed direction many times over millions of years, sometimes accompanied by temporary weakening. A much longer period in which the field diminished took place between 591 and 565 million years ago. Shortly thereafter, the first fossils of complex animals appear in the geologic record. A new study suggests it might be that weakening that made this possible, despite the apparent contradiction with the field's role in making life possible.

Earth's Magnetic Field's "Near-Collapse" 590 Million Years Ago May Have Helped Complex Life

Sometimes less of a good thing turns out to be essential.

www.iflscience.com

Related paper:

Near-collapse of the geomagnetic field may have contributed to atmospheric oxygenation and animal radiation in the Ediacaran Period - Communications Earth & Environment

An ultra-weak magnetic field from Earth’s core lasting for at least 26 million years may have contributed to Earth’s oxygenation and further diversification of the Ediacaran fauna, according to single-crystal paleointensity data from igneous rocks in South Africa and Brazil.

www.nature.com

 

[Flyaway]

In a major advancement in space science, astronomers and citizen scientists have discovered an exoplanet within the habitable zone of a binary star system. This system features not only two stars but potentially another exoplanet as well.

…

The new planet, officially named TOI 4633 c but also known as Percival, breaks the mold with its lengthy 272-day orbit. This makes it a rare find due to its relatively distant position from its star.

Exoplanet found in the habitable zone of a binary star system

Astronomers and citizen scientists have discovered an exoplanet within the habitable zone of a binary star system.

www.earth.com

Related paper:

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