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UrduBased on the analysis of marsquakes recorded by NASA’s InSight mission, the structure of Mars’s crust has now been determined in absolute numbers for the first time. Beneath the InSight landing site, the crust is either approximately 20 or 39…
Tag: SPACE/PLANETARY SCIENCE
Astronomers make first clear detection of a moon-forming disc around an exoplanet
Using the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is a partner, astronomers have unambiguously detected the presence of a disc around a planet outside our Solar System for the first time. The observations will…
Spotted: An exoplanet with the potential to form moons
Cambridge, MA ¬- Astronomers at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian have helped detect the clear presence of a moon-forming region around an exoplanet — a planet outside of our Solar System. The new observations, published Thursday in…
Mini radar could find water and habitable tunnels on the Moon or Mars
A miniature radar device that scans deep below ground is being developed to identify ice deposits and even hollowed out lava tubes on the Moon to support possible human settlement.
NASA InSight Lander’s seismic observations reveal the interior of mars
NOTICE: This summary has been updated to correct misspellings of the last names of both Perspective authors. The Perspective authors are Sanne Cottaar and Paula Koelemeijer. We apologize for our error. The first direct seismic observations from NASA’s InSight lander,…
InSight mission: Mars unveiled
Using information obtained from around a dozen earthquakes detected on Mars by the Very Broad Band SEIS seismometer, developed in France, the international team of NASA’s InSight mission has unveiled the internal structure of Mars. The three papers published on…
The anatomy of a planet
ETH researchers analyse marsquakes
InSight mission: Mars unveils its inner structures
Based on a dozen earthquakes detected on Mars by the SEIS very broadband seismometer, developed in France, the international team of NASA’s InSight mission reveals the internal structure of Mars. The three studies published July 23 in Science , involving…
A large tidal stream observed in the Sombrero galaxy
According to the latest cosmological models, large spiral galaxies such as the Milky Way grew by absorbing smaller galaxies, by a sort of galactic cannibalism. Evidence for this is given by very large structures, the tidal stellar streams, which are…
New Method Predicts ‘Stealth’ Solar Storms Before They Wreak Geomagnetic Havoc on Earth
On 23 July 2012, humanity escaped technological and economic disaster. A diffuse cloud of magnetized plasma in the shape of a slinky toy tens of thousands of kilometers across was hurled from the Sun at a speed of hundreds of kilometers per second.
The origin of bifurcated current sheets explained
A Korean research team has identified the origin of bifurcated current sheets, considered one of the most unsolved mysteries in the Earth’s magnetosphere and in magnetized plasma physics. A POSTECH joint research team led by Professor Gunsu S. Yun of…
New method predicts ‘stealth’ solar storms before they wreak geomagnetic havoc on Earth
For the first time, stealth coronal mass ejections can be detected before they wreak havoc on Earth without the need for dedicated spacecraft
Long-period oscillations of the Sun discovered
Ten years of data from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory combined with numerical models reveal the deep low musical notes of the Sun.
From the Sun to the stars
A journey of exoplanet discovery begins as Penn State’s NEID spectrometer starts its scientific mission
RAS launches new multi-disciplinary journal
The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) is pleased to announce the launch of its first new journal in almost 100 years. Tentatively titled RAS Techniques and Instruments , it will cover topics in astronomy and geophysics ranging from instrumentation, data science,…
Tail without a comet: the dusty remains of Comet ATLAS
A serendipitous flythrough of the tail of a disintegrated comet has offered scientists a unique opportunity to study these remarkable structures, in new research presented today at the National Astronomy Meeting 2021. Comet ATLAS fragmented just before its closest approach…
SwRI to adapt mass spectrometer for lunar missions
Instrument to identify resources needed for future human exploration
NASA returns Hubble Space Telescope to science operations
NASA has returned the science instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope to operational status, and the collection of science data will now resume. This will be the first science data collected since the payload computer experienced a problem on June…
Cosmic rays help supernovae explosions pack a bigger punch
The final stage of cataclysmic explosions of dying massive stars, called supernovae, could pack an up to six times bigger punch on the surrounding interstellar gas with the help of cosmic rays, according to a new study led by researchers…
New sunspot catalogue to improve space weather predictions
Scientists from the University of Graz, Kanzelhöhe Observatory, Skoltech, and the World Data Center SILSO at the Royal Observatory of Belgium, have presented the Catalogue of Hemispheric Sunspot Numbers. It will enable more accurate predictions of the solar cycle and…
Galactic Fireworks: New ESO Images Reveal Stunning Features of Nearby Galaxies
A team of astronomers has released new observations of nearby galaxies that resemble colourful cosmic fireworks.
Researchers Reveal Cause of Jupiter’s X-Ray Aurorae
An international research team led by YAO Zhonghua from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IGGCAS) has explained the cause of Jupiter’s X-ray aurorae, a mystery that has puzzled scientists for 40 years.
Researchers reveal cause of Jupiter’s x-ray aurorae
An international research team led by YAO Zhonghua from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IGGCAS) has explained the cause of Jupiter’s X-ray aurorae, a mystery that has puzzled scientists for 40 years. The…
Galactic fireworks: New ESO images reveal stunning features of nearby galaxies
A team of astronomers has released new observations of nearby galaxies that resemble colourful cosmic fireworks. The images, obtained with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT), show different components of the galaxies in distinct colours, allowing astronomers…
Press registration opens for ACS Fall 2021 meeting
WASHINGTON, July 15, 2021 — Journalists who register for the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) will have access to more than 7,000 presentations on topics including agriculture and food, energy and fuels, health and medicine, space science,…
National Astronomy Meeting 2021: Media invitation
Around 850 astronomers and space scientists will gather online from 19 – 23 July, for the Royal Astronomical Society National Astronomy Meeting 2021 (NAM 2021) hosted by the University of Bath. Postponed in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the…
Physicists describe sun’s electric field
As the Parker Solar Probe ventures closer to the sun, we are learning new things about our home star. In a new study, physicists led by the University of Iowa report the first definitive measurements of the sun’s electric field,…
A star in a distant galaxy blew up in a powerful explosion, solving an astronomical mystery
Giant explosion in space illuminates thousand-year mystery
Galactic gamma ray bursts predicted last year show up right on schedule
Sherlock Holmes story gives clue to successful prediction of bursts from nearby magnetar
SwRI’s Bolton receives NSS Space Pioneer Award
National Space Society recognizes accomplishments in opening the space frontier
Danish student solves how the Universe is reflected near black holes
In the vicinity of black holes, space is so warped that even light rays may curve around them several times. This phenomenon may enable us to see multiple versions of the same thing. While this has been known for decades,…
NASA Lucy mission’s message to the future
In the 1970s four spacecraft began their one-way trips out of our Solar System. As the first human-built objects to ever venture into interstellar space, NASA chose to place plaques on Pioneer 10 and 11 and golden records on Voyager…
Haziness of exoplanet atmospheres depends on properties of aerosol particles
A laboratory study of haze particles produced under different conditions helps explain why some exoplanets may be obscured by hazy atmospheres
How more than 30 years of China’s meteorological satellite data is used by the world
China’s first meteorological satellite launched in 1988. It was named Fengyun, which roughly translates to “wind and cloud”. Since then, 17 more Fengyun meteorological satellites were launched, with seven still in operation, to monitor Earth’s wind, clouds and, more recently,…
Scientists solve 40-year mystery over Jupiter’s X-ray aurora
A research team co-led by UCL has solved a decades-old mystery as to how Jupiter produces a spectacular burst of X-rays every few minutes.
Q-CTRL awarded $3.5 million grant from Australian government for space-based quantum sensors
Company to expand the development and manufacture of advanced sensors for climate data monitoring, mining, defense applications and more
New radio receiver opens wider window to radio universe
Researchers have used the latest wireless technology to develop a new radio receiver for astronomy. The receiver is capable of capturing radio waves at frequencies over a range several times wider than conventional ones, and can detect radio waves emitted…
Icequakes likely rumble along geyser-spitting fractures in Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus
Seismic activity could give scientists a read on the thickness of the ice encasing the moon and the oceans believed to lie beneath
LHAASO’s measurement of Crab Nebula brightness yields new UHE gamma-ray standard
The Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO), one of China’s key national science and technology infrastructure facilities, has accurately measured the brightness over 3.5 orders of magnitude of the standard candle in high-energy astronomy, thus calibrating a new standard…
Early Earth was bombarded by series of city-sized asteroids
Scientists know that the Earth was bombarded by huge impactors in distant time, but a new analysis suggest that the number of these impacts may have been x10 higher than previously thought. This translates into a barrage of collisions, similar…
Goldilocks planets ‘with a tilt’ may develop more complex life
Planets which are tilted on their axis, like Earth, are more capable of evolving complex life. This finding will help scientists refine the search for more advanced life on exoplanets. This NASA-funded research is presented at the Goldschmidt Geochemistry Conference.…
Small amount of lithium production in classical nova
A new study of lithium production in a classical nova found a production rate of only a couple of percent that seen in other examples. This shows that there is a large diversity within classical novae and implies that nova…
New type of massive explosion explains mystery star
‘Magneto-rotational hypernova’ soon after the Big Bang fuelled high levels of uranium, zinc in ancient stellar oddity
SwRI-led team addresses mystery of heavy elements in galactic cosmic rays
MMS data reveal a mechanism for accelerating heavy ions
Satellite galaxies can carry on forming stars when they pass close to their parent galaxies
Historically most scientists thought that once a satellite galaxy has passed close by its higher mass parent galaxy its star formation would stop because the larger galaxy would remove the gas from it, leaving it shorn of the material it…
Kepler telescope glimpses population of free-floating planets
Tantalising evidence has been uncovered for a mysterious population of “free-floating” planets, planets that may be alone in deep space, unbound to any host star. The results include four new discoveries that are consistent with planets of similar masses to…
Why does Mercury have a big iron core?
Scientists from Tohoku University and the University of Maryland have pinpointed the strong magnetic field of the early sun as the reason behind the radial variation of rock and metal in rocky planets’ cores. This magnetic field, which pulled small…
Methane in the plumes of Saturn’s moon Enceladus: Possible signs of life?
A study published in Nature Astronomy concludes that known geochemical processes can’t explain the levels of methane measured by the Cassini spacecraft on Saturn’s icy moon
Astronomers discover an oversized black hole population in the star cluster Palomar 5
“The number of black holes is roughly three times larger than expected from the number of stars in the cluster, and it means that more than 20% of the total cluster mass is made up of black holes. They each…
Observation, simulation, and AI join forces to reveal a clear universe
Japanese astronomers have developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) technique to remove noise in astronomical data due to random variations in galaxy shapes. After extensive training and testing on large mock data created by supercomputer simulations, they then applied this…