Last update: 2 hours ago

TESS discovers a planet the size of Mars but with the makeup of Mercury

Astronomy & Space news

TESS discovers a planet the size of Mars but with the makeup of Mercury

Ultra-short-period planets are small, compact worlds that whip around their stars at close range, completing an orbit—and a single, scorching year—in less than 24 hours. How these planets came to be in such extreme configurations ...

Astronomy

2 hours ago

Study reveals that giant planets could reach 'maturity' much earlier than previously thought

An international team of scientists, in which researchers from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) participate together with other institutions from Spain, Italy, Germany, Belgium, UK, and Mexico, has been able ...

Astronomy

3 hours ago

Spacewalking astronauts replace antenna after debris scare

Spacewalking astronauts replaced a broken antenna outside the International Space Station on Thursday after getting NASA's all-clear for orbiting debris.

Space Exploration

3 hours ago

The shortest-period gas-giant exoplanet discovered with TESS

Using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), an international group of astronomers has detected a new, ultra-hot gas giant exoplanet with an extremely short orbital period. The newfound alien world, designated ...

Astronomy

report

6 hours ago

Beads of glass in meteorites help scientists piece together how solar system formed

Ever since scientists started looking at meteorites with microscopes, they've been puzzled—and fascinated—by what's inside. Most meteorites are made of tiny beads of glass that date back to the earliest days of the solar ...

Planetary Sciences

12 hours ago

461

New evidence hints at volcanic activity within Venuses' Idunn Mons

An international team of researchers has found evidence that suggests possible volcanic activity involving Venuses' Idunn Mons. In their paper published in The Planetary Science Journal, the group describes the evidence they ...

Planetary Sciences

report

6 hours ago

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Two versions of a Curiosity selfie: narrow and wide

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover took this 360-degree selfie using the Mars Hand Lens Imager, or MAHLI, at the end of its robotic arm. The selfie comprises 81 individual images taken on Nov. 20, 2021—the 3,303rd Martian day, ...

Space Exploration

6 hours ago

Test tanks fuelled for ESA's Themis reusable first stage

Recently completed tests of two propellant tanks set a first technological milestone in the ESA reusability roadmap towards the demonstration of a reusable first stage vehicle called Themis.

Space Exploration

6 hours ago

A one-way phone call from Mars

This November, ESA's Mars Express spacecraft carried out a series of experimental communication tests with the Chinese (CNSA) Zhurong Mars rover. Mars Express successfully caught data sent up 'in the blind' by the rover and ...

Space Exploration

6 hours ago

Astronomers observe a new type of binary star long predicted to exist

Researchers at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian have observed a new type of binary star that has long been theorized to exist. The discovery finally confirms how a rare type of star in the universe forms ...

Astronomy

Dec 01, 2021

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Astronomers discover strangely massive black hole in Milky Way satellite galaxy

Astronomers at The University of Texas at Austin's McDonald Observatory have discovered an unusually massive black hole at the heart of one of the Milky Way's dwarf satellite galaxies, called Leo I. Almost as massive as the ...

Astronomy

Dec 01, 2021

268

Lunar radar data uncovers new clues about moon's ancient past

The dusty surface of the moon—immortalized in images of Apollo astronauts' lunar footprints—formed as the result of asteroid impacts and the harsh environment of space breaking down rock over millions of years. An ancient ...

Planetary Sciences

Dec 01, 2021

182

Mysterious clouds could offer new clues on dark matter

The hunt for gravitational waves, ripples in space and time caused by major cosmic cataclysms, could help solve one of the Universe's other burning mysteries—boson clouds and whether they are a leading contender for dark ...

Astronomy

Dec 01, 2021

582

Soon, 1 out of every 15 points of light in the sky will be a satellite

I'm outside at my rural Saskatchewan farm, chatting with my neighbors who I've invited over to appreciate the night sky through my telescope. After exclamations and open-mouthed wonder over Saturn's rings, and light that ...

Space Exploration

Dec 01, 2021

169

AI can reliably spot molecules on exoplanets, and might one day even discover new laws of physics

Do you know what the Earth's atmosphere is made of? You'd probably remember it's oxygen, and maybe nitrogen. And with a little help from Google you can easily reach a more precise answer: 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 1% Argon ...

Astronomy

Dec 01, 2021

152

New research effort shines more light on black hole collisions

While light can't escape the monstrous gravity of a black hole, that hasn't kept researchers on a team that includes UO scientists from taking a big step forward in the effort to reveal their secrets.

Astronomy

Dec 01, 2021

Arecibo data still yielding galactic insights

Data collected by the Arecibo Radio Telescope before it collapsed late last year will help astronomers better understand how our local neighborhood of galaxies formed.

Astronomy

Dec 01, 2021

Image: Hubble's view of planetary nebula reveals complex structure

NGC 6891 is a bright, asymmetrical planetary nebula in the constellation Delphinus, the Dolphin. This Hubble image reveals a wealth of structure, including a spherical outer halo that is expanding faster than the inner nebula, ...

Astronomy

Dec 01, 2021

Very Large Telescope uncovers closest pair of supermassive black holes yet

Using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (ESO's VLT), astronomers have revealed the closest pair of supermassive black holes to Earth ever observed. The two objects also have a much smaller separation ...

Astronomy

Nov 30, 2021

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