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UrduWASHINGTON–Raindrops on other planets and moons are close to the size of raindrops on Earth despite having different chemical compositions and falling through vastly different atmospheres, a new study finds. The results suggest raindrops falling from clouds are surprisingly similar…
Tag: PLANETS/MOONS
First X-rays from Uranus discovered
Astronomers have detected X-rays from Uranus for the first time, using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. This result may help scientists learn more about this enigmatic ice giant planet in our solar system. Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun…
Venus plots a comeback
In terms of space exploration, Mars is all the rage these days. This has left our closest neighbor, Venus — previously the most attractive planet to study because of its proximity and similar atmosphere to Earth — in the lurch.…
Astrophysics student Ellen Price awarded 51 Pegasi B Fellowship
The fellowship provides exceptional scientists with the opportunity to conduct theoretical, observational and experimental research in planetary astronomy
Researchers discover new type of ancient crater lake on Mars
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Researchers from Brown University have discovered a previously unknown type of ancient crater lake on Mars that could reveal clues about the planet’s early climate. In a study published in Planetary Science Journal , a…
Black hole seeds key to galaxies behemoths
Early Universe explosion sheds light on elusive black hole
Launch of Europe’s largest astronomy network
Until now, Europe has had two major collaborative networks for ground-based astronomy, one in the optical wavelength domain and the other in the radio-wave domain. OPTICON and RadioNet have now come together to form Europe’s largest ground-based astronomy collaborative network.…
Trinity researchers tackle the spiders from Mars
Researchers at Trinity College Dublin have been shedding light on the enigmatic “spiders from Mars”, providing the first physical evidence that these unique features on the planet’s surface can be formed by the sublimation of CO2 ice. Spiders, more formally…
Powerful stratospheric winds measured on Jupiter for the first time
Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is a partner, a team of astronomers have directly measured winds in Jupiter’s middle atmosphere for the first time. By analysing the aftermath of a comet…
Found in space: Complex carbon-based molecules
Discovery may offer clues to carbon’s role in planet and star formation.
SwRI scientists help identify the first stratospheric winds measured on Jupiter
Jovian jet streams above the cloud tops measured using the aftermath of comet collision
Jupiter’s Great Red Spot feeds on smaller storms
The massive storm near the gas giant’s equator has been shrinking, but collisions with a series of anticyclones are likely only surface deep
Icy ocean worlds seismometer passes further testing in Greenland
The NASA-funded Seismometer to Investigate Ice and Ocean Structure (SIIOS) performed well in seismic experiments conducted in snowy summer Greenland, according to a new study by the SIIOS team led by the University of Arizona published this week in Seismological…
SwRI researcher theorizes worlds with underground oceans support, conceal life
Layers of ice and rock obviate the need for “habitable zone” and shield life against threats
Is there life on mars today and where?
Challenging assumptions about the possibility of modern life on Mars
Jupiter’s “dawn storm” auroras are surprisingly Earth-like
A new study tracks the life cycle of the spectacular ultraviolet storms in the big planet’s aurora, generated by charged particles from its volcanic moon, Io
Skoltech and MIT researchers identify optimal human landing system architectures to land on the Moon
Researchers from Skoltech and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have analyzed several dozen options to pick the best one in terms of performance and costs for the ‘last mile’ of a future mission to the Moon – actually delivering astronauts…
Experts recreate a mechanical Cosmos for the world’s first computer
Researchers at UCL have solved a major piece of the puzzle that makes up the ancient Greek astronomical calculator known as the Antikythera Mechanism, a hand-powered mechanical device that was used to predict astronomical events. Known to many as the…
Hubble sees new atmosphere forming on a rocky exoplanet
The planet GJ 1132 b appears to have begun life as a gaseous world with a thick blanket of atmosphere. Starting out at several times the radius of Earth, this so-called “sub-Neptune” quickly lost its primordial hydrogen and helium atmosphere,…
How the habitability of exoplanets is influenced by their rocks
The conditions on Earth are ideal for life. Most places on our planet are neither too hot nor too cold and offer liquid water. These and other requirements for life, however, delicately depend on the right composition of the atmosphere.…
Engineers propose solar-powered lunar ark as ‘modern global insurance policy’
The ambitious project proposed by a University of Arizona team aims to preserve humankind – and animal-kind, plant-kind and fungi-kind – in the event of a global crisis
What is life? And will we find it on other planets? (video)
WASHINGTON, March 8, 2021 — Chemistry is helping us figure out how life got started on Earth and is giving us molecules to look for on other planets. In this episode of Reactions, we break down what “life” is and…
A giant, sizzling planet may be orbiting the star Vega
Astronomers have discovered new hints of a giant, scorching-hot planet orbiting Vega, one of the brightest stars in the night sky. The research, published this month in The Astronomical Journal , was led by University of Colorado Boulder student Spencer…
Engineering marvel: Sixth mirror cast for Giant Magellan Telescope
The 8.4-meter mirror joins five of the world’s largest mirrors previously cast for the Giant Magellan Telescope, one of the world’s largest and most anticipated extremely large telescopes.
Sixth mirror casting brings Giant Magellan Telescope closer to completion
In a marvel of modern engineering that takes four years of effort, the 8.4-meter mirror is the second-to-last being made for the Giant Magellan Telescope, one of the world’s largest and most anticipated telescopes
A super-Earth is discovered which can be used to test planetary atmosphere models
During the past 25 years astronomers have discovered a wide variety of exoplanets, made of rock, ice and gas, thanks to the construction of astronomical instruments designed specifically for planet searches. Also, using a combination of different observing techniques they…
Earth has a hot new neighbour — and it’s an astronomer’s dream
A rocky planet discovered in the Virgo constellation could change how we look for life in the universe
Planetary science intern leads study of Martian crust
Team explored the relationships between the strength of the magnetic field on planet’s surface and the composition of the crust in the Terra Sirenum-Terra Cimmeria region
Three elder sisters of the Sun with planets
Elder suns with low-mass companions
Astrophysicist’s 2004 theory confirmed: Why the Sun’s composition varies
WASHINGTON — About 17 years ago, J. Martin Laming, an astrophysicist at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, theorized why the chemical composition of the Sun’s tenuous outermost layer differs from that lower down. His theory has recently been validated by…
NRL physicist earns 2020 AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize
WASHINGTON — Imagine living in a large city. New York City, Los Angeles, or Washington. One morning you hear a siren off in the distance. You know the direction and that it was far away since it was just loud…
NAU astronomer receives prestigious 2021 Cottrell Scholar Award
Tyler Robinson recognized for academic leadership, research quality and innovation
URI researchers: Microbes deep beneath seafloor survive on byproducts of radioactive process
Results have implications for life on Mars
SwRI scientist captures evidence of dynamic seasonal activity on a Martian sand dune
Research finds that airborne dust plumes are produced by sliding blocks of dry ice each spring
Apollo rock samples capture key moments in the Moon’s early history, study find
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Volcanic rock samples collected during NASA’s Apollo missions bear the isotopic signature of key events in the early evolution of the Moon, a new analysis found. Those events include the formation of the Moon’s iron…
Parker Solar Probe offers stunning view of Venus
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe captured stunning views of Venus during its close flyby of the planet in July 2020. Though Parker Solar Probe’s focus is the Sun, Venus plays a critical role in the mission: The spacecraft whips by Venus…
ET phones home!
Hebrew University finds first evidence of delayed radio flares after star is destroyed by black hole
Life from Earth could temporarily survive on Mars
Study shows sending microbes to Earth’s stratosphere, to test their endurance to Martian conditions, can reveal their potential use and threats to space travel
SwRI scientists image a bright meteoroid explosion in Jupiter’s atmosphere
Juno’s UVS instrument makes relatively rare observation of common events
The Milky Way may be swarming with planets with oceans and continents like here on Earth
Astronomers have long been looking into the vast universe in hopes of discovering alien civilisations. But for a planet to have life, liquid water must be present. The chances of that finding scenario have seemed impossible to calculate because it…
Oregon experiments find that electrical sparks are possible on Mars
Experiments in a chamber under Martian-like conditions in a University of Oregon lab suggest that small sparks may be triggered by friction under normal atmospheric conditions
On the quest for other Earths
In the search for planets capable of sustaining life, an international research team with members from ETH has taken a significant step forward. As the researchers reported recently in the journal Nature Communications , they found signs of a Neptune-sized…
Lakes isolated beneath Antarctic ice could be more amenable to life than thought
Lakes underneath the Antarctic ice sheet could be more hospitable than previously thought, allowing them to host more microbial life. This is the finding of a new study that could help researchers determine the best spots to search for microbes…
SETI Institute and NASA team up to bring NASA science into the nation’s community colleges
Innovative program to bring NASA subject matter experts, research findings, and educational resources into science classrooms of community colleges
In search of super-Earths: Spectrograph CRIRES+ at ESO’s Very Large Telescope
Astrophysicists from Göttingen University involved in construction of high-resolution research instrument
Young planets with teenage sun give space studies a lift
New planetary system offers glimpse into how planets evolve
Plavchan & collaborators taking mass measurements of TESS transiting candidate companions
Peter Plavchan, Assistant Professor, Physics and Astronomy, received $50,000 from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center for a project in which he and his collaborators will use the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) iSHELL spectrometer and the MINERVA-Australis observatory with the…
NASA’s TESS discovers new worlds in a river of young stars
Using observations from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), an international team of astronomers has discovered a trio of hot worlds larger than Earth orbiting a much younger version of our Sun called TOI 451. The system resides in the…
Vaporised crusts of Earth-like planets found in dying stars
Remnants of planets with Earth-like crusts have been discovered in the atmospheres of four nearby white dwarf stars by University of Warwick astronomers, offering a glimpse of the planets that may have once orbited them up to billions of years ago.
A new way of forming planets
In the last 25 years, scientists have discovered over 4000 planets beyond the borders of our solar system. From relatively small rock and water worlds to blisteringly hot gas giants, the planets display a remarkable variety. This variety is not…