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Planetary Sciences news
Space colonies: How artificial photosynthesis may be key to sustained life beyond Earth
Life on Earth owes its existence to photosynthesis—a process which is 2.3 billion years old. This immensely fascinating (and still not fully understood) reaction enables plants and other organisms to harvest sunlight, water ...
Space Exploration
1 hour ago
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'Hot Jupiters' may not be orbiting alone
Research led by an Indiana University astronomer challenges longstanding beliefs about the isolation of "hot Jupiters" and proposes a new mechanism for understanding the exoplanets' evolution.
Astronomy
4 hours ago
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Study models geomagnetic field shielding over the last 100,000 years
New models of how the geomagnetic field that shields the Earth's atmosphere from cosmic rays has changed over tens of thousands of years can help us understand how the climate has changed over a similar timescale.
Planetary Sciences
23 hours ago
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Astronomers discover a new 'warm Jupiter' on an eccentric and misaligned orbit
Using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), astronomers have discovered a new "warm Jupiter" exoplanet. The newfound alien world, designated TOI-1859 b, orbits its parent star on an eccentric and misaligned ...
Five incredible craters that will make you fall in love with the grandeur of our solar system
Impact cratering happens on every solid body in the solar system. In fact, it is the dominant process affecting the surfaces on most extraterrestrial bodies today.
Astronomy
Jun 5, 2023
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What are meteorites? I visit and study the craters they've left across our planet
Tens of thousands of asteroids—that we know of—are roaming our solar system. These are building blocks made up of metal, silicates, and ice left over from the beginning of time when the planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, ...
Astronomy
Jun 5, 2023
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NASA's Mars helicopter went silent for six agonizing days
NASA's Ingenuity helicopter on Mars has exceeded everyone's expectations, recently completing its 51st flight when it was supposed to fly just a few times as a demonstration mission. But flights 50 and 51 almost didn't happen.
Space Exploration
Jun 1, 2023
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The case of the missing Jupiters: Gas giant planets are a no-show around small red stars
Astronomers have revealed that the smallest and most common kinds of stars in the universe, called red dwarfs, very rarely host big, Jupiter-like planets. This absence of Jupiter analogs could have major impacts on the development ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 1, 2023
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One spacecraft could visit all of Saturn's inner large moons
If you've ever played Kerbal Space Program, you know how difficult it can be to get your spacecraft into the orbit you want. It's even more difficult in real life. This is why it's pretty impressive to see a proposal to study ...
Space Exploration
May 31, 2023
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Researchers solve colorful Kuiper Belt puzzle
The Kuiper Belt is a massive disk of icy bodies, including Pluto, that is located just outside of Neptune's orbit in our solar system. Objects observed in the Kuiper Belt exhibit a more diversified color range than any other ...
Astronomy
May 31, 2023
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NIRISS instrument on Webb maps an ultra-hot Jupiter-like exoplanet's atmosphere
400 light-years out there is something that is so tantalizing that astronomers have been studying it since its discovery in 2009. One orbit for WASP-18 b around its star that is slightly larger than our sun takes just 23 ...
Astronomy
May 31, 2023
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How much damage will lunar landings do to lunar orbiters?
Multiple missions are destined for the moon in this decade. These include robotic and crewed missions conducted by space agencies, commercial space entities, and non-profit organizations. The risks and hazards of going to ...
Space Exploration
May 31, 2023
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Webb telescope finds towering plume of water escaping from one of Saturn's moons
Two Southwest Research Institute scientists were part of a James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) team that observed a towering plume of water vapor more than 6,000 miles long—roughly the distance from the U.S. to Japan—spewing ...
Astronomy
May 30, 2023
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Simulations suggest interstellar objects could be captured by Earth's gravity
A quartet of space scientists, two from Carnegie Mellon University and two from Harvard University, has found via simulations that it should be possible for interstellar objects to be captured by Earth's gravity. The team, ...
One-third of galaxy's most common planets could be in habitable zone
Our familiar, warm, yellow sun is a relative rarity in the Milky Way. By far the most common stars are considerably smaller and cooler, sporting just half the mass of our sun at most. Billions of planets orbit these common ...
Planetary Sciences
May 29, 2023
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Want to be an asteroid miner? There's a database for that
Asteroid mining is slowly but surely coming closer to reality. Many start-ups and governmental agencies alike are getting in on the action. But plenty of tools that would help get this burgeoning industry off the ground are ...
Planetary Sciences
May 29, 2023
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Juice's final deployments complete: Ready for study of Jupiter
Flight controllers at ESA's mission control center in Germany have been busy this week, working with instrument teams on the final deployments to prepare ESA's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) for exploring Jupiter.
Space Exploration
May 29, 2023
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235
Video: Picking up lightsabers for Mars
Detect, fetch and collect. A seemingly easy task is being tested to find the best strategy to collect samples on the martian surface, some 290 000 million km away from home.
Planetary Sciences
May 29, 2023
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Astrophysicists catalog all known planet-hosting, three-star systems
A planetary physicist at The University of Texas at Arlington is the lead author of a study that catalogs all known planet-hosting, triple-stellar systems—those having three or more stars with planets.
Astronomy
May 26, 2023
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Over the moon: Dedication to lunar research pays off for China's Chang'e project
Since 2004, China has been pioneering many aspects of lunar exploration with the Chang'e project, of which all five missions were successful in obtaining new information about the moon.
Space Exploration
May 26, 2023
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More news
The soot line: A new way to expand the search for habitable planets
NASA's LRO views impact site of HAKUTO-R mission 1 moon lander
Image: Mars terrain recreation at ESA
NASA mission to study ice clouds, help observe our dynamic atmosphere
Space missions set to improve solar storm forecasts
Perseverance rover captures view of Mars' Belva Crater
Satellites are tracking patterns that lead up to El Niño
Other news
Newly discovered dinosaur, 'Iani,' was face of a changing planet
Detection dog can sniff out highly endangered great crested newts
Oceans warmer last month than any May on record
Physicists discover an exotic material made of bosons
Calculation shows why heavy quarks get caught up in the flow
Study confirms bumblebees experience better vision through movement
Researchers announce 62 new moons of Saturn
Researchers determine global thickness and density of Martian crust
NASA's Lunar Flashlight to fly by Earth
What Cassini's 'grand finale' taught us about Saturn's interior
NASA super pressure balloon mission terminated due to anomaly
James Webb Space Telescope detects outgassing water from main-belt comet
A documented case of a crocodile virgin birth
Think morals are declining? So has everyone, ever, study says
Granulated gels: The best of both worlds for bioprinted cells
Study identifies potential protein target for a vaccine against spotted fever
Pre-basophils: Cell differentiation study tells a basophil origin story
